Guentag -Hello in German. I
(Sal) decided to do a website on Germans since they make up the majority ethnic group in Morris, MN. Also, they have a large influence in our community=>
World War II: Battle of the Bulge Local Veteran Shares
Bob ?, a WWII Veteran, shared for the monthly "Learning Unlimited" Series at the Morris Senior Center for January 2005. As a late arriver to the event, I had to squeeze my way for a spot in the packed room of the Morris Senior Center. He shared on this unique battle along the German-Belgium border, which his unit covered a "Minnesota Map" comparison of the area.
This afternoon (Saturday, July 14th of 2007) A neighbor (Craig M.) shared about his recent (Spring of 2007) two week trip to Germany, where his mom (Lohse) immigrated from. He went to his mom's hometown of Hamburg. I was fascinated of the unique roof material on their houses in the pictures I saw. Craig told me that the roofs are made of weed/grass, which we were both puzzled how they are able to keep their roof to last so long (in 300 years, they had to just re-do their roof twice only!).
He also had the chance to go to the northern part of the country close to neighborhing Denmark. The city he visited was Kiel.
In the southern region, he went to Munich. He had the opportunity to visit France and told me about the famous "autobaun" (close to 100mph on the high ways)
He was very excited to share a unique food he tasted in Austria, which he met a couple that drove far away just to taste this unique food.
Reccomended Resources
LOCAL
A former UMM Alumn 02' (Shannon) just e-mailed me some pictures from this experience at World Youth Day in Germany this past summer in August of 2005=>
www.wjt-foto.de
"Minnesota Nice is morphing toward Minnesota Nasty.
Finstad's district is 97 percent white and 98 percent American-born. Non-English speakers are not exactly a hot issue in the beer halls of New Ulm, where English is spoken with a Minnesota twist, including a strong German syntax, such as in the sentence, "Anybody want to come with?"
Gott im Himmel.
The good folk of New Ulm should be embarrassed that a representative of the home of Hermann the German is trying to make political hay off the backs of non-English speakers. Not long ago, mein kinder, the boot was on the other foot.
During World War I, New Ulm was the target of prejudice and persecution. When a rally was held in the town to declare the town's loyalty to the United States but to oppose the drafting of German-Americans to fight their Old World cousins, state officials cracked down harshly.
The mayor and city attorney were removed from office, German-language schools were closed, German books were banned. Residents of New Ulm were pressured to sign loyalty oaths and to buy war bonds by vigilante committees that examined each family's net worth and decided if enough bonds had been purchased to -- in the words of one official -- "bring themselves into the ranks of American citizens."
This fascist episode helps explain why, to this day, many heavily German communities keep a low profile in a state where the largest single ethnic group is German. For an elected official from New Ulm to purport that new arrivals be subjected to the kind of treatment his forebears received is a disgrace."
"Germany has one of the world's highest levels of education, technological development, and economic productivity. Since the end of World War II, the number of youths entering universities has more than tripled, and the trade and technical schools of the Federal Republic of Germany (F.R.G.) are among the world's best. With a per capita income level of more than $28,700, Germany is a broadly middle class society. A generous social welfare system provides for universal medical care, unemployment compensation, and other social needs. Millions of Germans travel abroad each year."
Military
-WWII Battle of the Bulge, from you tube.com "An AFN spot inviting the viewer to check out information hosted on the US Army's website concerning the historic WWII battle."
*see Battle of the Bulge-U.S. Army Military Forgiving the Nameless, from Parc Entertainment in Godtube.com "This short film centers on one young girl's attempt to cope with the hatred she feels toward a nameless German soldier who killed her father in battle during World War II.
*power of forgiveness
Former Nazi Tells How Holocaust Happened - Part 1
"Secrets of how it was possible for the holocaust to happen as told by former Nazi Hilmar von Campe. Hilmar explains the similarities between Nazi Germany and America today. Hosted by Linda Evans Shepherd on Denver Celebration. Part One. www.RefreshingSpeaker.com. P.S. Part 2 is now available."
