Germany goes into Hardest Lockdown yet over Easter

Photo by Josh Hild on Pexels.com

Merkel and the state ministers agree to measures after a 15-hour, emotionally charged conference.

Five-day complete shutdown over Easter planned

BERLIN- Fifteen hours, highly charged emotions from multiple sides, multiple long breaks and what Bavarian minister Markus Söder calls a hard, difficult birth. Businesses, especially in the hotel and restaurant sector  bank on hope for customers over Easter. Parents hope that their children will soon go to school. Families hope to travel to see relatives and friends. Sadly, the Corona Virus does not pause on the holidays and especially the British mutated version 1.1.17 is infecting the younger population at a rate that is twice as fast as the original virus on the elderly.

Therefore, the toughest measures to combat the virus yet is going into effect. Aside from the fact that Germany has extended its lockdown to April 18, guidelines at Easter will turn Germany into a ghost town, with empty highways and streets and market squares being occupied by doves and pigeons instead of people and produce stands. There will be a mandatory five-day shutdown of all elements of life in the country. From April 1 to April 5, all businesses will be forced to shut down operations. Restaurants with outdoor dining will be closed during that time. Even in the supermarkets and gas stations they will be allowed to open only on Easter Saturday. The rest of the time they will stay shut. Gatherings at public places will be banned. And family gatherings are reduced to households with a maximum of five persons, minus children aged 14 years and younger. Churches will be asked to hold virtual Easter Sunday services.

And despite pleas from the northern states (Schleswig-Holstein, Mecklenburg-Pommerania and Lower Saxony) to allow for overnight stays for guests travelling inland, all hotels and restaurants will remain closed to tourists during Easter and through April 18th.  Travelling will be considered unwelcomed and those traveling in foreign countries will be forced to go into quarantine for 10 days for areas not high risk and 14 days for areas that are high risks. This is in response to the sharp increase of travelers going to Mallorca in the past week.

These guidelines are the toughest ones that have been put into force since the start of the Corona pandemic in March of last year. But it sends a clear message to the population that the virus is a serious issue and one that must be paided attention to, closely. In the past month, there have been numerous protests in almost every city with more than 10,000 inhabitants throughout the country, demanding that the Corona lockdown be lifted, businesses be reopened, children be sent to schools and there is a return to normalcy. This included the latest protests in Kassel, Berlin and Dresden involving tens of thousands of demonstrators, many of them not wearing masks and disobeying Corona guidelines. 

There has been pressure on the German government in Berlin and especially Chancellor Angela Merkel and the state ministers from not only within the political party of the Grand Coalition of the CDU/CSU and the Social Democrats, but also from the Greens, AfD, the Leftist Party Linke, and especially the FDP and its chairperson Christian Lindner, who recently challenged Merkel to make a pledge to have the majority of the population innoculated before the summer break, using US President Joe Biden’s campaign to have most of the Americans vaccinated before the July 4th celebrations.  Yet with the delay in having tests available for use and the delay in vaccinations, frustrations are brewing and there have even been calls for Germany to deviate from the course of the European Union and go it alone, like it is being done in Hungary.

Still, with the seven-day incidence rate skyrocking on a daily basis, together with the number of new infections, and the sharp decrease in the number of intensive beds available, the measures are necessary to break the third wave, something Germany is right in the middle of. The current incidence rate is 108.7 per 100,000, up from 83 a week ago and from 60, two and a half weeks ago when the government introduced the limited openings on March 3rd which included the Click and Meet strategy, where shopping was allowed with an appointment and the emergency brake was applied if the incident rate is over 100 in a seven-day timespan. The number of new infections have increased by 35% in the past week, ranking Germany in the top five together with France, Brazil and India. Similar percentage rates can be found in the number of intensive station beds in hospitals nationwide.  And with these new measures, it is hoped that the general population will come to their senses and understand the severity of the new Corona variant that is effectively wreaking havoc on the younger populations, including school children. Furthermore it should serve as an incentive to save traveling until the summer, where it is hoped that the rates will decrease to a point where restrictions are eased up, while at the same time, half the population will have received at least their first Covid-19 shot.

