When my discussion with Pascal turned into the unification of the German Nation and its emergence of the new European super power, how Otto von Bismarck played diplomacy and statesmanship surprised us.
Bismarck took advantage of his great skills in the field of diplomacy and led two wars which turned Prussia into the most powerful state among other states of the German Confederation and a major power in Europe. He ultimately made the German Nation an European super power by the unification of various states in to a single entity.
At the very early stage in his career, he opposed the unification of Germany, arguing that Prussia would lose its independence in the process. He accepted his appointment as one of Prussia's representatives at the Erfurt Parliament, an assembly of German states that met to discuss plans for union, but only in order to oppose that body's proposals more effectively. The Parliament, in any event, failed to bring about unification, for it lacked the support of the two most important German states, Prussia and Austria.
In 1852, Friedrich Wilhelm appointed Bismarck as Prussia's envoy to the Diet of the German Confederation in Frankfurt. His eight years in Frankfurt were marked by changes in his political opinions. No longer under the influence of his ultraconservative Prussian friends, Bismarck became less reactionary and more moderate. He became convinced that Prussia would have to ally itself with other German states in order to countervail Austria's growing influence. Thus, he grew more accepting of the notion of a united German nation.
Shortly after he served as the Prussian envoy in Frankfurt he had undertaken an ambassadorial position to Russia. While Bismarck was promoted, Helmuth von Moltke and Albrecht von Roon were appointed as the new Chief of Staff for the Prussian army and the Prussian Minister of War respectively and these three men over the next 12 years transformed the German Nation by unifying it into a powerful nation of Europe.
Before unification, the German Nation consisted of a multitude of principalities loosely bound together as members of the German Confederation. The Germanic Confederation of 39 states which was created from the previous 300 was under the heavy influence of Austria and its emperor as the president of the Confederation. Only portions of the territory of Austria and Prussia were included in the Confederation.
Showing posts with label European. Show all posts
Showing posts with label European. Show all posts
Sunday, December 23, 2007
Austrian History
While I was talking to Andrea, a student came to us and showed a questionnaire, which was about the ethnic issues of the Island. I observed from Andrea's face that she was keen to know what it was all about.
The questionnaire was supposed to have been circulated among people to get their opinion. Some of the questionnaires were very tricky and sensitive.
I was reading each questionnaire and looked at Andrea's face. She was intent on what my answer was going to be.
When I gave my answers, she took it with much enthusiasm, giving them serious analysis.
Andrea narrated in between our discussion about the experience of her last visit to Sri Lanka with her parents.
Austrians are really international-minded. Former UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, an Austrian, had made some lasting impact in the recent past about Austria to the world though he was identified with the Nazis. I had heard about his friendly approach from Dr. Gamani Corea, who served as Secretary - General of UNCTAD, when Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the UN.
Andrea had traveled vastly in Europe and covered a number of sporting events for the PRESS in Austria. When I asked her about the Austrian economy, she said with a sense of pride that it was a very rich country amongst the European Union. She said after the Second World War, there was a steady growth in the economy. She mentioned that recurrent flooding was a major catastrophe in the history of Austria. Her deep love towards her motherland was reflected in her facial expressions when describing various historical issues of Austria.
The territory of Austria, originally known as the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, was a long time ally of Rome. It was occupied rather than conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus and made the province Noricum in 16 BC.
Later it was conquered by Huns, Rugii, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Slavs, Bavarii, Avars and Franks. Finally, after 48 years of Hungarian rule (907 to 955), the core territory of Austria was awarded to Leopold of Babenberg in 976 after the revolt of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria. Being part of the Holy Roman Empire the Babenbergs ruled and expanded Austria from the 10th to the 13th century.
After Frederick II, Duke of Austria died in 1246 and left no successor, Rudolf I of Habsburg gave the lands to his sons marking the beginning of the line of the Habsburgs, who continued to govern Austria until the 20th century.
With the short exception of Charles VII Albert of Bavaria, Austrian Habsburgs held the position of German Emperor beginning in 1438 with Albert II of Habsburg until the end of the Holy Roman Empire.
During the 14th and 15th century Austria continued to expand its territory until it reached the position of a European imperial power at the end of the 15th century.
Modern Austria's history started on the eve of the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire.
Just two years before the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Empire of Austria was founded, which was transformed in 1867 into a dual-monarchy Austria-Hungary. The empire was split into several independent states in 1918, after the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, with most of the German-speaking parts becoming a republic.
Between 1918 and 1919 it was officially known as the Republic of German Austria (Republik Deutschosterreich). After the Entente Powers forbade German Austria to unite with Germany, they also forbade the name, and then it was changed to simply Republic of Austria. This democratic republic, the First Austrian Republic, lasted until 1933 when the chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß established an autocratic regime oriented towards Italian fascism (Austrofascism).
Austria became part of Germany in 1938 through the Anschluss and remained under Nazi rule until the end of World War II. After the defeat of the Axis Powers, the Allies occupied Austria until 1955. Austria became a fully independent republic under the condition that it would remain neutral in the growing conflict between the Communist East Block and the non-Communist West.
Though Austria is a small country, its historical power-centered position in Europe and its cultural environment have made a great contribution to art and science. It has been the birthplace of many famous personalities such as composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven.and was home to psychologist Sigmund Freud, Management Guru Peter Drucker and engineer Ferdinand Porsche.
The questionnaire was supposed to have been circulated among people to get their opinion. Some of the questionnaires were very tricky and sensitive.
I was reading each questionnaire and looked at Andrea's face. She was intent on what my answer was going to be.
When I gave my answers, she took it with much enthusiasm, giving them serious analysis.
Andrea narrated in between our discussion about the experience of her last visit to Sri Lanka with her parents.
Austrians are really international-minded. Former UN Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, an Austrian, had made some lasting impact in the recent past about Austria to the world though he was identified with the Nazis. I had heard about his friendly approach from Dr. Gamani Corea, who served as Secretary - General of UNCTAD, when Waldheim was the Secretary-General of the UN.
Andrea had traveled vastly in Europe and covered a number of sporting events for the PRESS in Austria. When I asked her about the Austrian economy, she said with a sense of pride that it was a very rich country amongst the European Union. She said after the Second World War, there was a steady growth in the economy. She mentioned that recurrent flooding was a major catastrophe in the history of Austria. Her deep love towards her motherland was reflected in her facial expressions when describing various historical issues of Austria.
The territory of Austria, originally known as the Celtic kingdom of Noricum, was a long time ally of Rome. It was occupied rather than conquered by the Romans during the reign of Augustus and made the province Noricum in 16 BC.
Later it was conquered by Huns, Rugii, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Slavs, Bavarii, Avars and Franks. Finally, after 48 years of Hungarian rule (907 to 955), the core territory of Austria was awarded to Leopold of Babenberg in 976 after the revolt of Henry II, Duke of Bavaria. Being part of the Holy Roman Empire the Babenbergs ruled and expanded Austria from the 10th to the 13th century.
After Frederick II, Duke of Austria died in 1246 and left no successor, Rudolf I of Habsburg gave the lands to his sons marking the beginning of the line of the Habsburgs, who continued to govern Austria until the 20th century.
With the short exception of Charles VII Albert of Bavaria, Austrian Habsburgs held the position of German Emperor beginning in 1438 with Albert II of Habsburg until the end of the Holy Roman Empire.
During the 14th and 15th century Austria continued to expand its territory until it reached the position of a European imperial power at the end of the 15th century.
Modern Austria's history started on the eve of the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire.
Just two years before the abolition of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, the Empire of Austria was founded, which was transformed in 1867 into a dual-monarchy Austria-Hungary. The empire was split into several independent states in 1918, after the defeat of the Central Powers in World War I, with most of the German-speaking parts becoming a republic.
Between 1918 and 1919 it was officially known as the Republic of German Austria (Republik Deutschosterreich). After the Entente Powers forbade German Austria to unite with Germany, they also forbade the name, and then it was changed to simply Republic of Austria. This democratic republic, the First Austrian Republic, lasted until 1933 when the chancellor Engelbert Dollfuß established an autocratic regime oriented towards Italian fascism (Austrofascism).
Austria became part of Germany in 1938 through the Anschluss and remained under Nazi rule until the end of World War II. After the defeat of the Axis Powers, the Allies occupied Austria until 1955. Austria became a fully independent republic under the condition that it would remain neutral in the growing conflict between the Communist East Block and the non-Communist West.
Though Austria is a small country, its historical power-centered position in Europe and its cultural environment have made a great contribution to art and science. It has been the birthplace of many famous personalities such as composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven.and was home to psychologist Sigmund Freud, Management Guru Peter Drucker and engineer Ferdinand Porsche.
Saturday, December 22, 2007
German Memory - US President Gen Dwight D Eisenhower in the Crisis of Starving German POWs
Canadian author James Bacque in his book "Other Losses" heavily criticized Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower for his involvement in treating the German prisoners of war. James Bacque's comments in "Other Losses" were widely discussed on American and German televisions and received a mixture of excitement and anger.
Historians criticized Bacque, "He completely misunderstands Eisenhower's position and activity in the occupation. He puts full responsibility on Eisenhower for every policy decision, never recognizing that he had superiors from whom he took policy directives and orders - specifically, the Army Chief of Staff, the European Advisory Commission, acting in the name and with the authority of the British, Soviet and American Governments."
The report at the New Orleans conference with the diplomatic background, by Brian Villa of the University of Ottawa, noted that the policy of Eisenhower's superiors was to impress upon the Germans the fact of their defeat, the fact that they had brought it on themselves and in other ways to "treat 'em rough." Denazification was one aspect of that policy. Another was that German prisoners would not be fed at a higher level than German civilians, than the civilians of the liberated nations, or than the displaced persons (DPs).
