Baader Meinhoff Reaction

I'm not sure why, but I actually found it pretty interesting.  Reading the subtitles and keeping track of the action is always a chore with foreign films, but  it always feels more authentic if the supposed German people are actually speaking German...It was kind of weird to see how these (at the beginning) somewhat normal people with strong ideals made a drastic transformation into violent political radicals.  These normal people who were taking things way too seriously (in my opinion, but I don't even vote.....) just became fixated on these ideals (mostly concerned with the idea of a greater good) until they kind of lost sight of what they were doing and let it consume them.  What they did was absolutely terrorism.  Their need to speak out against institutional policy eventually became an impulse to actually "do something about it."  But as time goes on, their cause becomes twisted to fit the ideals of new and more violent "activists" giving way to more and more extreme ways to kill the innocent citizens standing between themselves and the Institutions that they initially aim to target.  This is almost exactly what is happening now with the War on Terror.  An influential few use their power to forge a motive for a mass movement against an institution (in this case, the USA) and eventually the original purpose is lost among the escalating violence that has now taken center-stage.  The Reason evolves into pure, irrational, irreconcilable hatred.  Most conflicts boil down to an ignorance that spurs a cultural conflict (that is my standard criteria for why war exists).

Gender Roles of the 18th Century

https://docs.google.com/document/edit?id=1xiwnyRKp7SioQPGqt5qw47zK_HPbf0LnzQ_wlRIfZKg&hl=en#

Class Discussion Part 1: All Quiet on the Western Front

Paul Baumer and his high school classmates thrust themselves into a war with ideas of nationalism and duty, but as the war went on it became less about the greater good and more about individual survival.  At times they fought with ferocity, but these young men were not particularly aggressive in nature; it's part of the human condition to instinctually respond to a threat.  The drill Sgt. Himmelstoss was a man of low stature in the civilian world, and when given a position of leadership in the Army, he abused his power out of a need to feel more authoritative/important.  This is a reflection of the mentality of Germany at the time.  They never had a national identity and tried to force one upon the world through the use of authority.  Though fiction, many of the stories are drawn from experiences of the author and soldiers in the field hospitals.  The realness and detail of it contributed to the book's success, and appealed to the survivors of the lost generation who went through the traumas of the war. 

Brandenburg

Brandenburg is in the the North-East corner of Germany, and it surrounds but does not include Berlin which is a state in itself.  It has a population of about 2,511,525.  I would compare the size of the State to Maine in the U.S.  The Eastern 3rd of the state was ceded to Poland in 1945 after WWII.  Historically, Brandenburg has been part of the Holy Roman Empire, later became a duchy, then a Kingdom, and under the Third Reich was known as "The Free State of Prussia."

Trivia

Trivia Q & A – September 21^st

Life in Germany

1.       When and where did German scientists recently discover a new species of ape?Answer: In Asia on Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Source: http://www.watoday.com.au/breaking-news-world/german-scientists-discover-rare-ape-species-in-asia-20100921-15lkn.html

2.       What city is known as the salt capital of Germany? When did the salt production end?
Answer: Lüneburg, a German city in the state of Lower Saxony, is known as the salt capital of Germany.  It was not until 1980 that the production of salt in the Lüneburg Saline finally closed.
Source: http://worthgem.blogspot.com/2010/09/german-salt-museum-at-luneburg.html

3.       What type of schooling is forbidden?
Answer: Homeschooling
Source: www.german-way.com/educ.html

German History

1.       What was the difference in population in Germany from 1939 to 1946?
Answer: 4 million less people from 1939 to 1946

2.       In the early and middle eleventh century the Saxon kings were able to defeat which Germanic tribes thus strengthening the Elbe Saale frontier?
Answer: The Magyars and the Slavs

3.       What Germanic tribe held onto their tradition of worshiping heathen gods the longest?Answer: The Saxons

German Media

1.       What date did the "television contract" (Fernsehvertrag) get signed?
Answer: March 27, 1953
Source: pg 91 of "The Mass Media of the German Speaking Country" by John Sandford

