Germany Hardo Barths_v2cA - USA Melting Pot

Germany, Part 1
Hardo Barths
24 September 2012
Remodeled Reichstag
Reichstag, Berlin, 1945

Agenda
• Germany
– Geography & Tourism
– Germans in the USA
– History
– Government & Economy
– Demographics, Religion & Culture
– Arts, Music, Literature, Festivals
– Sports
– Food
– Language
Aus der Schwärze (schwarz) der
Knechtschaft
durch blutige (rot) Schlachten
ans goldene (gold) Licht der
Freiheit
Out of the blackness (black) of
slavery
through bloody (red) battles
to the golden (golden) light of
freedom

Where is Germany?

Geography
General facts
-Germany covers 357,021 km 2 (137,847 sq mi), consisting of 349,223
km 2 (134,836 sq mi) of land and 7,798 km 2 (3,011 sq mi) of water and
is the 7 th largest country in Europe and 62 nd largest in the world (size
of Montana)
-Terrain: Low plain in the north; high plains, hills, and basins in the
center and east; mountainous alpine region in the south.
-Highest point: the Zugspitze at 2,962 meters / 9,718 feet
-Lowest point: Wilstermarsch at 3.54 meters / 11.6 feet below sea
level
-Rivers: Rhine, Danube and Elbe
-Cities (2007): Capital--Berlin (population about 3.41 million). Other
cities--Hamburg (1.77 million), Munich (1.31 million), Cologne (1
million), Frankfurt (671,000), Essen (567,000), Dortmund (581,000),
Stuttgart (602,000), Dusseldorf (586,000), Bremen (548,000), Hanover
(521,000).
-Natural resources are iron ore, coal, potash, timber, lignite, uranium,
copper, natural gas, salt, nickel, arable land and water
Climate
-Temperate seasonal climate due the North Atlantic Drift, the northern
extension of the Gulf Stream (warm water)
-Rainfall year round, mild winters and cool summers
-Oceanic climate in the Northwest
-Continental climate in the East
-Mountain climate in the far south (Alps)

Tourist Destinations
1. Cologne Cathedral
The gorgeous Cologne Cathedral is visited by over 7 million tourists
annually. That is an astonishing 20,000 visitors daily. Cologne
Cathedral was constructed from 1248 to 1880 and it has the 2nd
tallest church spires on the world. Located in Cologne, Germany this
Roman Catholic church is the 15th largest church these days.
2. Reichstag Berlin
is found in Berlin and was constructed from
1884 to 1894 to house the parliament of
Germany. Following the fire in 1933 the
Reichstag building became a ruin until it was
repaired in 1961-1964 and then again
remodeled to its present form in 1992. After the
Berlin Wall fell and Germany was unified in
1990 the unification ceremony was held at the
Reichstag.
3. Hofbräuhaus in Munich
Hofbräuhaus is a large brewery or beer hall in Munich of the state
government that receives some 1.8 million visitors each year most
of whom arrived at the brewery building beer hall within the fall for
the Oktoberfest. The initial brewery building or Hofbräuhaus am
Platzl dates back to 1607. It is located in the heart of Munich.

Tourist Destinations
Brandenburg Gate, Berlin
Sylt Island, North Sea
Mosel Wine Country
Rothenburg
Zugspitze
Bavarian Alps
Rhine and Loreley Rock
Saarbrücken Hafenstraße
Neuschwanstein and Hohenschangau
Castles in the Bavarian Alps

German History
For most of its history, Germany was not a unified state but a loose association of
territorial states that together made up the “Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation”.
It was a long time until the founding of the German Reich in 1871.
800: Charlemagne
The ruler of the Frankish Empire is crowned Roman emperor by Pope Leo III. Later the
Carolingian, who dies 814 in Aachen, is declared the ”Father of Europe”
Aachen Cathedral
962: Otto I or Otto the Great
His crowning as emperor marks the start of the ”Holy Roman Empire”
1024–1125/1138–1268: Salier and Staufer
The dynasties of the Salier (builders of Speyer Cathedral, 1030) and Staufer families
shape the destiny of Europe
1493: Rise of the House of Habsburg
The regency of Maximilian I marks the rise of the House of Habsburg. For centuries it
was one of the dominant aristocratic dynasties in Central Europe, supplied the majority
of emperors and kings of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, and from
1504–1700 the kings of Spain
Speyer Cathedral

