Thanks to Langenscheid, the textbook and dictionary publishing company for sending the following links about Hamburg, with a focus on Hamburg's significance in the early life of the British rock legends, the Beatles -- 50 years ago!
First, take a listen to one of their first hit songs. AUF DEUTSCH!
Want to learn more?
The Beatles legacy celebrated in Hamburg, Germany 50 years later - National Celebrity travel | Examiner.com
BEATLES Wiki ARTICLE
Official HAMBURG tourist information HERE
--> Please write in WITH THE QUESTIONS THAT YOU HAVE LEARNED THE ANSWERS TO FROM THESE PAGES, so others can sleuth out those answers!
Let's see how much on this topic we can share together, auf Englisch, oder auf Deutsch.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Besuch aus Düren!
Danke Drew und Cäthe, dass Ihr Florian und Markus hier nach RI eingeladen habt!!
Vielen Dank, Jungs, fuer Euren heutigen Besuch, nicht nur zu unserer Fortgeschrittenen Klasse, sondern auch zu dieser Deutsch-Zwei Klasse, die hier im Foto gezeigt wird.
Wir alle aus beiden Klassen haben viel von Euch gelernt:
• über elektronische Musik (z. B. die Daft Punk Band aus Frankreich);
• über FC1899 Hoffenheim;
• über Sprachen;
• Reisen;
• über Lena;
• über Mode, und was man hier und dort modisch findet.
• und vieles mehr!
• Wir haben z. B. auch gelernt, dass Rapper Frederik Hahn aus der damalige Band, Advanced Chemistry, jetzt Künstler mit Namen "TORCH" ist. Toll! Wir werden seine Kunststücke nun aussuchen.
Manche von uns fanden es erstaunlich, dass es Euch am aller besten aus den ganzen USA hier in Rhode Island gefällt. Gewiss ist es hier sehr schön, und man kann auch Spüren aus der Geschichte erleben. (Erstaunt wie manche von uns sind, sind wir aber auch stolz darauf.)
Letztes Wochenende war Eure kleine Familiengruppe in Washington D.C., wo es Euch auch sehr gut gefallen hatte. Ich freue mich sehr, dass Eurer RI Gastgeber Vater immer lustige Geschichten erzählt hatte.
Schon am kommenden Freitag fährt Ihr nach New York City, wo ein Kumpel Namens Henning aus Burgau Gymnasium sein Studium auf der Columbia University macht.
(Werden wir bald Henning auch kennen lernen? Wir hoffen bald nach NYC zu fahren, um den Umzug am 25. September, was Steubentag genannt wurde, zu feiern. General von Steuben hatte vor 200 Jahren die Armee General Washingtons organiziert. Im April 2011 werden wir sicher mit unseren neuen Partnern nach NYC hinfahren.)
Und bald danach müsst Ihr wieder nach Deutschland fliegen, denn die Uni fängt für Euch bald an. VIEL GLÜCK wünschen wir Euch in das erste Jahr auf der RWTH Universität in Aachen. Wir wären sehr froh, wenn wir Euch in Juni dort sehen könnten.
Jungs, Ihr seid herzlich eingeladen uns zu jeder Zeit wieder zu besuchen! Alles Gute!
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Kein Ausländer, und noch ein Fremder
Ein Klassiker: Fremd im eigenen Land
Aus 1992 ist hier ein Meilenstein des deutschen Rap von ADVANCED CHEMISTRY:
--> 1. Wie sieht ein echter Deutscher aus?
--> 2. Woher kommt der Sänger?
--> 3. Wie alt ist er?
--> 4. Wie heißt er?
--> 5. Was steht auf einem deutschen Pass?
--> 6. Warum ist der Sänger nicht anerkannt?
--> 7. Was für ein Theme ist Rassismus heute in Deutschland? --> In den USA?
--> 8. Was heißt ,,Feind">? --> Und ,,Ausländerfeindlichkeit"?
Aus 1992 ist hier ein Meilenstein des deutschen Rap von ADVANCED CHEMISTRY:
--> 1. Wie sieht ein echter Deutscher aus?
--> 2. Woher kommt der Sänger?
--> 3. Wie alt ist er?
--> 4. Wie heißt er?
--> 5. Was steht auf einem deutschen Pass?
--> 6. Warum ist der Sänger nicht anerkannt?
--> 7. Was für ein Theme ist Rassismus heute in Deutschland? --> In den USA?
--> 8. Was heißt ,,Feind">? --> Und ,,Ausländerfeindlichkeit"?
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Die Mauer -The Wall (WAY MORE ABOUT BERLIN!)
Here's a remarkable and thorough site. (Select your language of choice.)
MORE BERLIN
There doesn't seem to be much about divided (and finally mended) Berlin that can't be found on this site.
