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Adio, Berlin! Goodbye/Farewell, Berlin!

Jurnalul Naţional, 12 noiembrie 2006

Orasul te intampina rece. Are un farmec discret si cu

 putin efort il poti asemui cu un Paris...

german. Sunt la Berlin. Il vizitez absenta,

deoarece motivul sosirii mele aici este unuldureros. O inmormantare.

The city greets you coldly. It has a discreet charm

and ith a little effort you can compare it

ith Paris...a german Paris. I am in Berlin.I visit it absent!minded because the reason

hy I am here"of my arrival here is

 painful. A funeral.

Poate #ollyoodul e de vina ca a produs prea multe

filme despre #olocaust, dar ideea unei

calatorii in $ermania nu m!a incantat

niciodata. %u pre&udecati sau nu, parca incadin aeroportul din Berlin te lovesti de un

zid, si nu poate fi vorba despre zidul care

despartea Berlinul de 'est de cel de (st. )u

stiu de ce* Poate e vorba despre sangelelatin care imi curge prin vene.

Perhaps #ollyood is at fault"is to blame for

ma+ing too many films about the

#olocaust, but the idea of a trip to

$ermany never thrilled me"I have never

 been thrilled by the idea of a trip to

$ermany. Bias!free or not, it seems as if

right from"at the Berlin airport you hit a

all, and it cant be the separating all

 beteen -est Berlin and (ast Berlin. I

dont +no hy* Perhaps it is the atin

 blood that courses"runs through my veins.

Orasul poate fi e/plorat din punct de vedere istoric,arhitectural sau literar. %el care viziteaza

orasul pentru prima oara va dori sa vada

 bineinteles Poarta Brandenburg. 0ai sunt sialte repere turistice, plus peste 123 de

muzee si galerii particulare. Poduri vechi,

monumente impozante, oamenii sunt

 politicosi si zambesc, dar sunt imbracatidoar in negru sau in gri, strazile pline de

0ercedes!uri sunt cam cenusii, iar limba,

desi vorbita de $oethe, cel putin mie imi da

fiori de inghet.

The city can be e/plored regarding history,

architecture or literature. Of course,

Brandenburg $ate is the main

interest"attraction for someone ho is

visiting the city for the first time. There are

other tourist attractions, plus over 123

museums and private galleries. Old

 bridges, imposing"impressive monuments,

 polite and smiling people, but dressed only

in blac+ or grey, the streets filled"pac+ed

ith 0ercedess are pretty"4uite"slightly

grey"grizzle, and as for me regarding the

language, although spo+en by $oethe,

gives me shivers.

OA. 5ar... )iciodata nu mi!am imaginat ca o sa

gasesc o atmosfera atat de calda intr!un apartament

din Berlin. 6n salon destul de incapator pentru ofamilie cu doi copii. Toata lumea este in doliu si

telefonul suna incontinuu. 0ama celor doua fete

OA. But... I never imagined"thought I ould find

such a arm climate in an appartment in Berlin. A

salon big enough for a family ith to children.

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discuta cu noi si raspunde la condoleantele

apropiatilor in romana, iar tatal, asezat la o masa

solida din lemn, care tine loc si de birou, vorbeste latelefon intr!o germana perfecta. %ei doi caini,

soricari sarmosi, fac ture pe holul lung. In

dormitorul uneia dintre fete, pe pereti, sunt lipite

 postere cu vedetele preferate si fotografii cu ele si cu parintii lor. )u le!am mai vazut de cativa ani si sunt

surprinsa de cat de mult s!au schimbat. %ea mica s!a

inaltat cu vreo sapte centimetri si acum face o scurta

 parada de moda prin camera, pentru ca nu stie cu cesa se imbrace a doua zi la scoala* %ealalta,

imbracata intr!o rochie neagra, o priveste pe sora ei

si o sfatuieste sa!si schimbe tinuta cam nepotrivita

 pentru scoala. (ste calma, dar se vede ca e coplesitade tristete. a un moment dat se ridica si scoate

dintr!un dulap o fotografie veche, mai mare decat o

 pagina de revista, o tine putin in brate si ne!o arata,

cu lacrimi in ochi7 8ola era foarte frumoasa*8.

