Take Time to Look Around

On the way to the German History Museum we passed by this one done in the classic style- turns out it is one of many museums in this area, that is Museum Island, the Alte Nationalgalerie Museum. Some of the others are the Pergamon and the Neues Museum. The reason I mention this is because later I came back to visit and I am so glad I did, otherwise I would have missed not only the bust of Nefertiti in the Neues Museum but the Ishtar Gate in the Pergamon! (Unfortunately the Pergamon temple itself was closed off.) It just goes to show the benefits of exploring on your own when you have the time, and what you might miss if you don't.

German History Museum

For our visit to the German History Museum, we were supposed to take two pictures from different centuries related to things talked about in our class. I took photos of Martin Luther, and of Emperor Wilhelm I, Otto von Bismarck, and the Imperial German Flag.  The Imperial German Flag was the one used by the Northern German Confederation. The colors red, black, and white come from the colors of Prussia and of the Hanseatic states, while the coat of arms for the imperial flag is the imperial eagle bearing the Prussian eagle on its shield, and with the crown “of Charlemagne”, that is of the Holy Roman Empire. Emperor Wilhelm I became the emperor, the Kaiser, of Imperial Germany. Bismarck is incredibly important for many reasons, two being he helped bring about Germany’s unification and that he was its chancellor. Martin Luther did many things, among them translating the Bible to German, making it accessible to many, creating a unified version of written German, and creating Protestantism.

Flag of German Empire with Eagle

Otto von Bismarck

Martin Luther

Topographphy of Terror

Berlin

One of the things I found most surprising at the Topography of Terror was that there was an official Protestant bishop for the Third Reich, Ludwig Müller, who was appointed in 1933. However in response many people ended up founding and joining Confessional Churches. These churches acted as places for resistance and were against how the Protestant Church conformed to the National Socialist ideology.  
The museum is also particularly interesting because it is where the Gestapo was headquartered in Berlin.

Unfortunately I couldn't really get a photo of this since it was something I read, however I took photos of the museum.

Nazi Architecture plans

Newspaper Articles from Nazi Era in the Outside Exhibit

Ludwigkirsche

Located in Saarbrücken

Ludwigkirsche is a Protestant Church done in the Baroque style. Friedrich Stengel made the church, along with the plaza it resides in, Ludwigsplatz, and the buildings on either side. Originally Ludwigkirsche was commissioned by Prince William Henry, but was not completed until under his son’s reign, Prince Ludwig. The church itself has the form of a Greek cross, with each side equally as long, vs. the longitudinal plans typical of Roman Catholic Churches, a typical plan used for Protestant churches in order to distance themselves from the Catholic church.  Originally the building was painted white, matching the houses on both sides, but since the building was bombed and had to be reconstructed, and since paying for a paint job and to keep renewing it would be too expensive, the church was left with its natural sandstone color showing. The white colors were originally to help convey the idea of the “white city”, an important theme since white is often associated with light, and since light was a valued element in both the Enlightenment and Baroque periods. The inside however still retains its coat of white paint. 

Stengel also incorporated light by having long windows, as typical in the Gothic period, without any stain glass, also typical of the time. Part of the interesting features of the church is that the organ is placed above the altar instead of above the entrance, for two reasons. One is because where the organ would have been instead resides the prince’s VIP room. That room also served as a way to signal when the sermon became boring by shutting the windows, acting as a signal to tell the preacher to hurry it up. The second reason for the organ placement is that the organ helped to convey the idea of the heavenly and earthly kingdoms. Another interesting element of the church is the figures holding up the three balconies within the church. The figures are Caryatids, that is Spartan women who symbolized holding great burdens because of Spartan men dying in battle. Each woman also holds something in addition, in conveyance of different elements from justice to peace. The caryatids holding up the organ’s balcony are special, because they symbolize Jesus’ coming and Judgment Day, the beginning to the end. I found it quite interesting how though the church was Protestant it had many elements paying homage to the earthly power and wealth of the prince when Martin Luther originally broke from the Catholic church due to indulgences and a focus on greed, among other things.

