Scam, kidnap by South African police

Scam, kidnap by South African police

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Scam, kidnap by South African police

Scam, kidnap by South African police

 
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Escape through barbed wire in Germany click here

Latest Top (8) News


Berlin’s Vegan Food Scene Is Flourishing
Meatless menus used to be an oddity in Germany’s capital. Today, Berlin is bursting with creative vegan options, including Spanish tapas, Berliner-style doughnuts and even fast food.

Sun, 10 Dec 2023 13:17:40 +0000


German Cultural Scene Navigates a Clampdown on Criticism of Israel
A torrent of canceled events is threatening Germany’s reputation as a haven for artistic freedom.

Thu, 07 Dec 2023 18:28:05 +0000


How Germany Became Mean
The country’s reputation is at stake.

Wed, 06 Dec 2023 06:00:09 +0000


How to Stop the Biggest Threat to Europe’s Green Transition
Backpedaling on the environment is not just bad for the future; it’s bad for political prospects.

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 16:55:52 +0000


Did the Russians Take His Family’s Tintoretto? He’s Intent on Finding Out.
John Barry says that in the last days of World War II, his great-grandfather, a prominent German art historian, lost a massive painting of the 16th-century sea battle at Lepanto.

Tue, 05 Dec 2023 10:02:41 +0000


Ukrainian Refugees in Germany Weigh Tough Choice: Stay or Go Home
As refugees, they were welcomed with safety, services and jobs. As the war grinds on, giving that up is not a simple decision.

Sun, 03 Dec 2023 10:02:31 +0000


Munich Airport Resumes Operations After Major Snowfall
Heavy snow in Southern Germany on Saturday prompted authorities to shut the airport and rail station. Service at both remained limited on Sunday.

Sun, 03 Dec 2023 06:11:56 +0000


¿El papa Francisco podrá mantener unida a la Iglesia católica?
El papado actual parece estar provocando que las alas conservadora y liberal se distancien cada vez más.

Fri, 01 Dec 2023 00:52:55 +0000
Where is Lothar Blossfeld Dipl Physik? click here
A Hershey kiss or a blob of paint? The Paint Torch outside the Pennsylvania Academy of Art in Philadelphia click here

Germany

Location of  Germany  (dark green)– in Europe  (green & dark grey)– in the European Union  (green)  –  [Legend]
Freiburg im Breisgau Synagogue, burned to the ground 1938, memorial footprint until now click here
Finding my husband in Freiburg. Twice. SJ Dodgson MJoTA 2014 v8n2 p0831

I took a long time learning to be a good wife. The 3 times I tried were all to professional men with blue eyes, mostly German ancestry and Roman Catholic. My first was an Australian with a German last name, Gavan Schneider MD BS, my second was an American with a Finnish name that migrated to the coalfields of Pennsylvania via Poland, Raymond Pekala MD, which union produced Angus and Miles Dodgson Pekala. My third, whom I married for better or worse in June 1993, is totally German, Lothar Blossfeld Dipl Physik (Heidelberg). We have 2 children, Allister and Patience.

Almost as if I married the same man 3 times. Even more peculiar is that I was born in England in the long shadow of the second world war, and from when I could talk I knew that the Germans had tried to kill us all. Twice. World War I and World War II. And did succeed in killing at least a dozen or so of my close male relatives.


My mother came from 2 contrasting breeds of Belfast Irish: Quakers who tolerate everyone, and Presbyterians who tolerate hardly anyone. She caused quite a fuss when she told her parents she was bringing my father home to Belfast for the wedding: an Englishman named Michael? A name only used in Ireland by Catholics?

Lothar however, is not terribly Catholic. He is a mix of Catholic, Jewish and Lutheran, although when asked to pay the compulsory state tax for churches, he managed to wriggle out of it by saying he did not believe in anything. He always went to Catholic church with me on Christmas with my 2 Pekala sons and, after they appeared, our son and daughter.


I met Lothar in April 1986, in a pub in Freiburg-im-Breisgau and rapidly we moved into a pattern that lasted 12 years, of him visiting me in New Jersey or traveling with me, and me and the children visiting him in Freiburg and his parents in Frankfurt. After 6 years he bought a hotel in Breitnau. In 1998, 6 years after that, I started working as a professional medical writer, with no vacation time, and that was the end of my trips to Germany. In 2008, Lothar sold the hotel, without bothering to send me my possessions, and in 2013 was placed in an old people's home in Freiburg by his landlady. Who blocked all access to his family. My daughter and I found him in August 2014, after no replies from any of his contacts, and after going to the police in Freiburg to file a missing person's report.

Now that Lothar has Parkinson's Disease and needs his family, we were there for him. Doing our best to rescue him from his landlady whom he has said used threats to gain control over his health, residence, assets and block his family. German courts thought perfectly reasonable the concept that a man with dementia, who needs someone to wipe his bottom, could decide to never ever see his only family again. Our ties with Germany are severed.

