Why the EU will continue to be a pivotal organization for German in the 21st Century

1. Germany is protected by the strength of the EU because through the creation of the EU Germany and its neighboring countries that were previously at war were able to make peace and work toward a common goal.
2. The EU provides an open market for Germany's products to be sold to so being a part of the EU is extremely profitable economically to Germany.
3. As long as Europe is at peace Germany being its biggest producer of products stands to make a profit.
4. The unification of one type of currency has allowed Germany to become competitive at a global level.
5. If the economy in the EU is allowed to become one providing a new middle class Germany will have more people that have the ability to buy their profits and so will benefit from this change.
6. The common currency has helped Germany through reunification.
7.  Germany is in position of being the greates economic power in Europe
8. Germany benefits from the continent at peace and benefits most when it can sell its products to all of Europe
9. Germany is no longer seen as a threat and is instead seen as a powerful ally
10. With Germany and Europe unified they provide a stronger voice to global decision making.

*Used notes from class and summarized

Top 3 Blogs

1. Krystal Dube: interesting background, nice pictures, everythings on blog.
2. Lacey Rovang: like the background, nice pictures, not missing blogs
3. Kevin Andresen: background is interesting, nice pictures, not missing blogs.

"All Quiet On The Western Front"

Our in class discussion was on the loss of identity which I feel was one of the main focal points in this book.  The idea of being young and going off to war before you even know who you are.  It's scary to think about going to war in the first place but everything you have to face with either surviving or not surviving the war is a difficult concept to relate.  I think that a lot of people when they come back from war especially a war as drastic as WWI would in some ways have preferred not to have made it home.  It's scary when you have no idea who you are and have nothing to keep you going.  Everyone needs something in their lives that is important to them that they can identify themselves with.  Being in a war would be dehumanizing and will bring out a more animalistic side of a person because of the need to survive.  I can't imagine people that come back from a war and be "okay" with all of the killing that they had to do or see done.  Coming back from that to our trivial world of I "need" that new pair of shoes would be an extremely difficult transition.  The way that this book was written you could really see things from Paul's perspective (1st person) and take a walk in his shoes.  I think it would be difficult from not knowing who you are and what kind of person you are and then going to war where you either let your animal instincts take over or wind up dead.  It's a kill or be killed situation.  So only knowing yourself as an animal (if you choose to kill) and then coming back to a civilized world where animalistic instincts are punished and having no use for the only thing you know would be scary.  It would be difficult to look in the mirror and know all that you have done and it would be hard to see or discover another side of yourself.  I thought it was a really interesting book and really got me thinking about identity which is a really important concept that can really make a difference in someone's life.

Final Questions for Class Competition

Question. Which political party had the greatest percent of votes in the May 9th, 2010 election in NRW?
Ansewer. Christian Democratic Union, with 34.6%

Question. What was the precursor to the treaty of Westphalia?
Answer. The Concordat of Worms

Question. What street is this building on? (picture of a building)
Answer. It is the Friedrichswerdersche Kirche, located on Werderscher Strasse in Berlin.

Question. This structure is a key location in which German film? (picture of a structure)
Answer. Run, Lola, Run or Lola Rennt

Question. Held in Berlin, what are the German equivalent to the British Pop Awards?
Answer. Echo Awards.

Question. What famous novel, anonymously written in the early 13th century, ends with the death of all key characters?
Answer. Nibelungenlied.

Question. Where is this statue and what is it depicting? (picture of statue of animals)
Answer. It is in Bremen, Germany, and it is depicting the Bremen town musicians.

Question. Which German car was the first one to be built solely outside of Germany?
Answer. The BMW Z3

States Presentation: Bremen

Bremen Germany

By: Krystal Dube and Jen Teachout

•Population- ~661,716 (2009)

•Area- ~157.5 sq mi

•Capital- Bremen

•It is the smallest of the 16 states in Germany.

•Located on the river Weser

•86,943 square miles of Minnesota

•So you can fit about 552 Bremen’s in Minnesota

The town of Musicians of Bremen

  

•The Brothers Grimm- Wrote The Town Musicians of Bremen

•The story is about a donkey, a dog, a cat, and a rooster, who were mistreated by their masters

•They fled to Bremen which was known for its beauty, freedom and art.

•On there way to a cottage there was 4 thieves inside and so they stood on each others backs and sang a song in hopes to receive food. 