Still, this will not be the last total shutdown due to the Corona pandemic. Researchers have revealed that there are hundreds of new Corona variants discovered, several of which are capable of adapting to the immune system including those who are vaccinated against the virus itself. Already known are the British, South African and Brazilian variants, but there are several more that will be more dangerous than the one Germany and the rest of Europe are fighting at present.  It is highly expected that Covid-19 will be part of normal life and with that, we will have to introduce long-term solutions to the pandemic. There will never be a return to the pre-Corona normalcy like many are wishing for, but there will be more of these pandemic restrictions, such as limited crowds at markets as well as sports and cultural events, click and meet concepts for shopping, daily virus testing and total shutdowns. It’s a question of how this can and will be integrated into the societal landscape.

And this will lie in the responsibility of the next governmental coalition in Berlin once Angela Merkel retires from politics after the September 22nd elections. And that in itself will feature new faces with new ideas on how to get the country running in a new corona society.

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Photo Flick 1989 Nr. 11

Photo taken by Kristin Krahmer

This Photo Flick ties together the Berlin Wall and the holiday season all into one. The Fall of the Wall and the subsequent domino effect which brought down Communism 30 years ago was like the biggest Christmas present that everyone had been waiting for since the Wall was put up.  While Walther Ulbricht stated as an excuse “No one had the intention to build the Wall,” when it was erected on 22 August, 1961, the people trapped by the wall didn’t have the intention to tear it down. All they wanted to do is see their families again, who were separated by the concrete and steel plates that had separated not only Berlin, but also Germany and Europe.

No one had the intention to forget the Wall in its entirety, but we move on with our lives, bidding farewell with the past and moving forward to the future. This was seen with Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, one of the sites where the Wall once stood. Once seen as the battleground fought over and between walls, the area has developed into a busy commerce, where modern architecture, shopping opportunities, business and commerce and even markets have taken over. An underground station, as seen in this pic above, now takes over in place of the walls, barbed wiring and border towers. It is like no one wants to remember this event.  Still, history seems to repeat itself elsewhere, which is why a segment of the Wall still stands to this day, as a vivid reminder of what walls can do to a country, its regions and most importantly, the families and friends affected.

Check out the Files’ Christmas Market Tour of Potsdamer Platz, written in 2013 and containing history of this now unknown place with a past that is almost forgotten. Click here.  As today marks the start of Christmas season, check out the Files on tour as it has several markets on its list for this year, some of it with a little taste of history and heritage. You can check out its previous Christmas market tours, which includes some quizzes on Christmas. Click here to enter. Enjoy! 🙂

Berlin Wall: Keeping the Memory Alive

 

Germany has had some problems keeping the memories of the past alive. This goes back to the end of World War II and the topic involving the German Question: “Who are We?” and “What can History teach us from this ordeal.”  While we struggle to keep the memorials devoted to the Holocaust alive to remind ourselves of what happened during Hitler’s Reign of Terror, others elect to eradicate it- either because it was too traumatizing to even talk about it (the German Population suffered as much as the Jews and Minorities that were persecuted and suffered in concentration camps) or because it is considered  “harmlos”, something that is a typical genocide because other countries have witnessed it and the people who lived through this have long passed.

The same holds true for the time after the War, as two Germanys were divided for another 45 years, 21 of which was through a series of concrete walls, barbed wiring and border guards, ordered to shoot escapees on site, who wanted to flee to the West. During the time of East Germany, the people were under surveillance by the Stasi and tortured if they were suspected of not behaving like a communist.

