Mechanical Reproduction

"Even the most perfect reproduction of a work of art is lacking in one element: its presence in time and space, its unique existence at the place where it happens to be. This unique existence of the work of art determined the history to which it was subject throughout the time of its existence"

What this passage means to me is that no matter how amazing or beautiful something looks, it is never complete; there is something always missing. Many of the paintings used back in the day symbolize something, sometimes good; other times bad. Many paintings were made at a certain point to describe a certain event, when Hitlers was killing the Jewish community; several artist made paintings to explain what was going on. It was a way for the  people to communicate without getting into trouble, the paintings would look like something positive; but explain a whole different thing. I chose this passage because many of the time things look a certain way but it's the complete opposite. It's like they say; " things aren't as good as they seem". In my opinion this is what this passage is about. 

Junger 5/2

"In war, when shells fly past our bodies at high speeds, we sense clearly that no level of intelligence, virtue, or fortitude is strong enough to deflect them, not even by a hair. To the extent this threat increases, doubt concerning the validity of our values forces itself upon us. The mind tends toward a catastrophic interpretation of things wherever it sees everything called into question (pp. 5-6)."


This passage is explaining the way that soldiers feel during the time of war, but not only that; it explains the way that we feel when we have a problem. When ever we have a big problem, we feel as it is never going to go away because of the circumstances we are in. No matter how hard we try, the situations seems to keep on getting worst; and when it seems that it's going to get better, something happens and it gets worst than before. I believe that he used the example of war because when one is at war, deployed to an unknown country; things tend to get worst that before. As they start think that things are turning around, it back fires on them. This is what I believe that is going on in this passage. I chose this passage because I've been in that situation plenty of times. When I was overseas, I always had hope that things would of gotten better but they never did; until I came home. This is a very important passage to me because I could actually relate to it. 

Class April 18

"The most important attribute for a professional politician is time, the time necessary to devote oneself to learning the intricacies of the political art. Also if the politician is not to derive a living entirely ‘off’ of politics and live ‘for’ politics, he must also be “economically dispensable” meaning he does not depend upon politics at all for an income. In modern times former President Franklin Roosevelt, also former Governor of New York came from one of the wealthiest and oldest families in New York going back to the original Dutch settlers. Even more recently, former governor Eliot Spitzer’s father was Bernard Spitzer, a New York real estate tycoon who owned many large apartment and office buildings in New York City.  Gov. Spitzer first as attorney general and later as governor built his reputation as the “Sheriff of Wall St” despite his wealthy background. Weber says, “under normal conditions, the politician must be economically independent of the income politics can bring him. However according to this meaning Mitt Romney would also be Weber's ideal politician. This means quite simply, that the politician must be wealthy or must have a personal position in life which yields a sufficient income”

This passage explains how important time can be for a politician or just anybody in general. When a person wants something and becomes committed to it, they have to put the time and effort in order to succeed. This applies to our everyday life, if we don't apply ourselves in school; we wont get the grade that we want, same with politics. They have to put in the time and work to see results. Another part of this paragraph that really caught my attention was how they speak about not depending on politics for an income. Most of the people who are in politics are already pretty wealthy, but like any other job you would expect to get paid. This paragraph talks about the successful politicians who didn't count on politics for money. They used other ways to build there reputation, I would say that was very humble of them; they helped others as much as they could. I chose this paragraph because I feel like there are certain parts that I could relate too, also I enjoy reading about successful politicians and how they managed to built a reputation without depending on politics. 

Articles

Article 9Insofar there is need for the formulation of standardized regulations, the Reich has the legislation over 1. welfare system 2. protection of law and order

Article 9 is stating some regulations that are still put into use till  this very day. It speaks about the importance of the welfare system and the effects it has on those who need. The welfare system is better important because it allows those who aren't very fortunate to provide for themselves and there families. The second part of this article is speaking about the protection of law enforcement. Law enforcement was put in place so that every country has a form of protection from those who choose to not obey the law. This article is very important because it has changed the lives of many and it helps the country as a whole. 

Article 111All Germans enjoy freedom to move and settle down. Everybody is entitled to stay and settle anywhere within the Reich, to acquire property and to pursue his trade. Limitations require a Reich law.

I chose article 111 because it expresses the right to freedom in the German culture. It gives people the right to live and move to where ever they want to. This is very important because not every country has this right. many people are forced to live illegally in other countries because they are not welcomed there. Now the Reich law may have certain limitations, but in my offense it is the correct thing to do. If there were no limitations people would do anything they wanted; which can sometimes have an affect on society.

I chose these two articles because we in the United States can relate to them. we have great law enforcement in our country and we also have a great welfare plan. As well as the freedom to live where ever we chose to. I like these two articles because the united states went trough the same thing, and we are doing pretty good with them.