For instance, a fairly recent book ("Am kürzeren Ende der Sonnenallee," by Thomas Brussig, 1999; which then in 2000, became a popular film, by Ulf Zimmermann), was written about life on the easternmost tip of the very long Avenue in Berlin named SONNENALLEE (Sunny Avenue). To the protagonist's way of thinking, this geographical tip seemed to have been snipped off from the rest of Sunny Avenue, and tucked, seemingly inadvertently, into the East Zone.
In the book, this resident "At the Bottom End of Sunny Avenue" contemplates how very different his life, and the lives of his friends, might have been, if only, for instance (while British Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, along with Roosevelt, and Stalin, were dividing up Berlin), Sir Winston had paid just a little more attention to his own cigar. As it was, speculates the protagonist, Stalin, motivated surely by the cheerful sound of the Avenue's name, must have ingratiated himself to Sir Winston by relighting his cigar, to the point of generating the nudge needed, to permit the new boundaries drawn in Berlin to be given that particular jog. (Why not?)
I was thrilled to learn on this website, that one of the 8 border crossings in Berlin was named SONNENALLEE. From there, finding the neighborhood "At the Bottom End of SONNENALLEE" was a very simple matter.
--> Can you find the short end of "Sunny Avenue," too?
--> If so, can you imagine living there during the divided years? (Do you agree, there probably due simply to its geography, there could be a wealth of material for a book?)
--> If you were to conjure up a character from this neighborhood to write about, who might it be?
--> WHAT ELSE PIQUES YOUR CURIOUSITY on this amazing site? (Please share!)
100 % Renewable Energy? Jawohl!
Lots of economic articles are full of gloomy messages these days. It's no secret that I prefer more upbeat messages. This one hit the spot.
"Global Arab Network | Germany Moving Towards 100 % Renewable Energy | Energy"
--> Which global capital city was mentioned, and why?
--> How many new jobs from this industry have been created in Germany?
"Global Arab Network | Germany Moving Towards 100 % Renewable Energy | Energy"
--> Which global capital city was mentioned, and why?
--> How many new jobs from this industry have been created in Germany?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Das National•Lied: Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit
While there's plenty of controversy regarding Germany's national anthem, Joseph Hayden's melody is not part of it. Hayden composed a song that not only has appropriate pageantry, (even though written for a completely different text; one, which honored "Kaiser Franz"), but is also in a singable range. Controversy instead, comes from the text by author, Hoffmann von Fallersleben. It bears taking a closer look.
To help understand all 3 verses of this National Anthem correctly, let’s look back to when it was written: 1842. Von Fallersleben wrote it while exiled on the (then British; now German) island, Helgoland, not long after the Vienna Congress of 1815. By then, the hopes which many citizens had had for a unified Germany were soundly trounced by European aristocrats, who preferred the status quo. Anyone who actively still sought a united and democratic Germany were persecuted (they were primarily exiled or imprisoned).
In the first stanza's "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles", von Fallersleben is pleading for unity, rather than trumpeting German superiority. Simply and poetically, he recognizes the German speaking territory between these 4 water ways: the Maas to the WEST; the Memel to the EAST, the Etsch to the SOUTH; and the Belt to the NORTH, with the vision of bringing these lands together in a single nation.
Only to the north, the Belt, which is a strait, separating the North and Baltic Seas, is close to Germany's present-day border (with Denmark).
Are you curious about the 3 other water references?
• "Die Maas" (la Meuse) meanders WEST of present day Germany: through France, Belgium (Liége), and Holland (Venlo), where it merges with other rivers, which flow into the North Sea.
• "Die Memel" EAST of Germany, flows into the Baltic through Lithuania.
• "Der Etsch" (Adige) flows to Germany's SOUTH, through South-Tyrol and the Italian Alps into the Adriatic Sea.
The National Socialists interpreted the first stanza under totally different circumstances. After 1933, and while they held power, only this stanza was sung officially. The difference today, is that there is no effort to unify these territories. The rivers mentioned are no longer part of the German nation. Therefore, the first stanza is no longer sung as Germany's national anthem.
As to the other 2 stanzas:
• Stanza 2 is quite romantic and traditional.
• Stanza 3 spells out what this new united state of Germany should be like ("Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"), namely unified, fair to all her citizens, and free from oppression. Stanza 3 stands alone as Germany's National Anthem today.
Have a look at v. Fallersleben text for Verses 1 and 3.
Strophe 1:
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,
-- über alles in der Welt,
wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze
-- brüderlich zusammen hält,
von der Maas bis an die Memel,
-- von der Etsch bis an den Belt,
(x2) Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,
--------- über alles in der Welt!
