Final Post

 

 

Looking back in review I can say I learned much more about Germany than I ever knew before. Coming in with German in my genealogy I thought I would learn about the structure of Germany and a little bit about what Germans are all about. From the first class session I realized I was in for the long ride to learn more than expected. I learned that Germany has not been a unified country for long and even to this day the states are very divided in and of it themselves. I enjoyed learning about all the different states and how the industries and companies all over Germany are known for being power houses in the world in their own industries. I particularly enjoyed how we were all able to learn and teach each other through presentations and keep the class interesting and flowing that way. While researching my topic of industries in Germany I enjoyed learning of how Germany is a worldwide leader in the renewable energy industry! One of the more intriguing things I remember from the semester was how Germans as a whole are not very religious in particular. It was interesting to see how they are becoming less and less too. Learning about the current generations there and how diverse Germany is now is awesome too see and seeing that in presentations and how the demographics are ever changing in the city states especially! I enjoyed reading All Quiet on the Western Front and watching the film and being able to see the view of the War from the less glorified view and showing how it really did affect those who were involved with the war and how it changed young Germans. My favorite film of the semester was Berlin Calling though. Even though it was different and shocking at times it was great to see that certain scene in Germany as I am sure that is very accurate to what actually takes place with that lifestyle and in Berlin and in the younger youth generations. This semester as a whole has been a pleasure being able to prepare before class and research then show up to class and constantly learn about Germany and how it has changed over time and how it is constantly changing.

 

Character Review

Stanislaus "Kat" Katczinsky:

Kat in the film and book All Quiet on the Western Front takes the main leadership role over Paul Baumer and his platoon. Kat is by far the eldest and teaches the young soldiers many tactics that are vital to their survival and teaches them how to be resourceful. Out of everything I took away from the book and film it is that Kat is extremely resourceful and scavenges whatever he can to help himself or others close to him. Whether it was stealing a pig or making sure his company got all the extra rations or even when in battle he uses his hand shovel in combat. Kat is and was the reason many of his men survived as long as they did and he taught the main character Paul many things which helped him survive. Kat was the main leader in my eyes on and off the battle field.

20th and 21st Century German Industries/Workplace

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1gKpO9srwl-40cCj5Hfaq7JA57JzzrC0rmEHTjBbu6YA/edit#slide=id.g270556537_00

Presentation Review:

• The task our group had was to present information on Industries/Workplace in Germany in the 20th and 21st century to the class.
• My group consisted of myself, Talimatou (Tyler) Peniata, Robert Olson, Tim Olson, and Bikash Bhalia.
• The way we completed this task was combining our work and research on a google docs presentation and we all compiled our own research onto the presentation each doing roughly 2-3 slides of research.
• Suggestions? None, by now the students in this class know what to expect and how long an appropriate time is to present.

18th and 19th Century German Inventions and Industries

Clarinet-

 

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/Clarinet.png

 

• The modern day Clarinet was created and invented by Johann Christoph Denner.
• The exact date is unknown, we know the first Clarinet was most likely created at the start of the 18th century.
• Denner created the Clarinet by adding a register key to the already existing Chalumeau.
• To the day he died Denner claimed the Clarinet was an improved Chalumeau.

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

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

Homeopathy-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FabianHambuechen-WM07.jpg

• Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann invented Homeopathy in 1796
• Homeopathy uses many animal, plant, mineral, and synthetic substances in its remedies.
• Homeopaths assess patients and their physical state and use the homeopathic repertory to know how to heal the individual properly.
• A homeopathic repertory is an index of disease symptoms that lists remedies associated with specific symptoms.
• Hahnemann was dissatisfied with the state of medicine in his time. Hahnemann claimed that the medicine he had been taught to practice sometimes did the patient more harm than good so he created Homeopathy.

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

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

Horizontal Bars-

 

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:FabianHambuechen-WM07.jpg

• Also known as the high bars was invented in 1811 by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.
• Used to this day in the Olympics.
• The horizontal bars are one of the most exciting events in all of the Olympics and the sport of Gymnastics because of the power and force the athletes use and the combination of grips, turns, twists, release and regrasp techniques and most importantly the dismount.

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

Parallel Bars-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Gymnasta.jpg

• The Parallel Bars as a sport were invented in 1819 by Friedrich Ludwig Jahn.
• Used in the Olympics to this day.
• The Gymnasts perform by gripping the bars with their hands and performing routines vertically in the air. Every routine ends with a dismount which is often a vital component of the routine.

