The Key

To illustrate the idea that everyone has a story, I am reminded of The Key. When I visited the West Bank in 2013, I saw many pictures of a key. I was told that the key represented the actual key to the house that a Palestinian family had lost during the Nakba of 1948. Nakba Day marks the beginning of the destruction of Palestinian villages and the displacement of the majority of the Palestinian people. The new state of Israel decided that certain Palestinian villages had to be destroyed for security purposes. The Palestinians are still waiting for the right to return to their homes. Nakba Day coincides with Israeli Independence Day.

Palestinian Key

I have a key too. One day I looked at it, and I was struck by the similarity to the Palestinian key. I view my key differently. My key is from a house somewhere in Germany, either Konstanz (Constance) or Frankfurt am Main. I have never thought I wanted my grandparents’ flat back. Though, I wonder what would happen if I asked the local governments? I have asked about property taken from Jewish residents. I was told that most properties the Jews lived in were rented from the city. This answer has been substantiated by various sources. Of course, the very wealthy Jewish families owned their homes, so those houses were stolen by the Nazis. I have never seen a deed of sale for any property in Germany belonging to my family, and I have looked through many documents. The Germans were not reluctant to produce and reproduce official papers.

My Key

Billions of people have been pushed, chased, and captured from and out of their homes throughout the world. There are many diasporas. The United States consists mostly of people who were displaced from somewhere for different reasons. The new Americans forced the Native Americans from their homelands. Black Africans were seized and were treated as a human commodity for over 200 years. And so it goes.

Culture seems to play a huge part in how one views the homeland. Some immigrants desire to see their homeland again. I have known individuals who go back to their countries of birth after living in the United States for many years. Others never want to step foot in their land of origin. The reasons why a person left often determine if return is desired. The political and economic conditions also influence if a person can return. Some ethnic groups are comfortable with being scattered about, which is the ancient Greek definition of diaspora. Over the years, people forget that their ancestors were migrants from another place; they are so firmly assimilated.

I have no final answer. These are ideas to be discussed and pondered when we listen to the stories of other people. Do you have a key?

©2025 Karen Levi