Overall I found the class to be entertaining and informative. I learned that Germany wasn’t just about beer and brats but also has had a interesting and intense culture. I learned that Germany is a fairly liberal or at least new age country in a sense and also have very different ways of dealing with its problems. One such problem that relates to our country currently is healthcare. Germany has had uniform healthcare for everyone for a long time and apparently it works pretty well. Berlin calling seems to suggest that they tend to take better care of people for mental illness and is less likely to look down upon you for needing help. I hope that we can implement something similar to help reduce the number of homicides, suicides and better our country overall.
I also learned that Germany has had many problems to work through. The RAF, social problems, and lack of financial stability in east Germany have all had a large role in modern society in Germany today. They have had problems with dealing with a party and drug subculture and attempting to distance themselves from their history. I was somewhat surprised that the US's Vietnam war fiasco was such a big deal to Germans. Though looking back at it I suppose that it makes sense.
When talking about their humor I found it odd that they somewhat lacked one and have not had much comedy in their movies until recently. I enjoyed reading All is Quiet on the Western Front though it was not a book I would normally read. Pina was also an interesting subject and though I have not yet watched the movie, I most likely will eventually. The extra credit movies were also very interesting and made me think.
I still find it hard to memorize the geography but have a sense of culture of most of the states. The governmental election system to me seems more logical than ours and I like that multiple parties can run for office. The pirate party surprised me and I thought it was funny when you said that they don’t really have any set platform or ideals, mostly because I don't think any party running for office has any set ideals they wont change when a lobbyist “donates” them wads of cash.
When doing group presentations I found myself bored often even if the presenter was exuberant but your inputs helped me stay focused and alert. The most memorable thing from the semester would probably be not Germany but your own humor and views. I liked that we had some group participation but wished we did not have to work in a group quite as often. When we need to work as a group it would be helpful if your sheet had the list of emails posted on it so we do not need to figure out how to contact people ourselves, but if it was too big of a hassle it isn’t that big of a deal. Figuring out how to blog was frustrating at first but became a lot easier and faster once I got the hang of it. One thing I wish is that we would have had more clear instruction of how to present like as a power point or just on our blog. I think that a quick video or something entertaining like a German youtube clip or something mid class might also help draw our attention back.

Sauerbraten or sour roast is a German pot roast soaked in vinegar. The vinegar tenders the meat and adds flavor. It is typically served on spatzel , cabbage, potato dumplings, or boiled potatoes. It can be seasoned in many ways and the recipe differs depending on region. The type of vinegar used is a good example of this. Sauerbraten was originally made with horse meat but today is made of beef. The sauerkraut is also typically served in its own marinade which is later thickened in various ways before being added to the dish. The preparation of Saurbraten takes multiple days for the meet to marinate, however after the meet has been marinated it can quickly be made into a meal. Because of the tenderizing properties of marinating beef in vinegar, generally a cheaper cut is used. Other sides served with Sauerbraten include potato cakes and apple sauce.
I personally like Sauerbraten but I can understand why others would not. I would assume that Sauerbraten is a dish that tends to polarize people. As pictured here, I would say that it is not the most appetizing looking of meals.

http://www.goodfoodeurope.com/?p=344

The Baader-Meinhoff group started at its earliest at a peaceful protest of a diplomat. After violence was used against them and they were not defended by the police they became more and more desperate and began using violence themselves. They began destroying property then eventually put peoples lives at risk setting up bombs populated areas then giving a warning before they go off.
    At first I thought it was kinda cool what they were doing. They were acting within a moral code and getting a response. Then when they started destroying property I began to think well... I don't like that they  are destroying property but I don't really know what these people they are going up against have done. Then when they put civilian lives at risk and bombed placed I could tell they were getting out of hand. If they would have stayed peaceful and didn't destroy anything but instead maybe just caused a scene I believe they would have had a better chance than going all out against the government. I don't believe you will ever change anyone's mind by using force. You may show your commitment and will, maybe even get people to follow your orders but eventually they will rebel. Personally I believe that the only time you should use force is if there is no hope in stopping what needs to be stopped otherwise and it is necessary to stop it. I also think that if they were more open and accepting they would have been better off. By being rude and forceful sometimes even straight up unstable seeming they made people shy away and see them as a more radical and extremist group. Though you may be able to get other extremists I think it is important to stay moderate even if just to keep numbers up. No matter what you believe in it is important to look at the other side. By being radical and you will attract more radicals, and being radical generally means you are not very accepting of other beliefs. Thus by being radical you most likely will not get along with other people, least of all more radical people.

Rote Armee Fraktion

The Rote Armee Fraktion or Red Army Faction was created by students whom fought against perceived Nazism in the German government and economy. The spark of the movement was when the Shah of Iran hired thugs to attack those whom opposed him and the police didn't do enough to stop it. Then later at another rally a German protester and student was shot in the head by a police officer. Besides Nazism and imperialists, the RAF also fought against the war in Vietnam and social classes.

