Blog #5

 There are many differences between the United States government and the government in Germany that set the two apart from each other.  The way in which their government officials are elected as well as those they have to choose from come election season are the most notable differences between the US and Germany.

The biggest difference between the United States government and the government in Germany is with the way citizens are represented by their elected officials.  German citizens have a much more representational system than Americans with more parties to choose from.  This is beneficial for smaller areas with more specialized needs for the community as well as the population as a whole.  When Germans arrive at the poles on Election Day, they cast two votes, one for a local representative as well as one for a party seat in the Bundestag.  A party only needs five percent of the national vote to have a voice within the Bundestag, who’s most important function is to concentrate on assessing and amending the government’s legislation.  For this reason, many parties are eligible to represent the needs and beliefs of Germans from different areas all over the country.

Because the parties only need five percent to be represented within the Bundestag, there are many small parties.  This is quite different from the American party system which really only allows for the Democratic and the Republican Party to fight for seats.  Although there are some independents that make their way into important political seats in the US, for the most part they are not considered a serious party to vote for and the American citizens are much more limited in their choices.  A much broader range of parties allow for more particular issues to be brought to the table, especially for local representatives.

The German political system also forces local representatives to take a lot more responsibility for their actions in government.  To the American people, often-elected officials are not held responsible for their actions.  It is much harder to punish a party who does not please its electorate while in office when there is only one other major party (and usually one other party aiming toward the middle of the political spectrum during election season) to choose from.  For Germans, the choice is everything, and if a party does not please those who voted them in, they are much more easily replaced by another one of the many parties with power in the Bundestag.

Although at this point in the game it is hard to say for certain which system is superior, the German model of government has proven to be an incredibly representational and fair system that newly developing democracies have often times tried to recreate.  The success of the German political system has shocked many.  It is unfortunate that the two major political parties so strictly limit US politics.  Maybe if there were more parties to choose from and more of an emphasis on responsibility as there is in Germany, the American people would be much more willing to come out on Election Day and vote for their representatives like most Europeans are.

Bog #4 -- What was your favorite part of Berlin and did language play a role?

Although it is hard to pinpoint one monument, museum or activity that I saw or participated in Berlin as my favorite, I would have to say that the most breathtaking monument was Kathe Kollwitz’s “Mother with dead son” monument.  It was by far one of the saddest, yet appropriately

            You begin by walking up to what looks like any other small museum.  The pillars and steps in the front of the building do not look out of the ordinary next to Humboldt University which sits just feet away.  Once you had made your way to the top of the steps, however, the view looks quiet different.  Inside the cold stonewalls rests only one sculptor.  It is a sculptor of a woman holding her dead son who has died of Nazi aggression.  The plaques outside are quiet powerful.  They read:

 

“We remember the millions of Jews who were murdered.

We remember the Sinti and Roma who were murdered.

We remember all those who were killed because of their origin, homosexuality, sickness or infirmity.  We remember all who were murdered whose right to life was denied.

We remember the women and men who sacrificed their lives in resistance to despotic rule.  We honour all who preferred to die rather than act against their conscience.”

 

The power of the lone sculptor sitting beside those words literally took my breath away each time I visited the location.  Surrounded by stone walls, guarded bars and one small circle cut into the ceiling just above the woman and her son, the statue is literally stuck like so many before her were with no way out. 

            What struck me as interesting, however, was that they choose to remember those who died, but to honor those who stood up for what they knew was right knowing that their beliefs would cost them their lives.  This was something that no other monument that I had visited in Berlin had been bold enough to say.  Is it not enough to lose your life, or the lives of your loved ones?  I thought about this again at the Wannsee conference memorial site.  There I watched for about forty minutes as a movie played in front of me of a woman who had survived multiple concentration camps including Auschwitz.  Her sister, however, had not made it.  She died just two weeks before the camp was liberated.  In that tape, the surviving woman spoke about food rations.  She was young and on one of her first days at the camp set down her ration of bread.  After looking away for just a second, someone had taken it.  She could not understand how someone could possibly ever take something that was not his or hers.  She learned later that hunger could force an individual to do just about anything.  The will to survive and the willingness to leave one’s ideals at the backdoor did not end with stealing a ration of bread though.  What struck me about the sculptor and now this tape was my own self wondering, would I have remembered my own ideals or would I have stole the bread or otherwise done just about anything to save my own life?

