Kultur 11, Alex Hodge

                The first thing that came to mind after I finished this little group of Kultur readings was “nifty”. The version of German opinions of reunification and the culture and government in what was East Germany were very interesting and fresh, especially since life in ‘Murica often makes one forget that some people enjoyed living behind the Iron Curtain. I had no idea that “Oestalgie” would exist, since most of the stories I’ve heard of East Germany always managed to revolve around East Germans trying, failing, trying again, and dying during attempts to sneak themselves and their families out of the East. It’s fascinating to test my preconceptions against the actual thoughts and prejudices of real Germans (at least as presented by these nifty little Kultur articles), especially considering the divide between north and south that I had never heard mentioned before. Really nifty.