'Death Metal Grandma' Is A 96-Year-Old Holocaust Survivor
96-year-old Holocaust survivor Inge Ginsberg has always been musically inclined.
She co-wrote hit songs such as Dean Martin's "Try Again" after coming to America with her first husband, Otto, and has used lyrics and poetry to express herself and cope with life.
Inge has recently found a new way to use this musical expression: as the front woman for a death metal band.
Inge says of herself:
"I've never been a singer, I've always been a writer."
But when she was 93, her now-bandmates pointed out her poems sounded like lyrics to death metal music.
Ginsberg could shout her lyrics to musical accompaniment instead of singing, and still share her message with the world.
Watch Inge with her band here:
93yo Metal Grandma Holocaust Survivor Spy! "Totenköpfchen" (Laugh at Death) -Swiss Eurovision 2015www.youtube.com
On her way to becoming a member of a death metal band, Ginsberg led a varied and sometimes tragic life. She was born as a member of a wealthy Jewish family in Vienna. Inge's family was torn apart when Germany annexed Austria in 1938, with her father being taken to the Dachau concentration camp.
She fled with her mother and brother to Switzerland in 1942.
In 1944, Ginsberg became the housekeeper for a villa owned by the US Secret Service and began spying on the German soldiers and smuggling weapons for the Resistance in Lugano. Once the war ended, Ginsberg and her first husband Otto moved to America and worked as successful songwriters in Hollywood.
Ginsberg has appeared on the Swiss show Switzerland's Got Talent, where she performed her song "Trümmer" to great delight from the judges.
Heavy Metal-Granny Inge Ginsberg rockt mit der Eigenkomposition Trümmer - #srfdgstwww.youtube.com
In a documentary appearing on TheNew York Times website, called Death Metal Grandma, you can see more of Inge's life story.Death Metal Grandma:
Filmmaker Leah Galant captures the essence of Ginsberg's life, and reminds people to live their lives to the fullest and seek out new experiences.
Twitter is loving Inge, the very idea of being a death metal singer at her age stunning many.
This 97 year old "death metal grandma" and Holocaust survivor turned her poetry into heavy metal songs. How can yo… https://t.co/otEc3e0ErX— Champaign Public Library (@Champaign Public Library) 1547332088
What an incredible life - Jewish princess, to war refugee, to secret service, to writer for Dean Martin, to death m… https://t.co/ZDfN5sPz3R— Laura ✨ (@Laura ✨) 1547720045
A 96 year old holocaust survivor is the lead singer of a death metal band. With that sentence my day is made Death… https://t.co/zGCyCwMnir— 🚲⁵ (@🚲⁵) 1547781161
#music #Inspiration #grandma #deathmetal 😁 https://t.co/6jYbHyvx0e— ☞✵𝓒𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓲 ✵...✍️ (@☞✵𝓒𝓱𝓮𝓻𝓲 ✵...✍️) 1547700433
How was a 96yo Holocaust survivor going to gain attention in a society where older women are neglected, silenced &… https://t.co/EscWKc47Bf— UniteWomenOrg® (@UniteWomenOrg®) 1532196304
@AuschwitzMuseum @TimesofIsrael What an impressive story about this extraordinary, powerful woman. I am excited to… https://t.co/hZQHCcNK0p— Astrid Grünwald (@Astrid Grünwald) 1546444959
"As she approaches 97, she said she has no regrets, and doesn’t concern herself with what others think of her pursu… https://t.co/pvv9h8nRMg— Anne Frank Center USA (@Anne Frank Center USA) 1546611182
@AuschwitzMuseum @mckee_heathir @TimesofIsrael Awesome! I love her and her band and her message. Rock on, Inge! 🤘— PlutoPalJCJ+DeepStateK9 (@PlutoPalJCJ+DeepStateK9) 1546448286
I just found out a 96 year old Holocaust survivors inge Ginsberg is touring as the lead singer in a death metal band. Wow. And it's good.— FREYA COMIX🏳️⚧️ (@FREYA COMIX🏳️⚧️) 1532528386
Even if death metal isn't your cup of tea, it's hard not to be inspired by Inge Ginsberg.
