Echoes of old Germany
Since it was laid to waste at the end of World War II, Germany made admirable strides in becoming a more open and tolerant society. While some surveys still find it less open-minded than such neighbors as the Netherlands or France, it’s indicative of just how far Germany has come that some young Israelis are now leaving the Jewish homeland to move to Berlin, once the seat of Nazism, to take advantage of the city’s vast array of cultural opportunities.
But sometimes one can still pick up echoes of the Germany of old, in the same way scientists can detect traces of sound from the Big Bang. Late last week, the Christian Social Union, a smaller, sister party to the center-right Christian Democrats, said immigrants to the country “should be encouraged” to speak the German language even when they are in their homes.
They backed off the proposal quickly enough when it was greeted with hoots of derision. Policing language spoken in the home is not only ludicrous, but it also summons uncomfortable memories of Stasi, East Germany’s secret police, which was renowned for its dogged monitoring of its citizens’ private lives and interactions.
As Peter Tauber, the general secretary of the Christian Democrats, pointed out, “I think it’s nothing to do with politics whether I speak Latin, Klingon or Hessian at home.”
Immigrants to Germany should be schooling themselves in the language of their new home, just as many of those who arrived on these shores try to absorb English, which is no easy task – imagine having never spoken English before and trying to sort out the differences between “their,” “they’re” and “there.” But when people are in their own abodes, whether in America or Germany, they should be allowed to communicate in a way that best suits their needs and comfort levels, not those of scolds or pandering politicians.