21 Aldgate: DESECRATION and HATRED

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

DESECRATION and HATRED

From author, Patricia Friedberg

The desecration of Jewish cemeteries and the bomb threats against Jewish Community Centers demand that I, a child in London during the 2^nd World War, speak out. If it wasn’t for one foggy night during that war, Hitler would have invaded England and I, together with all British Jews rounded up and sent to a concentration camp. That means my children; their children and their children’s children would not be born. That means if I, who lived that history, stay silent, then I too, am guilty. I’d be as guilty as the Republican Party for not standing up to a dishonest President. I’d be guilty for not defending my faith and those of the Muslim faith. And more than that I’d be guilty of turning a blind eye to what I know is extremely dangerous.

I believe in free speech. I don’t believe in distorting the truth, denying the press and making promises that can’t be kept. This is how Hitler took over Europe. This is why millions of civilians as well as millions of soldiers on both sides of that war were slaughtered. It is also why I felt compelled to write 21 Aldgate, the story of two world wars and much more. Perhaps I had a premonition.

Donald Trump and his multimillion dollar cabinet, a cabinet made up of mostly men seem to ignore history, or, far worse, accept the connection to white supremacists which happens to be Trump’s base. Hillary Clinton’s description, “basket of deplorables’ couldn’t be more pertinent.

‘Making America First’ means, making it white, making it Muslim free, making it isolationist. Doesn’t that bring back the late 1930’s? Isn’t that why America entered the war in 1941 instead of 1939 and only then because Pearl Harbor was attacked? FDR did all he could to persuade the country to enter earlier. Too many refused to listen then and they are not listening now. And by the way, Russia started out aligned with Germany. Doesn’t that tell us why we can’t allow what appears to be a dictatorship to govern the United States of America?

Mr. Trump you have given permission and a voice to these purveyors of hatred. Your rhetoric appeals to the fears of those who hide behind racial slurs and midnight destruction.

This is not new.

It happened in my lifetime and it is happening again.

1 comment:

legacies literaryFebruary 28, 2017 at 5:08 PM
Heed...Lest history repeats itself.
ReplyDelete
Replies

Add comment

About the Author Patricia Friedberg

British-born author Patricia Friedberg grew up in London during World War II. She attended the Henrietta Barnett School and later the London School of Journalism. Soon after her marriage, the Friedbergs left England to live for many years in South Africa and in the Rhodesias - now Zambia and Zimbabwe - where Dr. Friedberg practiced medicine and where she was a journalist and writer of documentaries for the Rhodesian Newspapers and Rhodesian Television.

Due to civil unrest and for the safety of their children, the family came to America, where Mrs. Friedberg attended university and wrote columns for community and organizational papers, and hosted a television talk show, '"People of the Book," for the NBC affiliate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

In addition to her talent as a writer and journalist, Mrs. Friedberg has composed music for theatre, written prose for a ballet and has travelled extensively with her husband, a professor of cardiology who lectured around the world.

She has co-authored with her daughter, Adrienne, two illustrated children’s books, Dear Sammie, A Letter to a child of Divorcing parents, and Dear Jake.

She is the mother of four children, each born in a different country, grandmother of eight, and now has three great-grandsons.

Synopsis

When young Clara Simon suddenly quit her steady job in Ernest Maxwell Abbott's law firm over his increasingly shabby treatment of Jewish clients, she soon realized the seriousness of her actions. Giving up any job in struggling, post-WWI London meant taking a chance.

Clara knew her family at 21 Aldgate would not be supportive. With that in mind she did the only thing a Londoner could do: she looked for a quiet place to have a cup of tea and think over her hasty decision. A coincidental meeting with a former Abbott employee resulted in the suggestion of a job offer in Chelsea.

Clara, reluctant to consider venturing into affluent Chelsea, finally agreed to meet with the important French artist, Paul Maze, who needed an assistant to help write his memoir of his work as a field artist during the First World War. Their working relationship ignited a passionate love that forever changed and haunted her.

On the tides of political and social chaos prior to the Second World War, Clara was forced to make decisions that risked both her life and her marriage.