UNESCO World Heritage Site

Völklinger Hütte

A Steel Factory and Oil Mist

I will admit, Völklinger Hütte has to be one of the coolest sites I have ever been to. Upon arriving, you see what a colossal structure it all is. The factory itself is not closed- only the blast furnaces are, which are used to melt iron. The factory closed in 1986, due to a global reorganization of the factories due to overproduction. It was converted to a museum when UNESCO discovered that one could actually walk through the progression of technology, since this is one of the few factories in the world that still retains old features. I could go on about all the cool features, but I'll leave a lot of it out as incentive to visit. One of the coolest things I learned though was about the oil mist- where the engines run, and boy are they huge, a fine oil mist used to hang in the air as a result of the engines. You can see it in the walls, where it seeped in and couldn't get out. On a somber note however, this also caused horrible illnesses for the workers. Apparently the people who worked here were well paid, but as our tour guide said, they paid it back with their health. It really puts in perspective all of the labor movements that have happened. I couldn't help but think to how really, no matter where you were in the world, factory work was horrible. No matter what cultural values people had, the situations were similar. No wonder Marx felt a need to write his works, why socialists responded so quickly to the situation. According to our tour guide, even the city was caked in smog. Did not matter what color you originally painted your house, in the end they all became the same monochromatic color. I think schools should really encourage students going to factories- so much of what I have read about never fully sunk in until visiting the site. While I really enjoyed my time and visit, in hindsight I can't help but reflect on the reality of the workers' situation. I cannot even fully convey all that I learned just from experiencing it in my surroundings, which is why I think Völklinger Hütte is such a valuable place. Out of all the site we have visited so far, this one has certainly been the most enlightening. 

In the upper levels of the factory

A small part of the engine

Reflections

Reflecting on Experiences

German 100 HW

The most beautiful thing I've encountered:

Oh dear this is a difficult question. I guess so far, perhaps the rolling landscape? It's a bit similar to England's rolling hills, only slightly more pronounced and covered in trees of a variety of shades. I also love how here the villages are really incorporated in, being nestled into the surrounding and popping up quite frequently. I often find myself just staring out into it, or trying to take photos of it (though to be fair I often do this when abroad.)

The ugliest/most annoying thing I have encountered:

Honestly, being unable to get antibiotic cream. I developed a slight infection from an ingrown toenail, and it took two days to get anything in part due to location here in Otsehausen and how pharmacies work here time-wise. While culturally I do not believe their practice should be changed, and I wish the USA would adopt this, of closing early and reinstating Sundays off, it has been a bit of a pain, literally. I'm not actually that annoyed though because I understand the reasoning and respect the practice. Really it is more my fault for not being prepared. 

A novel product:

For a novel product I have seen, the super small kindle-like device I took a photo of. It was smaller than an iphone and comparable to the palm of my hand! I guess I just do not get the practicality of such a small reading device- why not just use your phone at that point? But I digress. For an item I have not seen but heard about, I would say the kidney warmers. Professor Kronenberg talked about it in reference to the cultural beliefs tied to things being cold (Germans seem to have an aversion to anything cold, seeing it as a cause of illness, from ice in drinks to air conditioning.) As a result there are products like kidney warmers to ensure that one never gets too cold. 

A novel food item:

This is cheating a bit, since I have been to Germany once before, but their vitamin juice they give in the morning. I want to talk about it mainly because when I first came here it is what shocked me the most, and really stayed with me. I was actually excited and anticipating having it again for this trip. It's sort of a V8 like thing only not- only reason I compare it to V8 is because it seems to be a fusion of different juices. It is really delicious and I recommend trying it for breakfast if ever in Germany. 

A facet about German history or culture that surprised me the most:

This might seem a bit repetitive, but Sustainability. The first time in Germany I was most surprised with what I learned about Goethe (I had never heard of him before) and about the Weimar Republic, and that era, in general (which I now love to learn about- culturally very exciting and producing a lot in the arts.) So far the newest thing for me is Sustainability, which is why I have been writing on it so much. Consequently I will not elaborate too much here, but most of my surprise comes from the extensive history of the movement and what a large part it plays in German culture. 

Forests and Sustainability

On day six of our time here in Germany we had an excursion into the woods. We all went on a 40 minute hike up to an old hunting cabin, where we then received hammocks. We were not allowed to have electronics at all in order to fully appreciate nature. Upon reaching the cabin a professor talked to us about sustainability and its history with German culture. Sustainability goes back to the Industrial Revolution when Germany was using up most of its woods for fuel. One man, Carl von Carlowitz, realized the problem with this and helped start sustainability in Germany. (He also was falsely blamed for the 1666 burning of London.) We then proceeded out into the woods, having to make sure we were absolutely alone. It took me a few tries to get my hammock up- one time I even fell over trying to get in, and almost hit my head. The experience was quite relaxing, and I took the time to draw the trees above me in my journal. (Most of my records for the trip are kept in there, and I am quite proud of how detailed and extensive it is.) Unfortunately not everyone had pure relaxation- one person had a tick fall on their hammock. After that experience we learned more about Sustainability. Turns out there is an American who played an important role in this, during the 60s. Unfortunately I forgot the man's name. I do however remember another source being mentioned, which was Global 2000, a report given to President Jimmy Carter about what the year 2000 would be like. Finally, the talk was finished with the subject of the UN sustainable development goals, and challenged us to look them up. I looked them up, and there seem to be seventeen main subjects to be obtained from ending poverty to ensuring peace and justice. Learning about all this I can't help but wonder why sustainability has never really been important in the USA? We sometimes get close to caring, like with our National Parks, but what pushes us away from it, or at least from focusing on it?