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

Zeppelin-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:USS_Los_Angeles_moored_to_USS_Patoka,_1931.jpg

• The Zeppelin airship was invented by Ferdinand von Zeppelin.
• Zeppelin's were first formulated in 1874 and first developed in detail in 1893.
• The Zeppelin was used for warfare and were known as a rigid airship used to drop bombs and used as a scouting airship as well.
• The Zeppelin was first used by German's for DELAG as a commercial airliner in 1910 and found to be a useful creation.

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

Electric Passenger Locomotive-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:EElokSiemens.jpg

• The first passenger electric train was invented by Werner von Siemens, the creator of Siemens AG.
• Their train was presented in Berlin in 1879 and consisted of a locomotive and 3 passenger cars.
• In just 4 months of running the train ran on a circular track and transported 90,000 passengers.
• Due to the success Werner von Siemens went onto construct the first electric tram line in Lichterfelde (near Berlin).

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

Automobile-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Benz-velo.jpg

• Karl Benz's first automobile was invented in 1886 which was the Benz Patent-Motorwagen.
• Pictured above is the Benz "Velo" model which was created in 1894 by Karl Benz. (The similar Ford Model T was invented in 1908)
• Motorized vehicles would replace the use of carriages and animal-drawn buggies.
• At first the ultra-rich could only own the automobiles but with the 20th century approaching the vehicles became more and more affordable.

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

Truck-

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:NW_1st_lorry2.jpg

• Nesselsdorfer Wagenbau-Fabriks-Gesellschaft also known as the NW Truck by the company Tatra.
• Unique flatbed structure and is known as the first truck.
• Could seat 2 and had a roof to cover the passengers and the supplies being shipped.

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

 

Presentation Review:

• The task our group had was to present information on German Inventions and Industries in during the 18th and 19th centuries.
• My group consisted of myself, Talimatou (Tyler) Peniata, Brianne Stamer and Greg Koubsky.
• The way our group completed this task was by all researching our own information but communicating so that way we didn't duplicate information then we presented separately.
• Suggestions? None, I enjoyed working and presenting with my group and researching.

Berlin Calling

1) What do drugs mean to Ickarus?

Drugs to Ickarus in the film were his release. The drugs were what he went to in order to get away from his life when he was overwhelmed or when he wanted to let loose. When the stress got too great with the pressure to make new hip music or when his home life wasn't the best he would take whatever he could get his hands on to numb himself and he usually knew his limits but in the film it showed him over dosing and his body taking the consequences.

2) Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?

The film would show Ickarus's fans and fans of his type of music taking their drug of choice before or during the performance of the music. They would usually be taking lines of cocaine but they also would pop pills to get their high. The reason they did this was to connect to the music better and they were able lose themselves in the "trance" like beats and they were able to connect with the beats and different pitches easier.

3) While we can see that his drug habits get him ill and into a psychosis, and while we witness his relapse and inability to work successfully, why does the subculture Ickarus belongs to focus on drugs?

The use of drugs in Ickarus's work is very common. It is so intertwined with the culture he belongs to in the scene that is life is with partying and performing. The techno like music that he performs attracts those who use those drugs and techno and drugs seem to just go hand in hand. Even though Ickarus crashes badly and realizes he needs a change it is almost impossible for him to escape the culture and when he wants to escape his addiction and getting back into his music makes him relapse.

4) Compare the standards you know from your home society with the people you see depicted in this movie. Which are the stark differences and contrasts?

The main differences that I would say are the regularity of drug use in Germany. I feel like the drugs used are very hard core in Germany and the film depicted the accessibility of these drugs was simple and it is easy to get your hands on these drugs. I guess comparing Berlin to Minneapolis I could see some similarities with drug use but with the film it showed the use of drugs during the night and day and whenever. In Minneapolis if people were to do these drugs in public I feel it would be more of a night event. Basically just the regularity of the use of these hard drugs in Germany was shocking to me and is definitely more prevent and in the open in Berlin compared to Minneapolis.

5) Germany is considered a strong industrial nation the world over. Do you think that the youth culture as depicted here could change that? How about work ethics of Ickarus and of Alice, the label director who fires and then re-signs him?

Of course there is the chance to change the industry with different generations going their different ways. However, I feel that this is more of a youth thing and the use of drugs there and most people shape up. Many people don't ever escape the grasp of the drugs but people can change and Ickarus showed how he was able to take this addiction and make it into a positive and made the best of it and ultimately created a great album.

6) Which similar "cult movies" of U.S. origin have you seen, if any?