Her astounding life experiences lend her plenty of inspiration for her lyrics, and they touch on subjects that resonate with many people, much as they might not always like to talk about them.
But that is the formula for the best music: expressing those things our hearts feel but cannot find the words to speak.
GE Appliances Will Pay $50K For The Next 'Great American Grandma' To Use Their Appliances
Are you a Grandma with a big heart? Then you might just have what it takes to be GE's "Great American Grandma," who will help demonstrate new GE kitchen appliances for $50,000 a year.
GE published a job posting claiming they're looking for a "big-hearted, age-defying, lives-life-to-the-fullest and brings-out-the-best-in-everyone kind of Grandma."
Does Your Grandma Have a Big Heart and Age-Defying Beauty Mixed with Endless Wisdom? She Could Be Perfect for… https://t.co/uUQbVrjVkz— Melissa Knowles (@Melissa Knowles) 1547217927.0
They danced, they posed. They ended their day as any good grandma would... in the massage chair at @ces. The… https://t.co/subquCK9M4— GE Appliances Corp (@GE Appliances Corp) 1547080845.0
If you feel that fits the bill, they're also keen on a Grandma who's full of laughs and "believes in tradition but is anything but traditional."
Whatever Grandma GE decides on will work 10-15 hours a month, demonstrating how GE appliances work, for $50,000 a year. On top of that, the lucky grandmother will also receive five new GE kitchen appliances of her own!
@GE_Appliances Hey @xyzbijoux Maybe u can get a Grandma 2 get you a replacement refrig! Seems much easier. Alls you… https://t.co/6ZJdH7PqK4— Nancy Caira (@Nancy Caira) 1547121677.0
To apply, the Grandma or her friends and family must send a video to GE saying why they'd be the ideal "Great American Grandma." Many Grandmas have already posted their auditions online:
#Great American grandmawww.youtube.com
Great American Grandmawww.youtube.com
#great American Grandmawww.youtube.com
Naturally, Twitter users had some recommendations:
@WHAS11 The electric grandma ? https://t.co/gwpnhbDeMq— MUGGYBOY (@MUGGYBOY) 1547178678.0
Anybody think I should do this? An eagle-eyed fan sent it to me. https://t.co/fS2tT03DfN— GrannyPottyMouf (@GrannyPottyMouf) 1547257967.0
@MeredithJuliet_ I'm not sure that GE would be able to handle G'ma! :)— Greg Seamon (@Greg Seamon) 1547218472.0
@wsbtv Yo GE my moms is technically American and a grandma.— Gera (@Gera) 1547261479.0
Meanwhile, the search has already begun, with many Grandmas showing off their stuff at the 2019 consumer electronics show (CES 2019).
The excitement for the #GreatAmericanGrandma search can not be contained. Enter your grandma here —>… https://t.co/nBR0ALtU53— GE Appliances Corp (@GE Appliances Corp) 1547071424.0
This is how @GE_Appliances grandmas roll at #CES2019. Just the kind of grandma we’re looking for in our… https://t.co/YXh96Q9Cik— GE Appliances Corp (@GE Appliances Corp) 1547062000.0
Grandmas are getting schooled on the Hub by @johnolu2013. It’s all part of the #greatamericangrandma search.… https://t.co/6C5u6zbISg— GE Appliances Corp (@GE Appliances Corp) 1547052839.0
Techie at all stages in life. Our Grandmas are no stranger to selfies. Just what we’re looking for in the… https://t.co/HP6KpGVgpl— GE Appliances Corp (@GE Appliances Corp) 1547053884.0
Think your Grandma has what it takes? Get her to this posting ASAP!
You ever read a story that made you look at your screen kind of through the outer corner of your eye? Like you're so taken aback by the dumpster fire you're reading that you almost don't want to look at it directly? But you can't look away either?
This is about to be that story.
The story revolves around four main players, so let's start there.
"Jenny" - The girlfriend
"Jessi" - The girlfriend's twin sister
"Johnny" - The boyfriend
"Mom" - The boyfriend's mom
Got that? Ok, here we go. Jenny and Johnny have been together for a year and things are going great. Jenny hangs out with Johnny's family, including mom, and has talked about her sister, Jessi, from time to time - always referring to her as "my sister". That's important. Pin that. It'll matter in a second.
