I've been watching the
show "French Village" on PBS. It is timely to say the least as we see people being rounded up in France in WW2 and living with occupation. Quotas then. Quotas now. When an "officer" asks what to do if some of the people are not foreign Jews the response from the character charged with implementing the roundups says "It doesn't matter. We'll deal with it later."
How very much like Miller, Noem, Homan, Bovino, Kavanaugh etc. today. Terrify and scar children for life? It doesn't matter to them. How very telling that the woman who no longer wanted her dog put a bullet in him rather than find another home. It didn't matter. The deaths of detainees in custody? It doesn't matter to them. They'll deal with it later by obfuscating and weaseling in front of judges.
It reminds me of my German paternal grandmother who, as a child, I asked questions about whether she had friends in Germany during the war. I remember the afternoon that I asked the question. It was clear and warm and she was in between cleaning up from serving lunch for myself and my uncle and preparing for dinner. He left to go back to farm work and I stayed.
My grandmother, who was born in the US, was normally fairly upbeat. As I sat at the kitchen table she was at the sink when I asked my question. She immediately went stock still. After a moment she turned around without saying a word and I thought I might be in trouble. But she came to the kitchen table and sat down and just looked at me a long time. Finally she asked me why I would ask that question. I explained to her that I listened to things about WW2 and I also paid attention that her Norwegian mother-in-law blamed her for Hitler.
Despite being from an era where children were seen and not heard she sensed that my question was genuine. She answered me that her family did have friends and relatives who were in Germany during the war. She told me that she and her family, who had been US citizens for years, used to write letters to them on a frequent basis and receive letters back. She did not go into detail further except to say that after awhile one after another of the responses stopped coming. She said that last part very quietly.
My grandmother got up from her kitchen table and walked out into her laundry area at the back of the house and she stayed there for most of an hour. I got up from the table and went and watched afternoon TV. I was sorry I had asked a question that obviously hurt her to talk about. I was sorry I made her cry.
I remember to this day how strong she was to answer that question from her grandson. She could have brushed it away so many different ways but she felt it was important to answer me and I have never forgotten. I never asked anymore questions about those things because I loved my Grandmother. Because things do matter.
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