While many of the people living during that time are beginning to pass, we’re being confronted with keeping the memories of 1989 alive. It was an iconic moment, for the Walls that cut Germany and its capital Berlin into two have come down, yet thanks to the increase of development through urbanization and modernization, much of the memories of the Wall and the Events that led its the Fall are starting to fade, being pushed into the backburner. People born on or after 1989 have little recolection of the events that ushered the new republic of Germany and with that, the new world order, as far as Democracy is concerned.  For many, they have the mentality of “History is History; It’s the Future we’re concerned with.”

In this documentary, Richard Quest of the American news network CNN looks at the Berlin Wall in the present and two generations with different mindsets: those who have experienced it and those who were born afterwards. The goal is to bridge the gap between the two so that this important event is passed down to the next generations in order to understand the significance of the event. This was produced in 2012 as part of the series Future Cities.

Link: https://edition.cnn.com/videos/business/2012/03/26/future-cities-berlin-quest-urban-landscape.cnn

 

 

 

Photo Flick 89: Nr. 9

Many segments of the Berlin Wall still exist today, serving as a reminder of the city’s past, together with that of Germany, before and after the Fall of the Wall in 1989. One of the examples that a tourist in Germany must see is the East Side Gallery. This 1.4 kilometer stretch runs along the River Spree and Mühlenstrasse between Kreuzberg and Friedrichshain, going from Oberbaumbrücke to the Railway Station Ostbahnhof.  The former Wall was converted into an open-air Gallery in 1990 with the goal of mixing history and art into one.  Since that time, as many as 120 artists from around the world have displayed their works along the wall, where special themes are displayed, from the Time of the Wall to the Strive for Peace. Pop culture themes are also included in this gallery.  Here’s a sample courtesy of a friend and former high school classmate of mine from Minnesota, Kristin Krahmer, during her recent visit with her family. More examples and the history behind the Gallery can be found here.

Enjoy! 🙂

 

Photo Flick 1989 Nr. 3: Oberbaumbrücke

Co-written with sister column   

The third Photo Flick in connection with the Revolution 1989 is basically a throwback to 2010 and it takes us to the Oberbaumbrücke, which spans the River Spree on the east side of Berlin, between Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg. Built in 1896 under the direction of Otto Stahn, the bridge is one of Berlin’s key landmarks because of its gothic design. It’s a key crossing for subways (U-bahn) and car traffic. But it was one of the key symbols of division during the Cold War. From 1961 until the Fall of the Wall in November 1989, the concrete wall went right through the roadway portion of the bridge, and even though the structure was badly damaged and a truss span was built for U-bahn traffic, that track was barricaded shut, thus almost effectively halting passage to West-Berlin except through the border controls on the Kreuzberg side of the bridge.  Shortly after the Wall fell, the bridge was rebuilt, piece by piece to resemble its original form before World War II.

View of the Oberbaumbrücke from the TV Tower. The East Side Gallery is on the left side of the Spree. 

Regardless of whether it can be seen along the river or even from the TV-Tower from a sniper’s view, looking at the bridge today, almost nothing is left of the Wall that cut the bridge (and Berlin) into half. Much of the area that used to be heavily patrolled with tanks, watch towers and guards have been heavily built with modern buildings with businesses, large and small, occupying the area. One of them buildings houses Universal Music Company, part of the Universal Studios consortium based in the States.

Yet it doesn’t mean the relicts have disappeared altogether. Two important points of interest still exist and should be visited while in Berlin. The first one is the East Side Gallery, a 1300 meter (4300 foot) section of the Berlin Wall that features open air art; the sections created by over 100 artists both before and after 1989. The stretch is on the Friedrichshain side of the former Wall, stretching from the bridge to Ostbahnhof Railway Station. It was renovated recently (in 2010) and is open to the public. A watch tower is included as part of the exhibit, just as much as one at the bridge itself, which was sitting empty at the time of the photo but has most likely been removed.

The former Watch Tower on the Friedrichshain side of the bridge. 

