William gave the German nation an extra strength on the international level only by constructing a powerful navy which he had inherited from his mother, a love of the British Royal Navy, the world's largest at that time. He made a reality of what he once confided to his uncle Edward VII that his dream was to have a "fleet of my own some day" like the British. William's personal "likes and dislikes" caused by his fleet's poor show in front of his grandmother Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebrations led him to take steps towards the construction of a powerful navy against his cousins in Britain.
William well utilised the talents of the dynamic naval officer Alfred von Tirpitz. He appointed him as the head of the Reich Naval Office in 1897 and the new admiral had come out with his Tirpitz Plan, the "Risk theory" where he advocated how Germany could force Britain to accede to German demands in the international arena through the threat posed by a powerful battle-fleet concentrated in the North Sea. But building this powerful fleet of more expensive Dreadnought type of battleships cost a lot to Germany imposing financial strains in the coming years.
William got into the trap of the First World War when his close friend the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was murdered on June 28, 1914. William offered Austria-Hungary to crush the secret organization that had plotted and slayed the Archduke Franz Ferdinand. He encouraged Austria to use force against the suspected Serbian movement which was responsible for his murder. But he was further trapped by his exploitative elites in Berlin by sending him away to his annual cruise of the North Sea on July 6, 1914, as they wanted to manipulate things in his absence for war to increase German dominance in Europe. They feared William might undermine their war effort - something of which William, for all his bluster, was extremely apprehensive.
William made erratic attempts to stay on top of the crisis via telegram, and when the Austro-Hungarian ultimatum was delivered to Serbia, he hurried back to Berlin. He reached Berlin and started his last minute attempt to avert the war.
But beyond his knowledge and control in Austria the warring-attempts were in full swing. Unknown to the Emperor, Austro-Hungarian ministers and generals had already convinced the 84-year-old Emperor Francis Joseph of Austria to sign a declaration of war against Serbia.
When William learnt that the First World War was unavoidable by a document stating that Russia would not cancel its mobilization on the event of Austro-Hungarian mobilization against Serbia, he wrote a lengthy commentary containing the startling observations: "For I no longer have any doubt that England, Russia and France have agreed among themselves........knowing that our treaty obligations compel us to support Austria.......to use the Austro-Serb conflict as a pretext for waging a war of annihilation against us.......Our dilemma over keeping faith with the old and honorable Emperor has been exploited to create a situation which gives England the excuse she has been seeking to annihilate us with a spurious appearance of justice on the pretext that she is helping France and maintaining the well-known Balance of Power in Europe for her own benefit against us."
Showing posts with label Berlin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Berlin. Show all posts
Saturday, December 22, 2007
German Memory in Asia - Dresden Bombing
Mirko joined me at the restaurant. He was from Dresden, an eastern city of Germany.
He said his city was the most ravaged in the Second World War. He repeated over and over again that Dresden was heavily devastated by the Second World War. I felt sorry for him, as he seemed traumatized by the memories of the ravages of his native city.
But the Dresden bombing has made a lasting impact on Germans around the world. The devastation of the bombing has influenced their art, culture and literature as well. Science fiction novelists Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle placed the General who ordered the bombing of Dresden in Hell in their novel Inferno.
The Dresden bombing was one of the world's worst tragedies of the twentieth century.
The bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) remains one of the more controversial events of World War II.
Historian Frederick Taylor says: "The destruction of Dresden has an epically tragic quality to it. It was a wonderfully beautiful city and a symbol of baroque humanism and all that was best in Germany. It also contained all of the worst from Germany during the Nazi period. In that sense it is an absolutely exemplary tragedy for the horrors of 20th Century warfare..."
In the summer of 1944, plans for a large and intense offensive targeting the Dresden and other selected cities had been discussed under the code name Operation Thunderclap, but then shelved.
But early in 1945, the Allies' political-military leadership started to consider how they might aid the Soviets with the use of the strategic bomber force. The plan was to bomb Dresden, Berlin and several other eastern cities in conjunction with the Soviet advance.
Sir Charles Portal, the Chief of the Air Staff, noted on January 26, 1945, that "a severe blitz will not only cause confusion in the evacuation from the East, but will also hamper the movement of troops from the West".
Sir Norman Bottomley, the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff requested Arthur "Bomber" Harris, Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command and an ardent supporter of area bombing, to undertake attacks on Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, and Chemnitz as soon as moon and weather conditions allowed. The Allies had in mind to exploit the confused conditions in these cities during the successful Russian advance.
Western Allies (US, France and Britain) had already decided to target Dresden when they met at the Yalta Conference with Russia on February 4.
