When I was about ten years old I found one of my
grand-parents passports in an old box.
When I opened it to see who it belonged to,
I saw a small black and white photo of my
Opa(grand-father) and stamped across it was
an angry red J with next to it another stamp
with a threatening looking eagle holding
a Swaztika in its claws.
Holding the passport in my hands made me
feel strange. Although I didn't know what
the symbols meant, they made me uneasy
and anxious.
I decided to ask my mother what it all
meant. Though I would have liked to,
I could not ask my grand-parents as
they had both died when I was but a small child.
My mother told me that before she lived in Sweden
she, her mother, father and older brother, lived
in Berlin, Germany.
Leonard, my grand-father, long before the 2nd World
war had started and Hitler was still viewed as an
egocentric lunatic, sensed that something awful
and dangerous was on the way and rather than ignoring
his gut-feelings he acted upon them.
I am unsure of exactly how he managed to
get first my mum and her mum out, and then
himself and his son out of Germany.
But he did and eventually he and his family was
together in Sweden and then 10 years later...
he and his family all became Swedish citizens.
Fast forward>>>>>>>>> I have just found out
that I am part Jewish.
What did it mean? What did it mean to have
Jewish ancestry? I was intrigued and curious,
so I decided to keep going through some of
the old boxes in our cellar.
I found old sepia photos recording some of my
grandparents life shot in Germany before they fled which
I eagerly studied trying to find a way to somehow
''connect'' with the people I saw in the photographs.
My grand-Opa and Oma (great-grandparents) were
among the few kinspeople in the photos
that I instantly recognized as they were actually
still alive for a fair few years of my childhood.
(My mother helped me identify her brother,
herself as a young child and some relatives
that I had never met.)
Though quite elderly, as luck would have it
my two sisters, my brother and I were fortunate
enough to spend many happy days with
my grand-Oma and Opa although they lived in Berlin.
Our family would drive from Stockholm
to West Berlin which for us kids was very exciting
although also scary as Berlin at that time was divided
by a great big wall.
To get to West Berlin we had to drive through
East Germany which was very gloomy, many of
the buildings full of bullet holes and we often
saw tanks and other military vehicles pass us on the
side of the roads.
Some years ago my older sister travelled to Berlin
to try and find out if there were any relatives
still alive in Germany, but sadly............
war had devoured them all.
Do you think that it is possible that there will
come a day when human beings will stop trying to solve
problems, issues and miss-understandings with violence
of some kind?
Do you think that it is possible that there will come a day
when human beings will chose to use understanding,
open-mindedness and non-violence to solve its
issues in a peaceful and non-destructive way?
I sure hope so.....
War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing........
''War does not determine
who is wrong or who is right.
War leaves only a frightful sight
of the brokenness that's left after a fight.''
I hate everything about war and how
even when the fighting has stopped,
people keep breaking apart.
I abhor how those who profess to be
seeking peace and freedom for all
go quiet when united resistance calls.
I detest those that hide behind their golden curtains
and fail to show up when the time has come:
''Lovers of peace and freedom for all,
it's time to stand up and hold our tongue no more.''
What do you think?
about the images: top: mixed media
middle: Elements
Bottom: Acrylic on large canvas