An assertion that was central to Bacque's accusation was his contention that there was no European food shortage in 1945. He pointed to warehouses in Germany full of food. He stated that the Red Cross had enough food available. One of his pieces of evidence was that a train from Geneva loaded with food parcels sent by the Red Cross to feed German prisoners was forced to turn back.
But historians denied Bacque's accusation and came out with the revelation that the Allied Governments had decided those Red Cross food parcels were to feed displaced persons, of whom there were more than two million in Germany.
They also pointed out the fact denying Bacque's accusation of no food shortage that Eisenhower wrote to the Chief of Staff, Gen. George C. Marshall, in February 1945: "I am very much concerned about the food situation... We now have no reserves on the Continent of supplies for the civil population."
Eisenhower wrote to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on April 25, 1945: "Unless immediate steps are taken to develop to the fullest extent possible the food resources in order to provide the minimum wants of the German population, widespread starvation and disease are inevitable during the coming winter."
Historians pointed out Eisenhower had sent many messages before the surrender of Germany on the expectation of possible inadequacy of food. After the first week of May, all of Eisenhower's calculations as to how many people he would be required to feed in occupied Germany became woefully inadequate. He had badly underestimated, for two reasons. First, the number of German soldiers surrendering to the Western Allies far exceeded what was expected (more than five million, instead of the anticipated three million) because of the onrush of German soldiers across the Elbe River to escape the Russians. So too the German civilians - there were millions fleeing from east to west, about 13 million altogether, and they became Eisenhower's responsibility.
Eisenhower faced shortages even before he learned that there were 17 million more people to feed in Germany than he had expected.
The report of the Military Governor for Germany in July 1945 stated, "The food situation throughout Western Germany is perhaps the most serious problem of the occupation. The average food consumption in the Western Zones is now about one-third below the generally accepted subsistence level."
The September report declared, "Food from indigenous sources was not available to meet the present authorized ration level for the normal consumer of 1,550 calories per day."
Historians criticized Bacque's accusation that the prisoners were receiving 1,550 calories a day and his observation that such a ration meant slow starvation. They pointed out he apparently never looked at what civilians were getting in Germany or in the liberated countries. In Paris in 1945, the calorie level was 1,550 for civilians. It was only slightly higher in Britain, where rationing continued. It was much lower in Russia, where rationing also continued. As noted, the official ration for German civilians was 1,550, but often not met. In Vienna in the summer of 1945 the official ration sometimes fell to 500. Historians noted anyone who was in Europe in the summer of 1945 would be flabbergasted to hear that there was no food shortage.
Historians criticized Bacque, "He completely misunderstands Eisenhower's position and activity in the occupation. He puts full responsibility on Eisenhower for every policy decision, never recognizing that he had superiors from whom he took policy directives and orders - specifically, the Army Chief of Staff, the European Advisory Commission, acting in the name and with the authority of the British, Soviet and American Governments."
The report at the New Orleans conference with the diplomatic background, by Brian Villa of the University of Ottawa, noted that the policy of Eisenhower's superiors was to impress upon the Germans the fact of their defeat, the fact that they had brought it on themselves and in other ways to "treat 'em rough." Denazification was one aspect of that policy. Another was that German prisoners would not be fed at a higher level than German civilians, than the civilians of the liberated nations, or than the displaced persons (DPs).
An assertion that was central to Bacque's accusation was his contention that there was no European food shortage in 1945. He pointed to warehouses in Germany full of food. He stated that the Red Cross had enough food available. One of his pieces of evidence was that a train from Geneva loaded with food parcels sent by the Red Cross to feed German prisoners was forced to turn back.
But historians denied Bacque's accusation and came out with the revelation that the Allied Governments had decided those Red Cross food parcels were to feed displaced persons, of whom there were more than two million in Germany.
They also pointed out the fact denying Bacque's accusation of no food shortage that Eisenhower wrote to the Chief of Staff, Gen. George C. Marshall, in February 1945: "I am very much concerned about the food situation... We now have no reserves on the Continent of supplies for the civil population."
Eisenhower wrote to the Combined Chiefs of Staff on April 25, 1945: "Unless immediate steps are taken to develop to the fullest extent possible the food resources in order to provide the minimum wants of the German population, widespread starvation and disease are inevitable during the coming winter."
Historians pointed out Eisenhower had sent many messages before the surrender of Germany on the expectation of possible inadequacy of food. After the first week of May, all of Eisenhower's calculations as to how many people he would be required to feed in occupied Germany became woefully inadequate. He had badly underestimated, for two reasons. First, the number of German soldiers surrendering to the Western Allies far exceeded what was expected (more than five million, instead of the anticipated three million) because of the onrush of German soldiers across the Elbe River to escape the Russians. So too the German civilians - there were millions fleeing from east to west, about 13 million altogether, and they became Eisenhower's responsibility.
Eisenhower faced shortages even before he learned that there were 17 million more people to feed in Germany than he had expected.
The report of the Military Governor for Germany in July 1945 stated, "The food situation throughout Western Germany is perhaps the most serious problem of the occupation. The average food consumption in the Western Zones is now about one-third below the generally accepted subsistence level."
The September report declared, "Food from indigenous sources was not available to meet the present authorized ration level for the normal consumer of 1,550 calories per day."
Historians criticized Bacque's accusation that the prisoners were receiving 1,550 calories a day and his observation that such a ration meant slow starvation. They pointed out he apparently never looked at what civilians were getting in Germany or in the liberated countries. In Paris in 1945, the calorie level was 1,550 for civilians. It was only slightly higher in Britain, where rationing continued. It was much lower in Russia, where rationing also continued. As noted, the official ration for German civilians was 1,550, but often not met. In Vienna in the summer of 1945 the official ration sometimes fell to 500. Historians noted anyone who was in Europe in the summer of 1945 would be flabbergasted to hear that there was no food shortage.
German Memory - US President Gen Dwight D Eisenhower & The "Other Losses" of German Prisoners
According to Canadian Author James Bacque, Eisenhower personally, secretly, and with sinister intent changed the status of surrendered German soldiers from prisoners of war to Disarmed Enemy Forces.
But the historians argued that the change in designation was a policy matter. The decision was made not by Eisenhower but by his superiors, specifically by the European Advisory Commission. Nor was any attempt made to keep it secret. All those involved acted with the authority of the British, Russian and American Governments, and they were perfectly straightforward about the reason for the change in status. The Allies could not afford to feed the millions of German prisoners at the same level at which they were able to feed German civilians, the civilians of the liberated countries of Western Europe and the displaced persons. But the United States and other Allied nations had signed the Geneva Convention, which had the force of a treaty. They did not wish to violate it, so they used the new designation of "Disarmed Enemy Forces."
The greatest number of "other losses" revealed in the August 1945 Report of the Military Governor. (These monthly reports are in the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kan., in the National Archives in Washington and elsewhere; they are a basic source on every aspect of the occupation, including food shortages and prisoners). Historians accused Bacque that he did not cite them and there was no evidence that he examined them even.
The August report lists the numbers of disarmed enemy forces discharged by American forces and those transferred to the British and French for forced labor.
The report states: "An additional group of 663,576 are listed as 'other losses,' consisting largely of members of the Volksturm [Peoples' Militia], released without formal discharge."
The People's Militia consisted of older men (up to 80 years of age, mainly World War I veterans) and boys of 16 or sometimes less. American guards and camp authorities told the old men to go home and take care of their grandchildren, the boys to go home and return to school along with the transfers to other zones. Historians criticized James Bacque that he ignored all these facts for his 'missing million'.
They further criticized Bacque was wrong on every major charge and nearly all his minor ones. Eisenhower was not a Hitler, he did not run death camps, German prisoners did not die by the hundreds of thousands, there was a severe food shortage in 1945, there was nothing sinister or secret about the "disarmed enemy forces" designation.
Nevertheless, Historians agreed with Bacque on one point, that some US Army soldiers and their officers were capable of acting in almost as brutal a manner as the Nazis.
But number of historians has commented in their reviews in Britain, France, Germany and Canada, "they cannot believe what Mr. Bacque says about Eisenhower is true, but they cannot also disprove it."
Eisenhower, the German descendant American who showed his statesmanship and greater humanity by ending the Korean War and avoiding military intervention in Vietnam finally left a controversial legacy in his ancestral Germany; once said, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children... This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron."
But the historians argued that the change in designation was a policy matter. The decision was made not by Eisenhower but by his superiors, specifically by the European Advisory Commission. Nor was any attempt made to keep it secret. All those involved acted with the authority of the British, Russian and American Governments, and they were perfectly straightforward about the reason for the change in status. The Allies could not afford to feed the millions of German prisoners at the same level at which they were able to feed German civilians, the civilians of the liberated countries of Western Europe and the displaced persons. But the United States and other Allied nations had signed the Geneva Convention, which had the force of a treaty. They did not wish to violate it, so they used the new designation of "Disarmed Enemy Forces."
The greatest number of "other losses" revealed in the August 1945 Report of the Military Governor. (These monthly reports are in the Eisenhower Library in Abilene, Kan., in the National Archives in Washington and elsewhere; they are a basic source on every aspect of the occupation, including food shortages and prisoners). Historians accused Bacque that he did not cite them and there was no evidence that he examined them even.
The August report lists the numbers of disarmed enemy forces discharged by American forces and those transferred to the British and French for forced labor.
The report states: "An additional group of 663,576 are listed as 'other losses,' consisting largely of members of the Volksturm [Peoples' Militia], released without formal discharge."