German History
1517: Religious Schism
The Age of the Reformation begins when Martin Luther (1483–1546) publicly declares
his 95 Theses against the system of indulgences in the Catholic Church in Wittenberg
(1517)
1618–1648: Thirty Years’ War
Both a religious war and political conflict, the Thirty Years’ War ends with the Peace of
Westphalia: The Catholic, Lutheran and Reformist faiths are recognized as equal.
During the war about 30% of the population lost their life.
1683: First German Immigrants in America
October 6, the date the first German immigrants arrived in 1683
Martin Luther
1871: Foundation of the Reich
On January 18 during the Franco-Prussian War Wilhelm I is proclaimed German
Emperor in Versailles. The (second) German Reich is a constitutional monarchy.
Shortly before the foundation of the empire the nation experienced an economic
upswing known as the “Gründerjahre”
Chancellor Bismarck

1914–1918: World War I
Emperor Wilhelm II isolates Germany from its neighbors and leads the country into the
catastrophe of the First World War, which costs the lives of almost 15 million people. In
June 1919 the Treaty of Versailles is signed, ending the war
German History
1918/19: Weimar Republic
On November 9, 1918 Social Democrat Philipp Scheidemann proclaims the Republic;
Emperor Wilhelm II abdicates. On January 19, 1919 elections are held for the National
Assembly
1933: National Socialism
The NSDAP gains the most votes in the Reichstag elections in 1932; on January 30 1933
Adolf Hitler becomes Chancellor of the Reich. The National Socialist dictatorship begins
with the “Enabling Act”
1939: Start of the Second World War
Through his invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939 Hitler unleashes the Second World
War, which cost 60 million people their lives and devastated large parts of Europe and
East Asia. The Nazi extermination policy results in the murder of six million Jews
Weimar Republic
1945: Second World War ends
The capitulation of the German Wehrmacht between May 7–9, 1945 ends the Second
World War in Europe. The four Allies divide the country into four occupation zones and
Berlin into four sectors
1948: Blockade of Berlin
The introduction of the deutschmark in the Western occupation zones prompts the Soviet
Union on June 14, 1948 to cut off access to West-Berlin. The Allies respond with an airlift
dropping supplies to the population in West Berlin until September 1949
1949: Birth of the Federal Republic of Germany
On May 23, 1949 the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany is proclaimed in
Bonn. The first parliamentary elections are held on August 14. Konrad Adenauer (CDU) is
elected Chancellor. On October 7, 1949 the division between East and West is completed
when the Constitution of the German Democratic Republic comes into force
Brandenburg Gate,
Berlin, 1945

German History
1957: Treaties of Rome
The Federal Republic of Germany is one of the six nations to sign the founding treaties
of the European Economic Community
1961: Building of the Berlin Wall
East Germany cuts itself off on August 13, 1961 by erecting a wall through the middle of
Berlin and the “Death Strip” along the border between the two Germanies
1989: The Fall of the Wall
The peaceful revolution in East Germany leads in November 9 to the Berlin Wall coming
down and with it the border between East and West Germany
1990: German reunification
On October 3, East Germany formally ceases to exist. Germany’s political unity is
restored. The first general elections of the united Germany are held on December 2,
1990. Helmut Kohl (CDU) becomes the unified nation’s first Chancellor
East Berlin, 1961
2004/2007: EU Expansion
Following the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the fall of Communism, in 2004
eight Central and East European nations plus Cyprus and Malta joined the EU, followed
in 2007 by Bulgaria and Romania
Brandenburger Tor, 1989

814
1519
300
1871
1945
2012

Germans in US
Prominent German immigrants
and Americans with German
ancestry
General facts
- German-American ties extend back to the colonial era.
- More than 7 million Germans have immigrated over the last 3
centuries
- In recognition of this heritage and the importance of modern-day
U.S.-German ties, the U.S. President annually has proclaimed
October 6, the date the first German immigrants arrived in 1683, to be
"German-American Day.“
- According to American Community Survey in 2010 data, Americans
reporting German ancestry made up an estimated 17.1% of the total
U.S. population, and form the largest ancestry group ahead of Irish
Americans, African Americans and English Americans
- The arrivals before 1850 were mostly farmers who sought out the
most productive land, where their intensive farming techniques would
pay off
- Many arrived seeking religious or political freedom, others for
economic opportunities greater than those in Europe
- German Americans established the first kindergartens in the United
States, introduced the Christmas tree tradition, and originated popular
American foods such as hot dogs and hamburgers

Germans in US
Immigration
- The first English settlers arrived at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607, and
were accompanied by the first German American, Dr. Johannes
Fleischer. He was followed in 1608 by five glassmakers and three
carpenters or house builders
- The first permanent German settlement in what became the United
States was Germantown, Pennsylvania, founded near Philadelphia
on October 6, 1683
- Large numbers of Germans migrated from the 1680s to 1760s, with
Pennsylvania and upstate New York the favored destinations
- John Jacob Astor, who came from Baden after the Revolutionary War,
became the richest man in America from his fur trading and real
estate investments in New York City
- The Mississippi Company settled thousands of (Alsatian) German
pioneers in French Louisiana during 1721
- Other regions of German settlements were Texas, Virginia, North
Carolina
- Henry Lehman, who founded Lehman Brothers in Alabama with his
brother, is a particularly prominent example of a German-Jewish
immigrant (South Carolina)
- The largest flow of German immigration to America occurred between
1820 and World War I, during which time nearly six million Germans
emigrated to the United States. From 1840 to 1880, they were the
largest group of immigrants.
1874

