Frederick, Airlift, and Currency.. and 77 days!

In 1712, Frederick the Great was born. He would be a ruler who would go on to change the world. Despite his hatred for war, he gained a lot of territory for the Prussian empire while modernizing Prussia. In Frederick’s early years he rebelled against his family and tried to flee his father’s reign, he then had to watch his friend be beheaded. Still Frederick continued to rebel in his own ways. He started playing flute and had a library of poetry. Frederick was a well-rounded man. He helped build the famous architecture of Berlin. He built the Berlin State Opera, St. Hedwig’s Cathedral, and the State Library Berlin. While doing all of this he successfully won the Silesian War and the Seven Years War. Between these two wars, Frederick gained part of Poland and Austria. He was an icon in Prussia and a huge statue was built in his honor.

Today, that statue rests upon the Brandenburg Gate. The short documentary describes the Gate as, “a symbol of militarism and idealism; of oppression and liberation”(Matt Frei). If it were not for Frederick the Great, the Brandenburg Gate may have not existed in the way that it has. It has divided Berlin in two; it is the timeline of Berlin. It has been there through it all, and Frederick the Great stands on top of it. Symbolizing how he had helped shape Berlin.

During the Cold War, Soviet Russia blocked off Berlin so that they could control the entire city instead of half of the city. The Soviet Russia was unsuccessful in gaining control of the entire city due to the Allies airlifting food and supplies to Berlin. Around 20,000 citizens of Berlin came together to help one another survive as they built a third airport so more supplies could be given. They managed to build the airport in about three months after working around the clock. Airplanes were coming and leaving within six minutes. This airlift lasted for 462 days; during this time the citizens of Berlin survived because of one another and the Allied forces. Finally, the West one, and the blockade was lifted.

This picture depicts how anxiously the citizens of Berlin awaited the airplanes to come in and deliver the much-needed supplies. Even though everything was rationed, there was still enough to prove that Berlin will be protected. However, Russia realized that Berlin was their advantage; Berlin was in the middle of Communist Russia. In the Cold War times, that is exactly what they needed to get ahead. They did this by psychologically hurting the people of Berlin. Families were divided, lovers could no longer see one another, and eventually people were putting their lives in danger just to get out of this oppressed side of the city; all because of a wall.

After World War II, Germany and Berlin were divided. On one side were the allied forces. Even though Berlin lied in the middle of Soviet Russia’s territory, Berlin was also divided in half; quite literally. Russia had at first made a soldier made barrier where no one could pass without the proper credentials. As if that wasn’t enough though, they also changed the currency in East Berlin. While Berlin went from Reichsmarks to Deutschmarks, East Berlin then went to a different kind of currency; marks. The ratio from Deutschmarks to Marks were one to four. A significant difference between one city. And Berlin felt it. Due to this currency issue, West Berlin was thriving while East Berlin suffered. People fled to the West, knowing and dreaming of how amazing it will be there. After “X-Day”, the day Reichsmarks switched to Deutschmarks, apparently stores were filled with fruits, veggies, clothes and more. There were no more rations, people could spend as they pleased. It all worked for West Berlin, but East Berlin was left to suffer and only dream about life in the West.

Word Count: 650.

http://www.moneymuseum.com/moneymuseum/library/texts/text.jsp?lang=en&id=74196

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFBM-hqA9P0&list=PL2AADC66884A22F0D

Martin Luther: Reluctant Revolutionary

Martin Luther was a great antagonist. He challenged the Church and held true to his believes; something that made him a remarkable man. He was ridiculed, excommunicated, and feared for his life. With every problem he faced though he took it and added it to fuel his fire! (Quite literally with his excommunication papers) To me, Martin Luther is a great role model.

            Martin Luther culturally changed Germany by proving that you can stand up to the Government and for what you believe in. He did this by nailing his 95 Theses to the doors of Churches and Cathedrals.  He challenged people and even though he could have taken back his words and writings and just said, “I made a mistake”; he went on to challenge everyone even more. His life was on the line but he still stood for up for what he believed.

            As well as helping prove that you can stand up for your beliefs, Luther also culturally helped shape Germany by using the printing press. In the short film, Martin Luther: Reluctant Revolutionary, he is described as “the first propagandist” (10:52). He showed Germany how this newfound technology can really shape the world.

            He also helped Germany politically by unintentionally starting a revolution. It started with the 95 Theses but eventually the people caught on and started destroying property, burning things, and protesting after the Diet of Worms. Luther was horrified; he had never imagined things going this bad. He avoided death with the help of his king (Frederick the Wise) from Wittenberg, who was one of the few who voted on his side after the hearing.

            Luther had so much religious influence. He completely changed the way the bible was interpreted. By calling Pope Leo X out on how he was almost staging faith to make it more ‘fabulous’ (7 sacraments verses 2), he put his life on the line; an incredible thing to do. In my opinion this is the most incredible way Luther influenced religion. He started a whole new religion, he changed Germany and other countries to become Protestant instead of Catholic. He must have been a very charismatic and influential man to have been able to do all this in his life.

            This was so important to German-speaking lands because it gave them a choice to separate from the Roman Catholic Church as the book Germany A New History by Hagen Schulze explained. Schulze described Luther as, “a ‘German Hercules,’ the ‘German nightingale.’ His appearance on the scene evoked feelings of emerging national identity”(Schulze, 57). These statements sums up on influential and important Luther was for German-speaking lands. He unified them while he was captive in Wartburg and translated the bible into German, one of his most incredible works ever. Martin Luther had to be one of the most influential and important people in Germany history.

Word Count: 475.

Schulze, Hagen. Germany : a new history / Hagen Schulze ; translated by Deborah Lucas Schneider  Harvard University Press Cambridge, Mass.1998.

Martin Luther: Reluctant Revolutionary. Dir. Cassian Harrison. PBS. Devillier Donegan Enterprises.  2003.  YouTube. Web. September 5^th 2013. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ni1gupkGAW0

Germany a New History

While reading chapters 1 & 2 in Hagen Schulze’s Germany a New History, one topic I found most entertaining was the Thirty Years’ War. It’s interesting going from such a long period of peacetime (1555-1618) to suddenly a war for thirty years over religion. This war really stands out due to how long and gruesome it was and how it was mainly a war between Catholicism and Lutheranism. This map shows the territories at the end of the Thirty Years’ War.  

 You can see how most of the battles were in present day Germany or central Europe; the Holy Roman Empire ends South of modern day Germany. It shows how divided Catholicism and Lutheranism was.

Countries involved in Thirty Years' War

Countries involved in World Wars

However, while reading it I couldn’t help but compare the Thirty Years' War to the World Wars. Everyone in the 15th century at this point had allies and they were just waiting for a war. It is exactly what they did in the earlier half of the 20^th century. Everyone started building up agreements and partnerships with other countries or territories during peacetime. Then two countries, or religions in this case, disagree. Next thing you know there is a rebellion or an invasion of some kind and everyone is at war because of the allies. Everyone is then against one another even though it is only between two countries or ideas. Just like the World Wars as well, the Thirty Years’ War also ended with a treaty. World War I ended with the Treaty of Versailles. The Thirty Years’ War ended with The Peace of Westphalia, which also almost served as League of Nations just like it did in 1919. 

The Peace of Westphalia

Treaty of Versailles

This picture shows the Peace of Westphalia, which finally ended the war. Compared to a picture from the Treaty of Versailles, one can see how similar each one of these events are. Leading me to think how many times will history end up repeating itself? Yes the time gap was five centuries, but it leads me to think if we will make the same mistakes again in another five centuries.

Word Count: 363