The People's Militia consisted of older men (up to 80 years of age, mainly World War I veterans) and boys of 16 or sometimes less. American guards and camp authorities told the old men to go home and take care of their grandchildren, the boys to go home and return to school along with the transfers to other zones. Historians criticized James Bacque that he ignored all these facts for his 'missing million'.
They further criticized Bacque was wrong on every major charge and nearly all his minor ones. Eisenhower was not a Hitler, he did not run death camps, German prisoners did not die by the hundreds of thousands, there was a severe food shortage in 1945, there was nothing sinister or secret about the "disarmed enemy forces" designation.
Nevertheless, Historians agreed with Bacque on one point, that some US Army soldiers and their officers were capable of acting in almost as brutal a manner as the Nazis.
But number of historians has commented in their reviews in Britain, France, Germany and Canada, "they cannot believe what Mr. Bacque says about Eisenhower is true, but they cannot also disprove it."
Eisenhower, the German descendant American who showed his statesmanship and greater humanity by ending the Korean War and avoiding military intervention in Vietnam finally left a controversial legacy in his ancestral Germany; once said, "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children... This is not a way of life at all in any true sense. Under the clouds of war, it is humanity hanging on a cross of iron."
German Memoirs in Asia - Austria & Divided German States
Andrea was narrating various issues about Austria. When I asked Andrea how most of the Austrians identify themselves as Austrians or Germans, she said, "there are complex issues. We have a unique culture in Austria. So we feel comfortable when we identify ourselves as Austrians". She also said, "We are less in number compared to those who are in Germany and that is the primary reason why we like to identify ourselves as Austrians".
That the German Nation and its people should be divided was a notion held by many European nations. Foreign powers had long interceded in German affairs, pitting one German principality against the other.
In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire (of the German nation), Austria and Prussia emerged as two opposite poles in Germany, trying to re-establish the divided German nation. In 1870, Prussia attracted even Bavaria in the Franco-Prussian War and the creation of the German Empire as a German nation-state, effectively excluding the multi-ethnic Austrian-Habsburg monarchy. From this time on, the connotation of Germans came to shift gradually from "speakers of the German language" to "Imperial Germans."
The dissolution of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire after World War I led to a strong desire of the population of the new Republic of Austria to be integrated into Germany. This was, however, prevented by the Treaty of Versailles.
Trying to overcome the shortfall of Chancellor Bismarck's creation, the Nazis attempted to unite "all Germans" in one realm. This was welcomed among ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Poland, Danzig and Western Lithuania, but met with resistance among the Swiss and the Dutch, who were perfectly content with their perception of separate nations established in 1648, and the Dutch, in particular as they had never even spoken a form of the modern Germanic language.
Before World War II, most Austrians considered themselves German and denied the existence of a distinct Austrian ethnic identity. It was only after the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II that this began to change. After the world war, the Austrians increasingly saw themselves as a nation distinct from the other German-speaking areas of Europe, and some polls in 2000 indicated that no more than ten percent of the German-speaking Austrians saw themselves as part of a larger German nation linked by blood or language.
Germans, would hold that they belong to the German culture, which is what decides if someone is considered a German or not. On the other hand, Austrians often prefer to see the same persons and institutions as Austrian. Particularly, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven - who spent most of their lives in what is Austria today - may be considered to have been central within the German culture but may nevertheless often be characterized as Austrians, not as Germans.
The beginnings of a divided Germany may be traced back much further; to a Roman occupied Germania in the west and to Free Germania in the east. Starkly different ideologies have many times been developed due to conquerors and occupiers of sections of Germany. Poets talked of Zwei Seelen in einem Herz (Two souls in one heart).
That the German Nation and its people should be divided was a notion held by many European nations. Foreign powers had long interceded in German affairs, pitting one German principality against the other.
In the 19th century, after the Napoleonic Wars and the fall of the Holy Roman Empire (of the German nation), Austria and Prussia emerged as two opposite poles in Germany, trying to re-establish the divided German nation. In 1870, Prussia attracted even Bavaria in the Franco-Prussian War and the creation of the German Empire as a German nation-state, effectively excluding the multi-ethnic Austrian-Habsburg monarchy. From this time on, the connotation of Germans came to shift gradually from "speakers of the German language" to "Imperial Germans."
The dissolution of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire after World War I led to a strong desire of the population of the new Republic of Austria to be integrated into Germany. This was, however, prevented by the Treaty of Versailles.
Trying to overcome the shortfall of Chancellor Bismarck's creation, the Nazis attempted to unite "all Germans" in one realm. This was welcomed among ethnic Germans in Czechoslovakia, Austria, Poland, Danzig and Western Lithuania, but met with resistance among the Swiss and the Dutch, who were perfectly content with their perception of separate nations established in 1648, and the Dutch, in particular as they had never even spoken a form of the modern Germanic language.
Before World War II, most Austrians considered themselves German and denied the existence of a distinct Austrian ethnic identity. It was only after the defeat of Nazi Germany in World War II that this began to change. After the world war, the Austrians increasingly saw themselves as a nation distinct from the other German-speaking areas of Europe, and some polls in 2000 indicated that no more than ten percent of the German-speaking Austrians saw themselves as part of a larger German nation linked by blood or language.
Germans, would hold that they belong to the German culture, which is what decides if someone is considered a German or not. On the other hand, Austrians often prefer to see the same persons and institutions as Austrian. Particularly, Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven - who spent most of their lives in what is Austria today - may be considered to have been central within the German culture but may nevertheless often be characterized as Austrians, not as Germans.
The beginnings of a divided Germany may be traced back much further; to a Roman occupied Germania in the west and to Free Germania in the east. Starkly different ideologies have many times been developed due to conquerors and occupiers of sections of Germany. Poets talked of Zwei Seelen in einem Herz (Two souls in one heart).
German Memories in Asia - A Visit to Indian Ocean's Kayts Islands
Torsten Kapeller, is a student from Stuttgart, Germany. He traveled in the war-torn North and East of the island on a tsunami-relief mission to provide tsunami warning sirens and telling various stories on his mission.
The tsunami sirens were brought from Germany and could be operated manually to alert the coastal villages up to a few hundreds meters.
Torsten said his mission to North was exhaustive. He visited a beach and was struck by the beauty of its shallow sea-bed. From his description, I guessed it was the "Saddi" beach in the Kayts Islands.
Visiting Kayts Islands from the Jaffna Peninsula, crossing a mile-long narrow way had been a fascinating experience since my school days. We could see the shallow sea on both sides of the way, which is an extension of the Palk Strait connecting the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
We could always see in the shallow seas, the sea-gulls, the Brahmin kites and other birds of different varieties busily fishing all the time. Some of the large Brahmin-kites used to rest on the top of fixed fishing nets everywhere in the sea. It was fascinating to see their take off from the nets and I was surprised in my early school days how large birds like them could uplift their bodies using their wings.
When Torsten was sharing his experience about his travel to Kayts, my thoughts went back to the Dutch Sea Fort, which was built by the Portuguese and then reconstructed by the Dutch in the sea off Kayts Islands.
The Portuguese not only constructed Forts in the island but also in other parts of Asia.
The Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danish, French even German and other European cultures and architecture heavily influenced Asian art, culture and architecture and my maternal ancestors' house in Kayts resembled that of a small Dutch Fort with inside gardens and large rectangular verandahs and corridors, which made me to wonder about the different types of architecture.
Torsten was telling about the soothing climate of the Peninsula. As the Jaffna Peninsula sets a breeze from the Bay of Bengal and Indian sub-continent by its close proximity, there is an effect on the humidity, the climate and even on the monsoon system.
The tsunami sirens were brought from Germany and could be operated manually to alert the coastal villages up to a few hundreds meters.
Torsten said his mission to North was exhaustive. He visited a beach and was struck by the beauty of its shallow sea-bed. From his description, I guessed it was the "Saddi" beach in the Kayts Islands.
Visiting Kayts Islands from the Jaffna Peninsula, crossing a mile-long narrow way had been a fascinating experience since my school days. We could see the shallow sea on both sides of the way, which is an extension of the Palk Strait connecting the Gulf of Mannar and the Bay of Bengal in the Indian Ocean.
We could always see in the shallow seas, the sea-gulls, the Brahmin kites and other birds of different varieties busily fishing all the time. Some of the large Brahmin-kites used to rest on the top of fixed fishing nets everywhere in the sea. It was fascinating to see their take off from the nets and I was surprised in my early school days how large birds like them could uplift their bodies using their wings.
When Torsten was sharing his experience about his travel to Kayts, my thoughts went back to the Dutch Sea Fort, which was built by the Portuguese and then reconstructed by the Dutch in the sea off Kayts Islands.
The Portuguese not only constructed Forts in the island but also in other parts of Asia.
The Portuguese, Dutch, English, Danish, French even German and other European cultures and architecture heavily influenced Asian art, culture and architecture and my maternal ancestors' house in Kayts resembled that of a small Dutch Fort with inside gardens and large rectangular verandahs and corridors, which made me to wonder about the different types of architecture.
Torsten was telling about the soothing climate of the Peninsula. As the Jaffna Peninsula sets a breeze from the Bay of Bengal and Indian sub-continent by its close proximity, there is an effect on the humidity, the climate and even on the monsoon system.
German Memories in Asia - Chris Patten's Peace Mission & German Involvement in Ireland Crisis
While we were moving in the Northern highway in Kilinochchi, the huge board of the LTTE Finance Division took my memories back to my recent meeting with its head Thamilendhi, a political strategist. As he was an ex-banker his knowledge on post-conflict and economic issues was comprehensive.
