Wednesday marked what would have been the 60th anniversary of East Germany, had it survived its 1989 downfall, historians said.
The communist German Democratic Republic was founded on Oct. 7, 1949 by delegates of a people's council gathered in the grand hall of the former aviation ministry in Berlin, while Germans across the Soviet-occupied zone listened on their radios.
Wilhelm Pieck, who became East Germany's first president, on that day declared the birth of the first "workers and peasants state on German soil," saying, "Based on the new constitution, the German Democratic Republic has been founded unanimously by all parties and organizations present in the German people's council."
Soviet Union dictator Josef Stalin said the GDR marked "the creation of a peace loving, democratic Germany alongside the peaceful Soviet Union," declaring it would help prevent new wars as well as the "enslavement of European countries by the western Imperialists," .
The 1989 fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the border between the East and West Germany, signaled the end of the communist German state and the eventual reunification of Germany.
Thursday, 8 October 2009
Tuesday, 22 September 2009
German language continues to slide in higher education..
Leicester University's German department is the latest to consider closure, as students opt for 'warmer' languages such as Spanish and French.
Faced with the closure of German departments across the country, German graduates are having to expand their search for research posts to wider categories. Next month, another university's senate will debate a proposal from senior management to close its German department in 2013.
The full-time lecturer, full-time teaching fellow and part-time teaching fellow who make up the University of Leicester's German department have been told the future of their department is "unsustainable".
The university says the proposals allow it "to invest in areas of growing demand within the school of modern languages, and follow a decline in the numbers of students choosing to study German".
"It is part of the evolution of universities that particular subject areas cease and new courses are brought on stream in ways that reflect demand and the objectives of the university," its spokesman says.
Meanwhile, Queen's University Belfast has ruled that this year's 20 undergraduates studying German will be its last. It says student demand is "unsustainably low" and that the subject "performed poorly" in the latest evaluation of the research output of UK universities. The language will continue as an extra-curricular study, a spokeswoman says.
Just 64 out of the 116 universities in the UK are offering German as part of a degree, for courses starting in the autumn of 2010. The subject has been taught at UK universities for 125 years. In the 1950s it was particularly popular because of Germany's economic boom and a revival in interest in the Romantic authors Goethe and Schiller.
But the latest figures show the number of undergraduates choosing a German language course in the UK is falling. Between 2006-07 and 2007-08 it fell by 10% to 4,765. The number has, however, fluctuated over the past five years and rose by 7% between 2005-06 and 2006-07.
The number of students taking German GCSE or A-level continued to drop this year, falling by nearly 8% at A-level to 5,765 students and by 4% at GCSE to 73,469 students. Postgraduate enrolments on teacher training courses with a specialism in German have gone down for the last couple of years. The latest figures show just 169 enrolled in 2007-08, a drop of 30% on the year before.
German history lectures still manage to pull in the crowds. At Nottingham Trent University, humanities professor William Niven says modules on the Third Reich and Uniting Germany regularly draw in more than 100 students each year. But could the recent spate of threatened closures signal the end to degrees that combine study of the German language and the country's culture and history?
"This isn't the end of German studies, but the subject will probably end up only being taught at some Russell group [the most competitive and research-intensive] universities within the next decade," says Pól Ó Dochartaigh, vice-president of the Association for German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland and dean of the faculty of arts at the University of Ulster.
Professor Susanne Kord, head of University College London's German department, says: "We will see many more German departments close or, at the very least, amalgamate into other departments. This means that they will lose their independence and budgetary control as well as a considerable amount of their current prestige and visibility, both nationally and internationally."
And yet Germany is Europe's largest economy and a major trading partner for the UK. In many parts of eastern Europe, German is the language of business. For others, it is the language of drama, the sciences and philosophy. How can we be witnessing its gradual demise in universities? There may be multiple reasons.
One is the falling numbers of students taking German at GCSE, A-level and then on to degree level. This has escalated since the government decided in 2004 that a modern language should no longer be compulsory at GCSE.
There is also the perception that German is a difficult language. The reality is that even though it might have more case endings, it is closer to English than Spanish or French are.
Modern language departments have also received budget cuts in the latest research assessment exercise (the evaluation of research output in UK universities). German was hit more severely than other subjects because those who set the standard were particularly stringent.
Sarah Colvin, Mason chair of German at the University of Edinburgh, thinks it is more likely to be that languages such as German are easy hits for university management. They are expensive to deliver because they require small class sizes. "At a time when university funding is being severely reduced, languages look like an easy way to save money."