I haven't seen any similar cult movies of U.S. origin that compare to Berlin Calling.

Personal Reaction to Berlin Calling

I feel this film was very depictive of a certain subculture in Berlin, Germany. At times I couldn't relate to the film but that is what made it beneficial. Even though we in Minnesota can't really connect to that lifestyle we were able to really see it with the music, the drugs and the entire lifestyle of someone in that industry. It was an eye opening film for myself to see that this is probably what the youth scene really is like in Berlin with the constant partying and the use of drugs. Personally I enjoyed the film and was glad we could see the progress and the relapse that Ickarus made and the story that showed this for us the viewers and those who don't live that lifestyle.

Picture Citation

http://www.berlin-calling.de/en/downloads

German Music: Hip-Hop in the 21st Century

Die Fantastischen Vier:

 



Nickname: The Fantastic Four
Members: Michael Beck, Thomas Durr, Michael B. Schmidt and Andreas Rieke
Origins: Stuttgart, Germany
Genres: German hip-hop, Pop, and Rap
Years active: 1986 (1989) – present
Labels: Four Music, Sony BMG
To this day they have released 15 albums.
Die Fantastischen Vier were among the first groups to ever rap in the German language. With success and growing popularity the group had a brief stint in Los Angeles but having no connection to "American Gangster" scene they chose to focus their hip-hop on a more serious and philosophical style of hip-hop/rap.

Deichkind: 

 

Members: Philipp, Ferris MC, DJ Phono and Porky

Origin: Hamburg, Germany

Genres: Hip-Hop, Electro

Years active: 1999 – Present

Labels: Showdown (parent label: WEA Records), Island Records

To this day they have released 5 albums.

The groups lyrics mainly consist of themes of irony and humor, but in their recent appearances display this change noted by fast, electronic rhythms. The band describes their new sound as TechRap, a mixture of techno and rap. Deichkind is very well known for its crazy and wild live shows including rubbish bag-outfits, trampolines, vodka, and pillow fights among other things.

The death of producer and friend Sebi Hackert on 21 February 2009 caused a major shock to the band.

Begin Clip.

2000 to present

Today, the German hip hop scene is a reflection of the many dimensions that Germany has come to represent in a unified image of Europe. Everything from "migrant hip hop," which is known as hip hop from the large Turkish immigrant population that is mostly centered in Kreuzberg, to the more humor-based groups paint a portrait of a vibrant and diverse hip-hop community in Germany.

Despite common notions of the Old School German hip hop’s emulation of US hip hop styles and the New School’s attempt to rap about crime and violence, some “Old Schoolers” feel that the New School has, in fact, forgotten about its roots. Old School supporters and Scholars disagree on the nature of the recent transformation in German hip hop. Scholars have argued that the Old School German hip hop “scene was musically and vocally oriented to American role models. Rhymes were written in English; funk and soul samples dominated musical structures”. However, Old Schoolers themselves contend that it is the New School German rap artists who have been “Americanized,” and therefore lack the authenticity of the struggle of the ghetto in West Germany. The German old school acknowledged that there were many the differences between the situation in the United States and the situation in Germany, and aimed at expressing the concept of “realness,” meaning to “be true to oneself”. Different from the US hip hop’s equating “realness” with “street credibility,” many raps that came out of the old school German hip hop “address this issue and reject unreflected imitation of US hip hop as clichés and as the betrayal of the concept of realness”. Furthermore, the Old School of German hip hop may have been seen as representing “a critique of White America” because of its modeling after US hip hop; however, Old schoolers dispute that hip hop in Germany was about the oppression of people in Germany. One Old School artist, DJ Cutfaster lamented that, “Most people have forgotten that hip hop functions as a mouthpiece against violence and oppression and ultimately against the ghetto, which has become the metaphor for the deplorable state of our world”. Contrary to the New School hip hop’s attempts to crossover into the mainstream popular culture, the Old School “envisioned and propagated hip hop as an underground community that needed to keep its distance from and to create resistance to mainstream culture in order to avoid co-optation”. End Clip.

Die Fantastischen Vier Hits:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1yEIaoRNhE&feature=player_detailpage

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAnQnZpq5zg

Deichkind Hits: 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn_paxkL_tU&feature=player_embedded

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SOH7E4DrLWA

Sources: 

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

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

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

 

http://www.rme-audio.de/artists.php?page=content/artists/deichkind

 

http://www.musikladen.at/Konzerte/Deichkind/Deichkind.html

 

http://www.eventim.de/obj/media/DE-eventim/galery/kuenstler/f/die-fantastischen-vier-2010-02-005.jpg

Presentation Review:

• The task our group had was to present information on Hip-Hop in the Germany in the 21st Century.
• My group consisted of myself, Talimatou (Tyler) Peniata and many other individuals.
• The way we completed this task was by everyone working on their own and researching and posting their information to the blog. Then in class we took turns presenting from our own blogs.
• Suggestions? Perhaps make this assignment a 2 week assignment so that groups can meet together and the presenting will go smoother and the information will be clearer to the audience.