I was discussing with him some time back the awareness program on "Strategic Post-Conflict Economic Development Initiative" of the Princes Diana Institute of Peace (PDIP), a Think tank on Post Conflict, Economic and Gender issues in its bid to promote re-building the war-ravaged Island's economy based on then Sri Lankan Premier Ranil Wickremeshinghe's "Regaining Sri Lanka" initiative. The initiative was well supported by Dr. Gamani Corea, a former Secretary-General of UNCTAD with the guidance of the PDIP's Patron Dr. James W. Spain, a former US Ambassador for Sri Lanka and the UN.
I had a chance to share with Thamilendhi his recent meeting along with LTTE Chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran with Chris Patten, the last governor of the British era Hong Kong and the European Union's External Relations Commissioner and his suggestions to resolve the island's decade-long ethnic crisis.
Chris Patten's years of experience in handling the smooth transfer of Hong Kong back to China and tackling sensitive issues in the unification of the European countries had made him a seasoned diplomat. But his involvement in finding a lasting solution in Northern Ireland might have made him adept at resolving international conflicts and to be admired as an international statesman.
As I was traveling with German university students, some interesting German involvement in the Irish Republican struggle struck my mind.
In the Easter Rising of 1916, the nationalists staged a rebellion against British rule in Dublin and other isolated areas. Weapons had been supplied by Germany under the auspices of a leading human rights campaigner, Sir Roger Casement. However, the secret plan had been discovered and the weapons were destroyed in mid sea.
The leaders seized the General post office, raising a green flag bearing the legend "Irish Republic" and proclaiming independence for Ireland and some Republicans talked of crowning Prince Joachim of Prussia King of Ireland if Germany won the First World War. But the fate of the First World War changed the whole scenario in a different way.
I was discussing with him some time back the awareness program on "Strategic Post-Conflict Economic Development Initiative" of the Princes Diana Institute of Peace (PDIP), a Think tank on Post Conflict, Economic and Gender issues in its bid to promote re-building the war-ravaged Island's economy based on then Sri Lankan Premier Ranil Wickremeshinghe's "Regaining Sri Lanka" initiative. The initiative was well supported by Dr. Gamani Corea, a former Secretary-General of UNCTAD with the guidance of the PDIP's Patron Dr. James W. Spain, a former US Ambassador for Sri Lanka and the UN.
I had a chance to share with Thamilendhi his recent meeting along with LTTE Chief Vellupillai Prabhakaran with Chris Patten, the last governor of the British era Hong Kong and the European Union's External Relations Commissioner and his suggestions to resolve the island's decade-long ethnic crisis.
Chris Patten's years of experience in handling the smooth transfer of Hong Kong back to China and tackling sensitive issues in the unification of the European countries had made him a seasoned diplomat. But his involvement in finding a lasting solution in Northern Ireland might have made him adept at resolving international conflicts and to be admired as an international statesman.
As I was traveling with German university students, some interesting German involvement in the Irish Republican struggle struck my mind.
In the Easter Rising of 1916, the nationalists staged a rebellion against British rule in Dublin and other isolated areas. Weapons had been supplied by Germany under the auspices of a leading human rights campaigner, Sir Roger Casement. However, the secret plan had been discovered and the weapons were destroyed in mid sea.
The leaders seized the General post office, raising a green flag bearing the legend "Irish Republic" and proclaiming independence for Ireland and some Republicans talked of crowning Prince Joachim of Prussia King of Ireland if Germany won the First World War. But the fate of the First World War changed the whole scenario in a different way.
German Memories in Asia - German Colonies in Asia and the Pacific
The European colonial era Jaffna reminded one of how the European powers established their colonial empires in Asia, Africa and Americas with a long and hazardous past.
Germany also colonised many of the Asian and African countries with other European nations after the development of imperialism and the awareness of having colonies around the world.
The colonialist thinking was that colonies were ideal to support the economy in the motherland. So, densely populated China came into view as a potential market. Thinkers like Max Weber demanded an active colonial policy from the German government. In particular the opening of China was made a question of life or death, because it was thought to be the most important non-European market in the world.
But a global policy without global military influence appeared impracticable, so establishing a strong Navy came into the scene and the result was the German East Asia Squadron and the European stationed High Seas Fleet. This fleet was supposed to give German interests for a gunboat diplomacy keeping peace and to protect the German trade routes. They had in mind a powerful Navy might help to destroy the hostile enemy navy fleets during war by the cruiser war tactics. Germany wanted to establish a network of global naval bases having in mind the cruiser war tactics and acquired a harbour in China.
In 1860 a Prussian expedition fleet arrived in China and explored the region around Jiaozhou Bay. The following year a Chinese-Prussian trade contract was signed. In 1896 Admiral von Tirpitz, at that time commander of the German East Asia Squadron, examined the area personally.
When on November 1, 1897 two German missionaries of the Steyler Mission, which had been protected by the German Empire since 1890, were murdered in China, Kaiser Wilhelm II used this as a pretext to occupy the Bay. Even before the Chinese government was informed about the murder, Admiral von Diederichs, commander of the East Asian Squadron, was ordered on November 7 to carry out the occupation. On November 14 German naval infantry landed on the strands and occupied the area without any possible confrontation.
After the German-Chinese negotiations which resulted into a settlement of the missionary incident and a few months later the German Empire leased the Bay for 99 years from the Chinese government. As a result of the German-Chinese lease contract the Chinese government gave up the exercise of all its sovereign rights within the leased territory other than the city of Jiaozhou. The "Government Kiautschou" remained part of China under imperial sovereignty but because of the duration of the lease turned it into a German Protectorate. Because of the importance, which the protectorate had, it was not put under the supervision of the Imperial colonial office but under that of the Imperial naval office.
In the middle of the First World War, on 23 August 1914, imperial China cancelled the German lease and on 7 November 1914, the bay was occupied by Japan.
The German colonies faced the same repercussion in other areas of the Pacific. The German New Guinea too was a strategic-zone for the German colonization in the Pacific from 1884 to 1914, consisting of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby Pacific island groups including the German Solomon Islands with other smaller islands, the Carolines, Palau, most of the Marianas, the Marshall Islands and Nauru. A treaty with Spain ensured German control over the island groups.
But following the outbreak of World War I, Australian troops captured areas in New Guinea which was then known as Kaiser-Wilhelmsland and the nearby islands in 1914, after a short resistance led by Captain Carl von Klewitz and Lt. Robert von Blumenthal. The Australian Military and Naval Expeditionary Force attacked a wireless station where the Australians suffered six dead and the German forces fared much worse, with one German officer and 30 native police killed with the final surrender of Germans to Australians. Japan occupied most of the remaining German possessions in the Pacific later on. After the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Germany lost all its colonial possessions in the Pacific and New Guinea.
Germany also colonised many of the Asian and African countries with other European nations after the development of imperialism and the awareness of having colonies around the world.
The colonialist thinking was that colonies were ideal to support the economy in the motherland. So, densely populated China came into view as a potential market. Thinkers like Max Weber demanded an active colonial policy from the German government. In particular the opening of China was made a question of life or death, because it was thought to be the most important non-European market in the world.
But a global policy without global military influence appeared impracticable, so establishing a strong Navy came into the scene and the result was the German East Asia Squadron and the European stationed High Seas Fleet. This fleet was supposed to give German interests for a gunboat diplomacy keeping peace and to protect the German trade routes. They had in mind a powerful Navy might help to destroy the hostile enemy navy fleets during war by the cruiser war tactics. Germany wanted to establish a network of global naval bases having in mind the cruiser war tactics and acquired a harbour in China.
In 1860 a Prussian expedition fleet arrived in China and explored the region around Jiaozhou Bay. The following year a Chinese-Prussian trade contract was signed. In 1896 Admiral von Tirpitz, at that time commander of the German East Asia Squadron, examined the area personally.
When on November 1, 1897 two German missionaries of the Steyler Mission, which had been protected by the German Empire since 1890, were murdered in China, Kaiser Wilhelm II used this as a pretext to occupy the Bay. Even before the Chinese government was informed about the murder, Admiral von Diederichs, commander of the East Asian Squadron, was ordered on November 7 to carry out the occupation. On November 14 German naval infantry landed on the strands and occupied the area without any possible confrontation.
After the German-Chinese negotiations which resulted into a settlement of the missionary incident and a few months later the German Empire leased the Bay for 99 years from the Chinese government. As a result of the German-Chinese lease contract the Chinese government gave up the exercise of all its sovereign rights within the leased territory other than the city of Jiaozhou. The "Government Kiautschou" remained part of China under imperial sovereignty but because of the duration of the lease turned it into a German Protectorate. Because of the importance, which the protectorate had, it was not put under the supervision of the Imperial colonial office but under that of the Imperial naval office.
In the middle of the First World War, on 23 August 1914, imperial China cancelled the German lease and on 7 November 1914, the bay was occupied by Japan.
The German colonies faced the same repercussion in other areas of the Pacific. The German New Guinea too was a strategic-zone for the German colonization in the Pacific from 1884 to 1914, consisting of the northeastern part of New Guinea and several nearby Pacific island groups including the German Solomon Islands with other smaller islands, the Carolines, Palau, most of the Marianas, the Marshall Islands and Nauru. A treaty with Spain ensured German control over the island groups.
But following the outbreak of World War I, Australian troops captured areas in New Guinea which was then known as Kaiser-Wilhelmsland and the nearby islands in 1914, after a short resistance led by Captain Carl von Klewitz and Lt. Robert von Blumenthal. The Australian Military and Naval Expeditionary Force attacked a wireless station where the Australians suffered six dead and the German forces fared much worse, with one German officer and 30 native police killed with the final surrender of Germans to Australians. Japan occupied most of the remaining German possessions in the Pacific later on. After the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Germany lost all its colonial possessions in the Pacific and New Guinea.
