Weimar republic

Gueswende Yerbanga

LEH 355 Weimar republic

Article 3: “The Reich colors are black-red-golden. The merchant flag is black-white-red, with the Reich colors in the upper, inner corner.”

This article is mentioning the colors and flag colors of the Reich Republic. Indeed, each country has its own color and own flag different from other countries in order to be recognized easily by each country and each individual.

The flag is really significant and has a big importance for each country. It is not only a piece of paper flying in the air. It has its own meaning. Some countries can spend many hours and a lot of money designing their flag. A  Flag can also be a country’s way of portraying itself to the rest of the world or could be a portrait of a country’s historical past, like the American Flag. The American Flag still has 13 red and white stripes, signifying the original 13 colonies. Some counties’ flags are designed to follow the country’s historical pattern, as well. 

Article 119: “Marriage, as the foundation of the family and the preservation and expansion of the nation enjoys the special protection of the constitution. It is based on the equality of both genders. It is the task of both the state and the communities to strengthen and socially promote the family. Large families may claim social welfare. Motherhood is placed under state protection and welfare.” 

This passage is specially addressed to protect the family.  Marriage is a legal action and therefore is protected by the constitution and according to the constitution, all genders are equal and the whole family is protected (husband, wife and children). In addition to that, the objective of marriage is to expand the nation by having children so the government needs to protect these married people and their progeny. Any family who needs government aid can seek for aid.

These rights are important because they are protecting us. We all will need one day to form a family, so we will be happy and less stress to learn that the government is protecting our family members. For example the American system by the marriage act protects the whole family. Once both couple gets married, they can help each other to have the same rights and they can transfer their rights and advantages to the children.

The German Revolution of 1918 & Spartacus Uprising 1919

Gueswende yerbanga

LEH 355 H02W 50910

Assignment DUE 3/22 The German Revolution of 1918 & Spartacus Uprising 1919

 

     The German Revolution described Germany political movement and it’s inside turnings at the end of World War I. By discussing the revolution in Germany in 1918 to 1919, we have to understand first the conflict between the different political parties operating in Germany at that time. As a response to that, Rosa Luxemburg (1871-1919) wrote “The Julius Pamphlet” describing Germany revolution at that time. She also best described the central conflict in Germany during World War I, tried to make us understand the historical development that led up to the war and finally gave her opinion about the Marxist ideology.

     Rosa Luxemburg was born in the small Polish town of Zamosc on March 5 1871 and was a Marxist theorist, philosopher, economist and revolutionary socialist. She was a Polish Jewish descent who changed her descent and became naturalized as a German citizen. From early youth, she was active in the socialist movement and joined a revolutionary party called Proletariat founded in 1882. In 1915, after Germany got involved in World War I, she and Karl Liebknecht co-founded the anti-war “Spartacus League" which eventually became the Communist Party of Germany and named themselves “Spartacus”. In addition to that, German militarisms were opposed to communist from the beginning. A couple of years after that, most of the communist’s leaders including Luxemburg and Liebknecht got arrested and jailed. It is during her imprisonment in 1915 that Luxemburg wrote her essay “The Julius Pamphlet”. She kept fighting for the communists in Germany until she passed away on January 15 1919.

“Business thrives in the ruins. Cities become piles of ruins; villages become cemeteries; countries, deserts; populations are beggared; churches, horse stalls. International law, treaties and alliances, the most sacred words and the highest authority have been torn in shreds. Every sovereign “by the grace of God” is called a rogue and lying scoundrel by his cousin on the other side. Every diplomat is a cunning rascal to his colleagues in the other party. Every government sees every other as dooming its own people and worthy only of universal contempt. There are food riots in Venice, in Lisbon, Moscow, Singapore. There is plague in Russia, and misery and despair everywhere.”

