Kultur Kapitel 11

The New Germany- This piece was really interesting to read. I think it gave a pretty good picture of the history in such sort segments. A lot of German culture makes much more sense after reading about their history...it has been quite violent and tumultuous in such a sort period of time.

Breaking Down the Wall in the Head- This article was also a very interesting read. I guess I've never considered the aftermath of the wall being torn down and the difficulty of trying to combine two very different cultures. It is just a shame that most of the issues stem from stereotypes and could be resolved with more understanding between the Easterners and Westerners.

Ostalgie- Another interesting piece. I guess it goes to show that comfort creates happiness. I'm sure when living in East Germany many of the citizens didn't consider all of the unique aspects that they would miss if gone. Once their culture was in some ways stripped away from them they had a longing for the familiar.

Backward Southerners, Frigid Northerners- After reading this article I know where I'd probably fit in best in Germany, and that is the North. Maybe it was the religion thing that caught my eye as a Presbyterian. Or perhaps it's my own U.S. pride of being from the north. Either way I'd say if the north is a liberal industrialized and intellectual then I know where I'd be visiting in Germany.

Deutschland: von der Monarchie zur Demokratie (I)
Deutschland: von der Monarchie zur Demokratie (II)
Deutschland: von der Monarchie zur Demokratie (III)- These readings make you feel really bad for Germany. Not only did Germans harm one another but after WWII Russians and Western countries treated Germany like a toy almost. Rather than making decisions that would help Germany as a whole they made politically charged scarred choices that hurt Germans as we see in the long run (from the previous article discussing differences between East and West). It is interesting how our text book totally goes against Eastern Germany and all the literature we read normally does. Even those in a previous article it was pointed out that some Easterners liked living in East Germany and would rather be living like that today.

Freistaat Sachsen: Leipzig und Dresden- Saxony seems like it would be an extremely interesting place to visit. You have this joined force of history of reflecting on the bombings but also some interesting inventions and forward thinking has come from Saxony such as the washing machine, the teat bag,the coffee filter and toothpaste.