On September 20th, the UC Berkeley Department of German, in collaboration with the German Historical Institute Washington | Pacific Office Berkeley, the Goethe-Institut San Francisco, and IES hosted poet and playwright Sasha Salzmann in conversation with Molly Krueger, a doctoral candidate in the Department of German at UC Berkeley. In line with the Archives of Migration’s ongoing mission to engage writers who bring diverse perspectives on societal polarization and the power of poetic imagination, Salzmann and Krueger discussed Salzmann's recently published memoir Gleichzeit. The event was held online with around 30 participants in attendance.
The memoir, a series of correspondents and reflections between Salzmann and their dear friend Ofer Waldman, explores the aftermath of the October 7th Hamas attack and the subsequent violence in Gaza. The conversation started with a discussion of the title Gleichzeit, which Salzmann described as a conceptual representation of the collapse of time. They linked this notion to both the socio-political events of the time and their personal experience of generational trauma as a Western Jew, explaining that it led them to feel everything all at once. In reading an excerpt to the audience, Salzmann described vivid images of pain and conflict, providing anecdotes from their childhood and insights into the political events that have shaped their identity and encapsulated their present memory.
Krueger highlighted how Gleichzeit is a reflection of the present in conversation with the past. She quoted Salzmann: “Ich kann uns in Gegenwart ohnehin am besten in Bildern denken” (In any case, I can best imagine us in images.), underscoring the memoir’s emphasis on memory and the convolution of experiences that shape it. Salzmann expanded on this, sharing powerful images: a young Palestinian girl clinging desperately to her mother’s leg amidst the ruins of Gaza, shared moments with their Syrian refugee neighbors, and conversations with Ukrainian refugee women about the atrocities in Bucha. They also revisited their own memories of growing up Jewish in post-Holocaust, 1990s Eastern Europe, under the shadow of the Soviet regime.
In essence, Salzamn described the memoir as a personal account of the present moment, written from their perspective as an Ashkenazi Jew living in Germany: “I do not pretend to portray the whole world or complexity of the conflict, I am not trying to,” they clarified. They referred to writers as “architects of inner worlds”, emphasizing that the memoir is their way of processing retraumatization, the current political climate, and identity. The conversation shifted to the power of literature in telling truths and shaping narratives, with Krueger questioning Salzmann’s emphasis on gedanken und überlegungen (thoughts and reflections) over meinungen und positionen (opinions and positions). In response, Salzman explained that Gleichzeit was their attempt to process the aftermath of October 7th, when they felt overwhelmed by a media landscape flooded with opinions and accusations rather than humility for victims of the conflict.
They later quoted James Baldwin, “Every dead child is my child…” in reference to the Palestinian and Israeli victims of the conflict. Salzmanns’s overall message was a call for reflection and empathy, highlighting the importance of feeling with victims in juxtaposition to political polarization. They pointed out a moment that symbolized the political tensions: German politicians waving Israeli flags while pro-Palestinian protests filled the streets of Berlin, a representation of the contentious global and german political climate.
In further discussion with Krueger, Salzmann expressed concern over the rise of right-wing nationalism in Germany. They pointed to widespread protests against the AfD party as part of this political backdrop, underscoring the need for solidarity and the power of literature as weapons for unity.
Though they emphasizes that their memoir is a personal work rather than a political one, Salzmann acknowledged that Gleichzeit offers a way to find their own voice and truth in the contemporary political environment. Ultimately, the memoir serves as a reflection on the present moment, offering an antidote to polarization, even if not a means to solve the conflict but to offer a hand of support and humanity to its readers.