RAF Air Staff documents state that it was their intention to use the RAF bomber command to "destroy communications" to hinder the eastward deployment of German troops, and to hamper evacuation, not to kill the evacuees. The priority list drafted by Bottomley for Portal, so that he could discuss targets with the Soviets at Yalta, included only two eastern cities with a high enough priority to fit into the RAF targeting list as both had transportation and industrial areas. These were Berlin and Dresden. Both were bombed after Yalta.
RAF briefing notes mentioned a desire to show, "the Russians, when they arrive, what Bomber Command can do." It was not clear whether the Allies wanted to really help the Soviets or they wanted to show their abilities in advance to the Soviets on the event of a possible Cold War.
He said his city was the most ravaged in the Second World War. He repeated over and over again that Dresden was heavily devastated by the Second World War. I felt sorry for him, as he seemed traumatized by the memories of the ravages of his native city.
But the Dresden bombing has made a lasting impact on Germans around the world. The devastation of the bombing has influenced their art, culture and literature as well. Science fiction novelists Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle placed the General who ordered the bombing of Dresden in Hell in their novel Inferno.
The Dresden bombing was one of the world's worst tragedies of the twentieth century.
The bombing of Dresden by the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) remains one of the more controversial events of World War II.
Historian Frederick Taylor says: "The destruction of Dresden has an epically tragic quality to it. It was a wonderfully beautiful city and a symbol of baroque humanism and all that was best in Germany. It also contained all of the worst from Germany during the Nazi period. In that sense it is an absolutely exemplary tragedy for the horrors of 20th Century warfare..."
In the summer of 1944, plans for a large and intense offensive targeting the Dresden and other selected cities had been discussed under the code name Operation Thunderclap, but then shelved.
But early in 1945, the Allies' political-military leadership started to consider how they might aid the Soviets with the use of the strategic bomber force. The plan was to bomb Dresden, Berlin and several other eastern cities in conjunction with the Soviet advance.
Sir Charles Portal, the Chief of the Air Staff, noted on January 26, 1945, that "a severe blitz will not only cause confusion in the evacuation from the East, but will also hamper the movement of troops from the West".
Sir Norman Bottomley, the Deputy Chief of the Air Staff requested Arthur "Bomber" Harris, Commander-in-Chief of RAF Bomber Command and an ardent supporter of area bombing, to undertake attacks on Berlin, Dresden, Leipzig, and Chemnitz as soon as moon and weather conditions allowed. The Allies had in mind to exploit the confused conditions in these cities during the successful Russian advance.
Western Allies (US, France and Britain) had already decided to target Dresden when they met at the Yalta Conference with Russia on February 4.
RAF Air Staff documents state that it was their intention to use the RAF bomber command to "destroy communications" to hinder the eastward deployment of German troops, and to hamper evacuation, not to kill the evacuees. The priority list drafted by Bottomley for Portal, so that he could discuss targets with the Soviets at Yalta, included only two eastern cities with a high enough priority to fit into the RAF targeting list as both had transportation and industrial areas. These were Berlin and Dresden. Both were bombed after Yalta.
RAF briefing notes mentioned a desire to show, "the Russians, when they arrive, what Bomber Command can do." It was not clear whether the Allies wanted to really help the Soviets or they wanted to show their abilities in advance to the Soviets on the event of a possible Cold War.
German Memories - German Colonies in Africa
The German colonial empire penetrated Africa as well. Namibia in the southern coast of Africa was a well known one. A German trader Adolf Luderitz bought some area from a local chief in 1883 what would become the southern coast of Namibia and founded the city of Luderitz.
After the German government annexed the territory with it and named it South-West Africa. Thereafter a number of Germans migrated as soldiers, traders, diamond miners and colonial officials. During World War I Germany lost South West Africa and it became a South African mandate. German-Namibians who descended from the ethnic German colonists are today an influential community in business, farming and tourism and Government sectors.
But the German colony Wituland was a rarity among other short-lived German colonies of Namibia, Togo, Cameroon, Tanzania where colonial rule was harsh. In the short-lived Wituland the local population rioted against the Germans because they were leaving in 1890.
Wituland, located just inland from Indian Ocean port of Lamu in the today's Kenya was a silent testimony to German colonial expansion in Africa. The Wituland had a long-standing conflict with the powerful Sultan of Zanzibar. The town lived under constant threat from Zanzibar attacks as it was a free haven for slaves fleeing from the island.
Sultan Ahmed of Witu who happened to meet the German Africa explorer Richard Brenner in 1867 expressed his desire for Prussian protection. But Prussia was not interested in African territories as they were unifying Germany and Brenner's request was rejected in Berlin.
