Connected

European countries, their people and their history have been intertwined, connected, sometimes come unraveled and knitted together again, for many centuries. Change is inevitable. Borders shift, countries fall apart or grow together, new ideas and political systems develop, flourish and may eventually come to an end. 

80 years ago, a madman ruled in Germany, my homeland. First he got rid of all opposition and free speech in his country, then he invaded our neighbours, ostensibly to re-establish Germany‘s former borders and supremacy. What followed, was unprecedented genocide and a war that devastated our entire continent and huge parts of the world.

I can’t help but draw parallels, while the first wave of a million Ukrainian refugees rolls into the EU, fleeing the onslaught of another madman‘s army. 

My mother grew up during WWII. I visited her today, we sat in the sunshine, admired the hundreds of crocuses in her garden,  and we talked a little about what war meant for her as a child. My heart bleeds for the people of Ukraine, especially the children, who will have to deal with this trauma for the rest of their lives.