Tuesday, November 9, 1999
The University Daily Kansan
Section A · Page 3
Germany still reeling from Cold War
Activities mark 10 years without the Berlin Wall
By BriAnne Hess Special to the Kansan
Breaking up was hard to do.
And after more than 50 years of forced separation between East Germany and West Germany, making up has been just as difficult.
Although the fall of the Berlin Wall 10 years ago symbolized the end of the Cold War and the crumbling of communism, it has been hard for Germany to pick up the pieces of its relationship, said some German citizens.
Jochen Pfiszer, Stuttgart, Germany, senior, said the discontent was rooted in the struggling German economy.
"The status Germany had after the second World War was never really accepted and somehow felt as an unreal condition to us Germans," Pfiszer said.
Combining the two halves of Germany impacted both culture and economics, he said.
"The East Germans think that they are not really accepted by the West Germans," Pfiszter
said, "In West Germany, people were working hard for having a better life after the second World War and were proud that they achieved one of the best economies in the world. Now they are envious about the fact that the people in East Germany are getting everything for free."
He said more than $400 billion dollars had been transferred to the eastern half of the country since reunification.
"People have to realize that it takes more time to even out the different ways of living over the last 40 years," Pfizzer said.
College students, many of whom were in elementary school on Nov.9,1989,might not have recognized the impact that the fall of the Berlin Wall had on the rest of the world.
"The Cold War established a strange brand of world stability," said Anne Merydith-Wolf, project coordinator for the Office of International Programs. "The U.S. kept certain things under check as a country and chose to accept some dictators because they leaned more toward us. We wouldn't allow flare-ups to happen and now that lid has come off."
The 10th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall will be
BERLIN WALL TIMELINE
1949-61: 2.7 million East Germans escape to West Germany.
1958-59: East Germans off
1948-49: East Germany and West Germany is created.
May 1952: East Germany seals off harbor with West Germany.
Aug. 13, 1961: Berlin Wall is installed.
Aug. 21, 1961: First fugitive is shot swimming across border.
1984: Automatic hiring systems are dismantled.
Feb. 6, 1989: Last fugitive is shot.
May 2, 1989: Hungary pulls down iron Curtain.
Sept. 11, 1989: Hungary opens border to Austria.
Nov. 9, 1989: Berlin Wall is dismantled.
June 20, 1991: Berlin is fully reinstated as capital of unified Germany.
Source: http://www.wall-berlin.org
commemorated today and tomorrow at the University of Kansas.
Former defense analyst Jeff Colyer was in East Berlin when the Soviet bloc began to crumble in 1989. Colyer will talk about the importance of the wall, why it came down and its continuing effects on the world. The lecture, "Where We've Been and
"People have to realize that it takes more time to even out the different ways of living over the last 40 years."
Jochen Pfiszter Stuttgart, Germany, senior
Where Do We Go in the New Millennium," will be at 4 p.m. today at the Kansas Room in the Kansas Union.
Activities will conclude at 4 p.m. tomorrow at the Sudler House with a roundtable discussion about the causes and consequences of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Panelists will be Ron Francisco, professor of political science; Helmut Huelsbergen, professor emeritus of German; Andreas Gebhardt, Halle, Germany, graduate student; Thorsten Huth, Breimen, Germany, graduate student; and Monika Moyer, Stuttgart, Germany, graduate student.
The activities are sponsored by the Office of International Programs, the Center for European Studies and the Center for Russian and East European Studies.
— Edited by Jennifer Roush
By Erin R. Barcomb
writer@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
New class to explore U.S., German culture
A class will be offered next semester that will examine relations between Germans and Americans in the 20th century.
German heritage in the United States is extensive, and between 46 and 54 percent of Kansans describe themselves as having German ancestry, according to the U.S. Bureau of Census. However, relations between the United States and Germany have been less than congenial.
Andrea Weis, graduate teaching assistant in English and a native German, said she wanted to examine these relationships in a class, English 203 Composition and Literature: German/American Literature and Film.
"The popular images were of Germans as Nazis," Weis said. "They don't know that a lot of Germans tried to resist, but couldn't."
She said images in movies like Hogan's Heroes gave poor stereotypes to Germans.
Subjects in films and literature the class will examine include the Holocaust, the Nazi Era, the Cold War and Germans who lived and produced work while in exile.
"I think that we don't know much about the influences of German intellectuals in American culture," Weis said.
She said the class would examine some of the hypocrisy of American culture during World War II. She said Americans were trying to democratize Germany but at the same time perpetuated injustices like maintaining a segregated armed forces.
She also said because Germans in the 20th century had a hard time dealing with the Holocaust, they embraced aspects of American culture to reinvent themselves.
"Many Germans in the 1950s believed that in America they could be anything they wanted to be," Weis said.