But the two German travellers to Witu in 1878, the brothers Clemens and Gustav Denhardt, had more luck as Germany was participating in the scramble for Africa in 1885. Denhardt brothers concluded a treaty with Sultan Ahmed. The brothers' request for German protection for their interests was considered favourably by the famous German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck as he was in the middle of his one and only year of interest in African territories.
Bismarck sent the warship SMS Gneisenau to River Tana where a terrestrial command of 3 officers and 30 soldiers marched 3 days through the bush towards Witu and reached the Wituland and helped to establish the German Protectorate in1885. Clemens Denhardt was solemnly appointed Minister of Home and External Affairs by Sultan Ahmed of Witu in appreciation of his success in achieving German protection. A few German soldiers were stationed in Wituland to establish German sovereignty and protect against Zanzibar attacks.
The Denhardt brothers meanwhile tried to make monetary value out of "their" colony by establishing a company in 1887 in an era where there was a colonial enthusiasm in Germany by raising a fund for their 'German Witu Society' to develop the trade on the protectorate. But their business was a complete failure.
In the meantime Bismarck lost his interest in Africa. Bismarck was concentrating to establish a new a powerful Germany than sharing the colonial benefits in Africa. He was trying from 1889 to improve the German-British relations, which was tarnished by the colonial competitions in African continent by the British goal of a Cape to Cairo Empire and the German's goal of a Central African Empire, uniting Cameroon and German East Africa.
Secret negotiations between Berlin and London were initiated and the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty was arrived at top diplomatic level in 1890. Germany was about to leave its interests in Zanzibar, Uganda and on the Kenyan and Somali coasts. Germany acquired the tiny North Sea island of Heligoland, off the German coast and accessed the Zambezi River through the 'Caprivi Strip' for the German interests in Namibia.
How the German Wituland was established for Bismarck's likes it was abolished according his dislike. German colonial enthusiasts were angry over the treaty and blamed Bismarck's prudence in exchange of Uganda, Witu, and Zanzibar for the tiny Heligoland. But Bismarck's far vision was proved later on when Heligoland was the only new German territory that survived with Germany after the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
In German Wituland, reactions were even stronger than in Germany. They were disappointed enormously by the German Government's announcement that they violated their protection obligations. They rioted against Germans and killed a number of them. The Denhardt brothers narrowly escaped from the angry mob but they later died in Germany out of disappointment and impoverishment.
After the German government annexed the territory with it and named it South-West Africa. Thereafter a number of Germans migrated as soldiers, traders, diamond miners and colonial officials. During World War I Germany lost South West Africa and it became a South African mandate. German-Namibians who descended from the ethnic German colonists are today an influential community in business, farming and tourism and Government sectors.
But the German colony Wituland was a rarity among other short-lived German colonies of Namibia, Togo, Cameroon, Tanzania where colonial rule was harsh. In the short-lived Wituland the local population rioted against the Germans because they were leaving in 1890.
Wituland, located just inland from Indian Ocean port of Lamu in the today's Kenya was a silent testimony to German colonial expansion in Africa. The Wituland had a long-standing conflict with the powerful Sultan of Zanzibar. The town lived under constant threat from Zanzibar attacks as it was a free haven for slaves fleeing from the island.
Sultan Ahmed of Witu who happened to meet the German Africa explorer Richard Brenner in 1867 expressed his desire for Prussian protection. But Prussia was not interested in African territories as they were unifying Germany and Brenner's request was rejected in Berlin.
But the two German travellers to Witu in 1878, the brothers Clemens and Gustav Denhardt, had more luck as Germany was participating in the scramble for Africa in 1885. Denhardt brothers concluded a treaty with Sultan Ahmed. The brothers' request for German protection for their interests was considered favourably by the famous German Chancellor Otto von Bismarck as he was in the middle of his one and only year of interest in African territories.
Bismarck sent the warship SMS Gneisenau to River Tana where a terrestrial command of 3 officers and 30 soldiers marched 3 days through the bush towards Witu and reached the Wituland and helped to establish the German Protectorate in1885. Clemens Denhardt was solemnly appointed Minister of Home and External Affairs by Sultan Ahmed of Witu in appreciation of his success in achieving German protection. A few German soldiers were stationed in Wituland to establish German sovereignty and protect against Zanzibar attacks.
The Denhardt brothers meanwhile tried to make monetary value out of "their" colony by establishing a company in 1887 in an era where there was a colonial enthusiasm in Germany by raising a fund for their 'German Witu Society' to develop the trade on the protectorate. But their business was a complete failure.
In the meantime Bismarck lost his interest in Africa. Bismarck was concentrating to establish a new a powerful Germany than sharing the colonial benefits in Africa. He was trying from 1889 to improve the German-British relations, which was tarnished by the colonial competitions in African continent by the British goal of a Cape to Cairo Empire and the German's goal of a Central African Empire, uniting Cameroon and German East Africa.
