He was caught somewhere between his mother’s last kiss and the first kiss he would give his child, between the war that was and would be. Jonathan Safran Foer During the Cold War, my mother would travel from Gdańsk, Poland, to East Berlin twice a year to shop for items that were unavailable back at home; school supplies, clothes, and…
Continue reading →What else, if not individual acts of complicity, like that of that neighbor—or acts of defiance, like that of my grandfather—form the historical waves, the irresistible current of events that shapes the foundation of every human society. Where wind carries the smell of the crematorium And a bell in the village tolls the Angelus The Spirit of History is out…
Continue reading →The ballot didn’t fit, because my hands shook uncontrollably. The year I was eligible to vote for the first time, I announced to my parents that I would tell the communist officials at the voting place that I know it is all a sham. This is what eighteen-year-olds do, they announce their bravery, while the elders look at them with…
Continue reading →History takes place in language before it manifests itself in events. In first grade, at seven years of age, I started catechism classes like everyone else in my school. A part of me was excited about it, and a part of me was scared. Today I know that the part of me that was scared was precisely responsible for my…
Continue reading →The first was red socks. I grew up in communist Poland, and I knew few people who didn’t dream of leaving. I was one of them, and I emigrated as soon as the ban on traveling to the West was lifted. The place we all wanted to live was the United States of America, the greatest country in the world….
Continue reading →My parents unanimously condemned the idea. They didn’t want me to take the risk. We argued. The liar’s punishment is,not in the least that he is not believed,but that he cannot believe anyone else.George Bernard Shaw In March, when Donald J. Trump tweeted that his predecessor, Barack Obama, had illegally wiretapped Trump Tower before the election, I quickly concluded that…
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