2.       The Deutsche Welle first began broadcasting is what year?
Answer: 1953
Source: pg 39 of "The Mass Media of the German Speaking Country" by John Sandford

3.       What German newsmagazine is on the rise while its predecessor is on the decline?
Answer: The Focus is on the rise while Der Spiegel is on the decline.
Source: http://www.germanculture.com.ua/library/facts/bl_newspapers.htm

German States: Bavaria

1.       Who are the three primary Germanic tribes to inhabit Bavaria in history?
Answer: Bavarians, Franks, and Nordgau

2.       Pope Benedict was born in town of Marktl Bavaria. Where did he live his adolescence?
Answer: Traunstein
Source: http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/benedict_xvi/biography/documents/hf_ben-xvi_bio_20050419_short-biography_en.html

3.       The Hofbrauhaus is a famous beer hall in Munich Bavaria. What family still owns and operates this historic site?
Answer: The Gerdas
Source: http://www.aviewoncities.com/munich/hofbrauhaus.htm

German States: Schleswig-Holstein

1.       Where was the chief base for the Third Reich's navy operations?
Answer: Kiel
Source: pg 259-260 of “Discover Germany” by Jack Altman

2.       Schleswig-Holstein was part of Denmark until what year?
Answer: 1866
Source: pg 259-260 of “Discover Germany” by Jack Altman

3.       What is the world famous annual rock fest that takes place in Schleswig-Holstein?
Answer: Wacken Open Air
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Rhine-Westphalia

German States: Westphalia

1.       The Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia convenes to which city in Westphalia?
Answer: Dusseldorf
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schleswig-Holstein

2.       Where can the best soil in North Rhine-Westphalia be found?  (specific place)
Answer: The fertile, deep loessial soil of the Köln Bay.
Source: pg 12 of “North Rhine-Westphalia” by J. A. Hellen

3.       What are the names of the two broad trails, one a road the other a trading route in North Rhine-Westphalia that can be traced back to prehistoric times? Answer: Rhine (Road) and Hellway (Trade Route)
Source: pg 18 of “North Rhine-Westphalia” by J. A. Hellen

Berlin

1.       What animal infestation did the U.S. Army eradicate in Berlin?
Answer: Rats
Source:  “The Berlin Wall: How it Rose and Why it Fell” by Doris M. Epler

2.       What is this and what does it stand for? (Picture Link: http://www.planetware.com/i/photo/berlin-d1434.jpg)
Answer: The Soviet War Memorial; it was built in memory of all the Soviet soldiers who died in the battle of the conquest of Berlin. (WWII)
Source: “The Berlin Wall: How it Rose and Why it Fell” by Doris M. Epler

3.       What was the full birth name of the mayor of West Berlin who was in office during JFK’s “Ich bin ein Berliner Speech?”
Answer: Herbert Ernst Karl Frahm

Final Category – Poetry & Cars

1.       “At Bacharach on the Rhine, Lorelei is lingering” is the English translation of the first line of whose poem?
Answer: Hans Rudolf Hilty – poem’s title Lorelei
Source: pg 131 of Contemporary Germany Poetry: An Anthology

2.       “I greet Berlin as three times
 I band my head, three times
against one of the walls” is the English translation of whose stanza?
Answer: Günter Grass – poem’s title Brandmauern
Source: pg 147 of Contemporary Germany Poetry: An Anthology

3.       How does the BMW logo represent the company’s history?
Answer: Originally, the Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW or “Bavarian Motor Works”) was a German airplane engine manufacturer, which later came to focus on making sweet cars.  The BMW Logo is supposed to represent a white airplane-propeller against the blue sky; a reflection of the company’s beginnings in the early days of flight.