Friday, December 21, 2007
German Memories In Asia - Roman Era Europe And West Asia
The early events of Jaffna by the Portuguese recalled the historical events in the Roman era Europe and West Asia.
In the course of the centuries the Roman Empire steered into a heavy and lasting crisis.
Constant wars for the defense of borders, rising military expenditure, excessive taxes, repressive laws, rampantly growing bureaucracy and all-present corruption - all this undermined the loyalty of the Romans and provincial residents to the Roman state.
The taxes were so high that many citizens had to work for the state for most of the year, while only a little was left for themselves. The Roman citizens had turned into slaves of the state and they didn't care after sometime whether their ruler and oppressor was a Roman or a victorious Germanic conqueror.
Similarily destructive was the new religion, Christianity, starting from 313 A.D., which disapproved of the old ideals. In 390, Roman emperor Theodosius banned the old Pagan religion. The worship of gods of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Venus and Mars was declared a crime. Led by their bishops, Christian mobs destroyed most of the pagan temples, the most beautiful buildings of ancient times, massacred philosophers and intellectuals, and destroyed the large library of Alexandria.
Even the Germanic paganism, the religion and mythology of the ancient Germanic nations with the principal gods Odin, Thor and Tyr preceding Christianization were destroyed by similar means.
The best documented form of Germanic paganism, the10th and 11th century Norse paganism with other European and West-Asian pagan traditions, such as Finnish, Slavic, Baltic, Roman and Greek were lost from the practice.
The Franks, Alamanni, Anglo-Saxons, Saxons and Frisians were christianized forcibly between the 6th and the 8th century.
The Frankish King Charlemagne conquered the Germanic tribesmen and won in all eighteen battles which were fought in the areas of northwestern Germany. The result was the incorporation of Saxony into the Frankish realm and their conversion from paganism to Christianity.
The King Charlemagne allegedly ordered at the Blood court of Verden to behead 4,500 Saxons who had been caught practising paganism after converting to Christianity. The massacre led to two straight years of constant warfare (783-785). In 783, battles in Saxony saw Saxon women throw themselves barebreasted into battle. One of them was Fastrada, daughter of a Saxon count, who, in 784, became Charlemagne's fourth wife and gradually the Franks gained the upper hand in Saxony.
In 800 A.D. Charlemagne's authority in Western Europe was further increased by his coronation as emperor in Rome and by the establishment of Holy Roman Empire. He further increased his ruthless christianisation of people who were practising Paganism.
Northern Germany had seen an aggressive Christianisation between 1096 and 1291 in the period of the crusades where the Knightly religious orders the Templars, the Knights of St John and the Teutonic Order established new towns, imperial strongholds, castles, bishops' palaces and monasteries and conquered the native Baltic Prussians and Christianized them.
In the course of the centuries the Roman Empire steered into a heavy and lasting crisis.
Constant wars for the defense of borders, rising military expenditure, excessive taxes, repressive laws, rampantly growing bureaucracy and all-present corruption - all this undermined the loyalty of the Romans and provincial residents to the Roman state.
The taxes were so high that many citizens had to work for the state for most of the year, while only a little was left for themselves. The Roman citizens had turned into slaves of the state and they didn't care after sometime whether their ruler and oppressor was a Roman or a victorious Germanic conqueror.
Similarily destructive was the new religion, Christianity, starting from 313 A.D., which disapproved of the old ideals. In 390, Roman emperor Theodosius banned the old Pagan religion. The worship of gods of Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Venus and Mars was declared a crime. Led by their bishops, Christian mobs destroyed most of the pagan temples, the most beautiful buildings of ancient times, massacred philosophers and intellectuals, and destroyed the large library of Alexandria.
Even the Germanic paganism, the religion and mythology of the ancient Germanic nations with the principal gods Odin, Thor and Tyr preceding Christianization were destroyed by similar means.
The best documented form of Germanic paganism, the10th and 11th century Norse paganism with other European and West-Asian pagan traditions, such as Finnish, Slavic, Baltic, Roman and Greek were lost from the practice.
The Franks, Alamanni, Anglo-Saxons, Saxons and Frisians were christianized forcibly between the 6th and the 8th century.
The Frankish King Charlemagne conquered the Germanic tribesmen and won in all eighteen battles which were fought in the areas of northwestern Germany. The result was the incorporation of Saxony into the Frankish realm and their conversion from paganism to Christianity.
The King Charlemagne allegedly ordered at the Blood court of Verden to behead 4,500 Saxons who had been caught practising paganism after converting to Christianity. The massacre led to two straight years of constant warfare (783-785). In 783, battles in Saxony saw Saxon women throw themselves barebreasted into battle. One of them was Fastrada, daughter of a Saxon count, who, in 784, became Charlemagne's fourth wife and gradually the Franks gained the upper hand in Saxony.
In 800 A.D. Charlemagne's authority in Western Europe was further increased by his coronation as emperor in Rome and by the establishment of Holy Roman Empire. He further increased his ruthless christianisation of people who were practising Paganism.
Northern Germany had seen an aggressive Christianisation between 1096 and 1291 in the period of the crusades where the Knightly religious orders the Templars, the Knights of St John and the Teutonic Order established new towns, imperial strongholds, castles, bishops' palaces and monasteries and conquered the native Baltic Prussians and Christianized them.
German Memories - Early European Migration & Life-Style
Though our discussion touched on many of the early human migration what attracted us most was the 400, 000 year old wooden projectile spears which were found at Schoningen in northern Germany. These wooden projectile spears are thought to have been made by the Neanderthals' ancestors.
The Neanderthals disappeared completely from this world some 30,000 - 40,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnon probably came in contact with the Neanderthals, and is often credited to have caused or finalized the latter's extinction. To what extent Cro-Magnons interbred with Neanderthals - if at all - is still a matter of debate and we came out with some controversial argument.
The Cro-Magnons could be descended from any number of subspecies of Homo sapiens that emerged from Africa approximately 100,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnons were the earliest modern humans to enter into Europe perhaps around 50,000 years ago, during a long interglacial period of particularly mild climate, when Europe was relatively warm, and food was plentiful.
Some of the oldest works of art in the world, such as the cave paintings at Lascaux in southern France came into our discussion which were as old as shortly after the Cro-Magnons' migration. These early humans used manganese and iron oxides to paint pictures and even they were believed to have created the first calendar around 34,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnons even knew how to make woven clothing and constructed huts out of rocks, clay, bones, branches and animal fur.
The last ice age plunged Europe into a much colder and harsher environment, and covered much of the north of it with inhospitable glaciers. As the glaciers began to retreat, about 20,000 years ago, humans migrated northward again. It was this Mesolithic population, the descendants of Cro-Magnons who were dwelling in Europe around 7000 BC when the Neolithic people first began to enter there from the Asiatic portion of today's Turkey.
If the Neolithic immigrants to Europe were indeed Indo-European, then populations speaking non-Indo-European languages in today's Europe the Basques of the Pyrenees are the descendants of Mesolithic people since their language is related to none other in the world and also the Basque population has a unique genetic profile. The Uralic speaking peoples, the Finns and others represent this Mesolithic generation.
The other current non-Indo-European languages of Europe - Turkish, Maltese, and Magyar - were introduced in pre-historical times.
Our discussion went back into the Neolithic European lifestyle in between the Mesolithic and Bronze Age periods in Europe, roughly from 7000 BC to 1700 BC. The Neolithic Europeans were living in small-scale, family-based communities, subsisting on domestic plants and animals supplemented with the collection of wild plant foods and with hunting, and producing hand-made pottery, that is, made without the potter's wheel.
There were some Neolithic Europeans in southeastern Europe living in heavily fortified settlements of 3,000-4,000 people in Greece whereas in England there were 50-100 people together as highly mobile cattle-herders.
The Neolithic European peoples were warlike, and they imposed themselves as an elite on the Mesolithic populations, who adopted their language. The Neolithic Proto-Indo-Europeans were a patrilineal society. They had domesticated the horse and the cow which played a central role, in religion and mythology as well as in daily life. A man's wealth would have been measured by the number of his animals.
They practised a polytheistic religion centered on sacrificial rites, probably administered by a priestly caste. Important leaders would have been buried with their belongings, and possibly also with members of their household or wives under the human sacrifice called Suttee.
The Neanderthals disappeared completely from this world some 30,000 - 40,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnon probably came in contact with the Neanderthals, and is often credited to have caused or finalized the latter's extinction. To what extent Cro-Magnons interbred with Neanderthals - if at all - is still a matter of debate and we came out with some controversial argument.
The Cro-Magnons could be descended from any number of subspecies of Homo sapiens that emerged from Africa approximately 100,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnons were the earliest modern humans to enter into Europe perhaps around 50,000 years ago, during a long interglacial period of particularly mild climate, when Europe was relatively warm, and food was plentiful.
Some of the oldest works of art in the world, such as the cave paintings at Lascaux in southern France came into our discussion which were as old as shortly after the Cro-Magnons' migration. These early humans used manganese and iron oxides to paint pictures and even they were believed to have created the first calendar around 34,000 years ago. The Cro-Magnons even knew how to make woven clothing and constructed huts out of rocks, clay, bones, branches and animal fur.
The last ice age plunged Europe into a much colder and harsher environment, and covered much of the north of it with inhospitable glaciers. As the glaciers began to retreat, about 20,000 years ago, humans migrated northward again. It was this Mesolithic population, the descendants of Cro-Magnons who were dwelling in Europe around 7000 BC when the Neolithic people first began to enter there from the Asiatic portion of today's Turkey.
