German Studies Final

8/3/2019 German Studies Final

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20th Century

German StudiesJennifer Anne Straus

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Jennifer Anne Straus Final Project, Page 1


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The German Eras

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Nazi Era in Germany 1933 - 1945

East and West Germany 1945 - 1990

Weimar Republic1918 - 1933

The Imperial Era in Germany 1871 - 1918


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The Essential Question:

What Does It Mean To BeGerman?

In German Studies this term, we studied ve major areas of Germanhistory. These included the following periods of time:

=> Imperial Era

=> Weimar Republic=> Nazi Germany

=> East Germany => West Germany

In each of those periods of time, there was a different meaning of what it meant to be German. During the Imperial era, there was

World War One. During the Weimar Republic, there was a lot of artistscoming out with different styles of art. During Nazi Germany, there

was Hitler and World War Two. During East and West Germany,Germany was split into the east and the west and Berlin, the capital,

was split up into four segments controlled by the United Kingdom,

United States, France, and Soviet Union.

Some things I have learned through this class are as follows:

=> Germany has gone through more changes in government thanmost of any other country.=> The German language is very interesting with how people talk.=> People have made bigger deals out of certain events than other

events.

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Nazi Germany

I spent most of my time in class learning about Nazi Germany. I read a

book called We Are Witnesses: Five Teenage Diaries From Teens WhoDied In The Holocaust. I was moved very deeply by this book because

of how much the teens and their families went through during thetough times of The Holocaust. For example, Anne Franks father, after

Anne Frank had died in a extermination camp along with her motherand sister, published her diary to let people know what had happened

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to them. This made me cry. I had nightmares about The Holocaust because of this project, but I am glad I went through it.

The Entrance to AuschwitzTranslation: Work makes one freeIn reality, once one entered a concentration camp, one would never

exit without sneaking out and the possibility of being caught againand killed.

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Weim ar Republic

I learned a lot about the DaDa Movement from my peers this term.

The main point of the DaDa Movement was that they were against war. The main denition of the DaDa Movement that I could nd was

An artistic revolt and protest against traditional beliefs of a pro-warsociety, and also fought against sexism/racism to a lesser

degree. (Source: http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/dada/arthistory_dada.html )

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http://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/dada/arthistory_dada.htmlhttp://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/dada/arthistory_dada.htmlhttp://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/dada/arthistory_dada.htmlhttp://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/dada/arthistory_dada.htmlhttp://www.arthistoryarchive.com/arthistory/dada/arthistory_dada.html


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In the Weimar Republic era of German history, I learned that a lot of people were against the war and used art to show how they wereagainst it.

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To conclude this paper/project, I wanted to say my opinion on what itmeans to be German. In my own opinion, the question What does itmean to be German? cannot be answered. There is no one true

answer to this question, but there are many opinions to it. In my ownopinion, to be German means that one is patriotic toward Germany,

one helps improve the country as a whole, and one believes that whatthey are doing is right and for the good of the country. According tomy answer to the essential question of the class, one could argue that

Adolf Hitler was German and thought he was doing the right thing forthe country of Germany.

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Authors Note:

Hi There Mr. Thompson,

I am glad I took German Studies this term. I have learned a lot about

what it means to be German and many other interesting topics fromthe many eras of 20th century German history. I enjoyed being in theclass, but one thing I can admit is that the class was VERY stressful.

A lot of us thought that the class was unfair in some ways andunclear, but that is what comes with trying to teach a newer classright?

I had a great term. Thanks so much.

Jennifer Anne Straus

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Documents

German Studies Final