GERMANY

My name is Ariana Silver. I am a Global Citizen.

That means that I identify myself with humans from all over the Earth, and not just within one country’s borders.

Me with my Nigerian Friends.

Me in Mexico.

However, my ancestors came from all over Europe and include Germans, English, Irish,

French, and Russian-Jews.

Today I am reporting on Germany, where my maternal ancestors lived until the early 1800’s.

GERMAN SYMBOLS

The Flag Of Germany

The black, red and gold stripes represent democracy, unity and freedom.

The German Coat Of Arms

The German Coat Of Arms is one of the oldest in the world.

A Democracy means that the German people vote for their leaders, rather than being ruled by a king or queen. This is similar to what we

have in the United States.

GERMAN GEOGRAPHY

Germany is bordered by France, Switzerland, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. It also has borders along

the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.

My maternal ancestors are from the Rhineland-Pfalz region of Germany.

Rheinland-Pfaltz Region of Germany.

The Rhineland-Pfalz region of Germany is home to The Black Forest.

The Black Forest was so named because the trees were so dense it could get extremely dark. The forest has over 10 Million visitors every year.

GERMAN ARCHITECTURE

These Are Pictures Of German Castles

These castles are located in Germany. The one on the left is located near where my ancestors were from and inspired Walt Disney’s

castle at Disneyland.

This Is A Picture Of A Traditional German House and Town

Today most families in Germany have two children or less, so multiple families or multiple generation may share a home.

TRADITIONAL GERMAN

CLOTHING

Though Modern Germans Dress Like Us, They Still Wear Traditional Clothing to Celebrate Their Heritage.

Lederhosen Dirndl

GERMAN DANCE

There Are Several Traditional German Dances. Some Of The Most Famous Are The Polka and The Slap Dance.

Dancers in traditional clothing performing a German folk dance. The most common instrument used was the accorddian.

GERMAN FOOD AND DRINK

Germany is famous for beer, sausage, and saurkraut.

This region is where the land supports wheat rather than grapes, so although there are many wineries in

the south, beer is much more common.

Easy to grow wheat Harder to grow grapes

Beer is more common than wine

As early as the 1400’s my family were beer brewers. In fact, my mother’s maiden name meant “beer brewer” in

German. Some of our relatives opened a successful brewery when they came to the U.S.

The most famous German dessert is the Black Forrest Cake. Named because the chocolate is as dark as The Dark Forrest we mentioned earlier.

GERMAN ENTERTAINMENT AND SPORTS

“Futball” or what we know as soccer, is the most popular sport in Germany.

“Futball”

Germans watch more TV than any other European nation! (But still far less than we do in the U.S.

Television

FAMOUS GERMANS

Over the centuries Germany has produced many famous people,

both good and bad.

Ludwig van BeethovenLudwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) , is one of the most famous composers of all time, even though he was deaf!

Karl Marx (1818 – March 14, 1883) was a philosopher and economist whose ideas gave birth to Communism, the idea that no-one should be allowed to be richer than anyone else.

Karl Marx

Albert Einstein (1879-1955) is the most famous scientist of all time. His theories advanced our understanding of the universe, but unfortunately were used to make a very destructive weapon, the Atom bomb.

Albert Einstein

One of the reasons we had World War II was because of this man. He wanted to control all of Europe and his racist beliefs caused a lot of pain and suffering.

Adolf Hitler

Claudia hasn’t saved the world or produced time-honored works of art, but she is one of the most famous supermodels of our time.

Claudia Schiffer

So now you know a little more about Germany. It is a very old country that brought us beautiful castles, delicious food, brilliant and controversial people and MY ancestors!