The Restless Ghosts of Baiersdorf
For Longreads, Sabine Heinlein reports on Baiersdorf, Germany’s tenuous relationship with Judaism. Heinlein, who grew up in Baiersdorf, writes that the town’s deep-seated Jewish population disappeared during the Holocaust. “In 1933, when Hitler came to power, Baiersdorf was poor and with few opportunities,” she writes. “Hitler promised change — and change was what the little town wanted. Residents were quick to adorn Main Street with Swastika flags.” The town has largely not recovered; to this day, “Germany hasn’t established an open discourse about race and racism.”