German Print Media Reviewed

For the most part, it looks like the German newspaper models are nearly identical in format to their American counterparts, especially online. They have a top story, and (online) there are links to other featured headlines of the day.  If you scroll down, you'll find an area at the bottom of the page where they'll have different sections of interest like Politics, Culture, Sports, etc. Apparently, there are some Germans who are interested as to how Paris Hilton's drug trial will go because she was the main headline of the day for Entertainment.

Interest Ranking

Berlin During WWII

Berlin After WWII

The Reichstag

Berlin Nightlife

Berlin Buildings

The Brandenburg Gate

Tourism

Berlin then and Now

Berlin Olympiastadion


Conner Otte

Zhi Bie

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74JyZu3EJxs



http://www.berlin-stadtfuehrung.de/Berlin_Germany.html

Olympic Stadium in Berlin was built for 1936 Summer Olympics Games in Reichssportfeld on behalf of Adolf Hitler. It was designed by Werner March. Construction took place from 1934 to 1936. When the Reichssportfeld was finished, it was 1.32 square kilometers. It consisted of (east to west): the Olympiastadion, the Maifeld (Mayfield) and the Waldbühne amphitheaterIt had to be an imposing structure to express the power of the Nazi regime. Designed to hold 100,000 spectators, this Olympic Stadium was famous for its enormous dimensions and authority. It also possessed a special stand for Hitler and his political associates. During the WW2, it became the symbol of the Nazi power.

1936 Olympics

On August 1, 1936, the 11th Summer Olympics were officially inaugurated by Hitler. Four million tickets were sold for all the events of the 1936 Summer Olympics. This was also the first Olympics with television transmission and radio transmissions in 28 languages. All kinds of Games were playing including soccer, swimming, equestrian events, field hockey and so on. What’s more, one of the most memorable events was the performance of the African-American track and field athlete Jesse Owens, representing the United States of America.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolfgangstaudt/3751514021/

1939 to 1945: World War II

During this fierce world war, the Olympiastadion only suffered the impact of gun shots and remained untouched after the World War II.



1945 to 1994

After the victory of Alliance, the Reichssportfeld was used as headquarters of the British military occupation forces.

The British forces settled in the northern buildings designed by the March brothers in the 1920s. Soon, the Occupation started a careful reconstruction of the general facilities. From then until 1994, British forces held an annual celebration of The Queen's Official Birthday in the Maifeld with thousands of spectators from Berlin present. During the 1960s, American military and high school football teams introduced hundreds of thousands of Berliners to American football at the stadium in exhibition games.



http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Berlin_Olympiastadion_nach_Umbau.jpg

1994 to now

A lot of concerts were performed at the stadium including Pink Floyd, Paul McCartney, among others from 1994-2005. Furthermore, In 1998, Berliners debated the destiny of the Olympiastadion in light of the legacy it represented for Germany. Later, it was decided to renovate the Olympiastadion. FIFA then chose it as one of the venues of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. The State of Berlin hired a consortium composed of WALTER BAU-AG and DYWIDAG to do the renovation.

On July 3, 2000, the renovation began. The project of the renovated stadium respected the original structure of the Thirties. The roof was extended to cover a total of 37,000 square metres, with 20 roof-supporting columns carrying a weight of 3,500 tonnes of steel. 70,000 cubic metres of concrete was used during this reconstruction.

After the renovation and conservation, the stadium took on a brand new look. It has the highest all-seated capacity in Germany at 74,228. The roof rises 68 metres over the seats and is made up of transparent panels that allow sunlight to stream in during the day. Furthermore, The Olympiastadion was also equipped with the latest technology in artificial illumination and sound equipment.

In 2006, the World Cup was hosted by Germany. Millions of euros were spent to modernize the stadium for the FIFA gamesThe Olympiastadion was designated to play the final match of the 2006 FIFA World Cup. And this has taken place exactly 70 years after the 1936 Summer Olympics. Germany's Interior Minister Otto Schily, who attended the opening party, concluded: "The stadium recalls the dark elements present in its creation. But in 2006 the world will look upon to modern, democratic, and open Germany".