Part II-The Pastor who stood up to Hitler
Hindenberg, based on a "theory" of the Hindenberg crash
I remember watching many scenes of this "infamous" crash in music videos, movies, etc.. I also relate it to the popular heavy metal band, Led Zepplin, who I listened to frequently from friends back in high school.
-Related Sites Hindengerg Crash The Hindenberg, films The Hindenberg Disaster, from Columbia School with pictures Zeppelin, history to current from Colorado school
GLOBAL
Cities
-Kiel Wikipedia "Kiel is famous for its sailing events, including Kiel Week (German: Kieler Woche), the biggest sailing event in the world. In 1936 and 1972, when the Olympic Games were held in Berlin and Munich respectively, the Olympic sailing competitions were held in Kiel-Schilksee.[1]"
-Munich Wikipedia "In 1923 Hitler and his supporters, who at that time were concentrated in Munich, staged the Beer Hall Putsch, an attempt to overthrow the Weimar Republic and seize power. The revolt failed, resulting in Hitler's arrest and the temporary crippling of the Nazi Party, which was virtually unknown outside Munich. At the end of the Residentzstrasse, where the putsch resulted in the death of 16 Nazis and 4 policemen, the government of Bavaria placed a plaque after the war on the ground with the names of the 4 policemen that died there."
"Jakob Alder, Landwirt aus Pfyn, Kanton Thurgau, erlebte auf Gebet seiner Frau, dass sein kürzeres Bein auf die gleiche Länge des anderen Beins nachwuchs. Vorausgegangen war ein Heilungsgottesdienst, den Vreni und Jakob Alder in der Freien Christengemeinde in Weinfelden TG besuchten. Dort erlebten sie, wie auf Gebet eines Missionars bei einer Person das kürzere Bein nachwuchs. Dieser Gottesdienst hat ganz offensichtlich Spuren hinterlassen und Vreni Alder ermutigt, unmittelbar an den Gottesdienstbesuch das Gehörte in die Praxis umzusetzen. Mehr unter: www.wunder-heute.net"
George Mueller
1805 - 1898, from Sword of the Lord
*learned more of this guy earlier this evening (Tuesday, November 6th of 2007) through a homeschool play many church family members of mine were involved in. It was a great play that showed how God used him to bless many children and others. ""At last I saw Christ as my Saviour. I believed in Him and gave myself to Him. The burden rolled from off me, and a great love for Christ filled my soul. That was more than fifty years ago. I loved Jesus Christ then, but I loved Him more the year after, and more the year after that, and more every year since."
Born in Prussia in 1805, George Mueller began running from God early in life. By age ten he had devised a scheme to embezzle government money entrusted to his father. He spent his schooldays in drunken immorality. He even served time in jail at age sixteen for failing to pay his bills.
The university he attended had some 900 divinity students, but Mueller said there were not nine of them who truly feared God. He continued his sinful habits during his college days until finally at age 20 the burden of his sins overcame him and he trusted Christ as Saviour.
Soon he committed himself to a full-time gospel ministry. When Mueller was twenty-five, he went to Teignmouth, England, with his new wife, Mary, to pastor a small church. He gave up the small salary offered when he discovered it was paid through the rental of church pews. From that time on he resolved to live by faith.
Mueller moved in 1832 to Bristol, England, to be the pastor of another church. There his famous work with the orphans began when two young children were thrown upon the church's care. Mueller had only two shillings to his name when he began the orphanage work, but over the next sixty years God sent more than $7,500,000 to supply their needs. New buildings were built or purchased, staff was hired, and the hundreds of children never missed a meal. Many times prayers were said over empty plates only to have food arrive at the last moment.
Mueller resolved never to tell anyone what his needs were. He told them to God and confidently expected them to be met.
During his life, Mueller started 117 schools which educated over 120,000 young people and orphans. He became pastor of Bethesda Chapel in Bristol. The church had some 2,000 members at his death.