I chose this passage from Luxemburg's essays because she is explaining the catastrophic scene in Germany at this time: a scene that is reflecting the euphoric idea of war in Germany. War always brings negative impacts on the economy, environment, and social behavior of the people. One of the major disadvantages of the war was the fact that it destroyed Germany’s and the economic cost of the war was too high. Furthermore, the damages caused by the war were significant which need to be rebuilt after the war over. In general, she means that the war will affect Germany businesses, cities, village, population, churches, treaties, international law…

In addition to that, I chose that passage because it a current topic. There is no country that like war or who want to participate is war but sometimes, there is no choice: you have to fight when another opponent attacks you.

     The passage from Luxemburg's essays and to today politics is obvious and clear: war may cause a lot of inconvenient. People get injured and killed, the economy get hurt, the whole country is destructs, the nature and the harmony of the country are destroyed, and furthermore, it doesn't necessarily result in victory for your side. War is risky, painful and the country will suffer a big financial mess. The reparation’s cost for all the big mess will be high and it will take time for the country to become stable.  In other words, War will create despair and misery.

 

     In conclusion, Luxemburg wrote “The Julius Pamphlet” to denounce the Germany revolution after World War I . She also mentioned the inconvenient of war for Germany that can be applied to any other country that will participate in war.

 

 

 

 

M

Gueswende Yerbanga

LEH 355 Assignment: Due 3/15 M

 

     The film M is a German drama-thriller film directed by Fritz Lang and starring Peter Lorre. It was realized in 1931.The sense of terror and chaos is explicit in the film. The film is in German and it is subtitled. The film follows the investigation of a child murderer who is terrorizing the citizens of Berlin. The multiple killing in the film is partially based on real life serial killers in Germany at this time.

     The scene is an extract of the scene 1 of the full movie. The scene start by a group of children who are playing an elimination game in the courtyard of an apartment building in Berlin. They were using a chant about a child murderer. The song was saying “Just you wait a little while the nasty man in black will come, with his little chopper, He will chop you up! You are out”. A woman appears upstairs from the house with a big basket on her hands, screams of them telling them to stop singing that awful song. She should be probably the mother or guardian of one of those kids. She kept talking to herself saying that the kid always like to sing that awful song. She continues walking. After she left, the kid started back singing the same song. She walked up the stair very exhausted with her big basket on her hand. She knock to the door and another woman opened the door. She gave her the basket. She felt nervous, so the other woman asked her what was the matter. She told her that she told those kids to stop singing that awful song and they do not listening to her and keep singing it over and over as if they haven’t heard enough of that murdered. The other lady told her to leave them because if they singing at least they know that there are okay. She told her ok, she was right and close back the door.

     According to me, my interpretation for this first scene is that a group of children were playing in the courtyard while singing a song whose lyrics are about a murder. One of the guardian of one of those kid told them to stop singing that awful song that remind them what happening in the city and she reported to another women who told her to leave the kid.

     I chose the scene for the reason that it is telling us what was going on Germany and can be applied to us with our children today. At that time, there were many serial killers terrorizing Germany.  So, this story was extract based on true story. In fact, it was not a good idea for the kids to keep singing that awful song about murder, but as the other woman said at least by hearing their voice they know that they are okay and are alive.  In addition to that, I chose it because it shows how cruel was and is the world everywhere. Why to kill children?  Indeed, the level of the criminology at that time was going back at least a decade, in public places like schools, supermarkets and movie theaters in Germany. The most recent tragic shooting at that time was in Newtown, Connecticut and the Washington Navy Yard. M tries to show the viewer the inner workings of the underworld. Also, this films deals more about violence which is a past and actuality subject in our live. We have to protect ourselves and protect our kids.

The Blue Angel

Gueswende yerbanga

LEH 355 H02W 50910

Assignment DUE 3/8 The Blue Angel

I choose the first cabaret song "No Time" (Keine Zeit)

“Nowadays, a person doesn't have a second to spare.
Yet many even think the pace is too slow.
If you do business today, you go bankrupt before you have even started.
People don't want to waste time with the beginning;
they'd rather skip straight to the end.
In this day and age, you fall in love in the evening, are engaged at night,
and get married the next morning.
At noon you have a fight; by night you're divorced.
In negotiations between countries, before a treaty is evened signed,
it's already broken.
Because nowadays it is considered chic to be quick.”