Haus am Checkpoint Charlie

Checkpoint Charlie was the monitoring tower used to control the area around the Berlin Wall that divided the city during the Cold War. It was demolished soon after the 1989 revolution. On display at the museum are the photos and related documents of successful escape attempts from East Germany, and also the escape apparatus: hot-air balloons, getaway cars, chairlifts, and a mini-U-Boat.



http://www.control.auc.dk/~dthi02/06-12-2002%20Germany/Berlin/Checkpoint%20Charlie%2002.jpg

“It began as an exhibition by the historian Rainer Hildebrandt on 19 October 1962, just outside the Berlin Wall, in an apartment with only two and a half rooms in Bernauer Straße. The street was divided along its whole length; the buildings in the east had been vacated and their windows were bricked up. The Haus am Checkpoint Charlie opened in its present location in 1963.

The museum is operated by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft 13. August ("13 August Consortium" – the date on which construction of the Berlin Wall began), and the director is Alexandra Hildebrandt, widow of Rainer.

It is one of the most frequently visited museums in Berlin, with 850,000 visitors in 2007. Through its presentation of the many ways in which people tried to escape East Germany, it aims to bring that period of history to life and ensure that it is not forgotten.

In 2008, the museum gave the total number of people killed up until 1989 on the Berlin Wall and the East-West German border as 1,303. However, one source claims that this total includes victims trying to escape via the Baltic Sea, Germans killed on the country's exterior borders, the deaths of East German soldiers and Soviet deserters, suicides of family members of the border troops, and people who successfully escaped from the East but were subsequently captured and killed by the Stasi or the KGB.”



Citation:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Olympic_Stadium_(Berlin)

http://www.berlin-sportmetropole.de/english/venues/olympiastadion+berlin/index.html

http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_menu/architecture/stadium_design/berlin_olympiastadion.shtml

http://www.europealacarte.co.uk/blog/2009/07/15/olympiastadion-%E2%80%93-berlin%E2%80%99s-olympic-stadium/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkpoint_Charlie_Museum

http://www.berlin.world-guides.com/monuments.html

http://www.control.auc.dk/~dthi02/06-12-2002%20Germany/Berlin/Checkpoint%20Charlie%2002.jpg

Berlin

Conner Otte


Berlin is a hub of world-class sports. Around 700 athletes train in almost 35 different disciplines here at this Olympic base. Berlin’s sports teams are known throughout Germany and Europe. Hertha BSC (soccer), Reinickendorfer Füchse (handball), Alba Berlin (basketball), and the Berliner Eisbären (hockey) are all in the national leagues, as are volleyball and water polo teams from Berlin. The Berlin Marathon continues to attract runners from all over the world. More than a million spectators turn out each year to cheer on the world’s best long-distance runners along their route through the city.

Clubs and sporting events

More than half a million Berliners play amateur sports in the almost 2,000 different clubs that are members of the Berlin state sports association. Because of its many lakes and waterways, Berlin is a city of water sports in particular, but gymnastics is also part of Berlin’s sports tradition: the city’s first public gymnastics field was opened in 1811. In May 2005 Berlin hosted the German Gymnastics Festival (Deutsches Turnfest), which, with roughly 100,000 participants, is one of the world’s largest events in amateur sports. In 2006 all eyes were on Berlin as one of the venues for the Football World Cup. The Football World Cup final took place here on 9 July 2006.

Sports in everyday life

Sports bring people together and serve as a perfect example of how teamwork and cooperation function. That is why sports also play an important integrative role. Life in the city includes team members of different nationalities practicing together. Berlin boasts more than 3,000 sports halls, stadiums, and playing fields, including famous sites like the Olympic Stadium and the Max Schmeling Hall. The Eisbären and Alba Berlin have had a new home since September 2008: the O2 World in the borough of Friedrichshain. With seating for 17,000, it is Germany’s second largest event venue. The Velodrom is one of Berlin’s largest arenas and has what is probably the world’s fastest bicycle racing track. There are even two golf courses within the Berlin city limits. Berlin is a leader in the development of elite sports schools in Germany: three nationally renowned schools (the Schul- und Leistungssportzentrum Berlin, the Flatow-Oberschule, and the Poelchau-Oberschule) offer talented athletes the opportunity to get a good education while training for competitive sports. Students can choose from a total of 21 primary and secondary sports.

