Anni’s letter

Anni Ulich has lived through events that most of us have only read about. She remembers hearing the hum of Allied bombers as they passed over her German hometown during World War II, turning her house to rubble. She remembers being chosen to publicly deliver a poem in front of local Communist officials in East Germany. And she still wrestles with feelings of guilt over her nation’s past – the murder of 6 million Jews in the Holocaust.

One recent morning I found myself eating bread and homemade jam with my friend Anni. She’s lived in the western part of Berlin since the 1950s, when her mother successfully fled East Germany before the wall was built. For me, coming to Germany to live for a year has been an education in so many ways. But the lesson I heard from Anni that morning was an unexpected one.

Saved amid a catalog of treasures is a letter she once wrote to her children. It is dated “Berlin, Fall 1977,” and when she shared it with me, I was struck not by its sense of history, but by its remarkable relevance. She might have written it last Tuesday.    

“Are you surprised that your mother writes you a letter?” she started playfully. “But in this case, I feel that it is so important that I have to put it down on paper.”

I asked Anni if she would let me share it with Monitor readers. (The full text can be found at the end of this column.)

Earlier this month, the presidential libraries of nearly every former U.S. president back to Herbert Hoover issued a letter imploring Americans to reinvest in their democracy through civility, unity, and commitment to the ideas of free societies.

Anni has seen what happens when those ideals falter.

“Therefore, my dear children, don’t ever take democracy for granted!” she wrote. “Learn about it and be aware of the duties and privileges involved with it. Be grateful for it and therefore – please guard it! If you are ever tempted to think it is part of ‘the establishment,’ this will be a fault. Democracy is something that one has to work for continuously. You can’t one day declare it, then put it into a glass frame and hang it on the wall. Neither can you inherit democracy like a family name or title. It’s a living thing. Like a tree one plants, then waters and fertilizes so that it may grow and bring fruit. In the same way we all need to examine our own concept of democracy – and if necessary purify it. You can see that there is hard work awaiting you!

“I feel some of the demands all of us have to fulfill are these,” Anni finished her letter. “Never stop thinking on your own. ... Never take anything for granted. Don’t be satisfied with what people in charge think. Use your own intelligence and imagination. Live after the highest standard of right. Always respect people of opposite opinions. Always express your gratitude.”

Those are lessons learned from living through some of the darkest events in recent human history. And they are just as true now as when they were written nearly 50 years ago.

Here is the text of Anni Ulich’s 1977 letter to her children.

Recently I have been thinking very much about the fact that our country – Germany – has been in a state of peace for more than 32 years now. Which means that you, just as well as all other children, young people, and adults of less than 30 years of age have not needed to go through a war experience. You will not be able to realize the uniqueness of this fact. But did you know that not only your parents but all relatives back to your great-great-grandparents had to live through at least one war during their lifetimes? I think we would be very narrow-minded if we just simply accepted peace as a fact. Isn’t it rather quite an active, even a demanding, thing? Doesn’t it demand a lot of each one individually?

As you know, Germany has had a relatively short democratic tradition. After the Second World War most Germans had to learn democracy from scratch. To me personally it is something very precious. However, not so precious to be hidden in a vault. More like a pearl which has to be worn and used daily to make it shine!

Therefore, my dear children, don’t ever take democracy for granted! Learn about it and be aware of the duties and privileges involved with it. Be grateful for it and therefore – please guard it! If you are ever tempted to think it is part of “the establishment,” this will be a fault. Democracy is something that one has to work for continuously. You can’t one day declare it, then put it into a glass frame and hang it on the wall. Neither can you inherit democracy like a family name or title. It’s a living thing. Like a tree one plants, then waters and fertilizes so that it may grow and bring fruit. In the same way we all need to examine our own concept of democracy – and if necessary purify it. You can see that there is hard work awaiting you!

I feel some of the demands all of us have to fulfill are these:

• Never stop thinking on your own.
• Always ask questions if you need to know something.
• Never take anything for granted.
• Don’t be satisfied with what people in charge think.
• Use your own intelligence and imagination.
• Live after the highest standard of right.
• Always respect people of opposite opinions.
• Always express your gratitude.

I wish I could write it into your hearts: Avoid war!

For war has never elevated the human race.