Assignment due 3/21

"Just to put things in perspective, the party itself had over a million members at this time, and the unions that were associated with the party had around 2.5 million members. You cannot wage a war without workers in factories producing war materials and had they refused to cooperate Germany would not have been able to wage a war of this magnitude, but in one of the most momentous decisions probably in Germany history the party voted to support the war effort by approving the military’s request for financing, referred to as “war credits”."

This passage speaks about the things that are needed in order to start a war and to keep in going. It is a full time commitment, even the people back at home who are not at war; have to contribute to this cause. It speaks about the important roles that factory workers played back then, and if it wasn't for them; nothing that they had done would of been possible. I chose to write about this particular paragraph because it speaks about the important role that civilians played during the war and how many things would not have been possible if it wasn't for them. Another reason why I chose this passage is because I was in the military myself, and the civilians played an amazing role when it came to providing us with food, supplies, equipment ect. I appreciated everything they did for us , because of there help we were successful in many ways. I don't know much about politics, but when it comes to providing soldiers with what they need; they are very successful in that way. Back then the military was there main priority, and today they government and there politics try to help the military as much as possible; therefore I believe that they have that in common. They both help there military as much as possible and they make them there priorities.

M 1931

The scene that I decided to write about was at the beginning of the movie when all those men were sitting around the table reading the newspaper. The meeting went from a simple friendly meeting to one of the men accusing the other of being a murderer; he also accused him being of following underage girl. He says that he seen him following a little girl, and because of this reason he suspects that he is the murderer. What I interpret from this scene is that the man was being accused of something without any evidence against him, he is a suspect because of what the man thought he had seen; but it doesn't make him the murderer. I chose this scene because there have been many cases throughout the years, were a person gets accused of something without any evidence. In many cases the person being accused is innocent, I also chose the scene because I enjoyed everything that happened in that scene; I also found it a little funny with all the cursing that went on. This was one of my favorite scenes from the movie, people shouldn't be accusing others without hard evidence; even though they might think is that person because of what has been done in the past. One should always look for evidence before accusing.  

Cabaret song

Night Ghost (Nachtgespenst)

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

Nachtgespenst

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

I chose to write about the two last lines of the song, those 2 lines express a lot about what they are feeling. The night ghost isn't there to do her any harm, it's just happy to see her. It doesn't want to hurt her or steal anything from her; he rewards himself by just seeing her everyday. This says a lot about a person, he's fascinated by a females beauty, only thing he takes is enough money to come see her the next day. This is an amazing song, it tells the story of a man who fell in love with the beauty of a women, and didn't have the heart to tell her; therefore he would go see her every night. This is what I interpret from this song.

Paragraph 175

This was a law passed stating that they will not tolerate any homosexual acts, or sexual acts against animals. It explains the penalties and consequences if a man over the age of 21 is caught doing this acts, it also speaks about the consequences for the minors as well. These acts are punishable by imprisonment. They made this law in order to close any loopholes that were left from the prior law. I don't agree with this law because I believe that every person should be able to choose what they want to be. One part of this law that I do agree with is the punishment for having sex with any animals, in this case they a forcing an animal to do something that they don't want too.

Silent Film

I have never been a big fan of silent movies due to the fact that it is very hard for me to stay interested, I hate watching movies with sub titles. One part that really caught my attention about this film was the part were somnambulist made an attempt to kill the little girl, instead he decides to touch her. I choice this scene because it shows how people could change, they might be tempted to do something because of a particular reason; but at the end of the day it is their choice. This scene really caught me off guard, I assumed that the little girl was going to die at this moment; but instead they let her live. I've never seen anything like this movie before, i didn't enjoy it much; but it was something different. Another reason why I choose this scene is because, even though this movie came out years ago; similar scenes too this one have been used in many modern movies. I enjoy watching and reading things about the past and comparing them to the present, and this movie has allowed me to do that with other present movies.

Important quote

"But he does not reject meaning in total or that there is no meaning in the world, but that the traditional ways of uncovering meaning will not lead you there, and that it can only be learned through experience it cannot be taught."


What this quote means to me is that you have to go out and try things for yourself, many times people would tell you not to do something because they had a bad experience when they gave it a try; most people would listen to them and not do so. In my case I would not listen and actually try it before speaking negatively about it. This passage is important to me because I have listen to people in the past and till this day I ask myself what if I would had done it. This specific quote is very important to me because it relates to a certain event in my life. A few years ago I made the decision of joining the U.S Army, many of my friends and family were against it; even some who had served themselves. I had many good times in the military as well as bad ones, but it was something that I am happy I did. It was an experience that I am never going to forget and if I would had listened to others, I would of never done it. There are certain things in the world that us as individual have to go out and try them for ourselves, and this is what the quote is stating.