Nightlife

It is impossible to walk through Berlin without finding a pub, a bar, a theatre, a cinema or a disco, where people meet to spend their leisure time and evenings. Life is buzzing in every single quarter of this fantastic capital. Because of the variety of spots it is a Sisyphean task to name them all. We decided to divide our nightlife section by districts, and even then it is a hard piece of work to give you quite a good overview.

Summarized western Berlin has four focal points for pubs and bars: Savignyplatz in Charlottenburg is for conspicuous goodtimers, Kreuzberg drinkers normally include political activists and punks, the area around Nollendorfplatz (northwestern part of Schöneberg) and Winterfeldtplatz is the territory of sped-out all-nighters and the pushing-on-forty crew. Central Schoneberg bars are on the whole more mixed and more relaxed.

In the eastern part of the city there is also a number of real cosy and even exciting new cafes and bars. Check out both Berlin Mitte and Friedrichshain Section. In Prenzlauer Berg quarter you will find a lot of nice pubs in and around Knaackstrasse. And alst but not least the area around Oranienburger Strasse, where you also will find the "Tacheless" is paved with nice cafes and pubs.

Sites Referenced

http://www.berlin.de/berlin-im-ueberblick/leben/sportmetropole.en.html

http://www.world66.com/europe/germany/berlin/nightlife

World Heritage Links

Aachen Cathedral

Monastic Island of Reichenau

Cologne Cathedral

Upper Middle Rhine Valley

Old town of Regensburg with Stadtamhof

Berlin Wall

 How and Why the Berlin Wall was Built

How

The barrier was built by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting August 13, 1961. In the city of Berlin the wall stretched 43 kilometers long and is also known as “The Death Strip”. The total wall, including the length outside of Berlin, was 140 Kilometers. The wall was 12 feet high with smooth pipe lining the top to make it more difficult to scale. It also included Barbed wire, dogs on leashes, beds of nails, 116 guard towers and, anti-vehicle trenches.

The Berlin Wall went through 4 stages of construction before it was torn down
1. Wire fence (1961)

2. Improved wire fence (1962–1965)

3. Concrete wall (1965–1975)

4. Concrete wall with trenches (Border Wall 75) (1975–1989)

Why

The life in West Germany was much better than in the East after 1948. West Germany, including West Berlin, had financial help through the Marshall Plan from the USA. In East Germany a communist system was established and many people had to suffer under repressions of the Communist party. The wall served to prevent the massive emigration


Rescue and Escape Stories

-The East German families of Peter Strelzyk and Günter Wetzel worked together to create a homemade hot-air balloon. Their wives stitched together curtains, bed-sheets, and random scraps to construct a 65-foot-wide, 75-foot-high balloon. On the night of September 15, 1979, the group launched their contraption, which had just enough fuel to make it over the wall and into the land of Coca Cola and fancy Levi jeans.

-Professional gangs built tunnels that would go under the Berlin Wall (and charged extortionate fees for refugees to use them). One tunnel began in an East Berlin graveyard, where “mourners” brought flowers to a grave and then disappeared underground. And they would have gotten away with it to until Communist officers discovered a baby carriage left by the “grave”. Sealing up the tunnel followed.

-Holger Bethke shot an arrow from an East German rooftop over the Berlin Wall and managed to rig a makeshift pulley system and swing himself to freedom. Years later he flew across the Wall in a micro light aircraft, that he decorated with Russian stars, to rescue his brother Egbert.

