April 2012 Articles

Archives by Months

Notes from Germany

It’s springtime in the Black Forest, and in the fir trees the birds are busy whistling, and along the sidewalks and the roadways a smattering of pansies and daffodils balloon up from out of the living soil, and in Neustadt, all is lively for the first time in months, for the first time since the breaking of winter’s chill and the emergence of the sun from out of the brooding clouds that keep watch above the mountains. For me, here in Germany, March has been a stressful month, but an important one none the less. Once again, I did some traveling: first, I visited Weimar, Germany’s cultural capital, and stayed there for a few nights, and then traveled north to Berlin for a conference of all Fulbright scholarship grantees in Germany. Together, these two trips provided me with a good illustration of both Germany’s past and of its future today in our 21st century world.
The first place I visited on my trip was Weimar. Located right in the middle of Germany in the state of Thuringia, Weimar is a town of about 65,000 people, and is one of the most beautiful and culturally famous cities in all of Europe. Its Classical and Baroque architecture is stunning, with narrow cobblestone streets meandering past stores and houses painted in pastel colors, in shades of light green, pale pink and Easter egg blue. At night, the town is especially beautiful, as the streetlights illuminate your path and the doors of the well-lighted cafés beckon you near. Weimar is known all throughout Europe for its importance in German history. It was the home of Goethe, the most famous German writer (if not the most famous German, period). Imagine the importance of Shakespeare in the development of the English language, or Benjamin Franklin and Thomas Jefferson in American history, and you have what Goethe represents for the German people. He lived from 1749 to 1832, witnessed both the American and French revolutions, as well as the war with Napoleon, and wrote hundreds of books whose influence on German language and culture is inestimable. Every small hotel in Germany longs to say, “Goethe stayed here for one night back in 1789, 1793, 1801”—that is the measure of his status. Weimar, though, was his home, and where he did most of his writing. His two houses—one in the city, the other, his “Garden House,” which lies on the outskirts—remind Germany of their grand history and the beauty of their culture before the 20th century and the world wars that destroyed the Europe that people like Goethe held dear.
Traveling to Berlin, one discovers a completely different Germany—a 21st century nation with the last century’s scars still plainly visible. Berlin is the biggest city in Germany and its capitol, and as it was Hitler’s headquarters, it was greatly destroyed during the Allied bombing raids and during the subsequent invasion by the Soviets in 1945. After the war, Berlin was divided between the Allies (the Americans, British, and French) and the Soviets—the beginning of the Cold War, of the Iron Curtain, of West versus East, of the Berlin Wall. Today, though, after the fall of communism, what’s left of the Wall remains as just a simple memorial for the 40 years that both Berlin and Germany were divided in half. Tourists crowd around the remaining pieces and visit the many sights in this historical city, but what I notice most when going to Berlin is how the city is rebuilding itself into a 21st century juggernaut. True, Berlin itself is deeply in debt, but Germany considers investing in its capital one of its highest priorities. One always notices in Berlin the new construction projects—museums, memorials, subway lines (no wonder unemployment in Germany is just 7 percent)—and the city never stays the same, but is always in the process of renovation and growth. There are lessons here that from I think Americans and the United States could learn, and at the Fulbright conference, I received precisely this opportunity. The conference was for the 160 American Fulbright scholarship grantees in Germany (myself included), plus the 40 or so German grantees who will spend next year teaching and researching abroad at universities in America. In my opinion, the time spent at this conference was productive for everyone from both countries. In four days of meetings and panel discussions, we learned about the Fulbright program—it was founded by Senator Fulbright of Arkansas in the 1950s to promote understanding and cooperation amongst different peoples and nations—and in the evenings, the grantees from both countries were able to meet each other over dinner and to chat about our experiences abroad and about our future plans. All in all, the conference allowed me to see Berlin and to learn how Germany is adapting to the challenges of the 21st century, while also granting me the opportunity to speak with both Americans and Germans about ideas for solving our mutual problems. Indeed, people say that the best way to solve problems is to consult history, and if that is true, then I expect my travels through Weimar and Berlin to provide me with a great deal of thought and reflection as I enjoy springtime in the Black Forest during my final three months here in Germany. Cody Bennett