            My trip to Berlin was an incredible experience that taught me more than I could have hoped to learn both inside as well as outside of the classroom.  I learned not to sweat the small stuff, to enjoy the time that I had while in Berlin and most importantly, I found new friends who I hope to keep for a long time to come.  I am glad that I was able to go on this trip.  If anything, not knowing the language made me more independent.  I could not always rely on someone else to get me where I was going, and I ventured out into the city multiple times alone knowing this (and actually quite comfortable with it, which would not have been like me in the past).  The history of the city, the Kathe Kollwitz monument and the woman’s accounts of her experiences in the concentration camp, however, forced me to step back and really evaluate the person I have become.  One can never know their own strength until they are forced to put it to the test.  I hope I will never truly have to know my own, but if I ever do I will remember the things I saw in Berlin.

Greetings!

Thankfully today my Professor allowed me to borrow her camera, so I spent the ENTIRE day and night (up until now at 1am) taking pictures.  I rented a bike, rode the Uban EVERYWHERE! and tried to think of a topic for my class photoessay project.  It was fun to have a day alone and I think I was definitely needing some time to be on my own.

Yesterday, a few of us took a trip to Wannsee beach.  It is Europe's largest inland beach, and also about the size of my backyard.  It has been so incredibly hot the last few days, it felt incredible to get in the water and cool off.

Tomorrow our class is taking a trip all together to the same beach.  Wednesday we are touring Potsdam on bikes and then we have one more day to visit the Jewish memorial before we return home.  This trip has gone so incredibly fast that the ending seems bittersweet.  I have just begun to get to know the amazing people I have been fortunate enough to make the journey with and there are still so many things left to see.  I have had too many insane moments where I have realized how easy it would be to just stay. . . forever (this trip sure cost enough, you'd think the OIE had already rented out my future Berlin apartment).  At the same time, however, knowing that the end is near makes me miss the things I left behind even more.  I want to see my friends and family, and of course that cute little ball of fur I left behind.  I want mac and cheese and cable TV.  I want my own big bed with my own pillows and blankets. 

I will be very sad to leave, but also very glad to return home.  Berlin fits and I honestly think its a place I could call (at least a temporary) home, but the things that await me in Oshkosh for the first time feel very far away.

Blog #2 -- A day alone in Berlin.

The novel entitled, “Confessions of a Shopalic” by Sophie Kinsella beings with the main character standing outside of a New York Hermes window willing to dive even further into her never ending credit card debit for a Hermes bag.  My alone in Berlin story begins hundreds of thousands of miles away, but just steps from another Hermes bag.  My story also thankfully begins without such terrible credit card debt, however, with similar desperation.  After spending the last two weeks making trips to and from various memorial sites in Germany, shopping at the Galeries Lafayette seemed to be a good escape from the beautiful, but sad monuments that line the city, as well as a good excuse to experience the Berliner culture as it exists today.

            The beautiful department store reminds me of nothing else than the dome that rests on top of the Reichstag.  From any floor, customers can look down or up into the giant glass bubble that sits in the middle of the building and see his or her fellow shoppers enjoying a light meal downstairs, shopping for cosmetics on the first floor or anything else their hearts could possibly desire on any of remaining six levels.  Truly beautiful, the department store houses some of the most famous (as well as my most eagerly desired) designers.  And so there I was, handling purses worth more than a semester’s tuition with a seven hundred dollar coat wrapped around my shoulders.  I am more than willing to admit that my alone in Berlin did not require a deep moment of reflection on my life and what it has been thus far compared to the thousands who have suffered at the hands of ruthless dictators throughout German history.  No, my day seems slightly shallower than many others, but it was an experience that taught me nonetheless. 

            With the exception of a very few memorable moments during my trip to Berlin, I have not felt like an outsider exploring a new and far away place.  Traveling with a group who all attend my same school, are participating in the same classes and most importantly, are speaking the same language, more times than not has led me to feel very comfortable and not so far from home.  Berlin is extremely similar to many of the larger cities that I have visited in the states, however, what has made it unique has been the history that surrounds the city no matter where one walks.  But on my day alone in Berlin, I felt very little history and even less at home. 

            Because I do not speak the language, I was intimidated at first to try things on, test products or even handle items that I knew I could not afford.  At home, I would have felt uncomfortable as well, but in the Galaries Lafayette, I had neither the credit nor the language skills to interact with the salespeople.  They knew within an instant just how far from home I was, and without meaning to, also forced me to realize the distance I had traveled as well.