But the music was so horrible the thieves ran out

 

•Largest port in Germany second only to Hamburg and is the oldest port city in Germany

•Bremen is involved in industrial and commercial trading and production of ships, and machinery. 

•Bremen and Bremerhaven were joined together in 1947 to create the State of Bremen.

"Free Hanseatic City of Bremen”

 

market settlement ---> city--->merchants' town--->

In 1806 Bremen independent sovereign free state called itself "the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen"---> "Federal state of German Empire in 1871"--->temporarily lost independence and then regained in 1947---> after WWII Bremen was an American occupation zone--->Today is the "largest port after Hamburg"

Sources

•http://www.itcwebdesigns.com/tour_germany/map_german_states.gif - German state picture

•http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bremen_(state) – basic information

•http://www.netstate.com/states/geography/mn_geography.htm - Minnesota Information

•http://www.knowledgerush.com/wiki_image/4/49/Bundeslaender_germany_hb.png - German State Picture

•http://www.shopsandsalons.com/images/50%20STATE%20MAPS/us%20map%20Minnesota.jpg – U.S. picture

•http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/zento/eandl2006/1189255980/tpod.html - Musicians information

• http://www.world-tourer.com/images/bremen-musicians.jpg - Bremen statue

•http://earthlingsoft.net/ssp/misc/BremerHaus/Bremen_gb.html - location information

•http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Bremen.aspx - port information

•http://insurance.essentialtravel.co.uk/tg-europe/germany/bremen-history.asp - city information

First 15 Question Class Competition Group 1

First 15 Questions For Class Competition (Team 1)

 Question 1. What are the two restaurants/bars in Germany where you can dine completely in the dark?
Answer. Unsicht-Bar in Berlin, Cologne, and Hamburg. Nocti Vagus in Berlin.

Question 2. Germany is the second most populous country in Europe. Which is the first?
Answer. Russia.

Question 3. On Saturday, September 25th, Munich will be hosting a pop sensation. Who is it? Where are they from?

Answer. Kate Nash, Britain.

Question 4.  What German ruler backed Martin Luther from very early on, and ensured his safety after he was declare an outlaw?

Answer. The Duke of Saxony.

Question 5. What German state rapidly rose to a first-class military power between 1670 and 1740?

Answer. Prussia.

Question 6. Who is this? (it shows a picture of a man)

Answer. Richard Wagner.

Question 7. Who is this? (it shows a picture of a woman)

Answer. Franka Potenta.

Question 8. What was the name of the movie where German actress Angelica Domroese plays the sister of a man named Jens?

Answer. Die Legende von Paul und Paula

Question 9. These three men founded a video game company located in Germany; what is the name of their company and who are they? (it shows a picture of three men)

Answer. The company's name is Crytek, and the names of the men are Cevat, Avni, and Faruk Yerli.

Question 10. Who spoke at the Ingolstaedter Muenster church in Ingolstadt, Germany on 24.4.10.?

Answer. Chancellor Angela Merkel and Defense Minister Karl-Theodorezu Guttenberg, in a service for four soldiers killed in Afghanistan.

Question 11. Why were King Ludwig the Second's castles opened up for tourism shortly after his death?

Answer. To pay for the cost of building them.

Question 12. Which of King Ludwig the Second's castles in Bavaria was the only one to be finished before his death?

Answer. Linderhof.

Question 13. What is the oldest flowering plan in Germany?

Answer. A rose bush at St. Mary's Cathedral in Hildeshein.

Question 14. What are the 7 inhabited Frisian Islands?

Borkum, Juist, Norderney, Baltrum, Langeook, Spiekeroog, Wangerooge.

Question 15. This character from the Shrek movies is based off lore from Lower Saxony.

Answer. The Pied Piper.

German print media reviewed

I noticed a few similarities regarding the genres that both U.S. and Germany post in their newspapers (sports, local, weather, etc.).  Some of the differences include the days of the week people get their papers.  From what I understand some of the papers that are distributed in Germany are only one day a week, some are Mon.-Sat. whereas, I believe most of our newspapers are everyday.  I also noticed that Germany enables you to order their paper from several different countries and I believe the U.S. papers are less distributed.  As far as the content I couldn't understand what most of it said so I'm not sure about the similarities and differences.