Dada Manifesto

"This also helped create one of the myths that Nazi's used when they seized power, the "stabbed in the back" myth which stated that Germany didn't really lose the war, only their weak civilian authorities had comprised themselves. Throughout the 20s, art like this was in vogue in Germany, even though there was increased competition from newer media like film. However after 1933 when the Nazis began to crack down many artists were persecuted and many fled the country."

Germany believed that they were betrayed by there own people, they blame the lost of world war one to the civilians who didn't support them as much as they wanted; they believe that the republicans played a big role in over trowing the monarchy. The Nazis where just looking for a person to blame, therefore they turned to the republicans and civilians.



This picture is part of the New Objectivity era, it was painted by George Grosz. It was painted in 1926 and the name of the painting is "The eclipse of the sun". What I think is going in this picture is that the two sides can't decide on what to do. One say wants more taxes and war and the other whats piece and the people to be happy. The donkey down the middle represents the line between there differences. Since one side didn't agree with the president, he decided to cut there head offs. It appears that the person in charge will do whatever it takes to get what he wants, he is willing to kill if he has too. At this point, everybody around him is already afraid: so they will do whatever it takes to keep him happy. I think that blood on knife also signifies all the people who have died or are going to die due to his decision.

Written Assignment

"With the assumption of power by the Nazis in 1933 all forms are not approved by the Nazi party were banned including expressionism, dadaism, and the new objectivity. Almost all forms of modern art were labelled Entartete Kunst(Degenerate Art) and were considered "un-German" or Jewish, in favor of what they considered "romantic realism" expressing so-called classical Germany values."

What this quote means to me is that, if a person was against the actions of Hitler and his army; they were considered the enemy. All the things that the Nazis did were consider to be correct and helpful to there society. The reason why the author would say such a thing is because he was aware of all the negative things that were happening in Germany at the time. I chose to write about this quote because it has a lot of meaning to it, the picture alone has a very powerful message. This picture shows several Nazi members confronting a business man, from the looks of it he was against the beliefs of Hitler; therefore they decided to speak with the gentleman. This quote made me think of all the challenges I faced when I was in the military, in my case it was the other way around. 

Picture Assignment

"Adolf the Superman: Swallows Gold and Spouts Junk," John Heartfield, 1932

John Heartfield was born in Germany in 1891, he worked in Germany and Czechoslovakia during two wars. During that time, he developed a skill. He had a unique way of using Photos to target politics. Heartfield's photo described all the terrible things that were happening in Germany in the 1920's and 1930's. Many of his paintings exposed the things that were going on in Germany at the time and they also encourage others to protest against all the Hitler and the rest of the Nazis. Many of Heartfields painting, including this one appeared in several different magazines. 

This image represents the amount of money industrialist were poring down Hitlers trout, despite the fact that they knew it was being used in an incorrect way. It explains the difference between Hitlers financial support team and the people who actually work for him. This picture shows the amount of power Hitler had during that time, the gold signifies him as if he was immortal. With all that power, they thought he couldn't be defeated.  

People and Society in Germany

                                                People and Society in Germany

            The majority of the German population consist of German as well as Turks, Greeks, Italians and etc. Their official language is German and they have a population of approximately 81 million people. Although there society is very German oriented, they have diversity when it comes to religion. 34% of the population in Germany are Protestant, another 34% are Roman Catholic, 3.7% of their population are Muslims and the last 28.3% are unaffiliated or other religions.

            In 2011, it was found that most Germans lived in urban areas; this consisted of 73.9% of the total population. The majority of Germans live in Berlin, which is the capital of Germany. The rest of the population lived in major cities such as Hamburg, Munich and Cologne. In a recent study done in 2014, the male life expectancy is 78 years old and the female life expectancy is 82 years old. At the age of 15, 99% of the population; both male and female can read and write.

            The unemployment rate between the ages 15-24 is a total of 8.1%, 8.8% are males and 7.4% are females. In 2009 there was 67,000 people in Germany living with HIV/AIDS, the amount of deaths due to these illnesses were last than 1,000. 

Destiny Of Christianity

Destiny of Christianity. -- Christianity came into existence in order to lighten the heart; but now it has first to burden the heart so as afterwards to be able to lighten it. Consequently it shall perish.

from Nietzsche's Human, all too Human, s.119, R.J. Hollingdale transl.

            

             This quote states that Christianity came about to strengthen a person by enduring hard times. One must first go through a challenge in order to be rewarded. These hard times can often lead a person to question their faith but if they remain true they will be stronger than before. These challenges leads a person to a future were others and themselves may benefit from it. Many people have lost their children to cancer and I have had the privilege to meet a women who has lost a child. Through her experience, many others were able to benefit. She has created an organization that helps families who are unable to pay medical bills for their sick child. Although she has questioned her faith during her child's illness, she was able to pull through and be the change in the world through God hands.