One night, mom goes out to the movies with her friends and on the way out she runs into Jessi and her boyfriend. Mom flips out thinking that it's Jenny and goes on to scream at, accuse, slap, and attempt to drag Jessi out of the theater! Yep that's verbal and physical assault for those of you keeping score at home. In the process of trying to defend herself and being assaulted, Jessi called the woman a "crazy b!tch" - cause if it walks like a duck and slaps like a duck, ya know?
Mom them calls Johnny to rat out his "cheating" girlfriend only to find Jenny was WITH JOHNNY and obviously couldn't be the girl she had just assaulted in the theater. Mom tried to blame Jenny for never specifying that her sister was her TWIN sister, and not only refused to apologize to Jessi, but is now demanding that Jessi apologize to her for calling her a crazy b!tch.
"Jenny" turned to Reddit for help. Here is her full post:
I have an identical twin sister Jessi and we look very much alike. There are small differences but only those who know both of us can recognize them.
BF and I have been together for a year. Things are good between us.
Last night this happened: my boyfriend's mom went out with her friends to watch a movie and Jessi was there as well with her boyfriend. After the movie one of her friends saw Jessi with her boyfriend. She asked her if that girl is her son's boyfriend (I met this friend at a party a few weeks ago). So she looked at Jessi and thought yes, she is.
She went to her and asked what the f*** is going on. Jessi was confused since she hadn't met her before, and she kept asking her what the f*** is this. At that point she was holding Jessi's arm and she told her to let her go and called her a crazy bitch. Eventually she told Jessi that she's cheating on her son and called her by my name, and Jessi told her that that's her twin sister. She slapped her across the face and told her to stop lying. Her friends then collected her and took her away.
She then called my boyfriend and told him that she's found her girlfriend with another man. I was with my boyfriend at that time. He quickly got it that she must have seen Jessi so he told her and she hung up. She then left. I talked to Jessi, she didn't even apologize to her. After she found out what she's done, she just left.
So my boyfriend talked to her again and an apology is not coming.
She feels like she did nothing wrong and she was justified in whatever she did since I hadn't told her that I had a twin sister, so she's justified in harassing her like that and slapping her across the face. She said that she expects an apology for being called a crazy bitch.
I'm really pissed at her for what she did and the least she can do is apologize to Jessi. We were planning to visit my boyfriend's parents this weekend but now I'm not sure that I want to go. I can't just sit there and tell her how cute it was that she mistook me with my twin. I sure as hell don't think Jessi should go and apologize to her.
Should I let this go? Am I overreacting to consider this a deal breaker?
People did not hold back with their responses, and it was glorious. Here are some of my favorites, edited for content or clarity when needed.
H/T: Reddit
My man's got this friend named Chad. Chad isn't his real name, but that's what we're going with for this article. Chad is in a relationship that is ... well ... there's a reason Facebook had to come up with the "it's complicated" status. Nobody is happy, they often go out of their way to avoid one another or are forcing performative affection for the 'gram. One night, Chad decided he was going to hide from LadyChad and told her he couldn't see her because he was spending time with us. He then made up a whole elaborate story about drinking wine (which he doesn't normally do) and overdoing it because he really liked it.
Thing is, Chad never told US that he used us as a ridiculously specific cover story.
So imagine my surprise when I get a message from LadyChad on Instagram (not an app I'm terribly active on as far as messaging and I have literally never spoken a single word to LadyChad at this point) asking what kind of wine I had given Chad because she wanted to go out and purchase several bottles.
Um ... what? So there I am awkwardly staring at my phone already having responded to her "hi" so I can't just ghost the girl. She knows I've read her messages and am actively on my phone. Chad doesn't really talk to me, so I have no idea how I got roped into this, and I'm looking around like "WHAT DO I DO!?!?!"
Babe later assured me this is the sort of thing Chad did to him all the time and LadyChad was probably well aware that he was lying. Still, I didn't appreciate getting sucked into some elaborate Chad-scheme. If you're going to do that to people, you have to give them a heads up! One Reddit user asked:
What's the most awkward position someone's ever put you in?