Secret negotiations between Berlin and London were initiated and the Heligoland-Zanzibar Treaty was arrived at top diplomatic level in 1890. Germany was about to leave its interests in Zanzibar, Uganda and on the Kenyan and Somali coasts. Germany acquired the tiny North Sea island of Heligoland, off the German coast and accessed the Zambezi River through the 'Caprivi Strip' for the German interests in Namibia.
How the German Wituland was established for Bismarck's likes it was abolished according his dislike. German colonial enthusiasts were angry over the treaty and blamed Bismarck's prudence in exchange of Uganda, Witu, and Zanzibar for the tiny Heligoland. But Bismarck's far vision was proved later on when Heligoland was the only new German territory that survived with Germany after the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.
In German Wituland, reactions were even stronger than in Germany. They were disappointed enormously by the German Government's announcement that they violated their protection obligations. They rioted against Germans and killed a number of them. The Denhardt brothers narrowly escaped from the angry mob but they later died in Germany out of disappointment and impoverishment.
German Memories - The New German Empire and the Lagacy of Otto Von Bismarck
The new German Empire was a federal one: each of its twenty-five constituent states (kingdoms, grand duchies, duchies, principalities, and free cities) retained its autonomy. The King of Prussia, as German Emperor didn't have sovereignity over the entirety of Germany but as the first amongst equals. Bismarck was also appointed as the Imperial Chancellor of the German Empire, but retained his Prussian offices including those of Minister-President and Foreign Minister; thus, he held almost complete control of both domestic and foreign policy.
He almost changed the course of the German Nation by his tireless efforts and built it into one of Europe's superpowers. The credit of the German Nation's unification belongs to Bismarck from the collection of separate principalities and Free Cities since the era of Charlemagne. Over thousand years various kings and rulers had tried to unify the German states without success until Bismarck came into the scene and made it into a single country and one of the most powerful nations in Europe.
Bismarck by the realisation of the Austro-Hungarian problems of different nationalities within one state, tried to Germanize the state's national minorities, situated mainly in the borders of the empire, such as the Danes in the North of Germany, the French of Alsace-Lorraine and the Poles in the East of Germany.
Although Bismarck had no personal hate against Poles, his policies concerning them, which were usually motivated by tactical considerations of what was best for Germany and were generally unfavourable to Poles, became a grave burden for German-Polish relations for a long time.
In order to avoid alienating the United Kingdom, he declined to seek a colonial empire or an expansion of the navy. In 1872, he extended the hand of friendship to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, whose rulers joined Wilhelm I in the League of the Three Emperors. Bismarck also maintained good relations with Italy.
During 1873, Germany, and much of the rest of Europe, had endured the Long Depression since the crash of the Vienna Stock Exchange in 1873. For the first time in Germany since vast industrial development in the 1850's after the 1848-49 revolutions, a downfall had hit the German economy. To aid faltering industries, Bismarck decided to abandon free trade and establish protectionist tariffs and created chaos in the relations with neighbouring European nations.
After Russia's victory over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, Bismarck helped to negotiate a settlement at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Russia had previously secured great advantages in southeastern Europe when it made peace by ratifying the Treaty of San Stefano. Bismarck and other European leaders, however, opposed the growth of Russian influence, and sought to protect the power of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Berlin revised the Treaty of San Stefano, reducing the concessions offered to Russia. As a result, Russo-German relations suffered; the Russian Prince Gorchakov denounced Bismarck for compromising his nation's victory. The relationship between Russia and Germany was further weakened by the latter's protectionist policies.
In February 1888, during a Bulgarian crisis, Bismarck addressed the Reichstag on the dangers of a European war. For the first time he dwelt upon the imminent possibility that Germany would be forced to fight on two fronts and he spoke of the peace at the final years of his tenure.
Bismarck's astute, cautious, and pragmatic foreign policies allowed Germany to retain peacefully the powerful position into which he had brought it; maintaining amiable diplomacy with almost all European nations. France, the main exception, was devastated by Bismarck's wars and his harsh subsequent policies towards it and became one of Germany's most bitter enemies in Europe.
During most of his nearly thirty year-long tenure, Bismarck held undisputed control over the government's policies. Bismarck proved himself as one of the most capable European statesmen of the nineteenth century by his clever statesmanship and proved himself as the "Iron Chancellor".
Though he was forced to resign from his office over disputes on domestic policies with Emperor William II, Bismarck left a lasting legacy in Europe and around the world. The German Nation and the Germans around the world remebered him by the creation of numerous statues and memorials around the German cities, towns, and countryside including the famous Bismarck Memorial in Berlin, Bismarck Sea and Bismarck Archipelago in the vicinity of then German colony in New Guinea as well as the City of Bismarck in the US State of North Dakota.
