A poltically incorrect question

Don't say I didn't warn you.

Elaborating how un-politically correct I am, last night I led a conversation (with members of the junior committee and other prospective dancers) on whether the Holocaust could have happened in a place other than Germany, specifically in a Mediterranean country. This came out of a conversation that I had with my Aunt and Uncle over the FL wedding weekend.

My uncle is a pretty serious Jew, especially since he was the youngest and the last to get married after both of his older sisters married outside the religion. He is the last hope for my mother’s side of the family to add to the Jew gene pool, a responsibility that he takes very seriously to provide 100% offspring. Unfortunately, he fell in love with an amazing woman who was not only not Jewish, but also German. However, like all things, love won out instead of God.

As his hobby, he has taken up genealogy, and has begun to chronicle how my forefathers fled the programs in Russia and immigrated to the US. Once you reach a certain point in family history, however, it is insanely difficult to trace all of your lineage, so he started on my his wife’s side of the family. And I am sure that part of this is fueled to find out if there is a Jewish relative hiding someplace so that his son could be deemed 100% Kosher. He stumbled upon a name in her lineage that, for NYC Jew standards, is pretty Jewish sounding. So he constantly tells her that she has to be Jewish, no matter what her family says. She responds that because the Germans kept such careful records she would have known if a relative was a Jew.

He goes unconvinced.

But it led to a discussion. Having spent some time in Berlin when I took some time off during my undergrad career, I can attest that those Germans are some anal-retentive fuckers. This is the land where you do not cross against the stop light because a plain-clothes police officer would nab you, they ride the subway on the honor system, and if you have ever encountered a German, they are fastidious in everything they do. They keep hard-core records and are amazing at organization.

Living with a gay Greek man and my 3 trips to Italy, I feel that I can speak with some authority about Mediterranean Culture. People who live in Southern Europe are some of the most relaxed people and with their 2 hour siestas, cappucino drinking, long meals with wine and the like, I am suprised that anything gets done. Hell, I can't even have my gay Greek roomate take out the trash, nevermind think that him and his people could ever commit genocide.

But keep in mind, I posed this politically incorrect question, to people who I am supposed to try to impress with my social graces and presentability. People, one of which was a kid from BOSNIA ("ethnic cleansing" in the 1990's ring a bell?!). Which I am great with...except after the fourth Grey Goose and tonic. Except this case it was after the 5th glass of wine.