World

In Israel, Biracial German Author Probes Her Nazi Heritage

Published

10 years ago

February 19, 2015

In this Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2015 photo, German author Jennifer Teege poses during the Jerusalem International Book Festival. Tiege is the granddaughter of Amon Goeth, the notoriously cruel camp commander of the Plaszow concentration camp portrayed by actor Ralph Fiennes in the Academy Award-winning film “Schindler’s List.” (AP Photo/Dan Balilty)

ARON HELLER, Associated Press

JERUSALEM (AP) — When Jennifer Teege stumbled upon a book in a Hamburg library seven years ago, the biracial German woman who was given up for adoption as a child was stunned to discover a deep family secret that shook her to the core.

Her maternal grandfather was the brutal SS Commander Amon Goeth, who ran a concentration camp in Plaszow, Poland, in World War II and whose cruelty was so chillingly portrayed by actor Ralph Fiennes in the 1993 Oscar-winning movie “Schindler’s List.”

“It really turned my world upside down,” said Teege, who has written a memoir about her soul-searching experience entitled “My Grandfather Would Have Shot Me” — a reference to the Nazis’ racist ideology.

In Israel, her story resonates on many levels. The country is home to the world’s largest community of Holocaust survivors. It is also the place where Teege lived as a student for several years, became fluent in Hebrew and first saw Steven Spielberg’s epic movie — long before she knew the dark secret of her origins.

Discovering that she traced her lineage to a man described as “the symbol of evil” sent Teege into intensive psychotherapy. Her therapist broke down in tears when he heard her tale, she said.

“It was very difficult for me to deal with this because I have a very unique relationship to Israel and with the Jewish people,” said the 44-year-old Teege, now a mother of two. She spoke to The Associated Press on the sidelines of the Jerusalem International Book Fair that showcased her book’s Hebrew edition. An English version is coming out in April.

Goeth was notorious for shooting Jewish inmates for sport at the concentration camp in Plaszow, a Krakow suburb, and for getting his dogs to attack them. The German industrialist Oskar Schindler saved more than 1,200 Jews by bribing Goeth and other Nazis to have them work in his factories rather than be sent for extermination in death camps.

Known as the “Butcher of Plaszow,” Goeth was convicted as a war criminal and hanged in 1946.

Teege’s astounding revelation and the book that followed were just the latest chapters in her troubled biography, from a childhood spent in foster homes to a prolonged estrangement from both her biological parents, to her struggles with prejudice in Germany because of her dark skin and the suicide of her grandmother, with whom she was very close.

It all led to several bouts of depression, but she said that finding out about her ancestry helped bring a “sense of closure.”

“Life is like a puzzle, so today I have a lot of pieces that were missing,” she said. “It is a story that you would never ever invent because no one would believe that it is true. But it is true.”

Teege’s maternal grandmother, Ruth Irene Kalder, was a secretary in Schindler’s factory and it was he who introduced her to Goeth, whose wife remained in Austria while he ran Plaszow.

Their affair produced Teege’s mother, Monika Hertwig, whose memoir “I Have to Love My Father, Right?” was the book Teege found in the Hamburg library that set her on her journey.

Teege’s mother had a brief affair with a Nigerian student but was already in another relationship by the time Teege was born in 1970, and she was sent to an orphanage as an infant. She maintained occasional contact with both her mother and grandmother until she was formally adopted at the age of seven. When she was 13, she found out that her grandmother had killed herself and only much later in life did she track down her biological father in Africa.

In her early 20s, long before discovering her family legacy, she followed a friend to Israel, where she learned Hebrew and completed an undergraduate degree at Tel Aviv University. She then returned to Germany, married and started a family.

She sees a physical resemblance between herself and Goeth but believes he would turn over in the grave if he learned he had a black granddaughter with close ties to Israel and Jews.

She said one of the things that motivated her to write her book was reading an interview with the grandniece of Nazi leader Hermann Goering, who told the AP in 2008 that she had herself sterilized to end her blood line.

Teege rejects the premise of such an extreme measure.

“You decide who you want to be. It is your character and you set an example that you can be different. It is not connected to genes,” she said.