The Oberbaumbrücke is a symbol of architecture that has withstood the test of time and the history that includes years of division. For architects, artists and bridge lovers, it’s a work of art. For educators, it is a classic example of how it became a “Borders to Bridges” story in light of going from a divided Germany and Europe into a united one. For the rest, it’s a symbol of Berlin and how it brings people together from all aspects of life. It’s definitely one worth visiting.

 

More on the bridge’s history can be found here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberbaum_Bridge

Information on the East Side Gallery and its paintings can be found here: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Side_Gallery

It’s part of the Tour Guide on the Bridges of Berlin, which you can click here:  https://bridgehunterschronicles.wordpress.com/2014/12/11/berlin-the-bridges-and-the-wall/

 

Genre of the Week: Das Haus am See by Peter Fox

There have been many books, films and other genres that carry the name Lake House, which is the English translation of the title of this week’s Genre special. One of the well-known ones was The Lake House, a film starring Sandra Bullock and Keanu Reaves that was released in 2006 and focuses on a love affair between two people, two years apart, using the mailbox as the primary means of communication. But even as the film focuses on the love affair and the house that was to be passed down like a torch, another genre bearing the same name has a different meaning.

Das Haus am See is a song produced by German pop and reggae singer Peter Fox in 2008, two years after the release of the film. The song has no relation to the film nor does it have a similar meaning. It primarily focuses on life in the city and how the lead singer longs for life in the countryside, with a house on a lake, a family and an environment where no one knows his name and he has a sense of peace and serenity. The main idea behind this is a quiet life surrounded by green and water, where life can be more diverse and adventuresome than in a city where everyone knows you and you know the neighborhood you are living in.

The setting of the song, also seen in the youtube clip is Berlin, the same place where Mr. Fox was born and raised and still lives in the suburb of Kreuzberg to this day. The song features a diverse set of strings, brass and background choral music, mixing the two music types together that Mr. Fox has gotten accustomed to in his 20+ year career in the music business. And while the music presents a subdued environment which doesn’t require heavy metal or dance pop (the latter, together with techno, is one of Germany’s key signatures), it does take a person back to the house on the lake, enjoying the great times with friends and loved ones. This was one of the key items that this song takes me back to- my time growing up at a house on a lake in Minnesota, with a golf course across the street from there.

Many of you have these memories of your times growing up there, while others long for that life. In either case, this song is for you and should give you an incentive to find that peace you are longing for. Enjoy!

Video:

 

By the way, the lyrics are below, all in German but one can make a good translation exercise out of it.  🙂

Hier bin ich gebor’n und laufe durch die Straßen
Kenn’ die Gesichter, jedes Haus und jeden Laden.
Ich muss mal weg, kenn jede Taube hier beim Namen.
Daumen raus, ich warte auf ‘ne schicke Frau mit schnellem Wagen.
Die Sonne blendet, alles fliegt vorbei.
Und die Welt hinter mir wird langsam klein.
Doch die Welt vor mir ist für mich gemacht!
Ich weiß, sie wartet und ich hol sie ab!
Ich hab den Tag auf meiner Seite, ich hab Rückenwind!
Ein Frauenchor am Straßenrand, der für mich singt!
Ich lehne mich zurück und guck ins tiefe Blau
schließ’ die Augen und lauf einfach geradeaus.
Und am Ende der Straße steht ein Haus am See.
Orangenbaumblätter liegen auf dem Weg.
Ich hab 20 Kinder, meine Frau ist schön.
Alle komm’n vorbei, ich brauch nie rauszugehen.
Ich suche neues Land mit unbekannten Straßen
Fremde Gesichter und keiner kennt mein’n Namen!
Alles gewinnen beim Spiel mit gezinkten Karten.
Alles verlieren, Gott hat einen harten linken Haken.

