Second generation of immigrants from German speaking countries ("Yekkes")

Gila Tolkowski was born in Haifa and grew up in Ramat Gan. After finishing high school she did her military service. She studied philosophy and music in Tel Aviv and finished both studies with Master degrees. She worked as piano teacher and as lecturer of philosophy at the university. She does voluntary work and is involved in public affairs (i.e. 5 years council member in Herzliya-municipality). She is married and has 2 sons. ; GT's mother came from a wealthy family in Czernowitz (nowadays Ukraine), they somehow were able to hide during the Nazi-era. When the Russians came in, some members of her family were deported to Russian camps and died there. Her mother's family could buy certificates for immigration to Israel, they arrived just before the founding of the state. Her mother tongue was German. Her father, born in Altenburg, Germany, immigrated in 1949. He had been in a concentration camp together with his father. GT's parents met in Israel. GT is very proud of them. Her parents talked about everything, even about the Holocaust. Her father went to Germany frequently to testify as witness in trials. He started to study at the Technion in Haifa in 1952 to become an engineer, meanwhile her mother worked in the health administration and after finishing her university studies she became a high school teacher. GT tells more about her grandparents. GT's maternal grandmother took more care of GT's education than her mother. Her parents allowed her to choose her studies independently. GT was also raised in German during her first years, she did not speak Hebrew until she was four years old and she learned it in kindergarten. When her younger sister was born, her parents spoke Hebrew fluently and GT's sister did not learn German at all. GT's parents still spoke German whenever their daughters should not understand their conversation. GT did not understand that there was hostility towards the German language. GT did not have the feeling her father and grandfather behaved like typical Yekkes, she did not notice a difference from Jews from Eastern Europe. She never felt attracted by oriental families, all of her friends had European roots. ; GT considered herself as a Holocaust expert, she knew more than other children. Her son is also very interested in the Nazi-era and speaks a lot with GT's father. Her parents' fates have influenced her own life; her father and her grandfather were broken people because of their fate. The relationship with her father was not easy, though she admired him and was proud of him. He was a strong personality, but shouted a lot, was very nervous and pessimistic. Their relationship improved after he was about 50 years old. GT's mother was patient, competent and optimistic, but she was less balanced when becoming older. Her paternal grandfather stayed in Berlin after he was liberated, he married a German who had lost her husband in a concentration camp. At the age of 60 he immigrated with his wife to Israel for religious reasons. He could have sent his children to Israel before the War, but he decided against it. GT tells, that she and her paternal grandfather had an awful relationship and she experienced him as a person full of hatred. She can't forgive him for how he treated his grandchildren. ; GT feels urged to help everybody and is hypersensitive, she always expects the worst to happen. She has a visa for the US and an escape plan, she has saved money in different countries. Since the 1980s, she always had the feeling Israel would break down soon. She even applied for a German passport, but was denied one because her father who was born in Germany, was not yet 18 years old when the family moved in 1938 to Lviv (nowadays Ukraine). ; In later years her parents went several times to health baths in Germany. GT herself has been in Germany twice, with her husband and her children. The first time only 7 or 8 years ago, just for sightseeing; a holiday trip. She remembers getting a strange reaction once when they told someone what country they came from. GT has a close relationship with the German family who saved her father's life, the family comes to Israel every year. ; GT tells about her memories of the war of 1967, she thought about sending her children to the US. She is worried about corruption and the decline of the educational system. She was very much involved in education; once she was the head of the parents' organization in Herzliya. She once thought Israel was a promising country, but the society changed, the immigrants who came from Middle Eastern and North African countries, felt oppressed. She recalls being called an “Ashke-Nazi” once. In GT's opinion, the cultural variety in Israel cannot be compared with the much invoked “salad-bowl”, but more with mashed potatoes. GT is not religious and would accept the Israeli borders of 1967, but does not think that this would solve the problems. She believes in personal relationships between Jews and Arabs only, Muslim leaders don't want to see Jews in Israel. She thinks that at present many parents hope their children will emigrate, but they do not dare to say so in public.