The hardest part for Teege was reconciling how Goeth, a killer of Jews, was also the man her grandmother deeply loved.

“I cannot understand how she could have loved him. I think this was the biggest problem that I had,” she said.

In Israel, Teege met with one of the few people left in the world who actually came face-to-face with Goeth.

Rena Birnhack, an 88-year-old Holocaust survivor who was on Schindler’s list — the famous list naming those who were to be spared for labor — remembers being confronted by a tall, daunting Goeth at the “selection” line after the Krakow ghetto was liquidated.

Goeth decided who would be deported to Auschwitz and who would live a bit longer in his labor camp. Under a blanket, Birnhack held two puppies and offered them as a gift. Goeth let her live.

Decades later, reading Teege’s book, Birnhack found out Goeth kept the puppies and Kalder raised them in their home inside the Plaszow camp. She asked her granddaughter to track down the author and they met in the Israeli city of Haifa last week.

“All the memories came rushing back,” an emotional Birnhack said of the meeting. “Among the hundreds that he killed, he kept me alive … I can’t forgive the Germans for what they did to us but I have sympathy for Jennifer.”

___

Follow Heller on Twitter @aronhellerap

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Atty General Rob Bonta Joins Coalition Backing Pres. Biden’s Migrant Parole Program

“The Biden Administration’s CHNV Parole Program provides a safe pathway to apply for protection for Cuban, Haitian, Nicaraguan, or Venezuelan migrants fleeing violence and upheaval. We urge the court to uphold this program that creates orderly processes for people fleeing humanitarian crises to lawfully reach the United States,” said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. The federal government has exercised its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to parole migrants into the country for humanitarian purposes since the Eisenhower Administration.

Published

2 months ago

August 17, 2024

Oakland Post

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By Bo Tefu, California Black Media

Attorney General Rob Bonta joined a multistate coalition of 18 attorneys general to write an amicus brief supporting President Joe Bidens’s Parole Program for migrants fleeing violence.

The multistate coalition will submit the brief to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals regarding the case Texas v. U.S. Department of Homeland Security. The brief endorses Biden’s Parole Program for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV Parole Program). The migrant parole program allows individuals from the four countries to apply for advance travel authorization. Migrants can be considered for temporary humanitarian parole of up to two years including employment authorization.

The coalition highlighted California’s interest in maintaining the federal government’s discretionary power granting migrants entry or allowing immigrants to stay on humanitarian grounds.

“In California, we believe that migrants escaping violence should be treated with compassion and dignity, and immigration parole programs are a crucial part of a just and secure immigration system,” said Bonta.

The federal government has exercised its authority under the Immigration and Nationality Act to parole migrants into the country for humanitarian purposes since the Eisenhower Administration.

The coalition argued that the lawsuit in Texas threatened to undermine the federal government’s authority to establish crucial programs that help migrants escape unstable circumstances in their home countries.

The coalition stated that parole provides safe, legal, and orderly pathways for people to seek protection in the United States.

However, opponents claim that parole pathways help increase crime and impose costs on states.

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‘Ngingubani:’ Who Am I? How DNA and Oral History Helps Black Youth Connect to Tribal Roots

‘I didn’t know who I was.’ This was not an uncommon belief for teenage boys plucked from the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. Often disconnected from their families and living on the streets, they had little evidence of strong family ties. Maybe their story sounds familiar to you. Maybe you find yourself asking similar questions: Who am I? Where do I actually belong?

Published

4 months ago

June 7, 2024

Oakland Post

Participants of the program gather for a cultural celebration with family members shortly following their reconnection. Courtesy photo.

By Chelsea Trautman

‘I didn’t know who I was.’

This was not an uncommon belief for teenage boys plucked from the streets of Johannesburg, South Africa. Often disconnected from their families and living on the streets, they had little evidence of strong family ties. Maybe their story sounds familiar to you. Maybe you find yourself asking similar questions: Who am I? Where do I actually belong?

These questions were the initial inspiration for the Johannesburg Applied Ancestry Program launched in 2006 by researcher and program coordinator Clive Haydon, and Dr. Brian Hill, a university professor at Brigham Young University.

The program’s name: “Ngingubani,” or “Who am I?” in the African Zulu language, has a goal to help teenage boys between the ages of 12-16 better understand their identities by learning and sharing their own family stories.