All Quiet on the Western Front Chapter 4

Summary:

The chapter starts out with the company being assigned to spread more barbed wire fences across the front.  The company is dropped off in the evening and not to be picked up until the following morning.  While they are putting up more barbed wire fencing, Kat is instructing to all of the new soldiers how to decipher between the different kinds of shells and how to take cover from them.  Kat predicts that there will be a bombardment tonight due to the fact that the English started shelling an hour earlier than usual.  Once they finish putting up the fence and are laying around trying to sleep waiting for the trucks to come pick them up, they realize that Kat’s prediction was right, and shells start falling in every location.  The company seeks cover to hide from the shells.  The trucks finally make it to pick them up, but when they are on their way back a few shells land really close to them and they are forced to take cover in a cemetery.  They are all instructed to put their gas masks on to protect themselves from the gas bombs being dropped.  One soldier who Paul had helped out earlier has taken a hit to his hip, and it is very clear that he will die from this wound.  Kat and Paul contemplate shooting him so that the pain from his wound doesn’t make him suffer for longer than he has to, but other soldiers come by so they decide not to.

Substantial Meaning:

 

This chapter kind of sets the tone for the rest of the book, as a company they are forced to endure, even with loss of life among the company.  One of the more important pieces of text from the chapter though is a small aside that Paul has with the reader.  In this he talks about how important the earth is with the soldier.  He says that the earth is there for him every time he drops to the ground for cover and that every time he asks for shelter he receives it.  Another important idea that Paul talks about is how at the front, the soldiers turn into “Human Animals” where instincts rule their actions.  He says that they are a saving grace for the ones who obey them without hesitation.  In many instances, the soldiers dropped to the ground to avoid a shell that they weren’t even aware was coming, they just did it on instincts.  What Paul says he is extremely important as to showing how the war affects the soldiers.  At the front, the ones who survive are the ones who do not act on emotion, but on instincts instead.  This tears the soldiers into two directions at once, because how could one ignore all the sources of emotion that are around them such as death and injury? The effects of this are seen throughout the rest of the book.

Presentation Review

• The task our group had was to present information on Chapter 4 of All Quiet on The Western Front to the class.
• My group consisted of myself, Talimatou (Tyler) Peniata and Robert Olson.
• The way we completed this task was combining our work and research that we did on our own and met once outside of class to compile our final presentation.
• Suggestions? I feel the process was pretty simple, research the chapter, and present on it. No suggestions.

Feb. 19th Thesis Statements Response

The thesis statements were definitely a reoccurring theme and I agree with how the novel All Quiet on The Western Front was one of the most accurate depictions of war to this date. The description used by Erich Remarque was very accurate and anyone who has read the novel speaks about how real the novel is depicts how inhumane the battles and war truly were. Most novels wrote on war try and discuss or justify how whoever it is that is being described as patriotic and great war stories but Remarque chose to describe war as realistic as he could and not worry about what people thought and that is why this novel is so successful and highly praised.

I agree with the Realities of War thesis statement and I appreciated how Remarque wrote with description and took detail and even over did it. In the novel there was such realness and not much censorship to it about how limbs would be blown off and the poisonous gas and the overall inhumanity in War. The thing that many people forget about all these wars with all the numbers and stats is that all these numbers were once real people. Patriotic and young men that were going into war with a positive look on it and those who did survive were and are forever changed from there experiences. This novel does a wonderful job of telling war and describing it as what it truly is.

The Pirate Party (Piratenpartei Deutschland)

History

The Pirate Party was founded in September 10th, 2006 in Berlin, Germany. The party is currently headquartered in Berlin as well. The German Pirate Party is in agreement with the Swedish Pirate Party and is in partnership with the Pirate Parties International. In August of 2012 there were 35,000 members. The parties current Party Leader is Thorsten Worth.

Notable Joining Members

• February 2009, The City Councillor of Strausberg, Jens Knoblich joined the Pirate Party Germany.
• June 2009, Bundestag member, Jorg Tauss left the SPD and joined the Pirate Party.
• August 2009, Herbert Rusche, one of the founding members of the German Green Party and in the 1980s, the first openly homosexual member of parliament in Germany, joined the Pirate Party.