The class will meet from 8 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. English 102 is a prerequisite.
Kristin Field, Bedford, Texas, senior, is a German major. She said although the class was related to her field, it fulfilled an English requirement rather than a major requirement.
"The idea is to offer classes that will get people interested in German culture through arts and literature and film." Field said.
She said she thought most German majors would examine similar themes in their classes conducted in German.
Siblings watch out for each other as roommates, friends
Edited by Jamie Knodel
By Lari O'Toole
writer@kansas.com
Kansas staff worker
Things are not much different now for Leslie, Kyle and Amanda Spikes than it was growing up in Hugaton 10 years ago.
The students are the only children in their family, and they are living together in a small house on Naismith Drive. It is the first time the three have lived together since they were under their parents' roof.
"Sometimes it just feels like our parents are on an extended vacation." Leslie said.
They ask each other to follow many of the same rules their parents asked them to follow growing up, including taking dishes to the kitchen, cleaning up after themselves and turning the television down when somebody is sleeping.
Kyle, a 20-year-old junior, and Amanda, an 18-year-old freshman, still fight about the remote and about her borrowing his clothes. Leslie, a 21-year-old senior, still acts as the mediator.
"Sometimes we'll tell each
other "You sound like Mom," said Amanda, who lives in the dining room.
Besides the occasional fighting and nagging, the siblings said they were glad to live with each other.
Leslie said there was always someone to talk to or do something with. She said they also have an unspoken rule to talk to each other about problems before bringing their parents into the situation.
Kyle said there were many benefits to living with his sisters. He said they have done his laundry for him a few times, and it was easier to say what was on his mind.
"If your sibling is mad at you, it's not that big of a deal," he said. "It's been that way all of your life."
Amanda said she considered living in Templin Hall this year and felt like she was missing out on that aspect of college life. However, she said the trade-off was worth it.
"We've always been close," Amanda said. "It really hasn't changed that much. We still have fun together. I definitely
think we'll look back on it and think it was something special.
The Spikes are a few of many of students at the University of Kansas who live with siblings.
Julie Dougherty, Lawrence senior, has lived with her twin sister. Erin, every year except their freshman year when they attended the University of Northern Arizona.
Julie said there were many favors she and her sister did for each other that a regular roommate would not. Julie said the largest was when her financial aid for a semester was accidentally sent to St. Mary College instead of the University of Kansas. Her sister paid for her tuition until she received the correct financial aid.
Julie, who is one of five children in her family, said that they were all very close and that they took sibling trips together each summer.
"It's the best solution because if it's a sibling, you know what's in store," Julie said. "You already know the good things and the things that irritate you."
Rami Elnatsha, Lawrence senior, said he had no choice but
to live with his younger brother Ahmed when he moved from the family's home in Palestine to Lawrence before the semester began.
"That's the way our tradition is back home," Rami said. "A brother lives with his brother. There's no way I'd let him live anywhere else."
He said it was easier for the two to live together since they speak Arabic and have the same traditions. He said the cultural differences between Palestine and the U.S. were difficult to deal with when he lived with a roommate his freshman year. Rami said as a practicing Muslim, he did not drink or allow alcohol in his home. His former roommate did not share that belief, which he said was an example of the friction they sometimes felt.
Rami said he and his brother looked out for each other more than a typical roommate would.
"We take care of each other," Rami said. "When you live with your brother, you're more into his life, and he's more into yours."
— Edited by Ronnie Wachter
From Left, Kyle, Leslie and Amanda Spikes, Hugaton KU students, return home from class. The three siblings live together in a house off campus. Photo by Lucas W. Krump/KANSAN.
It's Not Too Late!
It’s Not Too Late To Turn In Your Application
Join the top 15% of juniors and seniors at KU in Golden Key Honor Society.
Return your application ASAP to participate in the induction ceremony:
November 17th
7:00p.m.
Kansas Union Ballroom
Scholastic Excellence Leadership Community Service
www.DigitalJayhawk.org/Groups/GoldenKey
What you'll find @ Coffee Hour:
- Coffee!
- Tea!
- Doughnuts! Bagels!
- Newspaper browsing!
- Quiet Study Section!
- Donations accepted
at
ECM (Ecumenical Christian Ministries) Monday-Friday 8-10 a.m. are at 1 block North of Kansas Union
Where there will always be football and beer
We are at 1 block North of Kansas Union
110 BREWS
OLD CHICAGO
PASTA & PIZZA
2329 iowa
841-4124
- FREE NTN Trivia
- QB1 on Monday Night Football
- NFL Ticket
- NEW beer specials:
Sunday: $1.75 Bud pints
Monday: $1.75 Miller Lite pints
Tuesday: $1 domestic mugs
Wednesday: 50¢ off micro , import tap beers
Thursday: $2.75 25 oz. domestic big beers