Visiting the German consulate is fun!
I had the pleasure of going to the German consulate in Toronto recently, in order to drop off a form regarding my grandmother's Holocaust reparations. I did not know what to expect.After waiting for technicians to fix the faulty elevators, I ascended to the seventeenth floor. Immediately to my left, there was a glass wall, and within that room it encased an enormous black eagle symbol on the wall with German text surrounding it, ending with the word 'Deutschland'. A German officer stood at the door. As the Holocaust survivors I shared the elevator with and I were divided into two groups, I realized the irony of it all. This uniformed German was about to send us in two different directions. It was selections!
I know, I know, I must have been overreacting. I'd agree with you if he hadn't numbered us as well. Yep. We each got a number. Luckily it was a piece of paper, and not the branding the other people there were wearing on their arms.
After stepping into another room, I went through a metal-detector and an officer inspected me for weapons. I seated myself between two elderly ladies, and tried to concentrate on the angry German televison show playing in the corner as the two women spoke over me in Yiddish. I decided to make some small-talk with one of the ladies in order to help pass the time:
Avi: So...which camps were you in?
Lady: A lot.
A: Oh. Uhh, so, do you have any kids?
L: No.
And that was my trip to the German consulate. I recommend the trip to anyone who feels like being pushed around by German officers and/or enjoys depressing conversations.
Zachor.
posted by Avi at 4:55 am
4 Comments:
Surprisingly, my last trip to the Israeli consulate in downtown Toronto wasn't much better.
I was in an elevator with a couple and their baby. You could tell they were also non-native Israelis, but probably made their way to Canada via immigrating to Israel at some point. Anyway, the father looked REALLY shady and scruffy, and the baby's carriage was covered up by different tarps, so you couldn't actually tell if there WAS a baby in there. Anyway, once on the right floor, we were met by a security guard in a tiny booth and metal detector doors.
The family went first. They didn't speak any Hebrew and BARELY spoke English. They had an accent I would place in the countries that end with "-kistan". The guard let them through without barely a look, and he deffinitely didn't check if the carriage contained a real baby. That made me nervous, but hopeful and proud as I stepped up to the guard's glass and handed over my Taudat Zehut (Israeli citizeship card) and spoke in my fairly decent Herbew. WELL! He immediately checked that the cameras were recording my every move, and locked the door into the consulate. Then he glared at me, came OUT of his booth with his strapped gun, checked my bag, and then checked my CD player to make sure it actually played. Lets just say that by the time I got to the tiny, overstuffed closet that is the Israeli consulate in Toronto, I felt like an unwanted suspected terrorist. The overworked, uncaring, mannerless bitchy employees a-la Bahura Israelit Hutspanit didn't make much of a dent by that point.
That's one helluva story.
I had similar experiences in Israel recently, involving security workers at the entrances/exits of various malls and train stations. Sometimes they'll just randomly single someone out. Your case is a little extreme though. You should file a formal complaint.
File a formal complaint with the Israeli consulate? hehehehe. That's funny.
Anyway, it was over a year ago, so I'm sure the statute of limitations is up or something. I just treat it as an amusing story /slash/ something to be bitter about.
I've never seen anyone "/"(slash) their slash before. That was really cool.
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