In German:

“Man laesst sich weit und breit heut nicht mehr Sekunde Zeit heut.
Es geht im Gegenteil uns noch zu langsam fast.
Machst du Geschaefte heute, bist du bereits schon pleite, bevor du ueberhaupt noch angefangen hast.
Man moecht am liebsten, ja das soll’s geben, das Ende noch vor Beginne leben.
Heut verliebt man sich abends, verlobt sich bei Nacht und vermaehlt in der Frueh sich zufriede und am Mittag da hat man bereits sich verkracht und am Abend ist man wieder geschieden.

Findet heut zwischen Laendern Verhandlungen statt und die Herren haben alles besprochen, ja dann wird noch bevor unterzeichnet man hat, der geschlossene Vertrag schon gebrochen,
denn das findt man heut chick, denn wir sind ja so quick.
Es ist gleich, ob wir heute reell sind, denn die Hauptsache ist, dass wir schnell sind.”

According to me, “no time” as the tittle said means to not have time for something. Some events (necessary and unnecessary) are useful for us but we judge and classify them as unnecessary because of the lack of time. Also, some of us think that time are moving slowly:  we want everything in our life to speed up. The author here is criticizing us for always complaining our lack of time because by judging that we do not have time to wait for something, to think about something and take a good decision, in our rush we will take the wrong decision and after will kind of regret. For example, he said in the lyrics “In this day and age, you fall in love in the evening, are engaged at night, and get married the next morning. At noon you have a fight; by night you're divorced.” That means, you meet someone, you fall in love with that person in the evening, you do not even wait to know more about that person, you get married with the person the same next morning and the same night you are already regretting and want to file for divorce. In conclusion, the author is inviting us for our safety to take our time to thing about long and short-term actions before we make any reasonable decision.

I choose these lyrics because the topic is sometimes realist: time and the topic can be applied to us. Today, everything is based on time but we are all busy and we do not have time to think about what we are doing or what we want to do. For example: myself. I am not going to church every Sunday because I do not have time I said. But I know it is not about that, it is just an excuse for me. If God tell me to come every Sunday and take millions of dollars, I will be the first at church every Sunday. By listening this sung, I understand what the author wants from us: take our time, thing about your decision and take an action that you will not regret in the future.

 

I choose the second cabaret song "Night Ghost" (Nachtgespenst)

“When the housewife chains the hallway door at night, I’m standing right outside.
Without hurry, I file the chain away, and there I am.
As the daughter is putting on her nightgown, I enter her room.
I feel sorry for her.
I’m the night ghost, your sweet night ghost,
I wake you up each time you call me your darling.
Don’t be so scared, It's only me waking you.
And after you have been uncovered,
you will get tucked in again.
When I climb through the window,
I have no interest in taking your jewels,
Only your ivory skin appeals to me.
As a night ghost I don’t take any shiny jewels;
only enough for the return fare.”

In German:
 “Legt die Hausfrau nachts die Kette hoch, im Korridor, steh ich davor.
Mit der Feile ohne Eile, keck, feil ich se weg. Da liegt der Dreck.
Waehrend sich die Tochter gerade kleid, tret ich bei ihr ein, sie tut mir leid.
Ich bin das Nachtgespenst, dein suesses Nachtgespenst.
Ich weck dich, wenn du pennst, sooft wie’s du mich Liebling nennst.
Sei bloss nicht so erschreckt, du wirst nur aufgeweckt.
Und wenn du aufgedeckt, dann wirst du wieder zugedeckt.
Steig ich durchs Fenster ein, reizt micht kein Edelstein.
Nein, nur dein Elfenbein reizt mich allein.
Ich nehm als Nachtgespenst kein Steuckchen mit, was glaenzt.
Ich brauch wirklich nur das Fahrtgeld retour.”

According to me, this lyric describes how a woman (mother) can take care of her family. As a mother, she is so happy and proud of herself to take a look to her family.  She is anywhere at any time her family needs her. When the author said “I wake you up each time you call me your darling. Don’t be so scared, It's only me waking you”, that means she is like a ghost hunting her family, protecting them day and night. A mother does not want anything bad to happen to her family.

