Religion and Politics

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.”

Read at Longreads

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