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.

1. What do drugs mean to Ickarus?
I think drugs are an escape for Ickarus along with the lifestyle. But in addition to helping him escape reality, I believe he uses them as a recreation. However later in his career as a MC he may have become dependent on them because he begins to believe he must take them to be creative or to get into the same mental state as his audience. Either way I believe it started as a recreation and a way to enhance an experience and then took control of him.  

2. Why, when, and how are his fans taking drugs, and which drugs do they take?
It seems to he they focus on hallucinogens and many endorphin releasing drugs. I believe I saw cocaine, they talked about LSD, and I wouldn't doubt that some fans are on acid. Ecstasy is another drug that is popular in raves. Most of these are inhaled or snorted but others are placed directly into your bloodstream.
  
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 is in focus on drugs?
Drugs help you experience the music and atmosphere in new ways. Some drugs can make you sense the music using other sensors that normally wouldn’t have to do with sound and others release pleasure endorphins making you feel good. Others can be taken to enhance your senses and then some are taken to hallucinate. No matter what you pick though I would guess that drugs go hand in hand with raves because alot of times this particular kind of music has great affect upon your "trip". So one way would be you go to a rave to make your trip special, another would be you take drugs to make the rave special. Either way you end up taking drugs and going to a rave.

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 first thing I noticed is that the German healthcare system took care of Ickarus. From my knowledge I would assume that Ickarus most likely would not have recovered unless he himself decided to enroll in a help course. Another thing I noticed is the lack of law enforcement upon dealing with drugs. Though I would not say drugs are hard to find in the US, from what I saw in the movie there wasn't much fear of getting busted with the drugs. I know that drugs are still pretty common in raves here in Minnesota but from what I have seen most drugs are taken privately then you go out onto the floor. Depending upon the club you may even be kicked out if they believe you are under the influence of something.  

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?
I do not believe that this generation will be much different than the previous. Though there might be larger gathering of that culture, trends tend to come and go. When it comes down to finding a job even someone who is completely addicted to that lifestyle can become a professional if they want to. If there is no money to be made in something people are bound to move onto something else.  

6. Which similar "cult movies" of US origin have you seen, if any?
I do not recall seeing any US "cult movies". However I don't know that I would have even considered this movie a "cult" movie. All people have a certain lifestyle and all movies portray some sort of lifestyle, the rave scene is just another. I would say that this movie just focus more upon the lifestyle than other movies.

Response to German Health. I thought that it was interesting that Germany still prayed for health when so much earlier good health and fitness was celebrated in the Olympics and in Coliseums. The fact that Nazi Germany portrayed a large strong man in most of their advertisements was also interesting. I wish I knew more about our own propaganda and what it was like in comparison. The fact that Germans invented or at least started gymnastics is also a surprise to me. Not that I don’t think Germans are capable of it but having something for entertainment and exercise doesn’t quite seem to fit in to how I imagine early Germany. I somewhat wish more was covered in the profession of healthcare in Germany. I know we covered some of it in class but I would have assumed that the groups that covered healthcare in Germany would have brought up Nuns and such. I don’t know much about them myself so maybe I have misunderstood that Nuns had helped as nurses and were taught how to take care of people. If I hadn’t already read about the humors is suppose those also would have been surprising. The fact that they thought you could have too much blood is somewhat surprising knowing that the people fainted after they drew enough. But then again maybe the people drawing the blood just assumed that they fell asleep because they were healing or were relieved in pain and are getting some well needed rest.

German 18th century literature

Ge110 18th century literature from ge110f12JacobAA

All Quiet on the Western Front

• Gritty, plain novel that isnt afraid to talk about war the best it can
• Not over glamorous or full of heros
• Written in a way to make you feel like you were there
• Droning soldier's who are numb to whats going on besides their desires
• Cold fact based judgement's
• Trying to hold onto themselves
• Descriptive gritty and drab scenes
• Little for-telling
• Written from a soldiers prespective
• Distaste for those in power

All Quiet on the Western Front

Chapter Eleven

In chapter eleven of the novel All Quiet on the Western Front, by Erich Maria Remarque, many tragic events are described. This chapter is one of sorrow and despair, filled with death. Each word in this chapter makes the reader feel the pain of the solider, the pain of loss and death of those around him. It condemns the characters worst fears of losing those that he has come closest to on the battlefield.

            “War is the cause of death like cancer and tuberculosis, like influenza and dysentery”. (pg271) This quote alone sets the stage for this chapter of gloom. The main character talks of how each day passes practically unnoticed.  How each of them have grown so accustom to the war their minds have ceased to think of nothing else. How no man remembers what life outside the war could possibly be like. “It is as though formerly we were coins of different provinces; and now we are melted down, and all bear the same stamp”. (pg272) The main character goes on to talk about how the death all around them has left them as animals.

