What I Have Learned In German 110

Throughout this class I have learned a lot about the country of Germany. I took four years of German in high school, but I never really learned much about the country. I learned a lot about the history, and how Germany got to be how it is today. The only topic I knew much about before attending this class was the Berlin Wall period. I learned a lot about the beauty of Germany. I liked the topic on the natural beauties of the country. I learned about the breathtaking forests, mountains, and waterfalls as well as the always changing landscape as you travel from city to city. I also learned a lot about the states of Germany. I never knew how different they are all from each other. I thought they were more like American cities, but I have now learned that they are more like the states here in their uniqueness. I have learned not only about the country, but the people that live there. I learned that men dominated the media scene until pretty recently, but that the women would do whatever they had to in order to be heard. The topic that I think will really stick with me though is the RAF. I think that one got my attention the most. I’ve never heard of the group, or what they did, but they really caught my interest. I was surprised that something like this occurred in a country that I spent many years learning the language of, but I had never heard about the group. I learned a lot of very interesting things taking this class, and I’m very glad that I decided to take it. I hope to someday get the chance to travel to Germany and see many of these things for myself.

Red Army Faction

The group can be traced back to the student protest movement in West Germany. The maturing of the baby boomers that were born following WWI was related to social upheavals in industrialized nations. Racism, women’s liberation, and anti-imperialism were at the forefront of left-wing politics. The group categorized itself as a communist group fighting fascism.

The three stages of the RAF:

1.       Baader and his associates

2.       The original group plus some former members of the Socialist Patients’ Collective

3.       Created a decade after the first generation, existing from 1980s to the 1990s

When the Soviet Union collapsed, it left a serious blow to left-wing groups. Attacks continued to be committed by the RAF well into the 1990s. In 1992 it was confirmed that the RAF had been given financial and logistic support from the Stasi. In order to weaken the organization even more the government released some RAF inmates in exchange for the promise that the RAF would refrain from violent attacks in the future. The final attack by the RAF took place in 1993 with the bombing of a newly built prison.

Similarities between the RAF and current terrorist attacks

·         Are willing to go as far as possible to fight for what they think is right

·         Kidnapping of important people is involved

·         There is civilian loss

Differences between the RAF and current terrorist attacks

·         The RAF stayed in their own country, today’s attacks are international

·         Current terrorists are more ready to die in attacks

Baader-Meinhoff Complex

Movie Response:
I was really shocked by many parts of the movie. I couldn't believe how real some parts seemed, how much emotion they provoked, and how intense the entire film was. The scene that stuck in my mind was the beginning protestors that were beaten almost to death, and one shot. I can't believe how the people were treated just for voicing their opinions. I was also shocked by how comfortable everyone seemed to be with each other. It was like there were no boundaries between any of them if they were fighting for the same thing. The movie made it seem like you were right there with the protestors. That group of young people was actually really inspiring in some ways. They were not willing to stop fighting for what they believed was right, even if that meant risking their own lives. It showed how they would not stop until their voices were heard, or their lives were ended. They were all about being in control of their own lives. The character of Gudrun stuck out the most to me. She gave up everything she had, even her son just to fight for what she believed in. I’m not sure that I would be able to do what she did, or that it was the right thing to do, but she really showed a lot of heart for what she was doing. The movie appeared to show what happened very well. I think it was a very good representation of what really happened.