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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation
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just what may happen. The German philosophy
of "Ordnung muss sein" (there must be order) is fanatically stressed to the
point of absurdity. Such things as motives, justice, and right are forgotten
and all that remains is a pedantic adherence to the letter of the law. While
the Germans are not too outraged by Arab terrorist atrocities, they are
incensed at the fact that a native Berliner should deviate even slightly from
the straight and narrow path, if only for the sake of justice. They feel that
they have paid for all the atrocities with reparation money and that they have
now earned peace of mind. This is the predominant mentality. That a German
should remind them of all they want to forget is to them unthinkable. There is
a conspiracy of silence. The fact that the Israeli Parliament took a step
unprecedented in the history of parliaments anywhere in the world when it
called on a foreign court to release a détenu was completely
ignored by the German press.
Meanwhile, Marinsky and Stange
have come to escort me out of jail. Before de Somoskoey I reiterated my
declaration. I sensed he was reluctant to release me. He almost made a
reversal, but I suppose that he and his superiors in the Department of Justice
also wished to blunt the effect of the wave of indignation coming from Israel
and France.
I arrived at Orly on May 9. Many friends were there to
welcome us. The first to rush at me and cover me with kisses were Arno and
Petia. I am back in my family after three weeks' absence. Back to the vacuum
cleaner, the washing machine, the kitchen, the supermarket. This may be
disappointing to members of Women's Lib, but if they only knew how I savor all
these domestic chores each time I leave and when I return from an action. That
is where I draw my energy, attending to those indispensable daily chores, in
the bosom of my family where I love and am loved, just as Antaeus renewed his
strength by touching the earth, his mother, with his shoulders.
We
prepare our defense methodically. Our files pile up. On June 10 I go to Israel
for a week to work on my defense. This time I bring Lida along. There is an
official reception for me at Yad Vashem, the memorial to the martyrs of
genocide, whose director Yithzak Arad awards me a medal. Yisrael Yeshayahu,
President of the Knesset, also awards me its medal. Thanks to Myriam Meyouhas
and Teddy Kollek, the Mayor of Jerusalem, our family will be the guests of the
city of Jerusalem for one week and the Dalia kibbutz invites us to spend the
rest of the summer there. This is an exciting prospect, as we would not have
the money for a family
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WHEREVER THEY MAY BE
© 1972, The
Beate Klarsfeld Foundation |
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Page 309 |
Forward |
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