            This chapter tells of how Detering, having seen a cherry tree, goes, in a sense mad, for his longing of home has surpassed his control. The main character, Paul, tells of how one morning Detering was gone. He goes on to say that Detering had absurdly gone toward Germany, and so was caught by the field gendarmes; military police. We then hear no more about Detering, for the main character himself hears nothing of him. Müller, one of the main characters, we learn is dead. We go on to find out that he was shot at point-blank in the stomach. He lives for a short time longer, but in utter agony.

            “Germany out to be empty soon,” says Kat’. (pg 281) At this point in the book the characters seem to be loosing hope that the war will ever end. German forces do not have the food, the artillery, or any such supplies to match the competitors. “For one hungry, wretched German soldier come five of the enemy, fresh and fit” (pg286).

            Leer, a character that went to school with the main character, Paul, has been shot. The boy bleeds out, at the same time Bertinick the Company Commander is shot. Soon after, the main character and Kat have been hit, Kat is hit in the bone, and bleeds fast. Paul carries Kat over his shoulder, stopping to get out of the way of the firing that is over them. Paul makes it to the shelter where the doctors and surgeons can tend to Kat, but only to find that his work has been for nothing. Kat is dead. “Only the Militiaman Stanislaus Katczinsky has died. Then I know nothing more” (pg 291).

Part 2: Describe a Character

Stanislaus Katczinsky 

          Stanislaus Katczinsky from be beginning looks to be a father figure. In the beginning he seems to have a positive or at least a not-defeated view of the war stating it would not be such a bad war if only they could get some sleep. He is described as the leader of the group. A man who is “shrewd, cunning and hard bitten...” with “a remarkable nose for dirty weather, good food and soft jobs.”(pg03). Later it is said that he has to have a sixth sense for finding supplies. During most of the hard times he and his comrades go through he is the one to find something to cheer up his comrades, most of the time it is either food or somewhere to sleep. Though the story behind it is not mentioned in the novel it is said his greatest accomplishment in the area would be to finds a few crates of lobster for the men. At one time while being bombarded and running low on food there are multiple attempts to get food to the front. Then it is stated “Finally Kat tries, and even he reappears without accomplishing anything” (pg107) Food great necessity in the book and because of this Kat is a great friend to have. One such occasion when they were going hunger he and Paul go and steal geese to eat and use the feathers for a pillow. However it is not just good times for Kat. He seems to also have to make hard decisions in order to protect his younger followers. One such example would be when after rescuing a soldier and he realizes that the soldier is going to die, he asks the hard question to end it for him so as to keep the young soldier from suffering.

Most of the time Kat has a veteran like position to him. Where most of the men in the story are somewhere near 18 or 19 years old Kat is 40.  The majority of times when the narrator is talking about older soldiers, it is in jealous nature. He and his friends were thrown into the fray at a young age with no life experience to help them after the war and little to cling onto to keep sane such as a wife or children. However Kat often gives helpful advice and is shown to be like a sort of wise elder to listen to and respect even though he does not out rank them. Other times he seems to be in a daze. One such time is when he is talking about men getting literally getting blown out of their clothes by mortars. He is killed in the end by a stray piece of shrapnel to the back of his head as he was being carried by Paul back to the medical area in order to treat his leg. He is the last of the group to die besides the narrator Paul, and was probably Paul’s closest friend. After Kat dies the book skips some time to when Paul is sent to rest for inhaling some poison gas which to me is a sign that Paul has given into depression and most likely does not care too much about the time after Kat dies.

CDU presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1G-3jbgZplOGSBL5rKuD7Q03LjT0nVC0iI8tP7J64voY/edit

Above is the our powerpoint for our presentation. I believe the presentation went as smoothly as it could have with the problems we were having with our email. I do not know if some of our team members tried to contact the rest of us or not but I straight up didn't hear from some of our group members and others I only got some of the emails they apparently sent out. the few in I did make contact to only received some of the emails I received and i also missed some emails they got. Overall i wish our group was smaller so we could work more efficiently. It would be nice to have group members who have similar schedules but i guess you have to work with what you have because that is not always possible. 

The CDU are an interesting group and even after researching them there are some aspects of them I do not completely understand. My job on the project was to put together the relationships between the CDU and American parties. However because of the different laws there are different social issues going on in Germany than here, thus it made it hard to find views on the same issues. Predominantly I found that the CDU closest relates to our Republican party. They are slightly right winged conservatives and base their values on christian beliefs. However they do not force others to believe what they do, they believe the choice of religion is best left for the public to decide but do not shy away from stating their beliefs. They also have some liberal view when it comes to freedom of rights but overall they tend to be conservative such as their strong dislike of embryo re-utilization.