Germans in US
By percentage
1. North Dakota
2. Wisconsin
3. South Dakota
4. Nebraska
5. Minnesota
6. Iowa
7. Montana
8. Ohio
9. Wyoming
10. Kansas
11. Pennsylvania
12. Missouri
13. Indiana
14. Colorado
15. Oregon
16. Michigan
46.9
43.9
44.5
42.7
38.4
35.7
27.0
26.5
25.9
25.8
25.4
23.5
22.6
22.0
20.5
20.4
Distribution of German Americans according to the 2000 Census

Enemies Become Allies (1945 – 1947)
We want coal,
we want bread
- After WWII many in the world would have liked to reduce Germany to a
pastoral country
- Most European countries had suffered from utter destruction of their
infrastructure and exhausted their treasuries during the war
- In 1947 the European economies were still well below their pre-war levels
and were showing few signs of growth. Agricultural production was 83% of
1938 levels, industrial production was 88%, and exports only 59%
- In Germany in 1945-46 housing and food conditions were bad, as the
disruption of transport, markets and finances slowed a return to normal.
- In the West, bombing had destroyed 5,000,000 houses and apartments,
and 12,000,000 refugees from the east had crowded in
- Industrial production fell more than half
- During the first three years of occupation of Germany the UK and US
vigorously pursued an industrial disarmament program in Germany, partly
by removal of equipment but mainly through an import embargo on raw
materials and deliberate economic neglect
- As a consequence of the industrial disarmament of Germany, whose
economy by mid-1947 was deteriorating rapidly, the economic stagnation of
Europe became inevitable
- By shutting down the German industry the Allies disrupted intra-European
trade, a trade that was vital for European recovery, and they thereby
delayed European economic recovery.

Cologne

Hamburg

Dresden

Ruhr Valley, Industry

Enemies Become Allies (1947)
President Harry Truman
- By July 1947 Washington realized that economic recovery in Europe could
not go forward without the reconstruction of the German industrial base,
deciding that an "orderly, prosperous Europe requires the economic
contributions of a stable and productive Germany." Unless West Germany
became the engine of growth the economic stagnation of Europe became
inevitable
- In both France and Italy, the crisis of the postwar era had provided fuel for
their Communist Parties, which worried the US
- March 1947, former U.S. President Herbert Hoover, in one of his reports
from Germany, argued for a change in U.S. occupation policy:
- There is the illusion that the New Germany left after the annexations
can be reduced to a 'pastoral state'. It cannot be done unless we
exterminate or move 25,000,000 people out of it
- "The whole economy of Europe is interlinked with German economy
through the exchange of raw materials and manufactured goods. The
productivity of Europe cannot be restored without the restoration of
Germany as a contributor to that productivity.“
- In Washington, the Joint Chiefs declared that the "complete revival of
Germany’s industry, particularly coal mining" was now of "primary
importance" to American security
Former President Herbert Hoover

Enemies Become Allies (1947 – 1951)
Marshall Plan
- The initiative was named after Secretary of State George Marshall.
- The plan had bipartisan support in Washington, where the Republicans
controlled Congress and the Democrats controlled the White House.
- The Plan was largely the creation of State Department officials, especially
William L. Clayton and George F. Kennan.
- Marshall spoke of urgent need to help the European recovery in his
address at Harvard University in June 1947.
- The reconstruction plan, developed at a meeting of the participating
European states, was established on June 5, 1947.
- It offered the same aid to the Soviet Union and its allies but they did not
accept it, as to do so would be to allow a degree of US control over the
Communist economies
- During the four years that the plan was operational, US $13 billion in
economic and technical assistance was given to help the recovery of the
European countries that had joined in the Organization for European
Economic Co-operation.
- This $13 billion was in the context of a U.S. GDP of $258 billion in 1948,
and was on top of $13 billion in American aid to Europe between the end of
the war and the start of the Plan that is counted separately from the
Marshall Plan
- This lead to the “Wirtschaftswunder” (economic miracle) in the 1950’s and
unprecedented prosperity in Germany and laid the foundation to the close
economic and political ties between both countries

Enemies Become Allies
1948 – 1949 Airbridge to Berlin
26 June 1963 John F. Kennedy: “Ich
bin ein Berliner”
City Hall Schöneberg
12 June 1987 Ronald Reagan: “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”
Brandenburger Tor, Berlin