Connect

One story included a young boy who was separated from his biological mother when he was only 5 years old. Having no written history or knowledge of his family, his story was like many at the Twilight Children’s Center in Johannesburg where the program took place.

Through outreach to extended family, program social workers were able to find this young boy’s mother and facilitate their reuniting nearly 14 years after their separation.

After being connected with unknown relatives, participants sat down for an interview to learn the stories of those who had gone before them: the boys developed a stronger sense of self after hearing their rich oral history from people who shared their blood, culture, and heritage.

Robyn Fivush, PhD and professor of Psychology at Emory University stated: “These kinds of family stories create meaning beyond the individual. To include a sense of self through historical time and in relation to family members” (Jorgenson & Bochner, 2004: Norris, Kuiack, & Pratt, 2004).

Belong

The interviews and DNA samplings gave insight about these young boy’s native ancestral tribes. While not all participants were reunited with parents, they were all still able to connect with a living relative.

Through a culminating cultural celebration, participants at the Twilight Children’s Center dressed in traditional tribal clothing, and shared dances, artwork, and personal stories from the knowledge they gained during the program. This emotional tearful event made the boys feel valued by their parents and motivated their belief in who they could become.

Become

Thanks to DNA testing and family history stories, many can now discover their heritage and find a similar connection and belonging with deceased and distant family members.

A great way to begin is by telling family stories. Tell them as they are, setting aside opinions and personal bias to allow one’s family to interpret the meaning themselves.

For information on how to start, visit: familysearch.org, or through visiting a cemetery or by celebrating an ancestor’s birthday.

The ripple effect of family storytelling has the capacity to answer “Ngingubani.”

Chelsea Trautman is a research assistant at Brigham Young University.

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Oakland Ambassadors Strengthen Ties and Aid Efforts in Ghana

Oakland natives and esteemed members of the African American Sports and Entertainment Group (AASEG), Jonathan P. Jones and Dr. Maritony Efua Jones, recently embarked on a significant journey to Ghana as guests of the World Martial Authority Ghana. This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.

Published

5 months ago

May 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Elder Jorg Klebingat, Flint Mensah, Richard Burton, H.E. Dr. Maritony Jones, Amb. Jonathan Jones, Elder S. Gifford Nielsen, Elder Alfred Kyungu. Courtesy photo.

By Post Staff

This trip signifies a crucial opportunity to bolster partnerships, explore new avenues of collaboration, and contribute to impactful initiatives in Ghana.

Upon their arrival at Katota Airport in Accra, Ghana, the Joneses were warmly received by His Royal Majesty Okatakyie Asafo Boakye III, the distinguished king of Sanzule Kingdom in the Eastern Nzema, and Etse Nyamedi of World Martial Authority, Ghana.

Nyamedi accompanied the Joneses to the city of Mepe, which had recently experienced flooding, to assess damages and engage with local leaders, elders, and youth regarding the city’s urgent needs after major floods last fall.

Key concerns and priorities identified by the community include comprehensive flood mitigation measures, agricultural support, housing initiatives, educational enhancements, improved healthcare access, and the development of communal recreational spaces.

The Joneses were also graciously invited to meet with leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints at their headquarters in Accra. This meeting provided insights into ongoing humanitarian efforts in Ghana and explored avenues for collaboration to further assist Ghanaian communities.

The LDS leaders shared their prompt response to the recent flood, demonstrating their commitment to humanitarian aid by dispatching substantial supplies including medical provisions, sanitation items, blankets, and food to assist flood victims just four days after the disaster.

Additionally, Boakye extended a special invitation to the Joneses to his palace, where they were pleasantly surprised with a heartfelt recognition ceremony. Maritony Jones was honored as the Queen Mother of the Sanzule Kingdom in acknowledgment of her dedicated work, while Jonathan Jones was lauded and welcomed as the ambassador of the Sanzule Kingdom, symbolizing a meaningful homecoming to their ancestral land.

The visit not only strengthens ties between Oakland and Ghana but also underscores the collaborative spirit and commitment to meaningful progress and humanitarian endeavors shared by all involved parties.