He almost changed the course of the German Nation by his tireless efforts and built it into one of Europe's superpowers. The credit of the German Nation's unification belongs to Bismarck from the collection of separate principalities and Free Cities since the era of Charlemagne. Over thousand years various kings and rulers had tried to unify the German states without success until Bismarck came into the scene and made it into a single country and one of the most powerful nations in Europe.
Bismarck by the realisation of the Austro-Hungarian problems of different nationalities within one state, tried to Germanize the state's national minorities, situated mainly in the borders of the empire, such as the Danes in the North of Germany, the French of Alsace-Lorraine and the Poles in the East of Germany.
Although Bismarck had no personal hate against Poles, his policies concerning them, which were usually motivated by tactical considerations of what was best for Germany and were generally unfavourable to Poles, became a grave burden for German-Polish relations for a long time.
In order to avoid alienating the United Kingdom, he declined to seek a colonial empire or an expansion of the navy. In 1872, he extended the hand of friendship to the Austro-Hungarian Empire and Russia, whose rulers joined Wilhelm I in the League of the Three Emperors. Bismarck also maintained good relations with Italy.
During 1873, Germany, and much of the rest of Europe, had endured the Long Depression since the crash of the Vienna Stock Exchange in 1873. For the first time in Germany since vast industrial development in the 1850's after the 1848-49 revolutions, a downfall had hit the German economy. To aid faltering industries, Bismarck decided to abandon free trade and establish protectionist tariffs and created chaos in the relations with neighbouring European nations.
After Russia's victory over the Ottoman Empire in the Russo-Turkish War, Bismarck helped to negotiate a settlement at the Congress of Berlin in 1878. Russia had previously secured great advantages in southeastern Europe when it made peace by ratifying the Treaty of San Stefano. Bismarck and other European leaders, however, opposed the growth of Russian influence, and sought to protect the power of the Ottoman Empire. The Treaty of Berlin revised the Treaty of San Stefano, reducing the concessions offered to Russia. As a result, Russo-German relations suffered; the Russian Prince Gorchakov denounced Bismarck for compromising his nation's victory. The relationship between Russia and Germany was further weakened by the latter's protectionist policies.
In February 1888, during a Bulgarian crisis, Bismarck addressed the Reichstag on the dangers of a European war. For the first time he dwelt upon the imminent possibility that Germany would be forced to fight on two fronts and he spoke of the peace at the final years of his tenure.
Bismarck's astute, cautious, and pragmatic foreign policies allowed Germany to retain peacefully the powerful position into which he had brought it; maintaining amiable diplomacy with almost all European nations. France, the main exception, was devastated by Bismarck's wars and his harsh subsequent policies towards it and became one of Germany's most bitter enemies in Europe.
During most of his nearly thirty year-long tenure, Bismarck held undisputed control over the government's policies. Bismarck proved himself as one of the most capable European statesmen of the nineteenth century by his clever statesmanship and proved himself as the "Iron Chancellor".
Though he was forced to resign from his office over disputes on domestic policies with Emperor William II, Bismarck left a lasting legacy in Europe and around the world. The German Nation and the Germans around the world remebered him by the creation of numerous statues and memorials around the German cities, towns, and countryside including the famous Bismarck Memorial in Berlin, Bismarck Sea and Bismarck Archipelago in the vicinity of then German colony in New Guinea as well as the City of Bismarck in the US State of North Dakota.
Friday, December 21, 2007
German Memory in Asia - Crossing the War-Torn Border
German Praktikum(Internship) students were keenly watching the evening phenomenon over the Jaffna Lagoon. Twilight was in its last moments of our Northern Mission for the second day.
We reached the LTTE checking point in another half an hour's time and the night was upon us. We all parked our vehicle for clearance. Though we had a clearance from the LTTE in a few minutes, the LTTE had to determine from the Army checking point which was few meters away, whether they could allow us to enter into the Sri Lankan Army-controlled territory as we were past the deadline of the day to cross the No Mans Zone.
The new development in having a direct rapport between two points of the frontiers of the warring factions was a credit to the Ceasefire Agreement between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, which was facilitated by Norway with the backing of the international community. There were times they used to infiltrate into opposite areas and inflicted heavy casualties and losses.
We had come near the barrier of the LTTE's exit point, but had to wait as we were still not given clearance to enter into the Army's front. Some of the students got down from the vehicle. I too got down from the vehicle and went near the barrier, which was heavily guarded by LTTE male and female cadres.