If the Neolithic immigrants to Europe were indeed Indo-European, then populations speaking non-Indo-European languages in today's Europe the Basques of the Pyrenees are the descendants of Mesolithic people since their language is related to none other in the world and also the Basque population has a unique genetic profile. The Uralic speaking peoples, the Finns and others represent this Mesolithic generation.
The other current non-Indo-European languages of Europe - Turkish, Maltese, and Magyar - were introduced in pre-historical times.
Our discussion went back into the Neolithic European lifestyle in between the Mesolithic and Bronze Age periods in Europe, roughly from 7000 BC to 1700 BC. The Neolithic Europeans were living in small-scale, family-based communities, subsisting on domestic plants and animals supplemented with the collection of wild plant foods and with hunting, and producing hand-made pottery, that is, made without the potter's wheel.
There were some Neolithic Europeans in southeastern Europe living in heavily fortified settlements of 3,000-4,000 people in Greece whereas in England there were 50-100 people together as highly mobile cattle-herders.
The Neolithic European peoples were warlike, and they imposed themselves as an elite on the Mesolithic populations, who adopted their language. The Neolithic Proto-Indo-Europeans were a patrilineal society. They had domesticated the horse and the cow which played a central role, in religion and mythology as well as in daily life. A man's wealth would have been measured by the number of his animals.
They practised a polytheistic religion centered on sacrificial rites, probably administered by a priestly caste. Important leaders would have been buried with their belongings, and possibly also with members of their household or wives under the human sacrifice called Suttee.
German Memories in Asia - A Visit to the Rebel-Held Jungle Interior
While we were leaving the political wing of the LTTE, I thought rather than leaving for south straightaway to visit a relative of mine somewhere near the Iranaimadu Tank and introduce Steffani and others so that they could regain their cordiality.
The way towards the Iranaimadu tank was full of a scenic beauty, and once again I was lost in contemplation. The rural area always has its own rich serene beauty. The canal which takes the overflowing water from the Iranaimadu tank to the Jaffna Lagoon, has its own splendour. Some of the jungle birds used to fish in the canal hiding in the bushes along the slope of the canal and it was thrilling to watch them in the act of fishing.
When we reached the house, the infant child of my relative was lying on the front verandah which had more ventilation and the dust raised by our vehicle was blowing toward the little infant. Steffani, a German Praktikum (Internship) student and others were shocked for a while.
I introduced them to my relatives and when they told of our plight the previous night they were shocked and asked me why I did not bring them to their residence to spend the night. Steffani spent more time in tending the little infant and hugging her. The mother of the infant was fascinated by this and started to video the event with a small cam hoarder. I was very happy that at least Steffani had cooled down after all.
After a brief a stay which reflected a combination of Asian and European ways of hospitality and affection, our journey started once again towards the south.
We were moving towards the Iranaimadu Tank area. Our jungle-bound journey was to prove memorable. Moving along the gravel passage made the vehicle bob up and down all the way.
Though it was almost noon, wild birds were crossing the passage from both sides of the bushes.
While we were turning into the Iranaimadu Tank area, we could see that the area was well guarded by the LTTE. There was speculation as to whether the LTTE Air Force Wing's runway was near the Tank.
They were trying to stop the vehicle, but never did on seeing the European faces inside it. But there was a surprise in their faces. They were wondering as to what made these Europeans come all the way into the interior of a highly restricted rebel-held area.
We turned into the corner which was almost V-shaped and our journey was again towards the Alpha-Nine highway. Steffani and Romy were gazing at the wondrous jungle there.
While we were going through the Alpha-Nine highway the driver who was unaccustomed to that area as it was his first visit to the LTTE-controlled area drove all the way at high speed. Somewhere before we reached the LTTE barrier, we were stopped by the LTTE traffic police who were hiding behind a tree. They might have used a speedometer and spoke of us having broken the speed limit.
They questioned whether we didn't observe the sign board which was few meters away. Though we said it was the driver's first visit into the LTTE-controlled area, they refused to excuse us. Finally we had to pay a fine for breaking the speed limit. Steffani was little upset, why we didn't observe the sign board. She did not hesitate to express what she felt at any time on our mission.
We didn't have as many problems crossing the LTTE and Sri Lankan Army barriers. Our journey was continuing without any stop-over and still Steffani was moody over our failure to undertake the survey in the LTTE-controlled areas.
It was too hard for me to explain to her the complexity of the LTTE administrative issues and the way they were taking decisions at times.
The way towards the Iranaimadu tank was full of a scenic beauty, and once again I was lost in contemplation. The rural area always has its own rich serene beauty. The canal which takes the overflowing water from the Iranaimadu tank to the Jaffna Lagoon, has its own splendour. Some of the jungle birds used to fish in the canal hiding in the bushes along the slope of the canal and it was thrilling to watch them in the act of fishing.
When we reached the house, the infant child of my relative was lying on the front verandah which had more ventilation and the dust raised by our vehicle was blowing toward the little infant. Steffani, a German Praktikum (Internship) student and others were shocked for a while.
I introduced them to my relatives and when they told of our plight the previous night they were shocked and asked me why I did not bring them to their residence to spend the night. Steffani spent more time in tending the little infant and hugging her. The mother of the infant was fascinated by this and started to video the event with a small cam hoarder. I was very happy that at least Steffani had cooled down after all.
After a brief a stay which reflected a combination of Asian and European ways of hospitality and affection, our journey started once again towards the south.
We were moving towards the Iranaimadu Tank area. Our jungle-bound journey was to prove memorable. Moving along the gravel passage made the vehicle bob up and down all the way.
Though it was almost noon, wild birds were crossing the passage from both sides of the bushes.
While we were turning into the Iranaimadu Tank area, we could see that the area was well guarded by the LTTE. There was speculation as to whether the LTTE Air Force Wing's runway was near the Tank.
They were trying to stop the vehicle, but never did on seeing the European faces inside it. But there was a surprise in their faces. They were wondering as to what made these Europeans come all the way into the interior of a highly restricted rebel-held area.
We turned into the corner which was almost V-shaped and our journey was again towards the Alpha-Nine highway. Steffani and Romy were gazing at the wondrous jungle there.
While we were going through the Alpha-Nine highway the driver who was unaccustomed to that area as it was his first visit to the LTTE-controlled area drove all the way at high speed. Somewhere before we reached the LTTE barrier, we were stopped by the LTTE traffic police who were hiding behind a tree. They might have used a speedometer and spoke of us having broken the speed limit.
They questioned whether we didn't observe the sign board which was few meters away. Though we said it was the driver's first visit into the LTTE-controlled area, they refused to excuse us. Finally we had to pay a fine for breaking the speed limit. Steffani was little upset, why we didn't observe the sign board. She did not hesitate to express what she felt at any time on our mission.
We didn't have as many problems crossing the LTTE and Sri Lankan Army barriers. Our journey was continuing without any stop-over and still Steffani was moody over our failure to undertake the survey in the LTTE-controlled areas.
It was too hard for me to explain to her the complexity of the LTTE administrative issues and the way they were taking decisions at times.
German Memory in Asia - A Night in the Rebel-Held Jungle
We were moving towards the political office in Kilinochchi passing the Finance Division and stopped near the "Pandyan" restaurant for dinner.
As I had come with on our previous trip with the German Praktikum (Internship) students, when I was moving towards the restaurant front entrance, the earlier incidents came to my memory. There were sweet memories to be recalled over and over again.
When we were seated, I watched there were a few European ladies and a lady with an infant having dinner at the next table. The staff of the restaurant amused the infant with many pleasantries. Steffani was trying to smell out who these European ladies were.
She might have guessed already that they were probably from Germany or around and tried to confirm her guess by observing their lip movements to identify in which language they were speaking.
She said at one point they were speaking German and approached them and had a good chat.
When we walked into the garden after having our dinner I found a number of Europeans who were working in the various NGOs, entering the restaurant.
Once again our journey in the jungle highway started with our witnessing the nearly stone-age life-style and the strange silence everywhere. The twinkling lights from chimney lamps in the houses were a reminder of the people who were undergoing various hardships in the war-ravaged areas which could be hardly expressed in words.
It was only when we met the LTTE media coordinator and its spokesman that I realized the difficulty we were to face in undertaking such a survey in the LTTE - controlled areas. The prominent columnist and a Pro- Tamil nationalist Sivaram's murder had put everyone in a sad mood in Kilinochchi. They had forgotten to arrange accommodation for us and the alternative accommodation after many failed attempts was congested and far from comfortable.
The rooms had been by occupied by many foreigners, leaving us only one room with a broken bed. We were truly in a mess and as it was late in the night we had no option other than staying there.
Steffani was running here and there as the leader of our team and decided who and who should sleep where and told the driver should take the room for the night. It was such interesting to see Steffani who was in her early twenties acting as commander in the isolated deep rural jungle surrounded by LTTE-controlled areas as though she did things at her home. She was at times shouting at me saying it was my fault for ending up here for the night. Steffani decided to stay in the van and I went to sleep in the hall and Romy and Yong in the front veranda which they preferred as there was more ventilation.
The Jaffna Lagoon's mild wind wafting from the jungle soothed my mind and drifted me into sleep.
The place where we were spending the night was just close to where the Irish-American Area Director of CARE International was staying.
I could recall an incident vividly. At times we used to have meetings with dinner at her residence when there were officials visiting from CARE head office in Colombo or from overseas. Once a visiting evaluation team had come and I had an unforgettable experience with a Scottish young lady while at dinner. She was such interesting person and in her late twenties but a little aggressive when our discussion touched on Scottish issues in medieval times.
