Germany, a Cultural Reflection

Germany is a country that is world renowned for its technological innovation, and rich culture. A
turbulent and long history has been the driving influence on such a culture. This reading week we took a
leap over the Atlantic to explore Germany, and the great cultural experiences it has to offer. With a
population of 83 million and a relatively small landmass, Germany is an economic powerhouse with
great international influence. Having been the epicenter for two world wars, Germany has an air of
solemnity when exploring its great cities and magnificent architecture. The towering cathedrals,
University buildings, Elaborate Museums, and Federal landmarks all bear sobering reminders of great
tragedy in the form of bullet holes and scorched stone. Some of such buildings have been repaired
leaving discolored patches of cement, others have remained pitted and blackened by Germany’s dark
past.

World War II
Germany faced some great challenges in the early 20th century, but the most obvious event that
shaped the future of the German nation was World War II. At the end of the first world war, Germany
was faced with crippling economic sanctions, and the cost of war reparations for their escalation of the
first world war. Many would place the weight of the following events on the Treaty of Versailles, signed
at the ending of the first world war.

The NSDAP, or National Socialist German Worker’s Party began to surface around 1920 to
counter communist uprisings during the post war economic downturn. The NSDAP worked to sway the
German people to a nationalistic ideology, which was initially against big business and capitalism. This
rhetoric was later toned down in order to gain support from the German economic elite. As the party
grew in support, their rhetoric began to use propaganda in order to paint an image of the ideal German
race. This Ideology quickly began to focus on anti-Semitic, Homophobic, and racist propaganda. Non-
Aryan people were restricted from joining the NSDAP, even those who were related to non-Aryans were
restricted form participation. Meanwhile, Adolf Hitler was serving jail time for his involvement in the
Beer Hall Putsch in 1923. During his time in jail, Hitler wrote his book “Mein Kompf”, in which he would
predict the extermination of the Jews and another European war (History.com, 2019). Shortly after his
release from jail, Hitler quickly rose in power with the NSDAP, and in 1933 was named German
Chancellor. German authorities began to imprison “undesirables” into work camps, the first of which
was Dachau, outside of Munich. Initially, the term undesirable encompassed mostly people who had
prior criminal charges, ranging form petty thievery to more serious offences. As poisonous rhetoric
continued to grow, the criteria for undesirables was also expanded. Gypsies, homosexuals, non-Aryans,
disabled people, and Jews were rounded up and imprisoned in Dachau and several satellite camps
around the region. Jews became a primary target for stigma and were the most persecuted group of so-
called undesirables (History.com, 2019).

Then, in 1939, the German Army occupied Western Poland, rounding up Jews, confiscating their
property, and relocating them into Jewish Ghettos. Around the same time, the Nazi party had begun
selecting mentally and physically disabled people to be gassed to death, for the German euthanasia
program. This signaled the beginning of one of the most deadly wars to face modern man. This Horrific
blemish in human history cost the lives of 6 million Jews, and 11 million people, not including the
casualties that happened in the fighting of WWII. Many European cities were levelled during the war,
and the Major cities in Germany still show evidence of this great tragedy. A tragedy that, in the minds of
people everywhere could have been prevented. This has resulted in Germany being one of the most
progressive societies on earth. Everywhere you walk in Germany, you can see people of all faiths,
creeds, and orientations getting along rather well in an efficient, prosperous country.

The Cold War, and Fall of the Berlin Wall

After the end of the war in 1945, Germany was split into four zones. These zones were
controlled by France, the US, Britain, and the Soviet Union. Relations between the West and the Soviet
Union began to deteriorate. The capital city of Berlin was also split into four regions. Relations between
the West and the USSR quickly deteriorated, and competition began to surface between the capitalist
and communist powers. In 1948, the Soviet Union began to block supplies from crossing into Western
Berlin. This was known as the Berlin Blockade (ThoughtCo, 2019). The democratic capitalist society of
West Germany was seeing a massive economic boom, and at the same time, East Germany was seeing
an almost equal economic downturn. Due to the great difference in living conditions, there was a mass
exodus of citizens from the East to the West. Between 1949 and 1961, approximately 2.7 million people
had left East Germany (ThoughtCo, 2019). Media in the East was restricted on mass, and western art
and music was made illegal by the Soviet control of East Germany. The night of August 12, 1961, East
Berlin had sent trucks out to set up barbed wire fences along the border of East and West Berlin.
Overnight people were restricted from crossing into either zone of Berlin. Anyone who had to commute
from east to west for work were suddenly not able to cross the border. In 1960, and order was given to
East German soldiers to shoot anyone who tried to escape. There was a “death zone” on the Eastern
side of the border, where anyone entering the zone could be shot. However, there was no such zone on
the West German side, and the wall became a canvas for protesters to slather with graffiti. November 9,
1989, after a statement by Gunter Schabowski, and Germans from East and West flocked to the wall to
celebrate. Some even began dismantling the wall. Germany was reunited, and people were again free to
cross from the east to west.

German Technology, Media, and Socioeconomic Status

Germany is world renowned for its art and engineering prowess. Being an engineering and
technology-based trip, we experienced a great deal of the latter. Germany has an incredibly efficient
public transport system, consisting of subways, trams, and busses. This is in part due to the population
density, that makes this seem so different from what we have in Canada. Travel through German cities is
incredibly efficient, and although their highway systems are also very well designed and maintained,
there is a large portion of the population that sees no point in owning vehicles. Those who do own
vehicles, typically operate newer models, and it is rare to see vehicles driving about in disrepair.

Germany over the 20th Century had experienced several decades of governmental restriction of
free media. Through the rise of the NSDAP’s secret police persecuting dissenters, to the restriction of
media through the Soviet Union’s occupation, free expression has become very important to the
modern German. It was evident in our exploration of German culture, that there is a vibrant and
booming culture of art in German society. Many of the art museums in Berlin are free, or very
inexpensive to attend, making such culture available to all Germans.
Bibliography

Channel, H. (2009, October 28). The Holocaust. Retrieved from History.com:

https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/the-holocaust

ThoughtCo. (2019, September 28). TitleAll About the 28-Year History, Rise and Fall of the Berlin Wall.
Retrieved from ThoughtCo: https://www.thoughtco.com/the-berlin-wall-28-year-history-
1779495