Current Events > Germany General.

(+) Yeah! (+)

Yeah. I don't think that's a serious look at German history.

Why do people hate really serious films so much? What's wrong with that?

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that mustve been another director, as every tarkovsky feature is fairly good to fantastic
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Sunhawk posted...

Yeah. I don't think that's a serious look at German history.

Why do people hate really serious films so much? What's wrong with that?

Why does everything have to be serious though? Even comedy can give context and new veiwpoints if looked at in the right way.
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany_in_Autumn

@Sunhawk
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Here's a fun fact about modern Germany.

If you're in prison, and attempt a (failed) prison break, they don't punish you at all. This is because German society recognises that human beings have a natural tendency to / love of freedom.

Very progressive. This is like one of those Nothern European states, where everything is really liberal and...strange. Like how in Norway, they can only sentence you for up to 21 years, and you have those prisons that are like nice hotels. Quite different, really.

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Sunhawk posted...

If you're in prison, and attempt a (failed) prison break, they don't punish you at all. This is because German society recognises that human beings have a natural tendency to / love of freedom.

yeah, but only in the very rare case that you manage to not break other laws in the process. Like breaking stuff to get out, or hurting someone or something.

also, every prison will have it's own rules. If you break them, you will get punished in some sort of way. Solitary confinement or whatever.

Also your chances of being released earlier than sentenced will basically be zero.
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Has anyone seen Valkyrie? I just saw a clip from it, and it looked quite good (apart from having a famous American play a German, of course).
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watch these:

Schindlers List
The Tin Drum
Das Boot
The Experiment
Der Untergang

if you can, find a stream of the German series 4 Blocks. It's relatively new...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/4_Blocks
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I might, although I've already seen Schindler's List. Great film, surprised I never bought a copy.
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Bump.
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I wonder what the best parts of Germany to live in are. Which cities, which areas. I suppose most of it is pretty nice.
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If you were to go into a bookstore (and yep, people still do) and browse the shelves and spines on European history, you'd form the impression that German history was only twelve years long: 1933-45. I don't know if book retailers' obsession with the Nazi era is because they believe that swastikas sell books, but fuck me, I'm sick to death of it.

And I'm saying that as someone who, in his teens, voraciously consumed anything he could read about that era. The Axis forces fascinated me. Seeing the war through German eyes was a bit like watching the original Star Trek with the Klingons as the good guys: something coolly subversive. (And it was, back then -- when for most Brit schoolkids brought up on a diet of comic book patriotism, the war was all about GIs and Desert Rats battling a faceless foe: squareheaded and jackbooted hordes whose only speech was "Donner und Blitzen!" and "Gott in Himmel!" as Captain Hurricane clobbered them with a torn-off tank cannon. When you finally read about WWII from the German perspective it felt like you were breaking a taboo, and breaking taboos is always exciting.)

The important thing, Sunhawk, is not to become so close to your subject that your sense of perspective starts to erode and you find yourself always leaning towards your subject's side. I'm not saying you're letting that happen -- I'm just cautioning you against letting it happen.
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Firewerx posted...

If you were to go into a bookstore (and yep, people still do) and browse the shelves and spines on European history, you'd form the impression that German history was only twelve years long: 1933-45. I don't know if book retailers' obsession with the Nazi era is because they believe that swastikas sell books, but fuck me, I'm sick to death of it.

And I'm saying that as someone who, in his teens, voraciously consumed anything he could read about that era. The Axis forces fascinated me. Seeing the war through German eyes was a bit like watching the original Star Trek with the Klingons as the good guys: something coolly subversive. (And it was, back then -- when for most Brit schoolkids brought up on a diet of comic book patriotism, the war was all about GIs and Desert Rats battling a faceless foe: squareheaded and jackbooted hordes whose only speech was "Donner und Blitzen!" and "Gott in Himmel!" as Captain Hurricane clobbered them with a torn-off tank cannon. When you finally read about WWII from the German perspective it felt like you were breaking a taboo, and breaking taboos is always exciting.)

The important thing, Sunhawk, is not to become so close to your subject that your sense of perspective starts to erode and you find yourself always leaning towards your subject's side. I'm not saying you're letting that happen -- I'm just cautioning you against letting it happen.

You know, this is actually slightly true. It's a good warning. I suppose if a person consumes enough information / entertainment about the Nazi era, they could get quite sucked in.