Ideology

Begin clip.

The party supports the preservation of current civil rights in telephony and on the Internet; in particular, it opposes the European data retention policies.

The party favors the civil right to information privacy and reforms of copyright, education, genetic patents  and drug policy.

In particular, it promotes an enhanced transparency of government by implementing open source governance  and providing for APIs to allow for electronic inspection and monitoring of government operations by the citizen.

The Pirate Party also supports an unconditional basic income for citizens and direct democracy. End clip.

According to political theorist Oskar Niedermayer, the party sees itself as part of an international movement to shape the digital revolution and transition into a information society. With their focus on freedom in the net and their fight against government regulations. The group has caught the attention especially of the younger generation. The network policy was the core identity of the party, it is now more than just an advocacy party of digital natives. The Pirate Party characterizes itself as a social-liberal-progressive.

Notable Election Results

2009 German Federal Election

In the 2009 German Federal Election pm September 27, 2009, the Pirates received 845,904 votes which was only 2.0% of the vote. Needing 5.0% to secure any seats in the Bundestag they fell short. However, this was still the best result among parties that did not meet the 5.0% threshold. Also noted among first-time male voters, the party received 13.0%.

2009 European Parliament Election

In the 2009 European Parliament Election The Pirate Party received 229,117 votes which was 0.9% of the vote. Needing at least 5.0% of the vote they did not earn any seats.

German State Elections

(Note: To gain seats you need to recieve 5.0% of the vote or more)

• 2009 Saxony State Election the Pirates received 1.9% of the vote.
• 2009 Schleswig-Holstein State Election the Pirates received 1.8% of the vote.
• 2009 Hesse State Election the Pirates only received 0.5% of the vote.
• 2010 North Rhine-Westphalia State Election the Pirates received 1.5% of the vote.
• 2011 Hamburg State Elections the Pirates received 2.1% of the vote.
• 2011 Baden-Wurttemberg State Election the Pirates received 2.1% of the vote.
• 2011 Saxony-Anhalt State Election the Pirates received 1.4% of the vote.
• 2011 Rhineland-Palatinate State Election the Pirates received 1.6% of the vote.
• 2011 Berlin State Election the Pirates received 8.9% of the vote and managed to gain 15 seats in the State Parliament.
• 2012 Saarland State Election the Pirates received 7.4% of the vote and gained 4 seats in the State Parliament.
• 2012 Schleswig-Holstein State Election the Pirates received 8.2% of the vote and gained 6 seats in the State Parliament.
• 2012 North Rhine-Westphalia State Election the Pirates received 7.8% of the vote and gained 20 seats in the State Parliament.
• 2013 Lower Saxony State Election the Pirates only received 2.1% of the vote.
• 2013 Bavaria State Election the Pirates only received 2.0% of the vote.

Number of Members

Decline in Numbers and Polls

Begin clip. After those successful state elections, the party was able to score up to 13% in nationwide polls. However, after a lengthy array of scandals and internal disputes which were handled unprofessionally and picked up by the media, the party lost the trust of voters and entered a steady decline in polls. End clip.

At the 2013 German Federal Elections the Pirate Party suffered a major defeat where it was only able to achieve 2.2% of the votes, leading to the resignation of party leader Bernd Schlomer. The Pirate Party has often been criticized as well for the lack of women in the Pirate Party. At the height of the parties popularity they had over 35,000 members.

Past Party Leaders

 Bernd Schlomer, Sebastian Nerz, Dirk Hillbrecht, Chrstof Leng, and Jens Seipenbusch.

Sources

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

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Piraten_de_ew_2009.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mitgliederentwicklung_Piratenpartei_Deutschland.png

Presentation Review

• The task our group had was to present information to the class and educate them on the German Pirate Party.
• My group consisted of myself Talimatou (Tyler) Peniata, Brianne Stamer, Nicole Hughes, Natahaniel Kleene, Brian Richter and Sam Chung.
• To complete this task our group split up the research Brianne and I had to present on Basic History and Ideology of the group. Sam and Nathaniel presented on how the Pirate Party has done in past and recent elections and Brian and Nicole presented on information of number of members and rise and decline of the party. Our group presented our information right off of this blog post.
• Suggestions? The only thing I thought was tricky is that there was no rubric for us to know what exactly to present on it was nice though at the same time that we could use our discretion and present on what we found interesting.