(veryone is in mourning and the phone rings

constantly"+eeps ringing. The mother of the to

girls is tal+ing ith us and she is ansering in

9omanian to the intimates condolences, and the

father, seated to a solid ooden table, hich servesas a des+ too, is tal+ing on the phone in a perfect

$erman. The to dogs, ire!haired ratters, are

running laps in the long hallay. In one of the girls

 bedroom there are on the alls posters of their

favorite celebrities and pictures of the to girls and

their parents. I havent seen them in a fe years and

I am surprised ho much they have changed. The

youngest has gron ith about 2 cm and no she

ma+es a short"brief fashion parade in the room because she doesnt +no hat to ear at school

the ne/t day" tomorro* The other one, dressed in a

 blac+ dress, atches her sister and advises her to

change her attire"outfit that is rather inappropriate

for school. She is calm, but it is obvious that she is

overhelmed ith sadness. At one point she rises

and removes from a cabinet an old

 photograh"picture, larger than a page from a

magazine, holds it a little in her arms and shos it

to us ith teary"atery eyes7 :ola as very

 beautiful*;.

5in fotografie zambeste misterios si teatral o femeie

fina, cu o frumusete din alte vremuri. Parul negruondulat, specific anilor <3, ii incadreaza frumos

fata alba. Imbracata intr!o rochie alba lunga din

matase, lasata pe umeri, are stralucirea si farmecul

intalnite la $loria Sanson sau la 0arlene 5ietrich.5ar nu, nu este vorba despre nici o actrita din

 perioada anilor <3. In poza aceea alb!negru, care isi

are loc de cinste printre afisele cu =ustin Timberla+esi Britney Spears, este o romanca evreica, bunicacelor doua fete. A murit si va fi inmormantata peste

doua zile, acesta fiind si motivul vizitei mele la

Berlin.

The picture shos a delicate oman smiling

mysteriously and theatrical, ith a beauty from

another time. #er hite"pale face is nicely framed

 by her curly"avy blac+ hair, dominant in"specific

for the <3s. 5ressed in a long hite sil+ dress, ith

loose straps, she resembles $loria Sanson or

0arlene Bietrich regarding her glo and charm.

But no, I am not tal+ing about any"this is not an

actress of the ><3s. In this blac+ and hite photo,

hich has its on special place among posters ith

=ustin Timberla+e and Britney Spears, is a

9omanian =eish oman, the grandmother of the

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to girls. She passed aay and she ould be buried

in ? days time, also this being the reason of my

visit in Berlin.

S(0)(. In 1@<<, populatia de evrei din Berlin a

fost estimata la 13.333 de persoane. Intreoctombrie 1@1 si aprilie 1@<, peste 3.333 au fostdeportati in lagare de concentrare sau de

e/terminare, sute s!au sinucis si alte zeci de mii au

emigrat.

SI$)S. In 1@<<, Berlins &eish population as

estimated at 13.333 people. Beteen October 1@1

and April 1@<, over"more than 3.333 people have

 been deported to concentration or e/termination

camps, hundreds have committed suicide and other

tens of thousands have emigrated.

Astazi, in Berlin traiesc aproape ?3.333 de evrei,

 printre care s!a numarat si ola. S!a nascut

in 1@1 in 9omania si o mare parte dinviata a visat doar la ziua in care ea si

familia ei vor pleca din tara. Abia in 1@C3 a

a&uns cu sotul ei in Berlin si au asteptatsase luni in lagar Dun centru de a&utorare acetatenilor germani in devenireE finalizarea

actelor. A meritat efortul, pentru ca, numai

acolo, in sfarsit, s!a putut mandri ca este

evreica. In anii C3, cei mai multi evreilocuiau in partea americana de vest si astazi

se pot vedea in tot Berlinul semne ale

comunitatii evreiesti. %ateva strazi poartanume faimoase de evrei, sapte sinagogi ii

cheama pe credinciosi si in tot orasul sunt

monumente ridicate in memoria celor

disparuti in timpul #olocaustului.

