Kultur 11 - Abigail Orrick

I could just be sappy, but the articles about the division that still exists between East and West Germany just made me sad. Obviously, we've always been fed a story of history that is very one-sided -- The Berlin Wall was horrible, everyone wanted it down, East Germany was a place of absolute squalor, etc.  We often don't stop to think that for many Germans, they were born and grew into adults while the wall was stil up. It was undoubtedly a period of great change for many Germans. I also completely understand the nostalgia aspect of it. If you grow up with things in your childhood, even just everyday objects, you can grow fondly attached to them.

I just had to laugh at the parallels between North and South Germany and the northern and southern United States. They speak of the difference in accents, something that most Americans can identify with. They also briefly mention Protestants vs. Catholics, a feud that dates back to the early 1900's when German sociologist Max Weber wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism. Basically the two religions have never really gotten along because of fundamental differences in beliefs. To put it very generally, Protestants work hard to achieve wealth in this life, Catholics work hard so that God will view them favorably and send them to Heaven. Conflicts result. Finally, I would hazard a guess that another rift developed because the north went through an industrial revolution while the south continued with farming and agriculture. Sound familiar?