She burst out at once, placing her palm on my chest, told how the Scottish people had been deprived by the then English rulers some centuries ago and asked me whether I would accept that. I was shocked by her emotional outburst and was able to imagine to what extent the Scottish people had been affected by the practices of various atrocities by the English Lords.
I couldn't reconcile myself to the practice of newly married Scottish brides spending their first night with English Lords instead of their newly-married husbands.
As I had come with on our previous trip with the German Praktikum (Internship) students, when I was moving towards the restaurant front entrance, the earlier incidents came to my memory. There were sweet memories to be recalled over and over again.
When we were seated, I watched there were a few European ladies and a lady with an infant having dinner at the next table. The staff of the restaurant amused the infant with many pleasantries. Steffani was trying to smell out who these European ladies were.
She might have guessed already that they were probably from Germany or around and tried to confirm her guess by observing their lip movements to identify in which language they were speaking.
She said at one point they were speaking German and approached them and had a good chat.
When we walked into the garden after having our dinner I found a number of Europeans who were working in the various NGOs, entering the restaurant.
Once again our journey in the jungle highway started with our witnessing the nearly stone-age life-style and the strange silence everywhere. The twinkling lights from chimney lamps in the houses were a reminder of the people who were undergoing various hardships in the war-ravaged areas which could be hardly expressed in words.
It was only when we met the LTTE media coordinator and its spokesman that I realized the difficulty we were to face in undertaking such a survey in the LTTE - controlled areas. The prominent columnist and a Pro- Tamil nationalist Sivaram's murder had put everyone in a sad mood in Kilinochchi. They had forgotten to arrange accommodation for us and the alternative accommodation after many failed attempts was congested and far from comfortable.
The rooms had been by occupied by many foreigners, leaving us only one room with a broken bed. We were truly in a mess and as it was late in the night we had no option other than staying there.
Steffani was running here and there as the leader of our team and decided who and who should sleep where and told the driver should take the room for the night. It was such interesting to see Steffani who was in her early twenties acting as commander in the isolated deep rural jungle surrounded by LTTE-controlled areas as though she did things at her home. She was at times shouting at me saying it was my fault for ending up here for the night. Steffani decided to stay in the van and I went to sleep in the hall and Romy and Yong in the front veranda which they preferred as there was more ventilation.
The Jaffna Lagoon's mild wind wafting from the jungle soothed my mind and drifted me into sleep.
The place where we were spending the night was just close to where the Irish-American Area Director of CARE International was staying.
I could recall an incident vividly. At times we used to have meetings with dinner at her residence when there were officials visiting from CARE head office in Colombo or from overseas. Once a visiting evaluation team had come and I had an unforgettable experience with a Scottish young lady while at dinner. She was such interesting person and in her late twenties but a little aggressive when our discussion touched on Scottish issues in medieval times.
She burst out at once, placing her palm on my chest, told how the Scottish people had been deprived by the then English rulers some centuries ago and asked me whether I would accept that. I was shocked by her emotional outburst and was able to imagine to what extent the Scottish people had been affected by the practices of various atrocities by the English Lords.
I couldn't reconcile myself to the practice of newly married Scottish brides spending their first night with English Lords instead of their newly-married husbands.
German Memory in Asia - A Discussion on American and World Affairs
Lionie, a German Praktikum (Internship) student entered the discussion speaking on various interesting issues.
She was sharing her ideas to organise an awareness program on landmine issues between the AGSEP and the PDIP. John Stephen III, a Foreign Affairs Officer at the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement of the Bureau of Political and Military Affairs of the US State Department was so helpful and has taken a personal interest to help us, to make the awareness program a success by sending various materials from the US State Department.
Leonie is from Düsseldorf, a city located in the Western part of Germany close to The Netherlands. She told she had come across various Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka and asked various issues on the region. Though it was her first visit to Asia, she is well-informed on various Asian crises.
She said she is a vegetarian because she couldn't bear the way they are rearing poultry in congested cages, giving no chance for those birds to feel free during those few weeks in the world before they were killed. She was a lover of animals and in Germany many homes have pets such as dogs, cats, guinea pigs and even birds. I found her to be a sincere animal lover when she said, "Even I won't eat eggs if those are from hens which are denied a comfortable living".
She had switched on to a new subject and said, "Number of universities in Sweden especially the University of Uppsala, is offering master degrees without any charges" and came out with the fact that, "The British and the American University Programs are very expensive".
She left Germany to study in The Netherlands and France because of the benefit the International exposure. Sometimes certain universities have more international exposure in their curricula than others. Recently a friend of mine told me that the American education is more American-based than International.
When my friend told me this, what struck me was the statement by Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, the one-time Malaysian Prime Minister: "Most Americans, I think, know very little about East Asia or Southeast Asia. American business people who have been here, they are very knowledgeable about this area, but the average America? No. We are horrified to find most Americans do not know the capitals of foreign countries or even the capitals of American states. I mean, our education system emphasizes knowledge of the outside world. The America education system apparently stresses knowledge of the United States. An American [baseball] tournament, for example, is called a world series, but is confined only to America. It's not a world series at all".
But some time back when I spoke to a friend of mine who was a manager at a firm in the State Minnesota of the USA and then as the head of IBM in Sri Lanka, he said, "There are people in the US, who haven't visited even New York, Los Angeles or other major American cities in their life. So how can we expect they should look or travel into other parts of the world?" The American way of life is more individualistic and achievement-oriented and its life-style is not based on living in common harmony. He pointed out that there was no need to look to other countries if it wouldn't help to earn their daily bread.
Lionie is a student of the popular Maastricht University in The Netherlands and had spent a year at Bordeaux University in France. Her specialization in European studies at Maastricht and Political studies at Bordeaux was well reflected, in her advice to me on various issues. When spoke of the Lebanon crisis, she said that it would become more political and supported my earlier viewpoint on landmine issues.
She said, "I can't understand why people are spending so much of money at the famous Italian Bocconi University for MBA to learn something in a year so much".
She asked me whether I think, we could learn something unique within a year in proportion to the money spent which is more than 30,000 Euros.
She was sharing her ideas to organise an awareness program on landmine issues between the AGSEP and the PDIP. John Stephen III, a Foreign Affairs Officer at the Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement of the Bureau of Political and Military Affairs of the US State Department was so helpful and has taken a personal interest to help us, to make the awareness program a success by sending various materials from the US State Department.
Leonie is from Düsseldorf, a city located in the Western part of Germany close to The Netherlands. She told she had come across various Tamil refugees from Sri Lanka and asked various issues on the region. Though it was her first visit to Asia, she is well-informed on various Asian crises.
She said she is a vegetarian because she couldn't bear the way they are rearing poultry in congested cages, giving no chance for those birds to feel free during those few weeks in the world before they were killed. She was a lover of animals and in Germany many homes have pets such as dogs, cats, guinea pigs and even birds. I found her to be a sincere animal lover when she said, "Even I won't eat eggs if those are from hens which are denied a comfortable living".
She had switched on to a new subject and said, "Number of universities in Sweden especially the University of Uppsala, is offering master degrees without any charges" and came out with the fact that, "The British and the American University Programs are very expensive".
She left Germany to study in The Netherlands and France because of the benefit the International exposure. Sometimes certain universities have more international exposure in their curricula than others. Recently a friend of mine told me that the American education is more American-based than International.
When my friend told me this, what struck me was the statement by Dr. Mahathir Mohammed, the one-time Malaysian Prime Minister: "Most Americans, I think, know very little about East Asia or Southeast Asia. American business people who have been here, they are very knowledgeable about this area, but the average America? No. We are horrified to find most Americans do not know the capitals of foreign countries or even the capitals of American states. I mean, our education system emphasizes knowledge of the outside world. The America education system apparently stresses knowledge of the United States. An American [baseball] tournament, for example, is called a world series, but is confined only to America. It's not a world series at all".
But some time back when I spoke to a friend of mine who was a manager at a firm in the State Minnesota of the USA and then as the head of IBM in Sri Lanka, he said, "There are people in the US, who haven't visited even New York, Los Angeles or other major American cities in their life. So how can we expect they should look or travel into other parts of the world?" The American way of life is more individualistic and achievement-oriented and its life-style is not based on living in common harmony. He pointed out that there was no need to look to other countries if it wouldn't help to earn their daily bread.
Lionie is a student of the popular Maastricht University in The Netherlands and had spent a year at Bordeaux University in France. Her specialization in European studies at Maastricht and Political studies at Bordeaux was well reflected, in her advice to me on various issues. When spoke of the Lebanon crisis, she said that it would become more political and supported my earlier viewpoint on landmine issues.
She said, "I can't understand why people are spending so much of money at the famous Italian Bocconi University for MBA to learn something in a year so much".
She asked me whether I think, we could learn something unique within a year in proportion to the money spent which is more than 30,000 Euros.
German Tsunami Mission in Asia - My Experience and Memories
I couldn't imagine how a tremour underneath in the form of an earthquake by tectonic plate movements caused a massive disaster in the coastal areas of most of the Indian Ocean Rim countries.
Memories of the early morning travel from George Town, the capital of Penang Island of Malaysia to the Teluk Bahang, the northern coastal front of the island still come to mind with the different panoramas of the Strait of Malacca and the silently waving southern seas of Andaman-Nicobar Islands in the far distance.
Likewise the memories of my recent visit in association with a mission on disaster relief to the northern regions of Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Jaffna come to mind.