During my father's trip before he died, he visited me in New Jersey, and then Lothar in Freiberg-im-Breisgau in 1986, to whom he spoke in German. My father learned German, from a German prisoner-of-war working on his parent's farm during World War II, and honed in Australia through a friendship with German refugees.


Germany. SJ Dodgson MJoTA 2013 v7n2 p1216

Today is December 16, Beethoven's birthday. I know that because I grew up reading a newspaper comic, Peanuts, for whom Beethoven's birthday was extremely important. The comic's creator, Charles Schultz, had a German name, as do a lot of Americans. America is very German: in the early 1900s more immigrants came from Germany than anywhere else and they influenced the foods we eat like pretzels.

News feed from Der Spiegel

Latest Top (10) News


Jewish Life in Germany: A Sudden, Ominous Sense of Insecurity
Eighty-five years have passed since the Nazis launched their first comprehensive pogroms against Jewish life in Germany. This year, the Hamas massacre in Israel – and the lack of support many Jews across the country feel they have received – has revived old fears.

Thu, 16 Nov 2023 23:12:04 +0100


Anti-Semitism in Berlin: "For the First Time, I Understand What it Means to be Jewish"
Jews in Berlin are being spit on and swastikas are being scratched into their doorbells. Rabbis are covering up their kippa. Some in Berlin are beginning to wonder: Is it time to leave Germany?

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 18:25:08 +0200


"Absolutely Appalling": A New Wave of Anti-Semitism Sweeps Across Germany
Hamas' terror and Israel's counterattacks have unleashed levels of anti-Semitism not seen in years in Germany. Jews are living in fear and now wonder if they should leave the country. The political response so far appears to be doing little to change the situation.

Fri, 27 Oct 2023 17:58:25 +0200


Interview with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz: "We Have to Deport People More Often and Faster"
In an interview, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underlines his support for Israel, discusses recent anti-Semitism events in Germany and outlines a tougher approach to migrants who overstay their welcome.

Fri, 20 Oct 2023 20:36:25 +0200


The Mood on the Berlin Streets: "I Actually Don't Like Hamas, But..."
In Berlin's Neukölln district, open displays of anti-Semitism are hardly unusual. Following the Hamas slaughter of innocent Israelis, many voices in the neighborhood are siding with the Palestinians.

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 18:28:16 +0200


Hamas Terror: Germany Must Stand Unequivocally with Israel
It goes without saying that Germany now stands with Israel, even if it comes to the provision of military assistance. But the imperative of moderation must also apply: protect civilians to the degree possible.

Fri, 13 Oct 2023 17:43:28 +0200


Muslim Anti-Semitism in Berlin: "Wide Swaths of Arab-Speaking Population Harbor Sympathies for Terrorists"
Güner Balci is the integration commissioner for the Neukölln district of Berlin. In an interview, she speaks about widespread hatred of Israel in her neighborhood and the failures of German political leaders to combat anti-Semitism.

Wed, 11 Oct 2023 17:32:42 +0200


Rising Radicalism: Germany's Right-Wing AfD Party Makes Strides in the West
The right-wing radical Alternative for Germany party long seemed unable to gain much traction in western Germany. But on Sunday, two state elections showed that the party has begun attracting significant support beyond its traditional stomping grounds.

Mon, 9 Oct 2023 14:50:15 +0200


Smoking Weed By the Book: Germany's Awkward Path To Legalizing Cannabis
The German government originally had ambitious plans for lifting its prohibition on the consumption of cannabis. But concerns about health and crime are growing and little more is expected now than a legalization light.

Wed, 16 Aug 2023 17:05:50 +0200


Germany: The AfD's Constant Drift Toward Extremism
The right-wing extremist Alternative for Germany party is increasingly open about its rejection of democratic principles. But public support is soaring nonetheless. The party's focus on professionalism could be one reason why.

Fri, 4 Aug 2023 21:27:23 +0200
Lufthansa Plane Lost in Switzerland SJ Dodgson MJoTA 2015 v9n1p0322

Is this tragic crash of a German plane flying from Barcelona, Spain to Duesseldorf, Germany, a metaphor for Germany losing control over European Union? The press conference given by the CEO of Lufthansa insisted that the pilots passed all medical and technical tests and no red flags were raised. I believe them. An airline has no upside in a crash, none at all, and ethical airline companies do everything possible to avert these crashes.

But I also believe that in Germany, rules are made for efficiency, not for humans.

I went to Germany in 1986 to learn some surgical techniques. I was a research assistant professor at an American Ivy League university (University of Pennsylvania) As the mother of 2 American adults whose father is a German scientist imprisoned in a hospital in Germany, I affirm their rules were not made for humans.

Picture below: Brilliant engineering, taking risks and doing everything they can to lower greenhouse gas output and water usage. Germany is leading the way, and US police need to be arresting parents whose children have access to guns, rather than parents who leave their kids outside a store, with the whole world watching them, so they can nip in and buy a loaf of bread.

These young people were enjoying the afternoon breezes on the arches of a footbridge, near the University of Freiburg and the main train station in Freiburg-im-Breisgau.
Where I took the background picture in July 2015.