The last five years have seen the proportion of students enrolling on modern language degrees drop by 4%. The Higher Education Funding Council for England now classifies subjects on these degrees as "strategically important and vulnerable".
It has commissioned an urgent review of their sustainability, to be published next month. It is led by Michael Worton, professor of French at UCL, who will give little away, apart from the suggestion that his report will look at the importance of teaching the history and culture of Germany, in addition to the German language.
Faced with the closure of German departments across the country, German graduates are having to expand their search for research posts to wider categories. Next month, another university's senate will debate a proposal from senior management to close its German department in 2013.
The full-time lecturer, full-time teaching fellow and part-time teaching fellow who make up the University of Leicester's German department have been told the future of their department is "unsustainable".
The university says the proposals allow it "to invest in areas of growing demand within the school of modern languages, and follow a decline in the numbers of students choosing to study German".
"It is part of the evolution of universities that particular subject areas cease and new courses are brought on stream in ways that reflect demand and the objectives of the university," its spokesman says.
Meanwhile, Queen's University Belfast has ruled that this year's 20 undergraduates studying German will be its last. It says student demand is "unsustainably low" and that the subject "performed poorly" in the latest evaluation of the research output of UK universities. The language will continue as an extra-curricular study, a spokeswoman says.
Just 64 out of the 116 universities in the UK are offering German as part of a degree, for courses starting in the autumn of 2010. The subject has been taught at UK universities for 125 years. In the 1950s it was particularly popular because of Germany's economic boom and a revival in interest in the Romantic authors Goethe and Schiller.
But the latest figures show the number of undergraduates choosing a German language course in the UK is falling. Between 2006-07 and 2007-08 it fell by 10% to 4,765. The number has, however, fluctuated over the past five years and rose by 7% between 2005-06 and 2006-07.
The number of students taking German GCSE or A-level continued to drop this year, falling by nearly 8% at A-level to 5,765 students and by 4% at GCSE to 73,469 students. Postgraduate enrolments on teacher training courses with a specialism in German have gone down for the last couple of years. The latest figures show just 169 enrolled in 2007-08, a drop of 30% on the year before.
German history lectures still manage to pull in the crowds. At Nottingham Trent University, humanities professor William Niven says modules on the Third Reich and Uniting Germany regularly draw in more than 100 students each year. But could the recent spate of threatened closures signal the end to degrees that combine study of the German language and the country's culture and history?
"This isn't the end of German studies, but the subject will probably end up only being taught at some Russell group [the most competitive and research-intensive] universities within the next decade," says Pól Ó Dochartaigh, vice-president of the Association for German Studies in Great Britain and Ireland and dean of the faculty of arts at the University of Ulster.
Professor Susanne Kord, head of University College London's German department, says: "We will see many more German departments close or, at the very least, amalgamate into other departments. This means that they will lose their independence and budgetary control as well as a considerable amount of their current prestige and visibility, both nationally and internationally."
And yet Germany is Europe's largest economy and a major trading partner for the UK. In many parts of eastern Europe, German is the language of business. For others, it is the language of drama, the sciences and philosophy. How can we be witnessing its gradual demise in universities? There may be multiple reasons.
One is the falling numbers of students taking German at GCSE, A-level and then on to degree level. This has escalated since the government decided in 2004 that a modern language should no longer be compulsory at GCSE.
There is also the perception that German is a difficult language. The reality is that even though it might have more case endings, it is closer to English than Spanish or French are.
Modern language departments have also received budget cuts in the latest research assessment exercise (the evaluation of research output in UK universities). German was hit more severely than other subjects because those who set the standard were particularly stringent.
Sarah Colvin, Mason chair of German at the University of Edinburgh, thinks it is more likely to be that languages such as German are easy hits for university management. They are expensive to deliver because they require small class sizes. "At a time when university funding is being severely reduced, languages look like an easy way to save money."
The last five years have seen the proportion of students enrolling on modern language degrees drop by 4%. The Higher Education Funding Council for England now classifies subjects on these degrees as "strategically important and vulnerable".
It has commissioned an urgent review of their sustainability, to be published next month. It is led by Michael Worton, professor of French at UCL, who will give little away, apart from the suggestion that his report will look at the importance of teaching the history and culture of Germany, in addition to the German language.
