Shalom and Sozialismus שלום וסוצליזמוס by Halas Audio

Yossi B., editing from mid January in Israel a radio program about the „revolutionary German Song“, and I, a German journalist, discover the similarities of the workers and farmers songs in Israel and the GDR. Of course, the Oriental music imitations in the Zionist songs were unknown in the Eastern bloc. Also Hebrew is rather unlike the German language. However, Yossi, the radio editor says: There were two states built against Germany: Israel and the GDR. The feature deals with biographical, graphic, musical, or historic overlaps between both countries, as well as the potential behind that. Yossi, early twenties, lives in Berlin for three years. He is one of almost 8000 young Israelis in town. Vice versa, did I, early 30s, live like more than 1000 young Germans for one year in Tel Aviv. And as East-German born I know of the strange feeling to be able to orientate myself in Israel. However, the historical comparison hurts. After the Holocaust and National Socialism both states were founded more than 60 years ago. Both had socialism and antifascism written on their flags. Today however, both are known for their secret services and the construction of a wall as protective measurement… Less painful are the similarities in architecture or literature. Memories of kibbutzim ethics or the East German pioneers even make us laugh. Then, by drawing the political comparison we suddenly find ourselves with the Palestinian experience, struggling with life behind a wall… The feature does not only describe entanglements, emerging behind apparently diverse history narratives. They give room for a common perspective, a new dimension within German-Israeli encounters transgressing also old nationalist categories.

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