Some female LTTE cadres in their unique uniform approached us. The German female students smiled at them and developed cordiality with them. The students gifted some chocolates, which they had brought with them to the LTTE's female cadres. I introduced the Singhalese couple to the LTTE's female cadres.
They were trying to speak to the Singhala couple with the few Singhala words they knew.
The female cadres had shown more interest to acquaint themselves with the German female students.
While we were passing our time so leisurely and joyfully, we could sense a fusion of the different cultures and tastes. It was a fascinating moment on our northern tsunami relief mission.
The LTTE officer in charge of the point informed us that we could move towards the Sri Lankan Army-controlled area. The German female students and female LTTE cadres greeted each other once again.
Our vehicles started to move towards the military checkpoint. Two officers came towards us and Dr. Jayalath spoke to them. We were allowed to get in. Passing the barrier we stopped near a military camp.
A captain who was in-charge of the point came near us and was talking to Dr. Jayalath and Dietmar Doring. The students alighted from the vehicle and were taking in the surroundings with much enthusiasm.
For them it was such a strange experience. They were quite young when the Berlin Wall, a vestige of the Second World War was demolished after the reunion of both Germanys at the end of the cold war and the collapse of the USSR. They didn't experience the hostility of the occupied forces and the trauma, which was caused by the erection of the Berlin Wall, but had only heard about it.
After the European Union emerged as the central body to keep Europe free of wars and economically united, it further removed hostilities between the adjoining European countries and to the German students the past nightmare was mere recall.
But when they were exposed to the military points and the warring hostility in a foreign land, they might have harked back to the events in Germany several decades ago, giving them a feel of the experience of a past coming alive. They were startled whenever they closed in on military camps.
We were talking to few of the junior officers about our mission. The hostile environment was still prevailing. The area was so vulnerable to confrontation though there had been a written Ceasefire Agreement with a new development where after the General Election in 2004, the Government, which signed the agreement with LTTE, lost at the polls.
The change of governmental power impacted on military affairs as well, and created chaos in the warring fronts. The Army gave us clearance and we started journeying towards Jaffna.
We were moving fast as there were no vehicles around which would have made our progress slow.
We reached the LTTE checking point in another half an hour's time and the night was upon us. We all parked our vehicle for clearance. Though we had a clearance from the LTTE in a few minutes, the LTTE had to determine from the Army checking point which was few meters away, whether they could allow us to enter into the Sri Lankan Army-controlled territory as we were past the deadline of the day to cross the No Mans Zone.
The new development in having a direct rapport between two points of the frontiers of the warring factions was a credit to the Ceasefire Agreement between the LTTE and the Sri Lankan government, which was facilitated by Norway with the backing of the international community. There were times they used to infiltrate into opposite areas and inflicted heavy casualties and losses.
We had come near the barrier of the LTTE's exit point, but had to wait as we were still not given clearance to enter into the Army's front. Some of the students got down from the vehicle. I too got down from the vehicle and went near the barrier, which was heavily guarded by LTTE male and female cadres.
Some female LTTE cadres in their unique uniform approached us. The German female students smiled at them and developed cordiality with them. The students gifted some chocolates, which they had brought with them to the LTTE's female cadres. I introduced the Singhalese couple to the LTTE's female cadres.
They were trying to speak to the Singhala couple with the few Singhala words they knew.
The female cadres had shown more interest to acquaint themselves with the German female students.
While we were passing our time so leisurely and joyfully, we could sense a fusion of the different cultures and tastes. It was a fascinating moment on our northern tsunami relief mission.
The LTTE officer in charge of the point informed us that we could move towards the Sri Lankan Army-controlled area. The German female students and female LTTE cadres greeted each other once again.
Our vehicles started to move towards the military checkpoint. Two officers came towards us and Dr. Jayalath spoke to them. We were allowed to get in. Passing the barrier we stopped near a military camp.
A captain who was in-charge of the point came near us and was talking to Dr. Jayalath and Dietmar Doring. The students alighted from the vehicle and were taking in the surroundings with much enthusiasm.
For them it was such a strange experience. They were quite young when the Berlin Wall, a vestige of the Second World War was demolished after the reunion of both Germanys at the end of the cold war and the collapse of the USSR. They didn't experience the hostility of the occupied forces and the trauma, which was caused by the erection of the Berlin Wall, but had only heard about it.
After the European Union emerged as the central body to keep Europe free of wars and economically united, it further removed hostilities between the adjoining European countries and to the German students the past nightmare was mere recall.
But when they were exposed to the military points and the warring hostility in a foreign land, they might have harked back to the events in Germany several decades ago, giving them a feel of the experience of a past coming alive. They were startled whenever they closed in on military camps.