Ich grabe Schätze aus im Schnee und Sand
Und Frauen rauben mir jeden Verstand!
Doch irgendwann werd ich vom Glück verfolgt
Und komm zurück mit beiden Taschen voll Gold.
Ich lad’ die alten Vögel und Verwandten ein.
Und alle fang’n vor Freude an zu wein’n.
Wir grillen, die Mamas kochen und wir saufen Schnaps.
Und feiern eine Woche jede Nacht.
Und der Mond scheint hell auf mein Haus am See.
Orangenbaumblätter liegen auf dem Weg.
Ich hab 20 Kinder, meine Frau ist schön.
Alle komm’n vorbei, ich brauch nie rauszugehen.
Und am Ende der Straße steht ein Haus am See.
Orangen-braune Blätter liegen auf dem Weg.
Ich hab 20 Kinder, meine Frau ist schön.
Alle komm’n vorbei, ich brauch nie rauszugehen.
Hier bin ich gebor’n, hier werd ich begraben.
Hab taube Ohr’n, ‘nen weißen Bart und sitz im Garten.
Meine 100 Enkel spielen Cricket auf’m Rasen.
Wenn ich so daran denke, kann ich’s eigentlich kaum erwarten.

 

From the Attic: Berlin 1959

Brandenburg Gate- behind the gate stood the Berlin Wall until 9 November 1989

Berlin, 1959. Two years before the erection of the Wall and the closing of the border that would separate East and West Germany until 1989. The city was in the midst of a rebuild 14 years after the end of World War II . People were still able to pass despite the city being occupied in four areas by their respective allies who liberated them from the Nazis: The USA, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union. Yet the passage is restricted. Inspite of the rebuilding efforts, there were some differences between what would become East and West Berlin. In this documentary produced by the BBC 60 years ago, the host of Panorama took a walk through Berlin and interviewed several Berliners, showing you the difference in terms of progression and regression. Enjoy the documentary! 🙂

Education Tip: 

Compare Berlin of 60 years ago with today. What has changed and what has remained the same? Do we still have a difference between the former East and West or has Berlin grown together?

You can choose another city in Germany if you wish- whether it is Munich, Hamburg, Erfurt, Dresden, Flensburg, Rostock- regardless of population and size. Do this comparison using this time with a time before 1989 or even before the Wall in 1961. Compare and present to your classmates. Many will be amazed at the difference and will provoke a conversation that will last an entire classroom session.

Useful for any language class, including English and Germany, as well as history, sociology, social studies and political science. For college level, that, plus architecture, engineering and planning. 🙂

Frage für das Forum: Should Residents in Germany automatically become Donors after Death?

Photo taken by Piotr Bodzek, MD [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)%5D

There is an old saying to start off the forum: If you are born to an American parent, you automtically become an American.  How about when you pass on: Should you automatically become an organ donor?

This is the question that is floating around aggressively in Berlin and is being talked about in hospitals and medical centers in Germany, thanks to German Health Minister Jens Spahn and his most recent proposal.

According to the proposal:

• The “dual opt-out” donation system would automatically make everyone in Germany a registered organ donor.
• People could still opt out at any time by putting themselves on a register that says they object to being a donor.
• Family members could also revoke consent after a person dies.
• Doctors would be required to consult with the family before removing any organs in the event a person is declared brain-dead.
• People will be informed multiple times about the new system and the options to opt out.

The proposal comes in response to the sharp decrease in the number of organ donors between 2012 and 2017, combined with the increase in the number of patients who are on the waiting list for an organ donor.  According to a recent study, the number of organ donations carried out in Germany decreased from 1097 in 2012 to only 797 in 2017. Last year alone, some 9,400 people were on the organ transplant waiting list.  Less than 1,000 organ transplantations were carried out, while 2,000 on the waiting list died.