Spurgeon said, "Of flowers of speech he has none, and we hardly think he cares for them; but of the bread of Heaven he has abundance."
Related Sites: George Muller, Orphanages in Bristol England-Christian Biography Resources
"Otto von Bismarck, the so-called “Iron Chancellor,” molded those states into a great united empire; Berlin was the capital; the economy flourished; the influence of the church faded; Wilhelm I, was installed as Kaiser; overseas colonies were acquired in both Africa and Asia and World War I was on the horizon. "
"The Celts are believed to have been the first inhabitants of Germany. They were followed by German tribes at the end of the 2nd century B.C. German invasions destroyed the declining Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries A.D. One of the tribes, the Franks, attained supremacy in western Europe under Charlemagne, who was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800."
"Germany is a parliamentary federal republic of sixteen states (Bundesländer). The capital city and seat of government is Berlin. As a nation-state, the country was unified amidst the Franco-Prussian War in 1871. After its defeat in World War II Germany was divided, and it became reunified in 1990. It is a founding member of the European Union, and with over 82 million people it has the largest population among the EU member states.[2"
Reviews: Hitler's last days are deftly chronicled in 'Downfall'
By Claudia Puig, USA TODAY 2/17/05 "A foreign-language-Oscar nominee, Downfall is the first German-made film about that painful chapter of the country's history since 1956's The Last Act.
Narrated from the perspective of Hitler's secretary, Traudl Junge, this is a claustrophobically intense view of the inner workings of the upper echelons of the Nazi regime as well as a stomach-turning look at the horrors of war"
Sal's own personal reflections:
While watching the movie, evidence of past remarks of Hitler's ideology on the evolution theory became more evident. In the movie, the many lines on "the strongest and fittest shall survive"... "He thought that interracial marriage would produce "monstrosities halfway between man and ape" and should be fought with religious fervour. This makes his beliefs on evolution and creation very clear; he thought that Aryans were created in God's own image, while all other races evolved from apes. This should come as no surprise; not only was this an overwhelmingly common belief during the age of European imperialism which lasted right up to the end of the 19th century, but it persists to this day (a lot of white supremacists still refer to blacks as "monkeys"). In his view, it was therefore an unnatural and unholy dilution of God's image for Aryans and non-Aryans to mate."-Creationism v.s. Scientific Evolution Theory: Essays-Hitler's Religion
....more on Goodnews UMM LA: Science
*first heard of this while watching Travel Channel on Thursday, April 27th 2006 "The frightened population of Oberammergau prayed to be spared, taking a vow to be fulfilled not by a few but by the whole community. They vowed to do something in which everyone, rich and poor alike, would have a part: a Passion Play, the most sacred of all stories. They would present the story of Christ to the world every 10 years forevermore if the Lord would remove the plague from their people. The town was spared, and a tradition was born.
The play is now performed at the start of each decade. Since 1860 the German text has remained virtually unchanged. The production is done in native German, but an English translation is available. "
"Germany is a fine destination year-round, but most people visit between May and September when sunny skies are most likely and much of life moves outdoors. Beer gardens and cafes bustle at all hours; outdoor events and festivals enliven cities and villages; and hiking, cycling and swimming (in lakes or pools) are popular pursuits - at least as long as the weather plays along. Remember that rain is a possibility in any month. The flipside of summer travel is, of course, larger crowds at museums and other attractions and traffic jams at places such as Lake Constance. Accommodation needn't be hard to come by unless you're drawn to beach and mountain resorts popular with German holiday-makers."
"If people are prepared; equipped; and strengthened by the SECRETS OF SUCCESS learned by people who have come before, they can conquer everything that comes their way - making their dreams come true!!....."
Thank you for visiting UMMAlpha! Please feel free to e-mail me (Sal) at ummalpha@yahoo.com on any comments, suggestions (e.g. any new websites),complaints, or anytype of feedback to improve this website.
