Last Question(s)

If a typical German student of our age could go anywhere in the world, where would they go?

"Rote Armee Fraktion" A.K.A. RAF

2. Then reserach the "Rote Armee Fraktion" RAF and provide a second post with your findings of
- the causes
- the three generations of activists
- the end of the RAF
- the similarities between current day's terro attacks and the RAF (similarities and differences)

"World War 2 was only twenty years earlier. Those in charge of the police, the schools, the government — they were the same people who’d been in charge under Nazism. The chancellor, Kurt Georg Kiesinger, was a Nazi. People started discussing this only in the 60's. We were the first generation since the war, and we were asking our parents questions. Due to the Nazi past, everything bad was compared to the Third Reich. If you heard about police brutality, that was said to be just like the SS. The moment you see your own country as the continuation of a fascist state, you give yourself permission to do almost anything against it. You see your action as the resistance that your parents did not put up."

— Stefan Aust, author of Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex 

This quote clearly states the cause of the formation of the group. The government was still being run by the same people who ran it under the Nazi regime. This was just an uprising waiting to happen.

There were three successive incarnations of the organization, the "first generation" which consisted of Baader and his associates, the "second generation" RAF, which operated in the mid to late 1970s after several former members of the Socialist Patients' Collective joined, and the "third generation" RAF, which existed in the 1980s and 1990s. 

Three generations of the RAF came over time, each one larger than the last. This only shows that the ideas held by the first generation were growing. The first's ideas spread, and grew, and infected more and more with passing time. 

On April 20th, 1998, an eight-page typewritten letter in German was faxed to the Reuters news agency, signed "RAF" with the machine-gun red star, declaring that the group had dissolved, even though they had not made any actions for a few years prior to this letter.

The actions the RAF took against the government and other agencies are extremely similar to modern terrorist attacks. The RAF did everything from car bombings to hijacking planes, same as terrorists today. The RAF may have paved the path for todays modern terrorists.

Baader-Meinhof Complex (Movie)

1. Write a post providing your personal response to the movie we viewed together: Baader-Meinhof Complex. 250-300 words.

I found this movie to be very good; well acted, well directed and very well written. The events portrayed in this film could have been doctored up and even viewed as positives. I am glad this video was watched in class. Up to the viewing of this film I had no idea what the "Baader-Meinhof Complex" was, an important piece of German history completely unknown to many Americans. This should be in the history books right next to the section on the Vietnam War. What I saw in this film completely terrified me. The actions the government took one step at a time leading to a government who was ruling its people should be feared. Governments should have a people's union or something to make sure the government can't violate our rights so that people like the criminals in this movie do not need to exist. In the parade scene when the officers start hitting the people because they are standing up for a cause gives critical incite to the psyche of police officers. It seems they think they are the law or are above its punishments and can do as they please. As if they can live by there own set of rules without worrying about the consequences. I didn't agree with the actions the RAF took but if I were in there shoes, I probably would have done the same. They were a people pushed to do things most of us would call horrible, but if you look at what they were trying to fight against, you probably would have helped them any way you could.

18th Century German Industry

THE GUILLOTINE (In Germany)

By: Patrick & Kyle

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lo5BBHtn4tM

Story Of the Living Heads- http://www.guillotine.dk/Pages/30sek.html

Credit Goes To----->

The French got credit for creating it, but was really invented by a German engineer by the name of Tobias Schmidt.  Original design was different than the one poeple know today.  It was first used in Paris and was made of 3 peices of wood.  Two peices were used on either side of the blade standing tall, with groves on the inside of them to allow the blade to run through.  There was another peice of timber on the top used as a cross beam.  The blade would drop down the groves, cut the head off, and drop it into a wicker basket. 

June 1793 to July 1794)

Famous/Nobility Executions!

• Collenot d'Angremont of the National Guard
• King Louis XVI
• Arnaud II de La Porte
•  Queen Marie Antoinette
•  Maximilien Robespierre
•  Eugen Weidmann (Last Public)
• Hamida Djandoubi (Last Recorded)

18th Century Dancing

Dance has always played an important role in people's love lives. Many times the only opportunities for girls to meet their future husbands were the barn dance, the may pole dance, the harvest dance and the like. While the older folk would gossip, the youngsters took to the dance floor in their finery--dirndl dresses for the girls, knickerbockers for the boys. In Bavaria and Austria, the pants were made of leather, the famous "lederhosen."