The current system allows for opting in to donations, where people who volunteer receive a donor card and their names are in the data bank. Critics feel that the opt-out clause is the same as forcing people to donate their organs when they die, even though they don’t want to.  Already an alternative proposal is in the works which would require repetitive questioning about donating organs when at the doctor or renewing their personal ID. The belief is that organ donations should be a conscious option that remains voluntary and not obligatory by the state.

While the debate goes to the Bundestag, the German upper parliament, which will be debated and voted upon soon, the question is whether being an automatic donor after death with the clausal to opt-out would make the best sense in the interest of the German population. Or if it makes sense to leave it the option to donate to the person him/herself. Henceforth, a poll has been created for you to vote upon. Feel free to do so and if you want, comment on this issue.

While the author does see many advantages of being an organ donor (he is one himself, plus there’s a success story on that which you can click here to read.), there are some who don’t want to based on past experiences or even religious beliefs. There are two sides to the story on this topic, just as much as two sides to the story on becoming Americans automatically when a child born to American parents is born abroad. It’s a question of listing the facts on both sides of the aisle and deciding based personal feelings towards this subject. 🙂

 

Bundesliga Guessing Quiz: The Answers

After a season of records in 2017/18 and the decisions have been made for the teams winning the relegation playoffs (a heartfelt congrats to the teams that won successfully), let’s have a look at the answers to the quiz dealing with the history of the Bundesliga. As we know, Hamburg was the last founding team to relegate into the second league. But what about the history of the other teams. After doing your homework, let’s check our answers, shall we? 🙂

Guessing Quiz:

1. Who were the founding fathers of the Bundesliga in 1963? There were 18 of them.

Eintracht Braunschweig, Werder Bremen, Hamburger SV, Borussia Dortmund, 1. FC Köln, Meidericher SV (now MSV Duisburg), Preußen Münster, Schalke 04, 1. FC Kaiserslautern, 1. FC Saarbrücken, Eintracht Frankfurt, Karlsruher SC, 1. FC Nürnberg, 1860 Munich, VfB Stuttgart, Hertha BSC

 

2. Bayern Munich entered the top league later on and has been in the Bundesliga ever since. It now holds the title for being in the top league the longest without ever being demoted.

When did the team enter?  1965   When did the team win its first title?  1969

 

 

3. Another team entered the Bundesliga and has yet to also play in the second league after being demoted. It holds the second longest record of its kind. Which team was it and when did it enter the first league for the first time ever?

Bayer Leverkusen entered the Bundesliga in 1979 and has been there ever since. 

 

4. One of the founding fathers actually had to play in the second league only once. After four years it returned to the top league and has been there ever since. It currently holds the title as the second longest tenured team even after it had been demoted before. Which team was that and how many years has it been in the league since its last demotion?

Borussia Dortmund entered the second league in 1972 and  had played there before reentering the top league in 1976, where it has remained there ever since. 

 

5. Prior to HSV’s demotion to the second league, there were two other founding teams that had been in the top league for at least three decades before being demoted for the first time. Which teams were they and when did they get demoted for the first time?

FC Cologne and FC Kaiserslautern

 

6. Which (current) founding team in the Bundesliga has never won any titles since the league’s creation?

Hertha BSC Berlin

 

7. Which two founding members of the Bundesliga has been in the top league the shortest time (and has still yet to return)?

Preussen Münster and FC Saarbrücken

 

8. Which German cities used to host two Bundesliga teams, one of which was a founding member of the team? Which teams are they?

Munich, Hamburg and Stuttgart

 

9. Which German cities used to have two professional teams in the second league competing with each other before one of the two was promoted to the top league?

Berlin and Frankfurt

 

10. Which team would have competed with HSV as the longest tenured Bundesliga team had it not been for the one-year exile in the second league? Hint: This team has been in the second and third tiers since 2006.

FC Kaiserslautern

 

11. Which seven teams have won doubles at least once (meaning the national cup and the Bundesliga title)? Hint: Four were from the former western half and three from the eastern half of Germany.

