Anti-German and other Germans

A set of two poems
by Johanna Rothe on 23/03/2024

Anti-German

 

O Israel, long live thou!

We’re the offspring of Nazis,

and there is no One greater

than the IDF

 

We’re proudly aghast

at our ancestors‘ crime!

Which, as long as we live,

must never happen again!

 

O Hatred of Jews

In Eternity

Shall our bond be renewed

When we fight against thee

 

Our guilt is our pride

Our capital, too

Siemens, Diehl, Rheinmetall

Thyssenkrupp, AEG, Heidelberg Zement

 


Other Germans

 

Listen, I also don’t support
what Israel is doing in Gaza.
Look at all the dead children!

You’re right, Germany is sending weapons!
It’s a shame!
And now people are even starving!

What are you saying? Protest?

Yeah, I heard about those! In Sonnenallee, right? Those Arabs, Muslims…
They first gotta learn that in Germany they can‘t… Antisemitism…
Islamists, Israel-haters, Hamas-supporters, terrorists, Breitscheidplatz-why-do-they-hate-us … Violence-prone young men… Criminal clans… Failed integration… Shisha bars…

You know, I’m not that bothered by what’s happening in Gaza.

Johanna Rothe

Johanna Rothe

Johanna Rothe is a writer, activist and parent at home in Berlin, originally from Austria. She involves herself in the Free Palestine movement, psychiatric survivor organizing and Mad Studies. Her website can be found at https://entisolieren.de. She once graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz with a PhD in History of Consciousness and Feminist Studies, and she currently holds a job in the psychosocial sector.