German authorities arrest suspected Islamist fundraisers
German police arrested two men, and one woman for allegedly sending money to the Islamic Jihad Union. The Jihad Union is suspected of planning to carry out terrorist attacks on various German targets. One man, and the women were arrested in the southern city of Ulm having sent $3620 to the Union, while the other […]
Google Books versus Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek
Taking after Google Books, the German Digital Library (Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek) has sought to digitize books, magazines, photographs and films in an attempt to alleviate the presence of a private corporation heading the culmination and cultivation of culture. Running behind Google, the DDB seeks to release a trial version in 2011 but as of right […]
At Home Abroad: German Film and Migration – A History of Perception
This website dedicates a page to the history of German migration through cinema. German Films provides a look at how foreigners have shaped German cinema through the decades, and yields excellent examples of German films that address the shift in the perspective of German citizenship and the migrant worker, such as “Angst fressen Seele auf” […]
Immigration and Economy in Europe
In Stephan Theil’s “The Incredible Shrinking Continent,” he writes that though immigrants are being scapegoated for the economic crises in Europe they are actually necessary for future economic growth. Immigration is inevitable, so Europe should accept the influx and use it to their own economic advantage. This article echoed some of the sentiments we’ve read […]
Asia at the Berlinale
Asia has a strong presence at the 60th annual Berlinale (Berlin International Film Festival). As this article shows, Asian films will be both opening and closing the festival, with roughly two dozen more shown in between. I find this article interesting, because (except for India) Asia has not had too strong of a presence in […]
Study reveals a steep rise in German poverty levels
The rise in the number of people at risk of living in poverty in Germany is nevertheless a cause for alarm, now 14% of the population. As the economic status of people are constantly dropping, there is always the possibility of more fingers being pointed. The most dramatic rise of people now living at risk […]
Fashion labels worn by Europe’s skinheads restore their reputation
Labels such as Fred Perry, Ben Sherman,Doc Marten and Lonsdale have long been recognized as the favored uniform of skinheads and neo-Nazis alike but recently this trend is fading. Because the German government has been enforcing stricter laws on symbolism related to these groups many members have moved away from visible labels. Groups like the […]
Dresden’s ‘Civil Courage’: A City Mobilizes Against Neo-Nazis
“A city mobilizes against Neo-Nazis,” as the article’s title suggests; more than 10,000 people came out to protest against right wing extremism on a day that brings remembrance of Germany’s Nazi past. On 13 February 1945, Britain and the US allied to deliver a slew of air bombs on Dresden in a successful attempt to […]
German rapper Bushido tones down vile rhetoric in image remake
Full Article Found Here Bushido is a Tunisian born immigrant with a German mother. Many of his raps are grossly violent, sexual and explicit, and negatively direct threats to various ethnic group and homosexuals. One of his raps contains the line “Berlin is getting tough; we’ll take every faggot and beat him up.” In light […]
Multiculturalism through the eyes of Anke
This sketch provides a bit of a comic relief in the midst of racist tensions of the topics brought up in the readings in “Germany in Transit”. Anke Engelke – a german comedian, plays a teacher, who is giving a “German for Foreigners” lecture to turkish students. The students are fluent in German, since it […]