Final Report

There are several things that I have learned throughout this semester about German culture and history. I have learned about the different political parties, the 18^th century industry and business, the effects of WWI trench war fare, the RAF, the role of women, holidays, and foods. German culture differs from what people may think or believe.

I learned a lot about the Green Party. The German Green Party is a political party in Germany. The party was established in Germany on January 13, 1980.  The party is opposition to pollution, use of nuclear power, NATO military action, and certain aspects of industrialized society were principle campaign issues. The Green party originated from conservatives and from civil initiatives.  Some of the important individuals that helped launch the Greens were Petra Kelly, Lukas Beckmann, Rudolf Bahro, Joseph Beuys, Antje Vollmer and several others.  This congress laid their ideological foundations proclaiming the famous Four Pillars of the Green Party.

We read the book “All Quite on the Western Front”. It was a book about the affects of trench war fare and the lost generation. The main character in the book was Paul Baumer and his best friend Kat. It talks about how the war has changed Paul’s personality. Before Paul joined the war effort for Germany he was an emotional caring person that liked to write poetry. Throughout the war Paul has seen and faced several tragedies that have changed his emotional state. He becomes a strong person that does not show is emotions anymore. At the end of the war Paul is struggling with the thoughts of living with out war because that is all that he knows. Paul was killed on a quite day on the front lines and as he laid there dead he had a peaceful look on his face.

I also learned about 18^th century industry and business. In Germany textiles was a very important aspect too its economy. Textiles were the first thing to be mechanized in Germany. In 1782 the first German spinning machines were built. It was built in Chemnitz and the town became a pioneer in engineering. The first German textile factory was built in 1784 and they produced thread and silk.

Another important aspect of German culture and history was the RAF (Red Army Faction). The RAF was a post WWII left-wing military group. It was founded in 1970 by Andreas Baader, Gudren Ensslin, Horst Mahler, and Ulrike Meinhof. The RAF was also known as Baader-Meinhof Group during its beginning stages. The RAF was responsible for bombings and killings of people to get the attention of the government. The RAF was a communist or a group of guerillas fighting against what they deemed to be a fascist state. The RAF had three different generations and ended on the 20^th of April, 1998.

This class has showed and taught me about several different aspects of German culture and history. It taught me about political parties like the Green Party and its several others. It helped me related to aspects of why my family does some of the things that we do because our ancestors came from Germany. It taught us about German youth and the different types of food that German’s eat. This class was very beneficial to learning about German culture and history.  

Fine Arts

Germany is a country that has been producing fine paintings and photography. Since the 1990’s German paintings have become known a revelation known as “Young German Artists”. The Leipzig School has a very popular and famous representative known as Neo Rauch. The majority of the “Young German Artists” come from Leipzig, Berlin, and Dresden.

Traditional German Foods during the Holidays

Traditional German Foods during the Holidays

            When people think about different types of German foods they tend to think of the different types of potatoes and sausages. The average German foods are Bratwurst, Knackwurst, and Frankfurters paired with potatoes. During the holidays Germans fare far beyond this with foods like goose, sauerkraut, and cake.

Roast Goose is a very popular item on Germans dinner plates during Christmas. It is roasted with vegetables and is a very popular meal during this time of the year. Another very popular meal in areas of Germany that are mostly Catholic is fish, particularly carp, salmon, and trout. It is traditionally served on Christmas day because it is considered a day of fasting. Fish is also served on Ash Wednesday and throughout lent. The fish is usually served with horseradish and apples.

http://www.ehow.com/list_7347870_traditional-german-holiday-foods.html

Answers to Questions

Answers to Questions

1.)    Andreas Baader organized the first generations of protesters. The protesters were mild at first and then became more dangerous with time. They did not harm as many innocent civilians as they did later on. They were a small group that carefully planed the time and place of the bombings. Protests were held at the newspaper publishing building where they threw rocks into the building and cars were burned.

2.)    At the beginning I felt that the RAF was doing what was necessary. They had better planning with the bombing and killings of government officials. At the end they were a lot of useless killings and innocent people were getting killed that did not need to die.

3.)    Yes I believe Andreas played a key role in the group’s dynamics. The leader of a group like this need to be determined to drive their followers. Andreas was good at motivating the followers in this cause. Rudeness helps define a guerilla group and that is what Andreas is.

RAF

The RAF

            The Red Army Faction or RAF was a post WWII left-wing military group. The RAF was founded in 1970 by Andreas Baader, Gudren Ensslin, Horst Mahler, and Ulrike Meinhof. The RAF was also known as Baader-Meinhof Group in the beginning stages of its development. The RAF was a communist or a group of guerillas fighting against what they deemed to be a fascist state. It existed from 1970 to 1998 and was responsible for the national crisis that became known as German Autumn. There were three generations of the RAF. The first generation of the RAF was consisted of Baader and his associates. The second generation of the RAF operated in the mid to late 1970’s when several members of the Socialist Patients Collective joined. The third generation of the RAF existed from the 1980’s to the 1990’s. The end of the RAF was announced from an eight-page typed letter in German on the 20 of April 1998. It was faxed to the Reuters news agency and it was signed “RAF” with the submachine-gun red star. It was declaring that the group had dissolved.  Some people can compare the RAF with today’s terrorists groups because of the extreme measures taken to get attention. They are usually trying to get the attention of a government that doesn’t or will not listen to there views.

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

Baader-Meinhof Complex

Personal Response to Der Baader-Meinhof Komplex

            The RAF had to fight war with war and violence with violence to stand up against the state government. I am not a strong believer with fighting back against the government with violence but in some situations it is needed to get things accomplished. I was truly intrigued with the movie because it is a true story and it helps show us how past situations affects us in the future. The RAF made the German government stand up and take notice to them, but there were times they did not take the RAF seriously. The government did not give enough respect to the RAF and at certain times thought they had subsided.  The movie shows how government needs to have opposing representation because not all people think alike. The movie also shows people that they need to stand up for things that they believe in and can not let the government push them around. I do not believe in the tactical standpoint of the RAF with all the violence but sometimes that is the only way. The RAF was trying to do good, but it is unfortunate that innocent people had to die.