Elisabeth Heil
Germany
June 26, 2008

I am very happy the Geman team was winnig yesterday, (maybe 40 yrs. ago I would have thought different). I think they realy deserved it.
Surely, I also do not like all the german sports commentators, but to compare them with Nazi propagada, this is realy painful to me. And to me the german football player
do not look like ballerinas and too much fashon. Sorry,this is my opinon.

First, when the EM started I though, oh gosh looks like the 3rd world war starts. Those comments from all the countries.
For example from Holland, anyone can win, but not the Germany (2 of my Children are blessed with a Dutsch spouse).

Many emotions from the past are coming up. I do not know if you heard about Podolski, who is born in Poland, there was realy bad, bad articles in the polish press against our
players before the game against Poland. Then Podolski kicked the 2 goals, against Poland. He did not show real joy about it. As his Polish relatives where there at the game, he was giving them the tickets. Some said, take away the Polish Passport from Podolski, but anyway, he has no Polish Passport.

On the day of the first game, I was in Schweinfurt, a little town close by. There was put up a public viewing place and I noticed some small Turkisch boys there and I
listen to them talking " Germany should not win".

I thought what is going on, how will this continue.........

Now, about the Turkish, we have many, many Turkish people living in Germany. Especially in Schweinfurt ( I am working with mainly Turkish woman together in an inter-cullture center).

But, then I was realy surprised as it went on. Again I was in Schweinfurt, when the Turkish had there first game. A Turkish lady in our womans center said, she does not like that the Turkish only have Turkish flags on there cars.
Her brother has a Turkish and German flag on his car, she thought this is much better, as they live in Germany. I didn't give much thoughts obout the this before. May be in
Schweinfurt one saw more Turkish flags as German flags on the cars.

But, as the games continued, each day there were more cars with flags on the street. And it was realy joyful, when I saw more and more cars, some had German - Turkish flags, German- American, German-French etc..

Yesterday, at the public viewing places, there were many Turks and Germans who watched together the game, there was nothing negative, surely the Turks were sad about the outcome, but everything was peaceful. I think this is a miracle!!

I feel this is realy great!!! And in the end the EM is bringing as in Europe more together. This is how it should be.

In my family, I was almost the only one, who believed that the German team is winning.

Why I mentioned the flags on the cars. A few years ago it was impossible in Germany to have a German flag publicaly, it was always brought in connection you are a Nationalist and Nazi.
.
It started two years ago, when the WM was in Germany. My daughter also bought a flag at that time, and I was realy happy about it.

Somehow, I feel it is liberating us, from the heavy past.

Just before I joined the church I was coming back from Canada, where I worked for a half year and I was saving money to go to New Zealand. Then, I joined the church and only then I thought it was worth to stay in Germany and I gave up my plan to go to New Zealand. (But anyway, two years later Paul Werner send me to New Zealand, he did not know about my plans).
And TP blessed me with a German brother, even before the church I did not want to marry a German men.

There were many Germans in my age shameful and guilty of being German. But, I think through loving my husband, and being many years away from Germany, I came to love Germany and can see good points about Germany.

I think we are very much aware about our past Nazi history, and we paid a lot of indemnity about it. Even the Israelis said, there is no country in the world, which puts up a monument about what they did wrong. ( There is a holocust monument in Berlin, just next to the Brandenburger Tor).

I think every country has some points in history, which are painful and this is one of our painful history which is connected to us in Germany. But lets look in the future and
work for a better world of peace and harmony.