... apparently the world is FULL of Chads. Get it together, guys. Stop being Chads. Here are some of my favorite responses - edited for clarity when needed. Enjoy the cringefest!
H/T: Reddit
Being a parent is tough. As your kids get older, there's an impossibly fine line we have to walk between respecting our children's privacy and their growth as their own person, and our desire to protect our babies.
One Reddit user asked:
Parents of Reddit, what "secret" do you know about your kids that they don't know that you know?
Some of the responses were downright adorable, others tugged on our heartstrings. We grabbed a few of our favorites to share with you.
1. YouTube Search History
My 9 yr old son has started to search for "girls taking jeans off" on YouTube. I also found out he has a type by his latest search of "brown girls taking jeans off"
2. Secret Reddit Account
I know my kid has a Reddit account, discovered it when I tried to create a sub about a very specific thing he has created, and I wanted to document/archive all of his creations there for him to see a few years in the future, turned out it already existed.
Went through his post/comment history. He's such a naive and good boy! Couldn't be prouder, always asking questions and helping out people. Gave him gold, never told him.
Whenever me and my wife speak about Reddit stuff he says " wish I could have an account" or "I have never been there, how is it like?" or "that sounds boring"
He's got more karma than me.
3. You Cannot Fool A Master
My 19 year old son thinks I don't know he smokes. LMFAO child please, you cannot fool a master.
4. Unopened Mail
She's 21, still on my health insurance, still lives at home (helps out with some bills), and I generally pay all the medical bills for all my kids right now.
I don't open mail addressed to my kids, unless it's a medical bill. So without realizing it, I opened a receipt that the clinic sent her. It was fully paid, and clearly used the word abortion.
I don't judge her for it. But she clearly didn't want me to know, so I didn't say anything.
5. Nephew
I know that my nephew is gay. I don't know if my sister knows yet, but I know. He came to visit a few years back. I let him use my PC. He downloaded a bunch of gay vids and forgot to delete it.
6. Wet Lingerie
If my son finds out about this comment he will be mortified. I will probably have to delete it at some point:
My youngest son, at age 13, would take lingerie out of my dresser drawer, put it on, and wear it in the shower to "choke the chicken." I don't use my lingerie but noticed it in the laundry. My husband approached him and bought him some cheap lingerie for him to keep in his room. To this day he has no clue I know all about it.
- This was not recent, my kids are older now.
- It happened during puberty because he liked the feel of warm silk. It was for tactile pleasure.
- He got caught because he was leaving the wet lingerie in the laundry. Husband does all the laundry and I fold. I didn't know it was showing up wet so at first I thought my cat was getting into my drawer. Hubby suspected it was one of the boys and confronted them until youngest fessed up.
7. Disabled Parent
I know that she has days when having a disabled parent makes her thoroughly miserable, no matter how much she tries to hide it. I see it and see you kiddo, I know the difference when you are miserable and when you are genuinely happy. You know you can always talk to me, so when you are ready, I'll still be here with a hug and a cup of cocoa.
8. Stolen Weed
My 14-year-old left his phone at home recently. I never felt the need to scroll through it, but I figured I should just to make sure things were good with everything. One of his best friends was telling him that she stole some of her sisters weed stash and was wondering if he wanted to come over the next day and smoke it with her. His response was "No thanks, and I don't think you should do it either"
I was so proud of him. I wanted to give him a big hug and tell him how proud I was, but I didn't want him to know I was looking at his stuff. So instead I decided we would do a surprise ice cream trip, and when he asked for a double scoop I said yes.
I know in the grand scheme of things a little weed isn't bad, and I know at some point in his life he'll try it, but I'm not ready for him to do that kind of stuff yet.
9. Letting Her Know I'm An Ally
I stumbled upon one of my notebooks (I have a bunch of pretty ones on hand when I fill up my journals) in my daughter's clothes hamper when I was collecting laundry. She had written in it about being bisexual (she's going to be 13 next month).
I invited her to a family-friendly Pride Fest in my area, and while perusing buttons at a vendor booth, I found one that say "ALLY" on it and wore it. That night I told her I knew about her secret, and that I love her more than life itself and I was proud of her. She was incredibly relieved to not hold that secret anymore.