Today, nearly ?3.333 =es live in Berlin, including

ola. She as born in 9omania in 1@1

and a great part of her life she only

dreamed of the day hen she and her

family ould leave the country. )o sooner

than 1@C3 she arrived ith her husband in

Berlin and they have aited for months

in the camp Dhelp center for prospective

$erman citizensE for the papers"documents

to be completed. It as orth the effort

 because only there she as able to finally

ta+e pride in the fact that she as =eish.

In the >C3s, most =es ere living in theest American part and today there are

signs"evidence of the =eish community

throughout Berlin. Some"A fe streets are

named after famous =es, also there are

seven synagogues"temples for the

 believers"faithful and throughtout the city

there are monuments erected in memory of 

those ho disappeared during the

#olocaust.Inmormantarea a avut loc la ora 13733 dimineata, laSinagoga Pesstaozzi, situata tot in partea de vest a

Berlinului. Au fost invitati cativa prieteni si neaparat

zece barbati evrei. Fara flori si fara bocete, rabinul,

insotit de cantor, a inceput slu&ba.

The funeral as held at 13 ocloc+ in the

morning"13am, at Pesstaozzi temple, also situated in

est Berlin. A fe friends ere invited and also

necessarily ten =eish men. -ith no"ithout

floers and no crying"lament, the rabbin"rabbi

 began the service, accompanied by the cantor"parish

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cler+.

 )(%I)TI9(A. A vorbit un timp despre ola, a

 pomenit amintiri care au inlacrimat familia,apoi a rostit cateva rugaciuni in ebraica.

Apoi, formand un sir de cate doi, am insotit

sicriul, acoperit tot timpul si purtat peumerii celor zece evrei catre mormant.%eremonia a continuat apoi la un restaurant

italienesc. Alte ritualuri si alte simtiri la o

inmormantare la Berlin.

The unflinchingness"immobility. #e tal+ed for a

hile about ola"said a fe ords about

ola, mentioned memories hich made the

family cry, then said a fe prayers in

#ebre. After that, forming a line"ro of

to, e accompanied the coffin hich as

covered the entire time and carried on the

shoulders of the ten =es to the

tomb"grave. Then the ceremony continued

at an Italian restaurant. Other rituals and

other feelings"sensations at a funeral in

Berlin.

Oare i s!ar fi parut Berlinului, in alte vremuri, acestramas!bun sfasietorG )u a ramas el

nemiscat la fiecare adio, strigat de catre

evreii deportatiG Oare s!a clintit macar la

auzul unui adio strigat din disperarea sifrica celor inchisi in lagare de concentrareG

S!a zguduit vreun pic in 8noaptea de

cristal8G )u, nici n!a miscat. A privit ca

orice oras de piatra cum ii sunt arse casele,sinagogile si a ascultat nepasator cum

evreii condusi la moarte isi luau adio de la

el.

In other times, ould Berlin see"find this fareell

as being heart!brea+ingG -asnt it standing

still 5idnt it remain motionless at each

fareell called"cried out by the deported

=esG 5id it even"at least budge"flinch

hearing a fareell called from the despair

and fear of those loc+ed aay in

concentration campsG 5id it shoo+ any bit

during :the night of bro+en glass;G )o, it

stood still. It atched as every stone city

its houses and temples being burned, and

listened careless as the =es that ere

 being lead to death ere ta+ing leave of it.

Orasul groazei, dar si al regasirii, a fost cand urat,

cand iubit, cand rece, cand primitor* A fost

dusmanul evreilor, dar si casa lor, asa canu!i de mirare ca o evreica si!a luatimpacata adio de la el.

The city of terror, but of retrival too, has been hated

at times, other times loved, other times

cold, other times elcoming* It has been

the enemy =es, but also their home, so it

is no surprise that a =eish oman too+

leave of it in peace.

Trecutul vegheaza undeva acolo, dar Berlinul

viitorului se grupeaza in &urul a sute de firme,

magazine, hoteluri, locuinte, teatre, un cartier al

The past is tending"atching there somehere, but

the futures Berlin is gathering"grouped around

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 presei, un altul al bancilor... Adio, Berlin* hundreds of companies, shops, hotels,

establishments, theatres, a press head4uarter,

another of ban+s... Fareell, Berlin*

Cornelia Preda