Ich Bin Ein Berliner

         "Ich Bin Ein Berliner." These words meant everything to the people of Berlin. In the beginning of the story, it showed John F. Kennedy going to Berlin to speak to the people, and to show that they have not been forgotten about and Berlin had not been forgotten about. The heart of Berlin was cut in two from east to west during the war from Hitler. The speech JFK gave to the people gave everyone hope that the war was ending, and that there may be peace in the future.
          One topic that I thought was pretty amazing was the story of Frederick the Great (nicknamed: Der Altze Fritz). The main reason why I thought he was interesting because in the beginning the the story, they talked about a painting that a man risked his life for to take out of the country. They felt this painting was the key to unlocking the soul of Berlin. Frederick the Great thought of Berlin as the center of radical thought. Matt Frei said, "To understand Frederick is to understand Berlin." He reigned before Germany became a unified nation. Frederick was mainly known for his military campaigns and organization of Prussian armies. Der Fritz focused on militarism for the first time in Germany. He was an inspiration to German leaders, including Adolf Hitler, who hung a portrait for Frederick the Great in his living room. He seemed to be a symbol for independence. Some perceive him as the embodiment of Prussian virtues, while others see him as an artistically inclined, non-conformist intellectual. The Nazi propaganda machine in the Third Reich stylized him as the heroic winner, while the post-war Communistic regime in East Germany damned him as a warmonger. In the end, whether he was good or bad, Frederick the Great had a big impact on his country’s future.
        The most interesting topic I found most interesting in Berlin was the Berlin wall itself. A little past midnight in August of 1961, trucks with soldiers and construction workers came through East Berlin. These crews began tearing up streets that entered into West Berlin, dug holes to put up the concrete posts, and strung barb wire all across the border. The wall was a physical division between East and West Berlin. Symbol of communism and democracy. There were different allies that were posted in Berlin. They had United States, Great Britain, France, and the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union kind of disintegrated to itself, which caused tension between west and east Berlin. East and West turned into competition and aggressiveness. The United States, Great Britain, and France were with the West side of Germany, which stood for democracy. While the Soviet Union was in the East side of Germany, which stood for communism. Since the city of Berlin has been situated entirely within the Soviet zone of occupation, West Berlin became an island of democracy within Communist East Germany. Living conditions in West Germany and East Germany became distinctly different. West Germany set up a capitalist society and experienced such a rapid growth of their economy that it became known as the economic miracle. As for east side of Germany, it was under the direct influence of the Soviet Union, and the economy dragged and individual freedoms were severely restricted. The wall was up for 28 years, and was torn down in 1989. Some of the wall still remains up, but it was sanitized and made into art for everyone to see.
         In the years to come, turks settled in western berlin, and vietnamese people settled in east berlin.
        Lastly, I would like to discuss the Berliners themselves and the Jews that lived there. It seemed like everyone that lived in Berlin were very proud to be who they were. It was the place where many Jews found sanctuary and were able to live and prosper. Things didn't go downhill truly for them, until Hitler took control. Jewish stores were shattered and broken and put into flames. One story I found most interesting was the Jewish man, Joseph Wartine. I thought he had a deep story because he lost his whole family in Berlin, and was treated very bad. Jews in Berlin were taken away in vans by Nazis and Jews who stayed behind were squatters pretty much and food was scarce and were treated very badly by soldiers. Joseph who stayed behind was very smart, because when he was caught by the soldiers and was beaten close to death. He was smart because he heard that the soldiers were afraid of scarlet fever, and in the end that's what helped him survive.



        At the end of the war, Berlin was not the same as it once was. It has taken many years for Berlin to recover, but even till today, Berlin is still recovering. A lot of blood was spilt in that city, and the heart of Berlin was split into two. Today Berlin is back into one unified capitol of Germany, and no matter where it's people went, they will always be Berliners.