We were talking to few of the junior officers about our mission. The hostile environment was still prevailing. The area was so vulnerable to confrontation though there had been a written Ceasefire Agreement with a new development where after the General Election in 2004, the Government, which signed the agreement with LTTE, lost at the polls.
The change of governmental power impacted on military affairs as well, and created chaos in the warring fronts. The Army gave us clearance and we started journeying towards Jaffna.
We were moving fast as there were no vehicles around which would have made our progress slow.
Sunday, December 16, 2007
German Memoirs - Brazilian-Germans in Southern Brazil
Most of the German-Brazilians live in Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and Parana, the southernmost states of Brazil. There are around 10 million Brazilians who have German ancestry by some estimates. The percentages become higher in some cities, for example, in the town of Pomerode, in Santa Catarina, 90% of the population are Brazilians of German descent, and the main local language is Pomeranian dialect. It is considered the most German city in Brazil and the Germans there are the richest people in Brazil.
The state Santa Catarina is with the lowest levels of unemployment and illiteracy found in the country and still retain a strong influence of German culture. Even after three or four generations, the Germans there still consider themselves as Germans.
German house in Pomerode [Source: Wikipedia]
Many towns in Southern Brazil, such as Sao Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Nova Petropolis, Sao Bento do Sul, Blumenau, Joinville, Santa Isabel, Gramado, Canela, Santa Cruz do Sul, Estancia Velha, Ivoti, Dois Irmaos, Morro Reuter, Santa Maria do Herval, Presidente Lucena, Picada Cafe, Santo Angelo, Teutonia and Brusque have a majority of Germans descended people.
The modern German culture and way of living in Southern Brazil was well expressed by a German-Portuguese student Faith Dennis in an article at SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL in 2005.
“…Once again my judgments based on cliches proved me wrong and I was in for a surprise, when after a 12-hour bus journey, I arrived in Santa Catarina, the second most southern state of Brazil.
Although I was due to go to the University of Santa Catarina in the state capital, Florianopolis, I had arranged 2 weeks of voluntary work at a nursery school in the town of Blumenau, a town three hours away inland. I had gathered that there may be a slight Germanic feel to the place, due to the presence of descendants of German emigrants who had settled there in the 19th century, but was shocked at just how this Brazil differed from the images I had had in my mind previously.
The bus wound around cobbled streets flanked by those Fachwerk Tudor houses I had expected to see in Berlin, with immaculate gardens cordoned off by white picket fences and neatly mown lawns.
My host family was waiting at the bus station and greeted me in the usual Brazilian manner with warm hugs and lots of kisses. Their appearance, however, was far from the typical Latino image, instead of being olive skinned and petite; they were blonde, blue eyed and tall, strapping and typically German looking. Much to my surprise one of the younger children, Heinrich (pronounced 'Einricki' in Brazilian Portuguese), was even wearing trousers that looked suspiciously like Lederhosen, as he had just come from a dance practice in the town hall.
Florianópolis (also known by its nickname Floripa) is the capital city of Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil. [Credit: Felipe Micaroni Lalli]
On the way home in the car, (a Volkswagen I note), the children chatted excitedly to me in Portuguese and upon discovering I had just arrived from Germany, were eager to show off their language skills and proceeded to talk to me in German. For a moment I thought that my six months in Berlin had not paid off; I could not understand a word of what was being said, until I realized that the German being spoken was actually Hunsruckisch.
This is a German linguistic variety that has survived in Southern Brazil due to the influx of immigrants from the Hunsruck region of Germany in the 19th century and still retains antiquated linguistic elements, along with strong influences from Brazilian Portuguese. I had read an article in a journal about this variety, however was unaware of how widespread it remains in modern Brazil, despite being repressed during the Estado Novo, 1930-1954, when President Vargas made Portuguese the national language to create his 'homogeneous' Brazil.
Living with the Muller-Oliveira family was a eye opening introduction to Luso-Teutonic culture, we regularly went 'ufs Fescht', to parties which consisted of traditional street dancing under the hot Brazilian sun, followed by the odd cheeky 'caneca-chen' (caneca being a large glass of beer in Portuguese, somehow made into an innocent treat by the addition of the German diminutive ending chen), and finally, huge portions of Sauerkraut accompanied by Linguica, the Brazilian version of Wurst.
The fact that I had encountered this so called German specialty 10,000 miles away from its country of origin got me thinking about cliches, and how important it is to not base our judgments of entire cultures upon them.
Several travelers I later met in Rio and the North East of Brazil, condemned the South as not being worthy of a visit, as it could not be classed as the 'real' Brazil - a ridiculous claim as, since its first discovery by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, Brazil has always been a melting pot of different cultures.