The first generation was a group of protestors whom grouped together, also known as the Baader Meinhoff group. Later after the group left Germany for a while they came back and formed the RAF with new found resources and following. The third generation was following the fall of the leaders of the Baader Meinhoff group.

the RAF started as a group whom protested and had used bombs as a way to get the medias attention. However fairly quickly they found themselves bombing places with less and less care about those inside seeing that they got more attention when people were involved. 

The biggest blow to the RAF would be the dissolution of the Soviet Union. With the fall of the large the communist group, it was much harder to find support for such ideals. They finally sent  a eight page paper to the Reuters news agency on April 20th 1998 stating that the group had been dissolved.

Similarities to today terrorist attacks would be that both use violence to get attention. however i would say that they differ because allot of terrorist attacks go out of their way to inflict damage to civilians, where the RAF were more or less indifferent. They did not necessarily want civilians to die, they wanted attention.

DER BAADER MEINHOF KOMPLEX

I liked the film but as with pretty much everything we have watched or read in this class it was not a movie I would see in the theater because it sounds entertaining. I personally found it interesting how much they were going to go through for their ideals but at the same time thought it was fairly radical. I agree with their ideals, and I could see how it started, however it got more out of hand than I thought it would. It was interesting to see how the person I believe is the chairmen understood the need and ways to shut down the movement better than others. It is crazy that one can turn against what they believed in when they believe in something this radical. It's crazy that the woman decided to give up her kids in order to continue fighting most likely to her death. When looking at how they treated those supporting them its not very surprising that they could not keep the group together. I understand frustration with the system and how they were frustrated with being taught with non applicable training, but unless you were mentally unstable I don't think I would have challenged the man whom was training them. It seemed to me that some of the members more or less just wanted everything for nothing. And used blaming the economy for their lack of it. They stole and attacked people consistently, but when they  fought back they were appalled. In any conflict i strongly believe you have to look at the other side even, though it can be hard to do.

SPOILER ALERT!

I really liked the Edukators. It was a movie I would not see on my own like the rest of the movies we watched in class but seemed more believable. I don't not believe the other movies or think that it would never happen, but this movie seems like it could happen pretty easily. I thought of it as a kind of smaller scale version of the meinhoff movie we watched in class. I also liked how they covered most of the options and was very realistic upon the options available. The only thing I did not really like about the movie is that it was fairly predictable. However to be honest I don't think they could make a story like that not predictable, and I wasn't really bothered by it. The ending confused me a bit. Did the older man call the police on them after all?  Or did he give them the heads up or give the police the wrong address. I kind of think he gave them the wrong address but the note makes me think that they just saw it coming ahead of time. I hope to remember this movie when I am older and hold to my ideals. I don't expect to be perfect or change anything, but every little bit helps and if I can stifle some of my natural greed to help someone then at least I can be proud of that if nothing else. I also find it interesting that he did not seem very scared, and that he seemed to almost try to play them. Personally I would have been afraid that if I made them turn on each other or made them angry they would either blame me or take it out on me. I wouldn't classify myself as a rebel or an radical, but this movie tends to put that revolutionary desire into me. I could see how easy it would be as a young adult to be caught up in trying to change the world. I can also relate to their ideals and moral code. However I do recognize that scaring the wealthy will not help in the end.

Personally I thought the movie was interesting much like All Quiet On The Western Front, but also like All Quiet On The Western Front it is not something I would have watched on my own. One question I have is whether the music played and the character of Ickarus really existed and were connected. It may have just been my imagination but the music Ickarus was producing when he was still doing drugs made me feel anxious. This may just be me relating the drugs to the music because of the movie, but it isn't uncommon to have music influence you. Later in the movie when he was recovering I found the music much more flowing and less stressed. Again this may have just been because I was connecting the dots in my head.

I was not overly surprised by much in the movie other than the treatment of Ickarus. Because my my past friends I have seen the effects of drugs on people first hand. I have not seen anyone too greatly affected like the man who couldn’t talk in the movie. But I do know of a homeless guy who wanders around my friends neighborhood and randomly has acid trips because of his past usage. He is generally taken away by the police and I assume they keep him until he recovers but I doubt that his condition will ever improve.

The sex and drugs thing never early caught me off guard either. Personally I think that if you surprised by the drugs and sex in the movie you are probably lying to yourself or have not looked very hard at what is going on around you. The drugs and music may be a subculture but I would bet that everyone who is attending SCSU knows at least one person who has been either been addicted or at least tried out many of the drugs in this movie. The sex on the other hand just tends to go along with drugs and alcohol because of the lessened inhibitions.

I would not say I am anymore wise or knowledgeable than other people but I am surprised that people were so shocked by what they saw in the movie. I don’t understand why the movie would be that hard to believe or why you are so embarrassed when you see someone doing what was done in the movie. I would have thought by now most people knew what was going on and could look at it in a mature manner.