3. Ein-ig-keit und Recht und Frei-heit
für das deu-tsche Vaterland:
Da-nach laßt uns al-le stre-ben* *=to strive (reach) for
brü-der-lich mit Herz und Hand!
Ei-nig-keit und Recht und Frei--heit
sind des Glü-ckes Un-ter-pfand*. *das Pfand=pledge
(x2) -- Blüh’ im Glan-ze die-ses Glü-ckes,
-- blü-he deut-sches Va-ter-land! --
With that, are you ready to listen to Heino singing all 3 stanzas?
--> See how much of the 2nd stanza can you understand without having the text here? Which words do you recognize?
On YouTube, there are versions of just the National Anthem (Stanza 3) being sung at football games. You may be interested to know that this Anthem is not sung on a daily bases, even in schools.
How would you answer Professor Kuhn-Osius's two questions?
1. Is the stanza 1 text worse than the French “Marseillaise,” which refers to spilling 'impure blood' [meaning Germanic blood]?
2. Is it overly patriotic compared to the famous patriotic song "Rule Britannia”?
My thanks to Hunter College Professor Eckard Kuhn-Osius and History Teacher Marcus Krallek for their observations on the subject, submitted to the AATG Listserv Sept 1, 2010.
MORE?
To help understand all 3 verses of this National Anthem correctly, let’s look back to when it was written: 1842. Von Fallersleben wrote it while exiled on the (then British; now German) island, Helgoland, not long after the Vienna Congress of 1815. By then, the hopes which many citizens had had for a unified Germany were soundly trounced by European aristocrats, who preferred the status quo. Anyone who actively still sought a united and democratic Germany were persecuted (they were primarily exiled or imprisoned).
In the first stanza's "Deutschland, Deutschland über alles", von Fallersleben is pleading for unity, rather than trumpeting German superiority. Simply and poetically, he recognizes the German speaking territory between these 4 water ways: the Maas to the WEST; the Memel to the EAST, the Etsch to the SOUTH; and the Belt to the NORTH, with the vision of bringing these lands together in a single nation.
Only to the north, the Belt, which is a strait, separating the North and Baltic Seas, is close to Germany's present-day border (with Denmark).
Are you curious about the 3 other water references?
• "Die Maas" (la Meuse) meanders WEST of present day Germany: through France, Belgium (Liége), and Holland (Venlo), where it merges with other rivers, which flow into the North Sea.
• "Die Memel" EAST of Germany, flows into the Baltic through Lithuania.
• "Der Etsch" (Adige) flows to Germany's SOUTH, through South-Tyrol and the Italian Alps into the Adriatic Sea.
The National Socialists interpreted the first stanza under totally different circumstances. After 1933, and while they held power, only this stanza was sung officially. The difference today, is that there is no effort to unify these territories. The rivers mentioned are no longer part of the German nation. Therefore, the first stanza is no longer sung as Germany's national anthem.
As to the other 2 stanzas:
• Stanza 2 is quite romantic and traditional.
• Stanza 3 spells out what this new united state of Germany should be like ("Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit"), namely unified, fair to all her citizens, and free from oppression. Stanza 3 stands alone as Germany's National Anthem today.
Have a look at v. Fallersleben text for Verses 1 and 3.
Strophe 1:
Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,
-- über alles in der Welt,
wenn es stets zu Schutz und Trutze
-- brüderlich zusammen hält,
von der Maas bis an die Memel,
-- von der Etsch bis an den Belt,
(x2) Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,
--------- über alles in der Welt!
3. Ein-ig-keit und Recht und Frei-heit
für das deu-tsche Vaterland:
Da-nach laßt uns al-le stre-ben* *=to strive (reach) for
brü-der-lich mit Herz und Hand!
Ei-nig-keit und Recht und Frei--heit
sind des Glü-ckes Un-ter-pfand*. *das Pfand=pledge
(x2) -- Blüh’ im Glan-ze die-ses Glü-ckes,
-- blü-he deut-sches Va-ter-land! --
With that, are you ready to listen to Heino singing all 3 stanzas?
--> See how much of the 2nd stanza can you understand without having the text here? Which words do you recognize?
On YouTube, there are versions of just the National Anthem (Stanza 3) being sung at football games. You may be interested to know that this Anthem is not sung on a daily bases, even in schools.
How would you answer Professor Kuhn-Osius's two questions?
1. Is the stanza 1 text worse than the French “Marseillaise,” which refers to spilling 'impure blood' [meaning Germanic blood]?
2. Is it overly patriotic compared to the famous patriotic song "Rule Britannia”?
My thanks to Hunter College Professor Eckard Kuhn-Osius and History Teacher Marcus Krallek for their observations on the subject, submitted to the AATG Listserv Sept 1, 2010.
MORE?
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