On the basis of this claim, Berlin could never be the 'true' Germany, as a large part of its population is Turkish in origin, a dangerous and narrow-minded assumption.
My year abroad taught me a lot of different things; the main lesson was not to create opinions of people based on outdated and unfounded cliches, as these can only create walls in our minds and stop us from delving into and thus enjoying the richness and differences foreign cultures have to offer.”
The state Santa Catarina is with the lowest levels of unemployment and illiteracy found in the country and still retain a strong influence of German culture. Even after three or four generations, the Germans there still consider themselves as Germans.
German house in Pomerode [Source: Wikipedia]
Many towns in Southern Brazil, such as Sao Leopoldo, Novo Hamburgo, Nova Petropolis, Sao Bento do Sul, Blumenau, Joinville, Santa Isabel, Gramado, Canela, Santa Cruz do Sul, Estancia Velha, Ivoti, Dois Irmaos, Morro Reuter, Santa Maria do Herval, Presidente Lucena, Picada Cafe, Santo Angelo, Teutonia and Brusque have a majority of Germans descended people.
The modern German culture and way of living in Southern Brazil was well expressed by a German-Portuguese student Faith Dennis in an article at SPIEGEL INTERNATIONAL in 2005.
“…Once again my judgments based on cliches proved me wrong and I was in for a surprise, when after a 12-hour bus journey, I arrived in Santa Catarina, the second most southern state of Brazil.
Although I was due to go to the University of Santa Catarina in the state capital, Florianopolis, I had arranged 2 weeks of voluntary work at a nursery school in the town of Blumenau, a town three hours away inland. I had gathered that there may be a slight Germanic feel to the place, due to the presence of descendants of German emigrants who had settled there in the 19th century, but was shocked at just how this Brazil differed from the images I had had in my mind previously.
The bus wound around cobbled streets flanked by those Fachwerk Tudor houses I had expected to see in Berlin, with immaculate gardens cordoned off by white picket fences and neatly mown lawns.
My host family was waiting at the bus station and greeted me in the usual Brazilian manner with warm hugs and lots of kisses. Their appearance, however, was far from the typical Latino image, instead of being olive skinned and petite; they were blonde, blue eyed and tall, strapping and typically German looking. Much to my surprise one of the younger children, Heinrich (pronounced 'Einricki' in Brazilian Portuguese), was even wearing trousers that looked suspiciously like Lederhosen, as he had just come from a dance practice in the town hall.
Florianópolis (also known by its nickname Floripa) is the capital city of Santa Catarina State in southern Brazil. [Credit: Felipe Micaroni Lalli]On the way home in the car, (a Volkswagen I note), the children chatted excitedly to me in Portuguese and upon discovering I had just arrived from Germany, were eager to show off their language skills and proceeded to talk to me in German. For a moment I thought that my six months in Berlin had not paid off; I could not understand a word of what was being said, until I realized that the German being spoken was actually Hunsruckisch.
This is a German linguistic variety that has survived in Southern Brazil due to the influx of immigrants from the Hunsruck region of Germany in the 19th century and still retains antiquated linguistic elements, along with strong influences from Brazilian Portuguese. I had read an article in a journal about this variety, however was unaware of how widespread it remains in modern Brazil, despite being repressed during the Estado Novo, 1930-1954, when President Vargas made Portuguese the national language to create his 'homogeneous' Brazil.
Living with the Muller-Oliveira family was a eye opening introduction to Luso-Teutonic culture, we regularly went 'ufs Fescht', to parties which consisted of traditional street dancing under the hot Brazilian sun, followed by the odd cheeky 'caneca-chen' (caneca being a large glass of beer in Portuguese, somehow made into an innocent treat by the addition of the German diminutive ending chen), and finally, huge portions of Sauerkraut accompanied by Linguica, the Brazilian version of Wurst.
The fact that I had encountered this so called German specialty 10,000 miles away from its country of origin got me thinking about cliches, and how important it is to not base our judgments of entire cultures upon them.
Several travelers I later met in Rio and the North East of Brazil, condemned the South as not being worthy of a visit, as it could not be classed as the 'real' Brazil - a ridiculous claim as, since its first discovery by the Portuguese in the sixteenth century, Brazil has always been a melting pot of different cultures.
On the basis of this claim, Berlin could never be the 'true' Germany, as a large part of its population is Turkish in origin, a dangerous and narrow-minded assumption.
My year abroad taught me a lot of different things; the main lesson was not to create opinions of people based on outdated and unfounded cliches, as these can only create walls in our minds and stop us from delving into and thus enjoying the richness and differences foreign cultures have to offer.”
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German university students donate a boat and engine to an affected fisherman.
Germans university students with Dietmar Doering (centre) at Marawila beach.
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