Folk dances follow strict gender roles. The boys are allowed to whoop, stomp and clap, while the girls twirl daintily, which lifts their skirts and shows their legs. The most famous of these "mating dances" is the Bavarian "Schuhplattler," which is usually danced to the rhythm of the landler. Interestingly, often only the men dance it. Here, the men are particularly noisy. They accentuate the rhythm by stomping their feet and slapping their leather-clad thighs and the soles of their shoes. Because of the slapping sound, the Schuhplattler is also called "Watschentanz." "Watschen" is the Bavarian word for slap or smack.

The Facts

Dances created before the 1800s that are passed down from generation to generation are considered to be folk dances. Folk dances are often specific to a certain region or social class.

Features

Because it is an all-inclusive form of recreation, folk dancing is characterized by simple steps and frequently repeated patterns of movement, making it easy for every member of the community to participate. Additionally, folk dances are typically performed for the enjoyment of the dancers, and not for an external audience.

Functions

In medieval times, folk dances were performed as part of a celebration or an important ritual. Since folk dances often originated in rural, agricultural areas of a country, dances were typically linked to the passing of the seasons. Harvest and planting dances were performed when a crop was reaped or sowed, and the popular Maypole dance was performed to celebrate spring.

Types

There are many different types of folk dance. Some of the most popular forms still performed today are Irish step dancing, clogging, the Maypole dance and line dancing. Folk dancing is considered to have influenced many present forms of dance, including tap dancing, and hip hop.

VIDEO: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddy4LJCC7bk

Read more: History of German Folk Dance | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_6692445_history-german-folk-dance.html#ixzz15a4OHlX2


info from http://www.ehow.com
pictures from google.com

other members group work: https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AS45EM5J0d7OZGhyczQydjhfMTFoZDc5NjRodw&hl=en&authkey=CI30u4ME
video from youtube.com

18th Century German Rulers & Government

https://docs.google.com/present/edit?id=0AT2qOQL4rrVYZHAycDVrel80ZGZtN3Y3MzU&hl=en&authkey=CPGO-LQL

Email

loky1001@stcloudstate.edu

18th Century Literature

Timeline of Eras and Styles

This Timeline Shows Different Writing Styles and Eras Throughout the 18th Century.
Using this we can see where writers fit in and how the times effected their styles.




Information from Wikipedia.

Other work from group
Donohue, Patrick
Zhi Bie
Johnson, Steven M
Kelsey Kubiak

Gender Roles (Ideology)

"Gender role is a term used in the social sciences and humanities to denote a set of behavioral norms that accompany a given gendered status (also called a gendered identity) in a given social group or system. Gender is one component of the gender/sex system, which refers to "the set of arrangements by which a society transforms biological sexuality into products of human activity, and in which these transformed needs are satisfied" (Reiter 1975: 159). Every known society has a gender/sex system, although the components and workings of this system vary widely from society to society."

"In many ways gender identity and roles function as any other social identity and role. Every known human society presents individuals with a set of statuses by which members of the society identify themselves and one another. Such statuses may be assigned to an individual automatically, based on the status of his or her parents, or based on some physical characteristic (including ones that emerge through the aging process); such statuses are called "ascribed." Other statuses may be achieved based on the activities and accomplishments of an individual. Scientists used to believe that gender was universally ascribed; today most recognize that elements of gender can be achieved. In either case, gender, like any other role, involves socially proscribed and prescribed behaviors, which may take the form of rules or values. Such rules and values do not determine or control an individual's behaviors absolutely. Usually they define boundaries of acceptable behavior within which there is always variation and room for individual creativity. Most researchers recognize that the concrete behavior of individuals is a consequence of both socially enforced rules and values, and individual disposition, whether genetic, unconscious, or conscious, although some researchers emphasize the objective social system, and others emphasize subjective orientations and dispositions."