Overall I wish we either had more time to work together such as getting our assignment one week early and having some in class time to go over the presentation. I feel that because of our problems of communication I most likely have irritated some of our team members. I did not like the feeling of being between two groups of people one whom desires to take credit for the project because we put the slides together and sifted through alot of information that some of our members merely copied and pasted from websites easily found by a search of CDU through Google. And the other group whom, either was not properly informed of what was expected of them or decided that copying and pasting a wiki-link info is enough. I feel obliged to leen towards the first group because we did spend at least three hours putting together the slide. While others merely  requested that someone should make a slideshow, or sent us a paragraph from Wikipedia as if we couldn't Google their subject ourselves. However some other people did attempt to give us what we needed and had obviously done research into their subject. Because their time put into the project I feel as if I was slighted by some members and in return I slighted others. The CDU project overall was interesting and I learned a good deal however it was pretty rough going and ended with in my opinion more distaste for our group members than it should have.  

Hesse by Jialun Shen, Matthew Kinzer, Jacob Anderson

Place: Germany cultural center mid west Germany.


Number of inhabitants: 6,067,021

Size: 8100 sq miles

Economy: 318 Billion Us dollars ( 228.51 billions euro )

Main industries: automotive ( Opel ) textiles, chemicals, machinery, and metal goods as well as electrical products and scientific instruments.

GDP per Capita: 37,491 Euro

Big Cities: Wiesbaden, Mainz, Offenbac, Darmstadt, Frankfurt, Kassel

Small Cities: Hann Mundeh, Bad Hersfeld, Marburg, GieBen, Wetzlar, Limburg,
Bad Homburg, Fulda, Russelsheim, Neu Isenburg, Dreieich, Rodgau, Maintal,
Hanau, Taunus-stein, Lamperthm, Bensheim, Viemhm

Country side Towns: Lorsch Beerfelden, Crbach, Hochst, Reinheim, pfungstadt,
Riedstadt, Eltville, Bad Schalbach, Karben, Bugingen, Bad Orb, Steinau,
Schluchten, Neuhof, Schotten, Hungen, Laubach, Butzbach, USingen, Weilburg,
 Elbtal, Herborn, Haiger, Dillenburg, Homburg, Busseck, Feinsungen, Lauterbach,
Schiltz, Niedraula, Alsfeld, Haiger

Before 1871, about 1000 years, the Holy Roman Empire existed in German history from 962 to 1806. The Central Hessian region was inhabited can trace back to the Paleolithic period. Hesse has no unified history. In the war of the Thuringian Succession, Hesse became a Landgraviate within the Holy Roman Empire. With the death of landgrave Philip, the territory was divided up by his sons. Afterwards, after the Holy Roman Empire dismantled, Hesse-Darmstadt was elevated to the rank of a Grand Duchy in 1806. Then it was defeated by Prussia and the Grand Duchy joined the German Empire in 1871.

From 1871 to 1918, German Empire existed.

In 1871, the formal unification of Germany into a politically and administratively integrated nation state officially occurred. Then Hesse-Darmstadt joined the newly founded German Empire, and the last Grand Duke was forced from his throne at the end of World War I, and the states was renamed the People’s State of Hesse. It continued under its own dynasty until the German revolution of 1918.

From 1918 to 1948, Germany experienced Weimar Republic and Nazi Germany. After World War II the Hessian territory left of the Rhine was again occupied by France, whereas the rest of the country was part of the US occupation zone. The French separated their part of Hesse from the rest of the country and incorporated it into the newly founded state of Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz). The United States, on the other side, proclaimed the state of Greater Hesse (Groß-Hessen) on 19 September 1945, out of Hesse-Darmstadt and most of the former Prussian province of Hesse-Nassau. Then in 1946, Greater Hesse joined the federal republic and officially became Hessen today.

Hessen Germany (English name is Hesse) offers a huge scenic diversity. medieval towns, health spas, rolling hills, and a wide range of leisure activities. 

Hessen is well-known because of Europe's financial metropolis Frankfurt, and Germany's largest airport Rhein-Main.

North Hesse is fairy-tale country. The Brothers Grimm lived many years in Kassel, and collected the tales of the region.

Sababurg is known as the castle of Sleeping Beauty as it was surrounded by a 5km long and 3m high thorn hedge in the 16th century.

The Vogelsberg is one of the largest extinct volcanic fields on earth.

Leisure activities in Hessen include hiking, bicycling, fishing, watersports in summer. Skiing, especially cross-country skiing, and sledging are possible in many regions, when we have snow.

Martin Fitzgerald Lawrence

April 16, 1965 in Frankfurt am Main, Hesse, Germany 

John Patrick McEnroe, Jr.

born February 16, 1959 in Wiesbaden, West Germany

http://www.mapsofworld.com/germany/states/hessen/ 9/4/2012)
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Hesse.aspx  (9/4/2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hesse  (9/4/2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deutsches_Kaiserreich (9/4/2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II (9/4/2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Roman_Empire (9/4/2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_reunification (9/4/2012)

http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/world/A0858623.html (9/4/2012)

http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Hesse.aspx (9/4/2012)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McEnroe (9/5/2012

http://www.germany-insider-facts.com/hessen-germany.html (9/5/2012

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001454/ (9/5/2012)