A Strange European Marriage
(Paris) As France and Germany cozy up in their new European marriage by co-mingling finances (the Euro currency), sleeping together (open border) and helping out the poor relations (Poland and other less affluent nations join the EU this May), this correspondent can’t help but wonder what happens to the prominently displayed personal mementos from bygone days of single nationhood. Specifically, we reference the many historical markers throughout the French capital bluntly blaming the German people for the Nazi atrocities of WWII.
In courtyards and at crossroads throughout Paris, metal plaques mark the spot where courageous members of the French Resistance were shot on site… not by evil Nazis, but by “les Allemandes” (the Germans) in an apparent indictment of an entire race of people. From a side street next to the Gare du Nord (North Station), to the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe and Champs-Élysées… to a small school house in the 18th District and an apartment building on the twisted streets of the Marais, Parisians who care to read are constantly reminded of the exact number of Jews deported to death and of the date, names and numbers of apparently each and every Resistance execution.
As Fascism raises its ugly head in unexpected and surprising corners of the world… and as drunk and rowdy soccer fans cheer “Gas the Jews” on their almost nightly street prowls… one cannot help but wonder how people come to grips with ugly things in a mutual past. To forget the horrors of Nazi Fascism is to risk a reemergence. To indict “les Allemandes” for everything is a crime. The past cannot be erased… but this cozy couple needs to explore a proper footnote.
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As a writer, Michael David McGuire has covered numerous news and feature stories from across North America, Europe and Asia.
