I am an American living in Europe this summer. I do have a posting-in-progress that slides down the sugary chute of the delights of Prague. How wonderful it is to not be in a hurry to take in everything she has to offer: wide variety of ornate architecture, Charles Bridge, Prague Castle, St Vitas’ Cathedral juxtaposed with Gehry’s Dancing House and the magical art installations of David Cerny The Rotating Kafka Head is my favorite. 
I would be remiss. Yes, I am thoroughly enjoying myself and discovered, explored more than ever. There are two things that happened during my time here and a side trip to Germany that rattled me and are worthy of introduction, introspection and discussion.
The first was on a Prague overview tour. An extremely knowledgeable guide named Marcus stopped the group and pointed to the sidewalk stones and a small plaque dropped in the pavement. He brought our attention to my first exposure to “Stolperstein” and the Stolperstein project. This plaque is the size of a small cobblestone and was engraved.. “Heir wohnt…”, which is German for “Here lived”. The balance of the passage was a woman’s name, birthdate, the day she was taken from her home by the Gestapo (The Nazi brand of Secret State Police), where she was interned and when she died. Yes, this was a commemorative stone to a Holocaust victim. It does cause you to pause. It is a very simple, yet powerful reminder of the atrocities of the Nazi Regime. It is her remembrance: her tombstone, her memorial. It is about her. 
This project spearheaded by German artist, Gunter Demnig was started in 1996. The Stolperstein, or stumbling stones memorializes people who were persecuted by the Nazis between 1933 to 1945: Jews, Roma, Political dissidents, homosexuals, anyone deemed “asocial”.
Since then, I have seen several additional Stolpersteine in Prague, Germany and Salzburg, Austria. I am compelled to stop, read each one and say a short prayer to honor them. You wonder who they were, how they felt and how terrified they must have been. It a pervasive memorial, you never know when you are going to find one, or stumble up.. it will disrupt your train of thought and make you wonder about man’s inhumanity toward man, the premise of hatred and the perishable nature of life. It’s a humbling experience and a very timely one.
Instance 2 was on the surreal side. I was touring southern Germany and Salzburg last weekend with my daughter. We did the obligatory castle tours, hiked in the mountains and ate the most incredible Schnitzel with potatoes! Last Sunday morning, we woke to news of the march in Charlottesville and the death of a young woman, Heather Heyer. The frightening part of this was the images on TV.. were of Americans holding Nazi flags and giving the Heil salute. The commentary was in German and it was not flattering. We looked at each other in complete disbelief. Is this America? This can’t be true. We quickly started to look for US news outlets, CNN and the BBC for clarity. It was true. This was America.
From my offshore view, I am afraid. Not by living in a foreign country, not about influx of middle eastern refugees; I am afraid of America. We are watching you unravel. This is not who we are. We are becoming who my father and his generation fought to defeat. Overt Nazi symbols in today’s America? Hate is now protected speech? No! This is not right, this is not good. Take a careful look, America is becoming the monster.
I send my condolences to the family of Heather Heyer. I did not know her, as I never knew the people commemorated with the Stolpersteine I’ve seen; yet they are strangely intertwined. It is tragedy.
I beg you, America not to be silent. I beg you, America to resist. I am.