10. Coat, Check Yourself
When I was 16, I lied to my mother every Friday about going to my friends house to sleepover. Little did she know I was actually going to a club in my hometown where I had (again) lied about my age to work as the wardrobe girl. The night she found out was when she passed me her jacket and was shocked to see me working there. She told me she always knew I wasn't going to any sleepovers but she couldn't believe I was actually working rather than partying.
11. Invisibility Cloak
My son is 4. He still thinks he is invisible when he covers himself with a blanket. Our whole family has made a pact to act like he is. Things should be interesting in a few years
12. Hide The Wrappers
My little brother used to sneak all kinds of snacks and stuff and when he was done he'd "hide" the wrappers in the couch cushions, under his bed, in the VCR, and anywhere else you can think of. Our mother was a stay at home mom and did all of the house cleaning, it was always hilarious when he'd deny and honestly act offended when he was accused of putting ice cream sandwich wrappers in my dads work boots.
13. "Nobody Slurs When They Have Food Poisoning"
When I was 17, I got really, really drunk at my neighbor's. I was a total mess and was sick for hours (in retrospect, I probably should have gone to the hospital, but hindsight's 20/20). Two friends had to carry me back to my house, change me out of my vomit-stained clothes, and dump me in my bathroom.
They told my dad I had food poisoning.
When he told me years later that he knew I'd been drunk, I was shocked: how could he know? He snorted and said, "Nobody slurs when they have food poisoning."
14. Two Girlfriends
I know my son has two girlfriends and was lying to them both about it. I thought I had taught him better than that. I sat him down and told him he's not worthy of either of them for what he's doing. He whined about it. I decided he's too immature for a relationship and made him break it off with them both. It was that or I tell them both myself. He's mad, but he'll get over it.
15. "Electric Toothbrush"
Found out my parents could hear my vibrator recently when my father politely asked if I could "not use the electric toothbrush late at night" as it had woke them both up a few times.
None of use own an electric toothbrush. I want to die.
16. Fluent In French
My school district taught students how to speak French starting in Kindergarten. In high school my friends and I were pretty much fluent and would speak French over the phone to make secret plans to hang out after our parents went to sleep.
I learned in college that my mother is fluent in French. I always wondered how she knew I was sneaking out.
17. Lack Of Computer Skills
Found some VERY Dirty stuff on my browser history after my daughter spent the night (she was 14) and also a Google search on how to delete history, she was unsuccessful. I was very disappointed about her lacking computer skills.
18. My Little Pony
My 6 year old son loves to watch My Little Pony and other such shows on the iPad and whenever his mum or I enter the room he quickly turns it off and won't tell us what he was watching. He acts so embarrassed.
I can't count the number of times I've told him that there are no 'boy' or 'girl' tv shows, and the colours pink or purple are for anyone, not just girls.
Anyway, his friend came over and we were sat watching tv for a little while, and a My Little Pony playset was advertised. My sons friend immediately stated 'I hate my little pony, it's only for girls'. I didn't need to look at my boy to know how he felt, I could feel his heart drop in his chest. So I quickly stated 'well I love my little pony, it's so cool and it doesn't matter whether you're a boy or girl'. My son jolted up in the seat, looked straight at me with a look of shock and said, 'yeah me too!' He sat with a beaming smile on his face for the rest of the afternoon. Gender stereotypes are so tough to break.
TL;DR - my son secretly loves My little pony and his friend declared his hatred for it as it's only for girls. I jumped to its defense and my son loved it.
19. Amnesia
My little brother (11) does a lot of stupid sh!t then pretends he doesn't remember. Just yesterday, he lit fire to a box of tissues, and when asked about it, he fucking feigned amnesia. He pretended that he didn't know us. I talked to him about it and he thinks that our Mother believed him.
20. Dressing Like Our Lesbian Neighbor
I came out to my mom and she said she's known ever since I started dressing myself as a kid. Apparently I had a knack for dressing exactly like our lesbian neighbors (and was also really bad at hiding my undying love for the short haired army wife next door)
H/T: Reddit