I choose this topic because it is a realist topic and can be applied to us. It explains the unconditional and incalculable love of a mother for her family. We can never count the love of a mother with her family, especially children. Like me for example, I have a daughter who is two years and two month older. She is everything in my life for me, I take care of her since her was a baby until now. I am ready to do everything for her. I love her so much.  I also chose this topic because it is talking about LOVE. All of us know what is love and no one can avoid falling in love one day. By listening this song, you can get more idea about what is love and how to take care of someone you love.

Paragraph 175: "A male who commits a sex offense with another male or allows himself to be used by another male for a sex offense shall be punished with imprisonment. Where a party was not yet twenty-one years of age at the time of the act, the court may in especially minor cases refrain from punishment."

This paragraph is a national prohibition added to the Reich Penal Code. This paragraph means that being homosexual man is prohibited by the law and the punishment will be imprisonment. The exemption of this law is the fact that if at the time of the act one of the parties is minor (under 21 years old), the court can specialty do not applied the imprisonment punishment.

This paragraph is relate to this lecture in the fact that they both talking about The Weimar Republic. Indeed, the Weimar Republic  is the “name given by historians to the federal republic and semi presidential representative democracy established in 1919 in Germany to replace the imperial form of government”. After -World War I German society controlled by the Nazi Party want to control Germany. Therefore, the Nazi’s come up with some new laws. One of the biggest new laws is the one in paragraph 175 judging sex offenders. This law gave to German judges the authority and power to judge all homosexuality acts between men, illicit sex acts with minor.

In addition to that, this paragraph is related to the lecture in the sense that in this paragraph we are learning about Germany homophobia after world war. Know, I know that the Germany under the Nazi’s party was again homosexuality. I have learn more about Germany through this lecture.

 

Siddhartha

Gueswende yerbanga

LEH 355 H02W 50910

Assignment DUE 2/22 Siddhartha

“Slowly blossomed, slowly ripened in Siddhartha the realization, the knowledge, what wisdom actually was, what the goal of his long search was. It was nothing but a readiness of the soul, an ability, a secret art, to think every moment, while living his life, the thought of oneness, to be able to feel and inhale the oneness. Slowly this blossomed in him, was shining back at him from Vasudeva's old, childlike face: harmony, knowledge of the eternal perfection of the world, smiling, oneness”.

This passage from the novel Siddhartha discuss about confidence, knowledge, realization, perfection. The long term objective of Siddhartha was to overcome totality the conscious and unconscious events that happened in life. In this passage of the novel, Siddhartha concluded that his goal was reach: he feel himself confidant in exploiting the world. He was happy because according to him, he was the synonym of harmony, knowledge of the eternal perfection of the world and realization.

This passage is important for me in the fact that by reading this passage I feel myself at Siddhartha place: in this world of cheater, slander, wanders…Siddhartha has to overcome these events to become what he wants to be. This passage can advised you in our current life to be patient, to work hard for what we want with perseverance and one day everything will be alright.

Picture interpretation

Gueswende yerbanga

LEH 355 H02W 50910

Assignment DUE 2/15 Picture interpretation

 

The picture that I choose is called “"The Eclipse of the Sun".  The author name is George Grosz. He was born in Germany in 1893. Grosz began his studying by attending a weekly drawing class. Later, to develop his skills, he stated drawing drinking and battle scenes. He also studied at Dresden Academy of Fine Arts. And Berlin College of Arts and Crafts. In November 1914 Grosz volunteered for military service and was given a discharge after hospitalization for sinusitis in 1915. Around 1920s, his rename was widespread in Berlin because was his caricature of drawings Berlin was perfect and nice. He became a prominent member of the Berlin Dada and New Objectivity group during the Weimar Republic before he immigrated to the United States in 1933 with his family. Grosz became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1938, and settle down his residence at Bayside, New York. He taught at the Art Students League intermittently until 1955. After, he to return to Berlin, where he died on July 6, 1959 from falling down a flight of stairs after a night of drinking.

“"The Eclipse of the Sun" was realized in 1926.

