Saturday Supplement …
I recently posted a blog about Olga Benario Prestes and I received some positive feedback; ‘well researched … in a nutshell.’
He appreciated , I think, that in 400 words (my self imposed word limit) it is difficult to do more than ‘a nutshell’ …
However, his other comment was more damning. A general remark regarding other research and subsequent movie about Olga Benario Prestes’ he suggests that her life had been sanitised for the film. I too, had fallen into the trap by considering her life was glamorous and should be made into a ‘block buster’ . I have thought about this since and wonder why it is we cannot bear the truth so we invent stories to make it palatable and repeatable.
My wish is that I will find the truth and trust it; not find the need to glorify and distract from the facts.
May I be more critical and honest … and readable; not an easy combination.
So while Olga Benario Prestes’ life should be celebrated we should not forget her passion for fairness. She was from a privileged background and chose to work for equality and democracy for the less fortunate within the Communist Party. And that her death in Bernburg Euthanasia Centre was not deserved or glamorous.
A scene from the Ravensbruch Concentration Camp where Olga was sent before she was gassed.
Friday’s Library snapshot …
These pictures were taken at a small exhibition in the foyer here at Special Collections. The entrance hall is a lovely space at the foot of the stairs; with wood panels. Also leaded light windows that allow much natural light that is very kind to the small exhibitions we have here.
These books are from our Children’s Collection, Finzi Book Room, Printing Collection and a small archive of William St Clair.
‘The collection is intended to create a colourful and stimulating exhibition with no other purpose than to entertain and delight …’ and it does that I think.
The works are of Barnett Freedman, Edward Bawden, John Nash and Vanessa Bell etc.
Alphabe-Thursday H for hair ribbons
I enjoy wearing ribbons in my hair and one of my first posts was about this very subject and here are a few from my ‘wardrobe’ !
100 Word Challenge for Grown Ups – Week#49
Using the prompt ‘Murray was just about to serve for the championship’
Taking advantage of the peace and quiet of Sunday Morning; I prepared and painted the sitting room; I was able to wash the walls and applied two coats of magnolia emulsion. The gloss painting will have to wait until next week when there is a lull in activity. I had run out of time; the 2012 Men’s Tennis final was going to be played.
Murray was just about to serve for the championship when; this was my cue to sit down. Now, with the family congregated in the sitting room to sip chilled wine and munch the strategically placed popcorn. I with eyes askew to watch the paint dry.
Gallery … Food
Food touches our soul,
kindly warms the chilled heart.
Makes the tea less wet!!
Wednesday’s Wise Women … Olga Benario Prestes
The story of Olga Benario Prestes (1908-1947) makes for a block busting film; with glamour, intrigue, love, passion, horror and bitter sadness. Olga was from a rich and influential German Jewish family. As a girl she joined the Communist Youth International . Later she helped her boyfriend, Otto Braun, escape from prison; going with him to Czechoslovakia and then to Russia.
In Russia she attended the Lenin School of Communist Youth and continued to work within the organisation. She underwent military training at the Zhukovsky Military Academy. The she became involved with anti-fascists activities in France and Great Britain.In 1931 she separated from Otto Braun. In 1934 with her military training she was assigned the post of bodyguard to Luis Carlos Prestes the leader of the 1920s rebellion to the dictatorship of Getuiolo Vargas in Brazil.
It was her task to escort him back to Brazil. With false papers they travelled as Portuguese married couple. However the inevitable happened and they feel in love. After a failed rebellion the couple went into hiding. They were were arrested; but not before Vargas announced Martial Law. Now pregnant and separated from Prestes she kept her assumed identity. Unfortunately, Brazil diplomates who had close connections with the Gestapo and wasted no time in blowing her cover.
Her lawyers tried hard to get allowance for her to stay. She was expecting a Brazilian national and lawfully she could not be extradited. Sadly, martial law superseded this as she was considered ‘an alien noxious to public order’ and she was taken back to Germany.
Despite an international campaign to rescue her. The captain of the ship cancelled all stops on the voyage to Germany where there was a chance of her being rescued by the communists.
When her daughter was born while Olga was in prison. The baby handed over to her paternal grandmother who cared for her. Olga was taken to an extermination camp and gassed in 1942.
Again I have been foiled by previous and more thorough research. Olga Benario Prestes life story has been made into a film. http://theduckshoot.com/blog/olga-benario-revolutionary-hero/
I hope you enjoy the ‘other’ blog
Weekly Photo Challenge … Movement
The crystal glimmers
like thoughts that drift cross the mind
as we let them go
Remembering the child within …
As a child I was quiet and shy. I loved to draw, paint and read. I enjoyed my own company. A striking contrast to my two little sisters who vied for attention and usually got it. I remember when I did withdraw to ‘do’ my dad would say that I was ‘contemplating my navel’ I of course did not understand this expression and I suspect neither did he. It was one of his very gentle jokes that ‘rocked me into a false sense of security’ another cliche banded now but it did apply then. I was happy to ‘do’ and ‘be’ while the little ones misbehaved.
So I grew up and life with the necessary ‘knee jerk’ threw me into college, work, marriage and motherhood. A bittersweet existence without the time or the inclination to ‘be’ alone with oneself for any length of time. Until 39 years later when the my last child had flown the nest. When I found the person I had become was not only complex and muddled; she was not so attractive to be with!! Those almost forty years had thrown a lot of stuff at that little girl; not all good. Thankfully, none was life threatening and much is repairable.
It has taken a while to unravel the complexities; it has been necessary to really contemplate my navel again. Now, I now know what my dear dad meant although my methods are now structured; using meditation, yoga and some of the other techniques are not much different from all those years ago. Now I find myself more at peace with myself and enjoying the pastimes I had as a child. I discovered that with my life experience that seemed at the time so harsh. Has prepared me for a very pleasant and fulfilled time; that seemed to be so ghastly this time last year!
I hope my dad has found peace too.
Silent Sunday … the quiet cuppa
Warm tea bowl nestles
Grateful cupped hands cradled
like tender bird.
Saturday Supplication …
I am a sucker for advertisements; I am easily lead. I am a spiritual lady and always on the lookout for ways in which to improve my practice; get enlightened, get to heaven – call it what you will. I know this is not an ideal situation … but that it is why I have to practice!!
Nonetheless the temptation is there; before I know it I am surfing or bought a magazine. Almost convinced that I will get the answer when I wear a certain brand of leisure wear, read such a book, subscribe to monthly journal or travel the world to find the perfect teacher. Even wearing the right shade of lipstick. Have you looked at Buddhist or Yoga Journals lately? A slither of a girl or a boy doing a full lotus gazing meaningfully into space; advertising the latest bit of kit that will get you on the road to enlightenment. One such magazine flaunts the picture of a Hollywood star who in previous weeks has been singing the praises of botox in the Hello magazine.
So I wish for a moment that I am not distracted by the World Wide Web, the a virtual forest of trees and a massive money grabbing machine … that keeps me in samsara.
Coat Hanger Doll's House 