Goethe's Oak

"This story began in 2015 during a visit to the Buchenwald Memorial near Weimar, Germany. There, beside tributes to the concentration camp's human victims, I unexpectedly encountered a large tree stump upon which visitors had left hundreds of small stones--a tradition in Jewish culture intended to honor the souls of the dead. Nearby, a small plaque read 'Goethe Eiche.' Goethe's Oak. I wanted to know more about this tree. . . . What special meaning did it hold for Buchenwald's prisoners, and...