            Overall, the day was far from a shopping success, but definitely an adventure.  I appreciated the feeling of being far from home.  It made me miss what I knew, but also excited to explore and understand a culture very different from my own.  I am glad that I chose to shop rather than to reflect at a monument minutes away from our hostel like many of my fellow classmates.  Although they may have chosen destinations rich with history, I found myself stepping away from what I knew in hopes of experiencing what at home I would love.  The interaction between the employees and myself alone was enough to take me out of my comfortable English speaking bubble that I have managed to remain in during my trip.  For once I was not following a group, or struggling to read every exhibit quickly before time was up before class.  I could be alone and reflect on my trip while experiencing the upper class shopping that exists in Berlin and most importantly, for once realize just how far I have traveled and the culture that I have at times forgotten to place myself truly in the middle of.

Greetings again!

Today Amy, Luke and I went to the wax museum that just opened on July 5.  That day, on of the first visitors beheaded the wax Hitler that was on display.  I was hoping he would be back for us to see, but no such luck.  Nevertheless, the figures were so lifelike it was almost scary.  I gave George Bush a punch in the stomach, Bismarck a kiss on the cheek and adjusted Justin Timberlake's tie.  

Just another day with the (wax) stars in Berlin!

Blog #3 -- Compare the power of the German Chancellor to that of the American President.

The German Chancellor and the American President are each elected in to completely different systems that allow them completely different amounts of strength and power within their state’s government.  A few key differences that set Angela Merkel’s job and ability to influence change within Germany that set her apart from George W. Bush’s influence over the United States include how they are elected, the ability to form coalitions and most importantly the accountability to the people that head’s of government are expected to uphold.

            In Germany, voters on Election Day cast two votes, one for a local representative and another for a political party.  This is a much more representative system than that of the United States.  Elections are based on a plurality vote instead of a majority vote.  In the United States, candidates only need 51% of the vote and only two major parties exist.  In Germany, the plurality system allows small parties to win seats within the Bundestag.  Local candidates can be much more accountable to their constituents, yet the major parties still have the opportunity to hold a large number of seats and thus a more powerful influence.

            The creation of coalition parties also allows for legislation to be both more efficient as well as more middle of the line.  The current coalition is a “grand coalition” consisting of the two largest parties.  This is an extremely rare situation and Angela Merkel has shocked many around the world with her ability to keep the two parties together in a somewhat consistently civil relationship. Regardless, Angela Merkel has a much more powerful position than that of the George W. Bush because, in working with her coalition party, Chancellor Merkel helps to write the legislation.  George W. Bush, however, does not.

            The accountability of Angel Merkel lies largely to the German people as well as her party.  George W. Bush is not concerned about a re-election for himself, therefore he can risk doing what is unpopular.  More importantly, however, George W. Bush has to please the interest groups who paid to put him into office.  Due to the way that the German versus American electoral system works, Chancellor Merkel has very few behind the scenes people to uphold election promises too than the U.S. president.

            These reasons, among others allow for the German Chancellor to be much more influential than the American President.  Neither system is perfect, however, the German system is much more representative and fairly distributes votes to its various political parties than the United States.  Germans are presented with more options than those in the states who much vote Democrat or Republican.  The system that has been established for the German people serves to prevent another extremist from taking over as well as to let the smaller voices be heard.  Candidates do not have to worry about the support of interest groups, but instead in the faith of their party and its nomination as well as the faith of the German people in their party (as well as their coalition partner).  Only time will tell exactly how the German system will pan out as well as what developing countries will replicate it for themselves.  In the meantime, it is worth noting that the American “democratic system” seems little like a true democracy compared to that of the German’s. 

Hello again!

Today was an interesting day to say the least.  First our group when to Sachenhousen (a concentration camp located just 4o minutes by train outside of Berlin) and toured what still remains.  It was both incredible, yet surreal.  Even with the old buildings and mass graves surrounding me, I could not truly appreciate what had happened there because it didn't feel real.  One moment I would be choking back tears and then the next almost oblivious to my surroundings.  It was awful when I felt sad, but it was even more awful when something would distract me and I knew I couldn't truly appreciate what had happened in that same exact place.  My camera is pretty much dead, but I would not have wanted pictures.  Remembering today feels right, scrapbooking it, however, does not.  What I saw is far from what I expected

After I saw . . . . OBAMA!  Ok, so I didn't see him, but it was absolutely incredible.  Over 200,000 people pushed their way into the crowd just to get a glimpse of him.  Although I agree that his speech may not have been appropriate pre-election, it was amazing to see so many American flags so far from home.