Recently, though, I've become more interested in East Germany than the Nazis. I've watched a few hours of documentaries about it, and read various stuff on Wikipedia, but the funny thing is, it's somewhat hard to get lots of information on it. I suspect that East Germany TV documentaries are outnumbered by Nazi TV documentaries by a factor of 10:1. Also, there don't seem to be THAT many books on East Germany. Some, yeah, but not that many. Furthermore, most books about East Germany seem to focus mostly on the Stasi. It's really annoying. I want more information on East Germany, but it's hard.

I'd also like to learn more about the German Empire, which is a period of German history I'm largely ignorant on, but I don't know what to read / watch. If you, or anyone, have any suggestions, it would be good.

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@ALIEN_WORK2HOP

Some more questions for you, if you don't mind.

1. What is the gaming scene like in Germany? Are there many games stores? Is reasonably easy to buy consoles and games? What is the social view of gaming?

2. How is infrastructure? Roads, railways, internet, etc. I would assume it is all pretty good, and runs pretty well, but you never know.

3. What is the German view of peaceful, democratic protesting? Marches, picketing places, that kind of thing. Is it frowned upon, encouraged, or do people not really care one way or the other?

4. How posh do you have to be to have von in your surname? How common is it?

5. How severe or lenient is the court system? Is it hardline, or a "soft touch"?

6. What are the main retail brands in Germany, in particular, supermarkets (if supermarkets are important in your country)?

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Sunhawk posted...

1. What is the gaming scene like in Germany? Are there many games stores? Is reasonably easy to buy consoles and games? What is the social view of gaming?

The main store that I know of is GameStop. It's better than the American one for sure, but still a bit pricey. Otherwise, you'd go to a general electronics store

Sunhawk posted...

2. How is infrastructure? Roads, railways, internet, etc. I would assume it is all pretty good, and runs pretty well, but you never know.

Roads are good, generally speaking. Trains are better than most countries, but complaining about them is still the national pastime. Internet (both broadband and mobile) leaves somewhat to be desired, imo.

Sunhawk posted...

4. How posh do you have to be to have von in your surname? How common is it?

You have to belong to (former) nobility. I haven't come across that many people with a von in their name.

Sunhawk posted...

6. What are the main retail brands in Germany, in particular, supermarkets (if supermarkets are important in your country)?

Varies from region to region and person to person. Personally, I do my grocery shopping from Netto, Tegut, Aldi, Lidl, Rewe; my drugstore shopping from DM or Rossman and my clothes shopping from C&A or H&M.
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I assume that Netto and most of those other names you gave are supermarkets? I know Lidl (we have it in the UK), and I'd say it's more of a general store, although some people probably do all their grocery shopping there.

Also, what's the problem with internet in Germany? I would've thought it would have highly developed communications infrastructure. I mean...almost as good as South Korea.

With gaming, I assume that the XBox One, PS4 and Switch (as well as handheld consoles) are pretty easy to get in Germany. I would've thought Germans were playing on the same consoles, and the same games, as the rest of us.

@ALIEN_WORK2HOP

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Sunhawk posted...

Also, what's the problem with internet in Germany? I would've thought it would have highly developed communications infrastructure. I mean...almost as good as South Korea.

lolno. The network is underdeveloped and overpriced

Sunhawk posted...

With gaming, I assume that the XBox One, PS4 and Switch (as well as handheld consoles) are pretty easy to get in Germany. I would've thought Germans were playing on the same consoles, and the same games, as the rest of us.

...
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teepan95 posted...

Sunhawk posted...

Also, what's the problem with internet in Germany? I would've thought it would have highly developed communications infrastructure. I mean...almost as good as South Korea.

lolno. The network is underdeveloped and overpriced

Sunhawk posted...

With gaming, I assume that the XBox One, PS4 and Switch (as well as handheld consoles) are pretty easy to get in Germany. I would've thought Germans were playing on the same consoles, and the same games, as the rest of us.

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Is your name ALIEN_WORK2SHOP? I didn't think so. Having said that, I appreciate your answers. Are you a German citizen, or just living in Germany.

I just saw a documentary about Wilheim II, called Queen Victoria and the Crippled Kaiser. It was quite good, but didn't tell me much that I didn't know about him beforehand. Having said that, I did learn at least one new thing, but sadly something very disturbing. When Willheim was still a child, and away from his mother, he sent a number of letters to her with some, uh, rather inappropriate content. I'm not sure why, but there we go. He was a rather strange individual, in a number of ways.

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Anyone have anything new to post about the country?
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Sunhawk posted...

Is your name ALIEN_WORK2SHOP? I didn't think so.

Sunhawk posted...

Are you a German citizen, or just living in Germany.

The former. Although I don't see why it makes a difference.
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Well, a German citizen would usually know more about the country than someone just living there.