Tuesday, 15 September 2009
German Jet Makes Emergency Landing at Stuttgart
A German passenger jet with 87 people on board including one of Germany's most senior politicians, Social Democrat Party chairman Franz Müntefering, made an emergency landing at Stuttgart airport on Monday because its undercarriage couldn't be fully lowered. No one was seriously hurt.
The Fokker 100 jet was operated by Contact Air, a partner of German national carrier Lufthansa. Its 82 passengers and a crew of five were evacuated through emergency slides after the plane landed on a foam carpet. Five passengers suffered from shock and one female flight attendant was taken to hospital for observation.
"It was a serious, a very serious situation," said Müntefering, 69, who is due to speak at an election campaign rally in Stuttgart later on Monday. The SPD shares power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and Müntefering as party chairman has a key role in campaigning ahead of the Sept. 27 election.
"We spent a long time circling, then tried the approach and then had to make an emergency landing," Müntefering. "Everyone in the plane was very disciplined. We owe our thanks to the pilot who put in a masterful performance and to his crew who handled the situation professionally."
The Fokker 100 jet was operated by Contact Air, a partner of German national carrier Lufthansa. Its 82 passengers and a crew of five were evacuated through emergency slides after the plane landed on a foam carpet. Five passengers suffered from shock and one female flight attendant was taken to hospital for observation.
"It was a serious, a very serious situation," said Müntefering, 69, who is due to speak at an election campaign rally in Stuttgart later on Monday. The SPD shares power with Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives and Müntefering as party chairman has a key role in campaigning ahead of the Sept. 27 election.
"We spent a long time circling, then tried the approach and then had to make an emergency landing," Müntefering. "Everyone in the plane was very disciplined. We owe our thanks to the pilot who put in a masterful performance and to his crew who handled the situation professionally."
Wednesday, 9 September 2009
Merkel defends German mission in Afghanistan
Chancellor Angela Merkel on Tuesday defended Germany's military mission in Afghanistan, but also expressed regret for innocent victims, if there were any, in last week's German-ordered air strike on two hijacked fuel tankers.
Merkel made the remarks during a speech to parliament in response to an acknowledgement by the NATO-led force in Kabul that the Sept. 4 air strike called in by German commanders and carried out by a U.S. warplane may have killed civilians.
Merkel rejected opposition calls for a troop pullout after the strike, which prompted criticism at home and abroad because of the possibility that civilians were killed in the attack.
"The mission in Afghanistan is our reaction to terror, the consequences of not acting will affect us just as much as the consequences of acting," Merkel said.
Local media reported that last week that the air strike targeted two tanker trucks seized by Taliban militants near the northern Afghan town of Kunduz.
An initial assessment led by U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, NATO's commander in Afghanistan, "concluded that civilians had been killed or injured," NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
Merkel, addressing parliament before Sept. 27 elections, promised German support for a thorough investigation of the attack.
"We will not gloss over anything, but we will not accept any premature condemnation," she said. "I refuse to tolerate that, either from Germany or from abroad."
Merkel made the remarks during a speech to parliament in response to an acknowledgement by the NATO-led force in Kabul that the Sept. 4 air strike called in by German commanders and carried out by a U.S. warplane may have killed civilians.
Merkel rejected opposition calls for a troop pullout after the strike, which prompted criticism at home and abroad because of the possibility that civilians were killed in the attack.
"The mission in Afghanistan is our reaction to terror, the consequences of not acting will affect us just as much as the consequences of acting," Merkel said.
Local media reported that last week that the air strike targeted two tanker trucks seized by Taliban militants near the northern Afghan town of Kunduz.
An initial assessment led by U.S. Army Gen. Stanley McChrystal, NATO's commander in Afghanistan, "concluded that civilians had been killed or injured," NATO's International Security Assistance Force said in a statement.
Merkel, addressing parliament before Sept. 27 elections, promised German support for a thorough investigation of the attack.
"We will not gloss over anything, but we will not accept any premature condemnation," she said. "I refuse to tolerate that, either from Germany or from abroad."
Thursday, 3 September 2009
German company invents the ultimate portaloo.
When you gotta go, you gotta go and the good news for women is now you can...anywhere, anytime.
A German company has come up with the first pocket urinal that fits in a woman's handbag and can be used whenever she is caught short. The company says its 'Ladybag' will put an end to wasting time in toilet queues.
