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A Category in Search of Words
After two years of blogging, it’s time to get a little more organized. Pending creation of a web site (anyone want to help me with that?), I’ve created some categories to make it easier for readers to...
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Missing Number 4
We were number 4 in the waiting area for citizenship claims at Rathaus Schoeneberg. The waiting area has no information desk and no display board that indicates what number is currently being served....
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Mein Koffer (Suitcase) in Berlin
I often think of the big canvas bag that I left with my friend Lyn just days ahead of our departure from Berlin. Packed with things I don’t really need, it sits in her closet as a symbol of my desire...
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Where will we celebrate next year?
Last year we rang in the new year with our good friends the Yagers (who now live in Kirchzarten) on a giant ferris wheel near Brandenburger Tor in Berlin. The experience was so exhilarating that my...
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Berlin Bound….Again!
After countless emails, Skype calls, headaches, stomach aches, marital strategy sessions, and sleepless nights, Brian has accepted a job with the Freie Schule Anne Sophie in Berlin. Our house is a stew...
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Hollow Words
Since I’ve spent so much tine venting about German bureaucrats on my blog, I thought I’d share the latest official missive that landed in my inbox. Dear Ms. Swarthout, Thank you for your message. I...
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Hurray for Sam!
It’s a mystery that I’m sure will always be with us. Less than 48 hours ago I shared my frustration about our adopted son Sam’s moribund German citizenship application. Today I received the following...
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Germany’s Population Woes
Source: https://www.facebook.com/AFPnewsenglish I was recently surprised to read in Spiegel Online International that Germany just completed its first census since reunification. Even more surprising...
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Teamwork
Now that I’m almost done managing our second overseas move, I feel ready to be hired on as a relocation manager for a major moving company. I actually enjoy coordinating the move except when I have to...
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3 Kids, 6 Passports
“No tears, Donna!” I told myself when the civil servant handed me our children’s German passports at Rathaus Steglitz this morning. I’m cultivating the German art of appearing totally dispassionate...
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Mixed Messages
Just a few months ago the media was filled with headlines about the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany and the rest of Europe. Then in the past month the headlines switched to a quite different set of...
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Book Project on Restored German Citizenship
It’s time to move on. I’ve told my German American Jewish story on this blog and in various publications over the last five years and reached a very broad audience. Now I plan to put together a...
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On Finding German Jews for Book Project
A lot has happened since I first posted about my Restored German Citizenship book project. I’ve cast about in different parts of the world-wide web — joining a number of Facebook and genealogy groups —...
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Book Update: Reading, Revising, and ‘Rithmatic
Thank goodness it’s been raining for my first week of summer break. I’ve spent the week indoors reading submissions, revising my own work, starting a background chapter, and entering numbers into a...
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German Jews and the Brexit
The uptick in applications for restored German citizenship from German Jews in the UK has begun. Prior to the Brexit referendum, UK citizens of German Jewish descent might not have felt a desire to...
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German Jewish Welcome Committee
We hit the jackpot with German Jewish visitors this summer, so many that one of our new friends referred to our family as a German Jewish Welcome Committee. We met in Berlin’s cafes, restaurants and...
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Across Continents and Generations
Sometimes the scattered pursuits of life come together to form a moment of connection, a moment that inspires and enlightens. This week my online acquaintance with a Holocaust survivor, my faculty...
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Book Project Gets Boost for 2017
The transition to the new year brought good news for my book project in the form of a grant from the Stiftung Zurückgeben, a foundation that supports the creative work of Jewish women living in...
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A Pleasant and Productive Journey
As I settled into my seat on Monday afternoon for the train ride from Cologne back to Berlin, I waited for the the familiar words to float through the intercom: “Wir wünschen Ihnen eine angenehme...
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Bundestagswahl 2017 – We Voted!
With one of Berlin’s newest voters in tow, we headed to the polls today to help elect Germany’s 19th Bundestag. We were divided over the liberal parties and candidates on the ballot, but a much...
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