-The East German government issued shooting orders to border guards dealing with defectors, though such orders are not the same as "shoot to kill" orders. GDR officials denied issuing the latter. In an October 1973 order later discovered by researchers, guards were instructed that people attempting to cross the wall were criminals and needed to be shot: "Do not hesitate to use your firearm, not even when the border is breached in the company of women and children, which is a tactic the traitors have often used".

-Early successful escapes involved people jumping the initial barbed wire or leaping out of apartment windows along the line, but these ended as the wall was fortified. East German authorities no longer permitted apartments near the wall to be occupied, and any building near the wall had its windows boarded and later bricked up. On August 15, 1961, Conrad Schumann was the first East German border guard to escape by jumping the barbed wire to West Berlin.[57] On 22 August 1961 Ida Siekmann was the first casualty at the Berlin Wall: she died after she jumped out of her third floor apartment at 48 Bernauer Strasse.

-Another dramatic escape was carried out on April 1963 by Wolfgang Engels, a 19-year-old civilian employee of the Nationale Volksarmee. Engels stole a Soviet armored personnel carrier from a base where he was deployed and drove it right into the wall. He was fired at and seriously wounded by border guards. But a West German policeman intervened, firing his weapon at the East German border guards. The policeman removed Engels from the vehicle, which had become entangled in the barbed wire.

-East Germans successfully defected by a variety of methods: digging long tunnels under the wall, waiting for favorable winds and taking a hot air balloon, sliding along aerial wires, flying ultra lights, and in one instance, simply driving a sports car at full speed through the basic, initial fortifications. When metal beams were placed at checkpoints to prevent this kind of defection, up to four people (two in the front seats and possibly two in the boot) drove under the bar in a sports car that had been modified to allow the roof and windscreen to come away when it made contact with the beam. They lay flat and kept driving forward. The East Germans then built zigzagging roads at checkpoints. The sewer system predated the wall, and some people escaped through the sewers, in a number of cases with assistance from the German student group.

-If an escapee was wounded in a crossing attempt and lay on the death strip, no matter how close they were to the Western wall, Westerners could not intervene for fear of triggering engaging fire from the 'Grepos', the East Berlin border guards. The guards often let fugitives bleed to death in the middle of this ground, as in the most notorious failed attempt, that of Peter Fechter (aged 18). He was shot and bled to death, in full view of the Western media, on August 17, 1962. Fechter's death created negative publicity worldwide that led the leaders of East Berlin to place more restrictions on shooting in public places, and provide medical care for possible “would-be escapers”. The last person to be shot while trying to cross the border was Chris Gueffroy on February 6, 1989.


Why the Berlin Wall Came Down

Russia lost its strong hold on East Germany in the 1980's. Then, East German leadership lacked the power and ability to handle the growing discontent of its people.

The boarders between East and West Germany were opened on November 9, 1989 and the Berlin wall was torn down by the end of 1990. The collapse of the Berlin Wall contributed to the collapse of communism and ended the cold war.
Although the opening of the wall was seen as a good thing, fear and anxiety spread throughout the rest of Europe. The fears of reunifying East and West Germany would again lead to war as it had in 1939. Over the next year steps were taken to reunite Germany after 31 years of separation. In the following weeks of November 9, 1989 people from both sides gathered to watch bulldozers make new border crossings. Even though sections of the wall were dismantled or demolished on November 9, 1989, the official dismantling of the wall did not start until June 13, 1990 by the East German Military.

Facts About the Berlin Wall

• Around 5,000 people successfully escaped into West Berlin.

• The Berlin Wall was erected in the night.

• The second generation wall was built to prevent escape.

• There were over 190 people killed on the Berlin Wall.

• There were over 200 people injured by shooting from the Berlin Wall.

• Gunter Litwin was the first victim who was shot down by an East German border guard in Berlin on August 24, 1961.

• The Berlin Wall stopped East German laborers from working in West Berlin.

• East Germans were imprisoned in their own country.

• Berlin became a place of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union.

• The Berlin Wall split up families and friends.

• The Berlin Wall came down on November 9, 1989.