I Can't Believe...

German Concentration Camps

 After watching the video on Germany in the 20^th century the two parts that stuck with me the most were the tales of the concentration camps and how many women were raped after World War II. Hearing about a man faking an illness and jumping out of a hospital window to avoid being captured was awe-inspiring; that he was able to hide for so long in the city he loved was amazing. I have never seen the concentration camps but from the descriptions I can only imagine how horrible they were. In elementary school our teachers start to teach us about history. In kindergarten we’re made to take part in a yearly thanksgiving play involving the “Indians” and “Settlers”. We’re led to believe these two groups were friends that helped one another to make a nice turkey dinner. But it’s not until later in our academic learning that we learn how the settlers brought dieses like small pox to the natives. The settlers took advantage of the native’s hospitality and knowledge. Without them the settlers would have died that first winter. Who knows? Maybe we wouldn’t have colonized in the “New World” and the natives wouldn’t have reservations but the entire land that makes up the United States and on. 

United States Japanese Internment Camps

History is a tricky thing, with Hitler came the concentration camps that held the Jews, homosexuals, gypsies and more. We look upon Hitler in disgust because of his camps and mass genocide but the United States has made many such errors in judgment. Granted, never that large of a mass killing of a people. I mean we had internment camps; our paranoia brought on by a time of war brought us that much closer to the evils of Hitler’s time. Most people just fail to recognize how close the United States has come to such evils. But those evils didn’t end with Hitler’s life. 

Girls killed by soldiers

After World War II, women had to protect themselves from their victors such as Russia. In one of the interviews a man discusses his need to find his identity. For years he thought his father was a United States soldier and eventually he finds his mother and asks the identity of his birth father. In tears she reveals that her son’s father wasn’t American but a Russian soldier. That she had been brutally raped at the end of the war. Most times it was two or more male soldiers that would take turns pinning the woman and forcing themselves upon her. Many times a result of this was pregnancy, disease, injury or even death. In another interview a woman talks about how she wasn’t even safe holding a crying child in her arms. When I was younger I had the naïve notion that when a war ended so did the violence. I later came to realize that that is never the case. We will never escape war and it’s resulting scars. I just didn’t realize how bad it was for German women. I can’t even begin to imagine how they felt; a constant fear hanging over them like a shadow, always looking over my shoulder and triple checking that things were locked. I doubt anyone was unaffected, if you were untouched it was very possible that someone you knew or were related to were affected. Husbands returning from war to homes with children that weren’t theirs, did they lash out at their wives or sympathize? The actions of humans never cease to amaze me. How have we as a society not evolved? What is it that makes humans do such unspeakable things to one another? I really doubt that we’ll stop making mistakes anytime soon unfortunately.   

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Martin Luther Not MLK

Martin Luther not MLK

Martin Luther the Reformist

It’s sad that until my later years in high school I was unaware of the existence of a European Martin Luther only of Martin Luther King Junior. When I began to watch this film my dad walked in and asked what I was watching and I said “a youtube video on Martin Luther.” He started saying how he had a book full of his speeches that I should look at and I stopped him by saying the European Martin Luther not MLK. True, they both share some similarities like how their words could inspire hundreds and how they stayed true to their convictions. Neither took back what they thought, said or wrote. Martin Luther was more aggressive in his writings though, almost as if he intended to offend the reader. His 95 theses’ is what started this whole religious revolution.  He managed to piss off the churches as well as the Pope, so much so that because he wouldn’t take back what he wrote he was excommunicated.  Since Luther didn’t just allow himself to be handed over to the church he became a revolutionary head. He took his theses and the newly formed printing press to inform his fellow German’s, thereby liberating man’ relationship with God. For those who couldn’t read, he had woodcut printings of pictures to go along with his words. Many images showed the Pope or church alongside the devil. He was probably the first person to use propaganda. While evading arrest Fredrick the Great housed Luther for a time, which brought notice to his newly formed University. Luther’s fate was later decided by the German lords, nobles and emperors like Charles the fifth who was only nineteen at the time.

