Monthly Archives: March 2010
new synagogue built in herford.
This Sunday, a new synagogue was opened in the German town of Herford, which had been without a synagogue since its last one was destroyed over 70 years ago during Kristallnacht. There had been a pressing need in the community … Continue reading
WWII Compensation: Ghetto Laborers Still Waiting for German Pensions
Germany passed a Ghetto Pension Law in 2002 that would give a small amount of money to Jews who held steady jobs in concentration camps, in order to “close a gap in the country’s Nazi-era compensation.” However, over 90 percent … Continue reading
Turkish culture club firebombed in Münster
A recent string of attacks on a Turkish consulate and a Turkish culture club in the city of Münster are believed to have been carried out by individuals of Kurdish background. This article mentions some of the tensions between Kurds … Continue reading
Entschädigung: Im Zweifel gegen die Opfer
This article revolves around reparations paid to survivors of the Holocaust who had been forced to do labor during the second World War. Now they can receive a pension for the labor rendered. However, since the approval of this program … Continue reading
Traveling to Germany ‘breaks down prejudices’
This article states that vacationing in Germany has significantly increased recently, and with this, German stereotypes of “cold and impatient” people have been proven false. It attributes the recent influx of tourism to the cheap cost of hotels and the … Continue reading
Adults Only, Please.
In a nation with a very low birth rate, and many incentives given by the government to reproduce as many German babies as possible, one cafe in Germany stands alone, fighting against the ever-pervading sound of a child’s scream. As … Continue reading
Germany refuses to extradite German Citizen
Iran has called upon Germany to extradite a Kurdish leader they say is affiliated with an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, considered by the EU to be terrorist group. Germany has rejected the extradition on the grounds that the … Continue reading
Left … out? One woman’s politics cloud citizenship chances
Feeling left out? Looks like just about anyone may experience exclusion and/or discrimination at least once in their life. In one woman’s case the boundaries of exclusion had nothing to do with her race or ethnicity, not even gender, but … Continue reading
German minister says headscarf ban could backfire
Thomas de Maiziere, Germany interior minister and member of the CDU, expressed to a newspaper his worry of a backlash against Christian symbols if Germany were to ban headscarves. Additionally, he said he would be fine if a woman were … Continue reading
Banning of the Islamic Veil
This article addresses an increasingly sensitive subject about the repression of religious symbols, more specifically, of the Islamic head-to-toe veils. Many countries in Europe such as Germany, France, Denmark, and the Netherlands have called for various bans on the veil, … Continue reading
Türken größter Anteil Etwas weniger Ausländer in Deutschland
The article “Türken größter Anteil: Etwas weniger Ausländer in Deutschland” talks about immigrants in Germany. According to the article, the number of immigrants in Germany decreased this past year compared to preceding years. However, the number of EU-citizens in Germany … Continue reading
Islam for the Diaspora
This article addresses the role of imams in Germany and anxieties that exist about the nature of Islamic instruction there. As German schools lack training in the Islamic faith, Muslim congregations have been importing imams. One Islamic organization that trains … Continue reading
Homeschooling: German Family Gets Political Asylum in U.S.
This article is an update on a previously posted topic and discuses a German family that was granted asylum in the United states. The family wanted to homecshool their children, which is illegal in Germany and had refused to send their … Continue reading
Lamerica
In Lamerica (1994), Gianni Amelio challenges cultural and national essentialism by dismantling the imagined border that separates Italian identity from Albanian identity. The film is set in year 1991, where post-communist Albania is in poverty and thousands of Albanians are … Continue reading
The Best of (German) Turk Hip-Hop Top 10
Link to Video Here A compilation of Turkish German hip/hop rap songs, the video “the Best of (German) Turk Hip-Hop Top 10” displays a very stimulating presentation, from its title to the lyrics of the songs. Before the music even … Continue reading