I choose this painting because it was realized in Germany and it is an Oil on canvas painting with dimension 81-5/8 x 71-7/8 in and it is related to our topic in class: Nihilism. George Grosz was a team of the new objectivity: he wants by objectivity to be honest and realist: display things "as they really are" instead of displaying them the way you want. This painting is full of symbols and can be interpret different ways.

According to me, Eclipse of the Sun design a world where power and greed are above everything. People have tendency to do some bad thing to move on. On the picture, we can see the sun who symbolized life with a dollar sign that symbolize money. Money because of greed: the desire to be wealthy, prosperous and be known everywhere. We saw also on this painting in the back of the table, two men, one wear like a leader uniform is sit down and the other one is whispering in his ear. The one with the uniform seem to be a boss and the one whispering a maid or bodyguard who has to follow his boss instruction to get compensated monthly by money. Around the table, there are other men which I think some of them are good and some of them no. The blind donkey on the table is synonym of ignorance: people because of money or sometimes because they do not have a choice follow their leader blindly even the leader is in a wrong track and they know it. The sword with blood on the table means submission: if you do not respect the leader order, you will paid the inconvenient. On the bottom right hand of the painting, we can see someone imprisoned to say that weak sometimes people can be trapped by rich people if they do not follow their orders.

In conclusion, George Grosz design the Eclipse of the Sun to develop the theme of greed, inequality, power and corruption.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

Gueswende yerbanga

LEH 355

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari assignment

     The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is a German silent horror film also considered as impressionable movie. This film became a huge success in Germany and throughout the rest of the world. In my following lines, I will choose a scene from the film and describe the scene, then write your interpretation of the scene and finally say why I chose this scene and how it relates to the class.

     The scene is an extract of the scene 2 of the full movie. The scene start with Alan who is reading a book, then he went out to his friend’s house whose name is Francis. Alan went there to invite him to go with him to the fair. Then, we saw in the following action Dr Caligari who met a gentleman and he asked him about the Town Clerk. This gentleman answered by saying the town clerk is in a bad mood today. But Dr Caligari insisted and he gave his card with his signature on it to the gentleman who guided him to the town clerk. As soon as he arrived to the man and he wanted to talk but the town clerk told him to wait. So he went to sit at a corner and wait. After, a few minutes he went back to him but told him to sit down and even insult him by saying fool. Consequently, he sat down still at the same corner until the town clerk finished. Dr Caligari told him he wants a permit to operate his concession at the fair. Then the town clerk asked him what of kind of show he wanted to do; Dr Caligari answered by saying Somnambulist. Then, the town clerk left leaving Dr Caligari alone.

     According to me, this scene is the enthusiasm of the upcoming fair. It is mentioning how people are proceeding to get a permit to be able to participate at this fair. In instance, Dr Caligari went to see the town clerk who received him badly; but he stayed patient and explain what he wanted from the town clerk. Also, in this scene Dr Caligari introduced a theme which is going to be developed all along the film.  

     I chose the scene for the reason that it is telling us what is going to be about in the all film. Also the main characters are shown in the scene. In addition to that, I chose this scene because of its use of impressionant painting: we can see in the scene some shadows and light, strange, irregularly shaped, jagged, stage sets of objects and images.

     Nihilism  in Latin nihil (nothing) is “the philosophical doctrine suggesting the negation of one or more putatively meaningful aspects of life”.  Nihilism was developed in Germany. One topic of the Nihilism in Germany is to look at the different artistic and cultural objectifications of Nihilism: painting, scene, style, language …

     This scene is in somewhat related to my class in the sense that there is a use of naturalism, impressionism, expressionism, painting, nice demonstration of scene, coherent language and style. Therefore because of that the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari was considered one of the first horror films, but more importantly, it is considered to be one of the first expressionist films because of it naturalism, impressionism, expressionism painting. The film also used stylized sets, with abstract, jagged buildings painted.

     In conclusion, Nihilism in Germany was important because of it art, culture. the Cabinet of Dr. Caligari gain success because of it use of naturalism, impressionism, expressionism, painting, nice style and language.