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Article: The best revenge.(Jewish cultural life in Berlin)
- Article from:
- The Economist (US)
- Article date:
- February 13, 1999
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1999 Economist Newspaper Ltd. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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BERLIN
Berlin has seen a great revival of Jewish cultural life as immigrants continue to arrive from east and west. But can it ever really be what it once was?
FOR many Jews, Germany is still the land of murderers. So when Rabbi Yehuda Tiechtel of New York announced he was off to work in Berlin, of all places, his grandfather nearly choked. After the shock, though, came an anguished blessing. "Go ahead," the old man urged. "After all, it is the biggest revenge we could ever inflict on Hitler."
Seated in his book-lined apartment in a side-street close to Berlin's swish Kurfurstendamm avenue, Rabbi Tiechtel tells the tale as though he can still ...