Kultur 11- Brandon Burt

Guten Tag meine Freunde.

After reading the articles for this chapter's Kultur I feel somewhat ignorant about German history and Germany's current issues. I did not know about some of the issues and stereotypes that still plague all of Germany. Westerners thinking of Easterners as whiners, and Easterners thinking of Westerners as arrogant know-it-alls. After learning that East Germany had no unemployment or poverty before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1990 I could see why many East Germans have some resentment towards the West and towards the reunification in general. More surprising than learning about the conflicts between the East and West was learning about the "real difference" in Germany between the North and South. With Northeners portrayed as the prissy, city-folk, while Southerners are portrayed as the laid-back, dumb, country folk. I find it really interesting that such a small country (as compared to the US) is so divided. Coming from a German heritage I think I can see why these divisions are as prominent as they are, Germans are incredibly stubborn. I think it's in our blood. I hope that with time the stereotypes will die-down and Germany can truly be "reunited." It would be interesting to visit each part of Germany to see if these distinctions between each region is as extreme as these articles make them out to be. I'll be using this chapter to not only help increase my German skills, but as an opportunity learn more about the ups and downs of German history and the current issues that the country still faces.

Bis Morgen!