95 thesis's of Luther

They asked Luther to recant his writings but he refused. To his surprise he was not turned over to the Pope though. He lit a fire with his writings that eventually became out of control. Rebellions against the church resulted. Even though he used aggressive wording, he didn’t mean for bloodshed to result from his writings. He gave the Germans religious freedom and that idea spread far beyond Europe onto the pilgrim ships that landed in the United States. He stuck to his guns on what he believed was right and wrong, and proved that an ordinary person has the power to go against authority. 


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Black Death and the Domino Effect

Roman Empire

    
After reading chapters one and two in Germany: A New History I found it interesting how long it took for the area now known as Germany to be named, that and the large influence given from the Roman Empire. In chapter two the author wrote briefly about the Black Death also known as the bubonic plague. It was the most devastating pandemic in human history killing an estimated 50% of Europe's population. By 1350 it swept across Germany.  The lack of food and good hygiene resulted in famines that weakened people, making them vulnerable to epidemic diseases. The Germans reacted a lot like the Americans did during the great depression. Riots broke out; struggles against the government, thievery, starvation and people doing whatever it took to survive. In a lot of ways it shows that it

Black Death

Church Taxes

doesn’t matter where you come from, we all have the same basic human instincts. The loss of life resulting from this plague is important to the history books not only because it serves as a population count but as a reminder of what war and disease can do. Both the church and empire were tested during this event. They were able to co-exist until that point where even the Pope was forced to leave Rome for Avignon. Between 1378 and 1415 there were two Popes and because of their conflicting claims thy divided western Christianity and left the reputation of the papacy badly tarnished.  It became a domino effect from illness, to the splitting of the church, to a weakened government, to the churches greedy taxing, which in no way helped with the over-all illness and death.  Because of the greed and corruption within both the empire and church the German’s began to envy France, England, and Spain for their modernized institutions of governments. The United States has gone through many similar situations; it was because of England’s unfair taxes among other things that we became independent of England. Both the German’s and American’s have gone through difficult leaders, civil wars, religious and political corruption, illness and famine but we’ve survived and evolved. Germany is now considered one of the most economically powerful countries in the world. I’d say it’s evolved from the time of the Roman Empire, even surpassed it. I mean which one is still standing?

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Why go to Germany?

            I have previously been to Canada, France and Belgium, from those trips I became fascinated by cultures in other countries. My favorite thing about traveling to France was the architecture, for this reason I’ve chosen to go to Germany. I’ve heard so many amazing things about the buildings, castles and cathedrals. Since I’m an Interactive Media Studies: Graphic Arts and Psychology major I really enjoy looking at how cities are presented. Are they old and rustic or new aged with neon lights? I want to see how they’ve modernized the buildings throughout Germany.            

            I’m also looking forward to seeing how the native Germans interact with us Americans. I found when traveling to France they’re not too fond of us. I will be taking German 101 next year to help me on the trip, it will be interesting to see how far one terms worth of a language will go.

            I hope to learn more about Germany’s customs and culture while there. Things like what is polite and rude, do we tip at restaurants, or just trying the local cuisine? I want to learn about the history of Germany and its buildings, also to experience a concentration camp first hand. I had seen images, read books, and watched movies about what happened at those camps but I don’t think I’ll fully understand it till I see a camp first hand.

            I’m not entirely sure which castles we will be seeing but I’ve always wanted to visit Neuschwanstein Castle. Just looking at the pictures it seems so unreal, like a castle in a Disney Princess movie. I want to know why the castle was made, what its purpose was and any other detail. I’m probably most excited to see a castle, then a cathedral. I’m not really a church going girl but going into the churches in France took my breath away. The large stone statues that seemed to be guarding the building and the stained glass windows blew my mind. I’ve seen a lot of great images of the cathedrals in Germany but the one I want to see the most is Cologne Cathedral.

            There’s so much I want to learn and experience in those three weeks. It’s hard to decide what I’m most excited about. This isn’t just another stamp on my passport, it’s a once in a lifetime experience and I intend on making it a trip I’ll never forget!