On the western side, we have Bayern Munich, FC Cologne, Werder Bremen and Borussia Dortmund.

On the eastern side we had Dynamo Dresden, Dynamo Berlin and Hansa Rostock

 

12. Of the three in the former East German Bundesliga (which dissolved after German reunification in 1990), which of them was the longest tenured team in the Bundesliga?

Hansa Rostock: 1995- 2005

13. Of the three above-mentioned teams, which ones defeated FC Bayern Munich once before 1990 and at least once since then?

Dynamo Dresden

Fast fact: Rostock and Bayern Munich were rivalries before Rostock’s demise beginning in 2005

 

14. Since when has FC Bayern Munich finished no worse than third place? Fifth place?

Bayern Munich has finished no worse than 3rd since 2007 and no worse than 5th since 1995, when they finished 6th. The worst they have finished was 12th in 1978. 

15. The following teams had mascots. What were they?

Eintract Brunswick           Lions

MSV Duisburg                   Zebras

FC Kaiserslautern             Devils

Hertha BSC Berlin            The Iron Ladies

Eintracht Frankfurt          Eagles

Hamburg SV                      Dinosaurs

FC Cologne                        Billy Goats

 

Bonus: Holstein Kiel, whose mascot is the flying stork  has not been in the Bundesliga since 1981.

 

ONE MORE THING: 1899 Hoffenheim still holds the title as the only “small town” team that is in the Bundesliga. The community of only 4,000 people marched through the ranks and entered the league in 2007 and has been there since.  They play at a stadium near Mannheim. 

 

 

From the Attic: Berlin 1945

Brandenburg Gate- behind the gate stood the Berlin Wall until 9 November 1989

From time to time, the Flensburg Files will introduce you to some video clips of Germany in the past. Some of them have been digitally remastered to resemble its original appearance in color. And there will be some that are in connection with certain current events and/or stories that will come in the Files. The reason behind this is twofold. The first is because we’ve been discovering old film with events that happened between 50 and 90 years ago that until now, had been stuck in the attic. Whenever a grandfather or grandmother passes on, the next of kin happens to find them while sorting through their belongings. Upon watching the hidden films, they find a bit more facts about what had happened in their lives that they (mostly unknowingly) had contributed to history. This is especially true with German history for two world wars plus the infamous Cold War had almost wiped away relicts of history that had been at least a century old, because of air raids and bombings, forced demolitions based on dictator’s orders, and in some cases, the need to erase the past and move forward without even going back to tell it.  By discovering such artefacts, we can piece together how Germany was like in the past to better understand where they came from.  Secondly, thanks to digital technology, one can remaster the found films and photos to have them available online for future use, especially in the classroom.  While reenactments and museums can provide you with some examples of certain times and how they lived, they are not as genuine as the films and photos taken by those who had lived throgh it and told the families about it.

And with that we will look at Berlin after World War II had ended.  Here we have two film clips, comparing the German capital between May, just after the war had ended, and July, where the reconstruction of the city was in full gear. Knowing the the war had virtually halted all aspects of life, these people continued on with life as if nothing happened except their main task was to rebuild and start over. These people had suffered greatly because of the Third Reich. Many women had lost their male partners; their children,  their fathers, for they either had been killed or taken prisoner. The end result was the influx of immigrants from Turkey and all points to the east; many of whom have been living in Germany ever since. Their role, combined with the role of the women as the sole breadwinner and mother would eventually remake Germany into what it is today- a country where people of gender and background can work for a living, live in peaceful co-existence and be open to multi-culture and change.

And so, with that in mind, have a look at the two clips and compare. What was similar and what was different between the two? We know that in less than 4 years time, Berlin would be the capital of East Germany with the West German capital being in Bonn. And furthermore, 10-15 years was needed at least to convert Berlin into what it was before the bombings. But what else is different? Have a look and think about it. 🙂

Berlin- May 14, 1945:

Berlin- July 1945: