Its easier to think of them as a collective group

5/17/08

Guten tag!

So today we traveled to a beautiful castle called Neuschwanstein. It was amazing! The intricacy of the work involved was incredible! Now before, I said how we in discussion talked about how castles were places of oppression, and I have no qualms with that. However, economically speaking, think of how many jobs were created every time a Ludwig in Germany wanted a castle! So while yes, people were enslaved there and people were oppressed by the king, maybe also they were afforded a living. I need to do more research on this.

Something else, while not completely academic nor pertaining to these courses, I realized that the Disney princesses are really from all over the world. Cinderella, or at least her castle, is from Germany, Belle is from France, Mulan is from China, Poccahontas is from the US. Just thought that was interesting.

I want to also spend some time talking about the movie we saw last night, the one about the woman who directed Triumph of the Will. I really believe that much of what she said was her trying to redeem herself. How could she have not been a part of the politics associated with the film? It was a political film! It was at a rally! While she said that this was a purely artistic thing, and she is obviously quite a spunky director and good at what she does, dealing with Hitler was never just an artsy endeavor. I thought it was also interesting how defensive she became when certain subjects came up, such as her being a social acquaintance of Hitler and Goebbles. She was also very controlling of where the film was going and how it was being recorded, like when she said that was not an appropriate subject to talk about in that light. I guess that director blood will always be there.

It is interesting that many of the people in the movies we have watched have seen the “good side” of Hitler. It is a topic that is nearly forbidden to talk about in most places. We dehumanize him, making him a monster, and rightfully so. However, it has been interesting to see people talk about the human and friendly side of Hitler. It is funny though that almost everyone of them has mentioned the absurdity of that mustache. The former Nazi in one of the movies this week talked about how his life was changed when he and Hitler met each other’s gaze and he knew that really, he was a “good guy.”

Definitely something this trip has done is to individualize the Holocaust and World War II. There are memorials to specific people, Hitler has been made into a person, we are reading books about Stangl, the man in charge of Treblinka, and Primo Levi, an Auschwitz survivor. The phrase six million Jews has been broken down into the individuals. The Nazi head honchos have become more than just heartless killing machines. They are now people who had wives, mistresses, children, and a home.

It has also been interesting that Hitler basically laid out all of his plans in front of the German people. He told them if he was going to be in the government, there was only going to be one party, and that there was going to be racial separations. While more specific plans, such as the elimination of German Jews, were more subtle. Isn’t that how most politicians work though? You give broad plans and after they gain office those plans do not look as glamorous in the aftermath. Hopefully, we can gain from this that foresight and decoding the messages of politicians is vitally important.

Things to remember: Asians in tour groups are very pushy! I got the jab in the ribs to prove it, always pay the five euros to take the carriage up the mountain: don’t be a hero and walk, horse dropping smelly horrible, I thought I was over my gag reflex, never rely on German weather, there are never too many reading rooms in a palace, never speak German to Italians, when in Munich, ALWAYS make a stop at Hofbrauhas, even the Germans do, and finally never piss off your waitresses!!!

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