There was nothing to do now but wait. The big ship felt empty and strange. There were 422 beds covered with new blankets; and a bright, clean, well-equipped operating room, never before used; great cans marked "Whole Blood" stood on the decks; plasma bottles and supplies of drugs and bales of bandages were stored in handy places. Everything was ready, and any moment we would be leaving for France

"What distinguishes her journalism is her eloquent outrage and commitment to fair play," Bill Buford, literary editor of The New Yorker, told The Guardian newspaper. "She was amazing. She was nearly 90, smoked like a chimney and drank like a fish, and well into her 80s, with her high cheekbones, she could flirt as easily as women 50 years younger."

***

Sixteen years passed. West Germany was now the favourite ally of the United State government and always referred to as 'the new Germany'. I became curious about the new Germans, those who were innocent of any involvement in the war, so in November and December 1962 I made a long tour of German universities from Hamburg to Munich listening to students and sitting in on university seminars. With very few exceptions, the young Germans struck me as dismal. Their education was totally dismal. They were taught to learn by heart, to obey not think, and they had learned their lessons well: democracy and anti-communism, which went together, were good; it was necessary to please the great United States, Germany's powerful sponsor. Everyone must work hard and make money for themselves and the prosperity of the state. They were defensive about their parents (none o whom had been Nazis) and humourless; dutiful children reciting the approved ideas. They weren't going to threaten the world, but, dear God, you could perish of boredom here. I escape from boredom wherever I find it; I need never come back to this chastened, respectable supremely dull country

Vierzig Jahre später.

Das Granta-Heft, falls Sie es noch nicht haben, ist uebrigens recht gut.

1. Africa: 33.707.230
2. Germany: 30.199.866
3. Mexico: 20.640.711
4. United States: 20.625.093
5. Ireland: 19.282.096
6. England: 16.627.305
7. Other Hispanic: 14.665.107
8. Italy: 12.906.708 (...)

Quelle: US Bureau of the Census, zititert in: NYROB 11/2004.