The mobile lavatory consists of a plastic bag fitted with absorbent polymers that turn urine into a gel. The German designed loo which is disguised as a leaf - albeit a rather weird one - has handy graphic instructions printed on the bottom.
Inventor, Eva Tinter, told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine: 'It can be used in cars, or to avoid dirty toilets or at open-air festivals when you don't want to queue. You can just nip round the back of the toilet and use this.'
Incredibly the company has already sold 20,000 through chemists and the internet since its launch last October. 'We've had orders from all over the world. Every glove compartment should have one.' said Ms Tinter. The German Ladybag follows hot on the heels of the rather more masculine sounding 'Roadbag' for men. Launched in 2007 sales now top 200,000 a year.
A German company has come up with the first pocket urinal that fits in a woman's handbag and can be used whenever she is caught short. The company says its 'Ladybag' will put an end to wasting time in toilet queues.
The mobile lavatory consists of a plastic bag fitted with absorbent polymers that turn urine into a gel. The German designed loo which is disguised as a leaf - albeit a rather weird one - has handy graphic instructions printed on the bottom.
Inventor, Eva Tinter, told Germany's Der Spiegel magazine: 'It can be used in cars, or to avoid dirty toilets or at open-air festivals when you don't want to queue. You can just nip round the back of the toilet and use this.'
Incredibly the company has already sold 20,000 through chemists and the internet since its launch last October. 'We've had orders from all over the world. Every glove compartment should have one.' said Ms Tinter. The German Ladybag follows hot on the heels of the rather more masculine sounding 'Roadbag' for men. Launched in 2007 sales now top 200,000 a year.
Tuesday, 25 August 2009
Dogs recruited to protect German sheep from wolves
German officials wanting to protect their sheep from wolves are calling in the experts, two Pyrenean mountain dogs named Ben and
Carlos.
Saxony state environment minister Frank Kupfer said Tuesday the services of the specially trained dogs are now available to worried shepherds. The dogs, a breed that has guarded German livestock for centuries, will protect sheep if Saxony's wolves ignore obstacles such as electric fences.
Wolves are protected and have established themselves in parts of Germany over the past decade. Official figures show Saxony, on Germany's borders with Poland and the Czech Republic, has 45 wild wolves living in five packs, the biggest population in the country.
Wolves have killed some 200 sheep in the German region over recent years.
Carlos.
Saxony state environment minister Frank Kupfer said Tuesday the services of the specially trained dogs are now available to worried shepherds. The dogs, a breed that has guarded German livestock for centuries, will protect sheep if Saxony's wolves ignore obstacles such as electric fences.
Wolves are protected and have established themselves in parts of Germany over the past decade. Official figures show Saxony, on Germany's borders with Poland and the Czech Republic, has 45 wild wolves living in five packs, the biggest population in the country.
Wolves have killed some 200 sheep in the German region over recent years.
Tuesday, 11 August 2009
Ferrari turn to Badeor
Ferrari have turned to test driver Luca Badoer to fill the void left by Michael Schumacher and Felipe Massa.
Ferrari have been rocked by news that seven-time world champion Schumacher will now not be able to race for them because of a long-standing neck injury.
The legendary German driver had been set to replace Massa, who has been sidelined after suffering serious head injuries at the Hungarian GP.
However he announced on Tuesday that he would now not be able to return to action after failing to overcome his own injury.
Ferrari have now asked the 38-year-old Badoer to fill in for the rest of the season.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said: "In agreement with Stefano Domenicali, we have therefore decided to give Luca Badoer the chance to race for the Scuderia after he has put in so many years of hard work as a test driver."
Badoer made 51 starts for Ferrari between 1993-98 having previous raced in the Italian F3 Championship and won the Formula 3000 intercontinental title.
Ferrari have been rocked by news that seven-time world champion Schumacher will now not be able to race for them because of a long-standing neck injury.
The legendary German driver had been set to replace Massa, who has been sidelined after suffering serious head injuries at the Hungarian GP.
However he announced on Tuesday that he would now not be able to return to action after failing to overcome his own injury.
Ferrari have now asked the 38-year-old Badoer to fill in for the rest of the season.
Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said: "In agreement with Stefano Domenicali, we have therefore decided to give Luca Badoer the chance to race for the Scuderia after he has put in so many years of hard work as a test driver."
Badoer made 51 starts for Ferrari between 1993-98 having previous raced in the Italian F3 Championship and won the Formula 3000 intercontinental title.
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