Dietmar Doring, Director of "Peace Village International", a German national with his country's young university students as volunteers, Jean Claude Ramige, a veteran German documentary filmmaker who visited and documented various issues ranging from the tribal' cultures to the worst war atrocities around the world and a few relief work volunteers from some local television channels made up the rest of the group.
When we arrived in Kilinochchi, twilight was turning into complete darkness everywhere. A member of the Sea Tiger unit of the LTTE was all the way along with us by guiding us in the tsunami ravaged areas.
The LTTE member was telling us that they were discovering everyday the dead bodies of the tidal wave victims from a pond which was once a rain water catchment - source, but now a sea water overflowing area.
He said that the bodies were being burnt immediately after recovery and asked us to wait to witness that day's excavation. The heavy devastation had not only shattered the coastal areas but also the planet earth itself by changing its orbital direction by the explosion it caused.
We had a chance to meet a Catholic priest who narrowly escaped from the tragedy near his totally perished church in coastal Mullaitivu. His visit to a nearby church that fateful day saved him and left a spiritual leader alive, who could lead the remaining few who have lost their kith and kin and almost everything.
The flood ravaged ruins of the houses were scattered everywhere and I managed to get onto a piece of debris to have a wider view of the area.
Now I could see the far corner of the village "Kallapadu", a southern coastal hamlet of Mullaitivu which was totally devastated by the giant tidal waves.
My inner-eyes started to visualize in a distance spectrum gradually and now I could experience the tragedies of the coastal hamlets "Semmalai" and "Alampil", which were almost sunk underneath, where a few years ago, during my tenure as an officer in CARE International in the war - torn periods of the northern region, I visited extensively and was amazed by the hospitality of those village folk, but now everything has perished.
Still I could hear those melodies of a cinema song which was aired over a radio while I was resting under the shade of a flock of densely grown coconut trees.
Oh! What an illusive world, now everything has changed and everything has disappeared. When I turned my attention from the solid ruined wreckage where I was standing towards the distant northern horizon, the devastation of the coastal villages Manarkadu, Nagarkovil and Chempianpattu were coming to mind.
All were destroyed leaving a few to witness to the horrific tidal waves to the forthcoming generations.
Our next destination, the Mulliavallai hospital which is located nearly fifteen kilometers away from Mullaitivu towards the jungle interior, is telling many stories of the events immediately after the tidal wave disaster.
The hospital, which was originally for maternity purposes has now turned to caring for the injured people from the tidal waves. It is struggling with a General Practitioner who is assisted by a retired medical practitioner and a junior medical officer from a different hospital, while their medical service requirement is to be provided by at least twenty medical officers when compared with a standard developed country which has a healthy medical history.
The German volunteers were busily unloading the medical equipment from one of the medium - sized lorries out of the six-vehicle convoy which was moving always together.
These volunteers who came to Sri Lanka as part of their student exchange program to complete their internship are from various universities in different fields in the streams of Economics, Business Administration, Sociology and so on. They were very active in their humanitarian task which they chose voluntarily.
The German TV personnel were busy documenting the experiences of those young European adventurers who were volunteering in Asia by risking their lives to the epidemics which are always associated with tragic devastation and other jungle borne diseases, dengue and the malaria. Friederike Wagner, a second year student of a leading German university was relating her experiences a couple of hours ago.
The satellite transmission of that documentary would reach millions of Germans in a few hours and certainly make them heroes and heroines in their motherland. While we were passing the bridge which links Mullaitivu to the mainland, speedily hurrying black - cranes from the sea to the land frightened me, making me wonder whether there were new tidal waves on their way.
A couple of hours earlier we were told when we were passing that bridge towards Mullaitivu, how the tidal waves washed away the vehicles and the passengers who passed-by.
Memories of the early morning travel from George Town, the capital of Penang Island of Malaysia to the Teluk Bahang, the northern coastal front of the island still come to mind with the different panoramas of the Strait of Malacca and the silently waving southern seas of Andaman-Nicobar Islands in the far distance.
Likewise the memories of my recent visit in association with a mission on disaster relief to the northern regions of Kilinochchi, Mullaitivu and Jaffna come to mind.
Dietmar Doring, Director of "Peace Village International", a German national with his country's young university students as volunteers, Jean Claude Ramige, a veteran German documentary filmmaker who visited and documented various issues ranging from the tribal' cultures to the worst war atrocities around the world and a few relief work volunteers from some local television channels made up the rest of the group.
When we arrived in Kilinochchi, twilight was turning into complete darkness everywhere. A member of the Sea Tiger unit of the LTTE was all the way along with us by guiding us in the tsunami ravaged areas.
The LTTE member was telling us that they were discovering everyday the dead bodies of the tidal wave victims from a pond which was once a rain water catchment - source, but now a sea water overflowing area.
He said that the bodies were being burnt immediately after recovery and asked us to wait to witness that day's excavation. The heavy devastation had not only shattered the coastal areas but also the planet earth itself by changing its orbital direction by the explosion it caused.
We had a chance to meet a Catholic priest who narrowly escaped from the tragedy near his totally perished church in coastal Mullaitivu. His visit to a nearby church that fateful day saved him and left a spiritual leader alive, who could lead the remaining few who have lost their kith and kin and almost everything.
The flood ravaged ruins of the houses were scattered everywhere and I managed to get onto a piece of debris to have a wider view of the area.
Now I could see the far corner of the village "Kallapadu", a southern coastal hamlet of Mullaitivu which was totally devastated by the giant tidal waves.
My inner-eyes started to visualize in a distance spectrum gradually and now I could experience the tragedies of the coastal hamlets "Semmalai" and "Alampil", which were almost sunk underneath, where a few years ago, during my tenure as an officer in CARE International in the war - torn periods of the northern region, I visited extensively and was amazed by the hospitality of those village folk, but now everything has perished.
Still I could hear those melodies of a cinema song which was aired over a radio while I was resting under the shade of a flock of densely grown coconut trees.
Oh! What an illusive world, now everything has changed and everything has disappeared. When I turned my attention from the solid ruined wreckage where I was standing towards the distant northern horizon, the devastation of the coastal villages Manarkadu, Nagarkovil and Chempianpattu were coming to mind.
All were destroyed leaving a few to witness to the horrific tidal waves to the forthcoming generations.
Our next destination, the Mulliavallai hospital which is located nearly fifteen kilometers away from Mullaitivu towards the jungle interior, is telling many stories of the events immediately after the tidal wave disaster.
The hospital, which was originally for maternity purposes has now turned to caring for the injured people from the tidal waves. It is struggling with a General Practitioner who is assisted by a retired medical practitioner and a junior medical officer from a different hospital, while their medical service requirement is to be provided by at least twenty medical officers when compared with a standard developed country which has a healthy medical history.
The German volunteers were busily unloading the medical equipment from one of the medium - sized lorries out of the six-vehicle convoy which was moving always together.
These volunteers who came to Sri Lanka as part of their student exchange program to complete their internship are from various universities in different fields in the streams of Economics, Business Administration, Sociology and so on. They were very active in their humanitarian task which they chose voluntarily.
The German TV personnel were busy documenting the experiences of those young European adventurers who were volunteering in Asia by risking their lives to the epidemics which are always associated with tragic devastation and other jungle borne diseases, dengue and the malaria. Friederike Wagner, a second year student of a leading German university was relating her experiences a couple of hours ago.
The satellite transmission of that documentary would reach millions of Germans in a few hours and certainly make them heroes and heroines in their motherland. While we were passing the bridge which links Mullaitivu to the mainland, speedily hurrying black - cranes from the sea to the land frightened me, making me wonder whether there were new tidal waves on their way.
A couple of hours earlier we were told when we were passing that bridge towards Mullaitivu, how the tidal waves washed away the vehicles and the passengers who passed-by.
Friday, December 14, 2007
German Memoirs - German Strike on Romans and Invasion into the Roman Empire
Whatever the persecution Germans faced historically what Dietmar Doering was telling me came into mind as to how the Germanic tribes under the command of Arminius (Hermann) by one stroke against the Roman Forces in Germania and the subsequent Germanic tribes invasion into the Roman Empire changed the trend of the world.
As one historian said: "If the Romans could not have been defeated and the Germanic tribes had accepted the Roman culture and language like the Gauls (today's France) did, the largest percentage of today's Europe would likely consist of Latin languages. Germanic-based German would be as extinct as the Celtic language of Gaul. The Germans of today would probably speak a language similar to French.
If Britain had not been conquered by the Germanic Anglians and Saxons, today's world language English would never have come into existence. Instead they would still speak a variety of Latin, or again Celtic. Maybe North America would have been conquered and settled by the British nevertheless, but then still today's U.S. citizens would speak modern Latin or maybe even Celtic. The same would have occurred to many peoples in Africa and India, who were subdued by the English and assumed their language.
If the Romans had succeeded to integrate the Germanic people, maybe the continuing Roman rule would have merged the European peoples into a permanent nation of Roman citizens. Possibly, Europe then might even have remained politically united in a single state.
Maybe even the history of North and South America would have run a different course. A large European empire, with domestic trade from the Atlantic to the Euphrates river in the Middle East, would likely have had less interest in colonizing remote areas than the two national states that were rivaling with their neighbors, Spain and England.
However, perhaps it was especially the fragmentation of Europe into many rivaling states that spurred European peoples to their greatest achievements, by fanning, striving and competing with each other. These often led to bloody wars, but more often to fast technological progress, business-friendly politics and wealth, military might, explorations and conquests, and glorious achievements of culture and art - whereby the leading nations of each period were not held back by the slower ones or by a torpid central government."
By destroying the ailing Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes ultimately made possible for the peoples of the western world a much brighter development and greatness, which contributed, spirally to the development of the entire world.
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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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