Of course, that logic when applied to American doesn't work.

How do you feel about Angela Merkel eventually stepping down, and that new person taking over as leader of her party? Who did you vote for in the last election?

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Sunhawk posted...

Well, a German citizen would usually know more about the country than someone just living there.

So you're saying I, as a German citizen who spent most of his life abroad, know more about the country than my friend who has a Turkish passport but has lived her whole life in Germany?

Sunhawk posted...

How do you feel about Angela Merkel eventually stepping down, and that new person taking over as leader of her party? Who did you vote for in the last election?

More of the same, woop woop.

I voted for the Pirate Party and the Left, iirc.
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I'm still finding it hard to discover any interest aspect of the Weimar Republic, apart from the fact it gave rise to the Nazi regime (sort of). Germany in the 20s seems the same as a bunch of European and North American countries from the same time. Enjoying capitalism, happy WW1 was behind them, and being democratic. There doesn't seem much to distinguish them.
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Bump.
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How common is divorce in modern Germany? Is the traditional family surviving or not?
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I just saw a documentary called Enich and the Wall, which is about the Berlin Wall (obviously), East Germany and Enich Honecker, and it was alright.

I can't tell who was worse, from what I know of East Germany. Ulbricht or Honecker. They were both pretty bad.

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Bump.
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o_o
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Here's a question: why does so much talk about WW2 and the Axis Powers, focus on The Nazis and the Japanese? The Italians barely seem to be mentioned at all. Where they considered that unimportant, by both sides at the time? Although, nobody likes a flipflopper, I suppose.

To think, Italy used to be one of the most important places on Earth, as the political centre of the Holy Roman Empire, and by the 20th century, they really weren't that important. I still wouldn't say they're that important, in the 21st century.

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I think you need to buy a plane ticket for like 50 euros and just fly over to Berlin for a week. See all the museums and you will never need to ask anything here again.
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Is it really that cheap to fly from British to Germany, both ways? I haven't left the country in years, though. My passport expired years ago, anyway.
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Do you need a passport to travel in between EU countries? Brexit hasnt come to fruition yet
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I just googled some random week in January and it was 120 Euros there and back.

With a bit of luck, I'm sure you can find cheaper.

Do it while you can, Brexit will probably screw it all up for you.

No need for a passport inside schengen area
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I'm not sure if you still need a passport to travel between EU countries. They don't stamp it, but you might need to show it to the appropriate people.

As for Brexit, no need to worry quite yet. The major vote in the Commons tomorrow has allegedly been postponed. Who knows, they might push back the leaving day, which is meant to be March, but perhaps not.

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@pinky0926
@ALIEN_WORK2SHOP
@catboy0_0
@Alpha218
@Vermander
@BignutzisBack
@eggcorn
@Highwind07
@Tropicalwood
@Frostmourne

Do any of you have any more thoughts on Germany, either modern or historic? If people want to whine some more about how Germany "really" existed before the mid-19th century, go ahead.

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Ive been talking to you in a pretty civilized manner in this topic Sunhawk :(
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You're improving, Alpha. I'm glad of this, I guess.
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Who are you and why are you tagging me?
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I tagged people so they could contribute. Don't you have anything to say, Highwind? I can't remember if you've posted in this topic before.
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Wtf are those tags anyways

Im sure @TarElessar would be offended that you left him out
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Alpha218 posted...

Wtf are those tags anyways

Im sure TarElessar would be offended that you left him out

I'm sure he tried his best, but gave up after failing to spell my username for 10 minutes.
On topic, I usually get flights for 30 euros and no passport is required (I travel quite a lot between Germany and the UK).

TarElessar posted...

Alpha218 posted...

Wtf are those tags anyways

Im sure TarElessar would be offended that you left him out

I'm sure he tried his best, but gave up after failing to spell my username for 10 minutes.
On topic, I usually get flights for 30 euros and no passport is required (I travel quite a lot between Germany and the UK).

Hold on, you're entering my country from time to time? You're not coming to the Westcountry, are you?

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O.o tagged.
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Why didn't you tag me? :(
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You made it to the topic anyway, didn't you, teepan?
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teepan95 posted...

Why didn't you tag me? :(

@teepan95 there you go bud
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teepan95 posted...

Why didn't you tag me? :(

Du zaehlst jetzt halt auch schon als Troll (Sarkasmus)
Wahrscheinlich weil du nicht dein ganzes Leben im Vaterland warst, dann ist deine Meinung halt nichts mehr wert lol

Honestly same dude
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I still smile, thinking of some of those Trabant jokes.
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