"Moreover, such creativity may, over time, cause the rules and values to change. Although all social scientists recognize that cultures and societies are dynamic and change, there have been extensive debates as to how, and how fast, they may change. Such debates are especially intense when they involve the gender/sex system, as people have widely differing views about the extent to which gender depends on biological sex."

The suitable roles, rights, and responsibilities of both men and women in society are based on a gender role ideology.  This perception can usually reflect these attitudes in a specific area. These areas include things such as an economic, family, legal, political, and also social domain. Most of the time, gender ideology theories are one dimensional and range from traditional, conservative, or anti-feminist; to egalitarian, liberal, or feminist. Traditional gender ideologies highlight the values of specific roles for males and females. According to a traditional gender ideology about family, males accomplish their family roles through instrumental, business-like actions and women accomplish their roles through nurturing, homemaking, and parenting actions. Liberal ideologies regarding the family, by contrast, support and signify men and women to be equal and share business-like and nurturing family roles. 

information from http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Gender_role

pictures from google images

Group-work from others in the group (the other parts of the presentation)


Kelsey Kubiak
Otte, Conner G
Bigger, Breanna

Blog Ratings

My criteria: How well the blog reflects the writer.


1. David Grow David.German110

1. Overall Appearance: 30/30 (very neat and easy to navigate)
2. Completeness: 20/20 (has all assignments)
3. Solid Blogging: 20/20 (very well written)
4. Pictures: 10/10 (has plenty of pictures)
5. My Criteria: 17/20 (reflects the writer to a certain extent)

Total Score: 97/100

2. Shelby Gunderson Shelby.German110

1. Overall Appearance: 28/30 (could use more color and is a little blocky)
2. Completeness: 18/20 (missing the All Quiet on Western Front post)
3. Solid Blogging: 20/20 (very well written)
4. Pictures: 10/10 (has many pictures)
5. My Criteria: 20/20 (reflects the writer as I know her from class)

Total Score: 96/100

3. Jenita Teachout Jen.German110

1. Overall Appearance: 28/30 (a little white)
2. Completeness: 20/20 (has all assignments)
3. Solid Blogging: 20/20 (very well written)
4. Pictures: 5/10 (not very many pictures)
5. My Criteria: 20/20 (reflects the writer as I know her from class)

Total Score: 93/100

All Quiet on the Western Front

On Monday we talked about and discussed the book All Quiet on the Western Front. The discussion went in many directions but we seemed to talk a lot about why the book sold so well and about identity. We talked about how soldiers who enlist so young haven't found themselves yet so the war defines them. And when the war is gone, they have nothing. 
We also talked about what the book was about. We came to the conclusion that the book wasn't about death as it was more about survival. 

Sachsen ( Saxony)



State Location: Eastern Germany, 51°1′37″N 13°21′32″E

The population is roughly 4.2 million

Size: roughly the size of New Jersey

Significance/Uniqueness: 240 museums, home to microchip, publishing,and pocelain industries.

History:

Saxony was part of a Duchy from the early middle ages. The current state of Saxony started with Heinrich I, who was the first Saxon ruler to reign as King of Germany. He came from the Harz (northern Germany mountain range), and entered the area of today's Saxony. in 1453, the duchy became a Electorate of the Holy Roman Empire. Saxony used to be a lot bigger but after the Seven Years' War (1756-63), the Napoleonic wars, and the Austro-Persian War (1866), Saxony lost a lot of land because they always ended up allying themselves with the losing side against Prussia, who acquired almost 3/5 of Saxony territory, which led to the current size of Saxony. After WWI, Saxony became a republic. After WWII, it became part of the GDR, and on October 3, 1990, it became a free state again.

Sources :

http://www.saxonytourism.com/index2.php

http://www.enchantedlearning.com/usa/states/area.shtml

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

http://www.mapzones.org/Saxony.html

Questions Continued

German States: Westphalia

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

2.   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.   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.     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.     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.     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.    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.     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.    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 Team 2 Questions

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

radio stations

radio list

If you click on the link above you can search through a list of german radio stations. Next to each station is a description of what is played on them.

Top 5

• The Wadden Sea *
• Cologne Cathedral
• Castles of Augustusburg and Falkenlust at Brühl
• Völklingen Ironworks
• Messel Pit Fossil Site