95 Thesis Martin Luther

            During the old days in Germany, one of the most powerful leaders in that time was the Pope and council of the church. They had a profound impact on daily social life and political control. Yet there was one man that was going to stand up to this tyrannical power. His name was Martin Luther. He can be described as a Protestant Reformer who created his own teachings and theories through theological studies. His own study of the scriptures caused him to find the answer to searching for his own faith in himself and God. He was one of the most significant figures in that time because there were many Germans who were looking for answers - which at the time could only be discerned by clergy officials. In an effort to help the common man learn the word of God, he was the first to translate the entire Bible to German. After a journey in Rome, he was disgusted with the moral decay in the church. He wrote many books and stories, but one of the main things he wrote was the 95 Theses. The 95 Theses was a call to discuss how to reform the church. After learning what Martin was up to, the Pope became infuriated and wanted him to disown the 95 Thesis. Luther refused, and was promptly interrogated by clergy officials, resulting in charges with Heracy and overall blasphemy. Later Luther spoke out his mind of why he would not give up, saying, "I do not except the authority of pope and councils for they all have contradicted each other. My conscious is captive only to the word of God. To go against my conscious is neither right nor safe." By these words, you could tell Luther was not going to give up his fights or his studies. His studies were everything he believed in. He accepted the consequences and thought for sure that he would be given to the angry religious people to be killed. Luther was fortunate though because according to the pbs video, Luther had a protector and supporter, Frederick the Wise. Frederick the Wise wanted him alive because he though Luther was a very good teacher, and wanted him to continue his studies and fights. Eventually there were followers behind him because out in the streets there were 9 out of 10 people that said down with the church, and the 10th person said let the pope die. Even to Martin Luther's grave, he wanted to haunt the pope and monks. Luther's last remorse was, "When I die, I want to be a ghost so that I can continue to pester the Bishops, Priests, and godless Monks until they have more trouble with a dead Luther than they could of had before with a thousand living one's." All of this history shows how remarkable and strong Luther was with his beliefs. Here we can see that he definitely helped change a course in history.

German Ancestors and History

          After reading chapters one and two of Hagen Shulze: Germany A New History, I found the whole beginning of the Germanic tribes and how the Roman empire became Germany interesting. According the Shulze, “The conception of a german nation had cultural as well as political undertones, and in this respect the “nation” gained considerably after the Italian humanist Poggio Bracciolini rediscovered the lost texts of Tactitus Germania and published it in Italy in 1455.” Germanians were a distinct people even in ancient times, and one worthy interest. A German tribe from which a German nation had developed did not exist in the same way the Franks and the given rise to France. “Tactitus Germani were the ancestors of a present-day Germans, and the Germania of the Romans was equivalent to a contemporary Germany.” In the beginning, the Roman Empire ruled all. They dominated so much land during the middle ages. In fact they might have had too much land that they could not handle. Today Germany is Europe’s most popular nation. It wasn’t always a unified nation in the past. The past was known as a loose association of 39 German states known as the German league. Today Germany is the fourth largest country and has 26 different regions.

            I find ancestors and past history very interesting. I always like reading the old biographies and comparing them to today’s world and seeing the similarities and differences. I can tell Germany went through a lot to build up to who they are today. They first came to Rome as the Gauls and Franks, and eventually built up around Rome to add to more areas. I just find all of this interesting just because like in America, we are split into different areas and different rulers. The only difference I see is how they lived and what laws were taken into affect. American people are called americans, but have different nationality background of where their ancestors are from. In the book I read that people that lived around the area of Germans were considered German, but they did not except themselves as Germans. Eventually the term was accepted, but took time. As did Christopher Columbus who supposedly helped discover America. Everything took baby steps in Germany to work up to where they were, as in America where we have to take baby-steps to where we are. 

         I noticed many different people through the book that went down in history. One who was Martin Luther, and at first I thought it was Martin Luther King today. They both changed the world they lived in, and they held meetings and would argue for the better. They were both men of faith and were leaders of their time. According to a pbs documentary, “Both struggled with laws and doctrines of their time, Luther King worked to eradicate segregation in America, Luther nearly brought down the Roman Catholic Church.”  Without the help of Martin Luther back in the day, I feel the Germans might have been stuck under the power of the Roman Catholic Church. I found all of this interesting because it was again about our ancestors who made a difference in Germany, and helped them become a united nation.