Blankets, Germany, opera and democracy

Nuremberg, Bayretuth, Pottenstein and Augsberg. Nazism, Luther and Leopold Mozart. It was quite a journey.

I may have missed my cousin's wedding but I had my knitting goal - could I finish a 2nd baby blanket?  A few trains helped get the knitting done.  It's amazing how you can knit and gaze out of the windows!

Pictured in Augsberg

The second is waiting for its final square and to be sewn up but it is much better travelled!  In fact it has had a rather splendid year.

First stop was Germany. Nuremberg, Bayreuth, Pottlingen and Augsberg.  

It was quite a journey.  I have a history degree and have studied the Nazis but I wasn't sure whether in Nuremberg I wanted to visit the scenes of the Nazi Rallies but I am glad I did.  These days the stands are crumbling, covered in undergrowth and lacking all of their Nazi symbols but shows that evil regimes can crumble.  For me the really moving place to go was the Courthouse where the Nuremberg trials were held.  I hadn't realised how remarkable they were.  The emphasis on justice, OK so the defendants were less familiar with English / American cross-examination and had less access to documents than the prosecution but every effort was made.  Some were found guilty, two innocent.  The Soviet judges pressed for the death penalty for all but each case was considered and not all sentenced to death.  It was logistically astonishing with simultaneous translation for the first time and provision for the press.  The whole trial lasted for less than a year.  It puts the recent crimes against humanities trials in the Hague to shame.

I had mixed emotions about visiting Bayreuth.  Friends had obtained tickets for the Opera and kindly asked me to join them for one.  So many more knowledgeable people have asked the question how can you separate Wagner, his music, and the music's symbolism.  Can you appreciate one without the others?  I think the answer is no.  

The music is extraordinary and having heard Tannhauser at Bayreuth and Paris less than 12 months apart I remain struck by its power, beauty and resonance.  Yet at Bayreuth there were plaques to those that suffered under the Nazi regime.  You cannot escape from the knowledge that Cosima was anti-semitic in her choice of performers while Winnifred was a member of the Nazi party and according to Bernard Levin threatened her own daughter with execution.  By all means appreciate the power of the music but do not underestimate the impact it has had on the world.

In contrast, Augsburg was philanthropy, Reformation and free speech.  Leopold Moazart a PR guru for his children?  A lightness to Wagner's dark side?

Back to the blankets the first is complete and has visited Lords, Wimbledon and the London Olympics.  There are squares knitted on the South West Coastal path and countless NetWork South East trains.  I am rather proud of it.

 

The 2nd has wrapped its way round my heart as it has now witnessed democracy at work as I travelled round the States.  It's possible to knit on a long distance flight provided it's with wooden needles.  Alternatively take a blunt tipped pair of scissors and tidy up all those loose ends - probably causing a lot of annoyance for aircraft cleaners!  Tine well spent.

One more square to go.  The twins may get the blanket before their first birthday but I will miss it!