Final Blog Assignment



After having the opportunity to study German in the heart of Berlin where it all happens, I have noticed that the biggest difference from the American system is party representation. In comparison with Germany, a personal choice of political identity is lacking in the American system. Germany’s political atmosphere is not just limited to two viable options; Democratic and Conservative. Instead, the Bundestag and Bundesrat are represented by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) / Christian Social Union (CSU), Social Democratic Party (SPD), Free Democratic Party (FDP), and The Greens.

Some might argue that the United States has more than just the two main powerhouse parties, evoking examples such as the Libertarian, Independent and Green parties. The difference with these 3rd parties is that a vote for them is broadly considered a vote thrown away. Surely, there can be no way that the great general American public can have only 1 of 2 stances on political, economic, social, militaristic and other policies. Many citizens feel trapped with the options presented, not feeling that either party represents their personal positions adequately. This is largely untrue for German citizens because of all the political avenues presented.

Post World War II Germany has had a greater range of political party options for its citizens. According to the authors of The Politics of New Germany, “[officials] believed that structured competition between parties within a democratic system of governance would facilitate popular representation and ensure political accountability – things that had been missing in the dismal Wiemar Republic” (pg. 76). Germany had learned its lesson and took steps to help insure that one super power party could’t claim governmental dominance. In concordance with this strategy, “at the first federal election in 1949, ten parties managed to poll over 1 percent of the vote, and all of them managed to gain some sort of representation in parliament” (pg. 77). Being brought up in the American two party system, it is almost inconceivable for me to grasp having the choice between 1 of 10 different political paths.

In the Bundestag, there is generally never a majority of one party. This therefore requires coalitions to be formed in order for any legislation to pass. This strategy is wise for Germany because since so much compromise is needed for any legislation to pass, it hard for any sort of extreme left or right party to become very influential. Generally a moderate approach is taken to all policies since this give and take must occur. To me, this is a very important aspect of German politics, given its history, to try to insure that a radical group could never again take control of office.

The German government, largely influenced by the US, offers more representational avenues for its people. It seems that the German government is a sort of high bred of the American system, having the time to learn how to iron out difficulties through the over two hundred years it’s been in operation in the US. Having one's voice heard and represented in government is vital to the democratic process. In my opinion, the German political system is superior to that of the United States because it's more effectivly doing its job: representing a broader range of positions.

Blog 4 - favorite thing in Berlin

Blog 4


In the United States, palaces are hard to come by. I loved Charlottenburg, it felt like something out of a story to me. The gardens, the water, and beautiful rooms took my breath away. A few times I was a little taken back; some of the design concepts were beyond me. Especially the room with thousands of dishes, too much gold, and a deer!

Charlottenburg, the largest palace in all of Berlin, is vast. The formal gardens alone are so large that one could easily get lost in them. The property follows along a picturesque river side, where locals and tourists alike can enjoy a picnic or sit and read.

Charlottenburg is a palace built for Sophie Charlotte, the wife of Friedrich III. The expert at the palace explained that Sophie sought refuge in this palace from her husband, whom was only invited rarely for company because she did not like him so much. Only for procreation purposes was he invited. But, today from our Bike tour guide in Potsdam, another very different story was told. According to his sources, Friedrich was thought to have been a homosexual and therefore did not want to spend time with her. Which ever is true, it makes for an interesting story.

From her drawing rooms filled with books and the gardens which could inspire deep thoughts, Sophie is thought to have been very bright. She was a disciple of Gottfried Leibniz, a man who was considered at that time to be well educated and who invented calculus independently of Newton. I wish I was in the position to have great deep conversations with exceptionally intelligent people, just like she had.

I often think about how hard it might be to do excursions if a bilingual person was not with us. But then again, I don’t think that language (at least for those speaking English) is an insurmountable obstacle. I, with relative easy, can use the public transportation confidently and understand where I am and how to get to a destination.

When I traveled to Charlottenburg I went with a small group of 5 or so students, none really speaking much German. When we got out of the station onto the road, I asked a police man “Hullo, sprechen Englisch?” He said “nine”. I just asked “Bitte, Charlottenburg palace?” and he smiled and made hand gestures that I understood and after a “Danke” we found the palace easily. Even though we didn’t speak the same language, he and most others are more than willing to help.

I don’t feel that speaking German is crucial to getting along in this city. No doubt, knowing the language would expand my horizons and help me to understand things more fully. I would come again in a heat beat, even without knowing German. Just by being polite, saying please and thank you, you can far.

Alone in Berlin

Blog 2


Alone in Berlin


It’s amazing to me just how much one city can undergo in only a century. Within 100 years Germany (specifically East Berlin) has seen a monarchy, democracy, dictatorship, and communism. That’s quite a lot of history, and Germany bares reminisces of all of them. While exploring Berlin, I stumbled upon a statue of Karl Marx. It struck me as odd, seeing this figure head in the middle of an intersection in the sprawling greater Alexanderplatz area. Just north of the Strausbergerplatz U outlet, this statue isn’t hard to miss yet it represents a vital part of East Berlin’s history.
This figure head was located next to a large round-a-bout, in a small park. After jotting down some information about the statue, I sat on the grass and read. It was a peaceful and beautiful oasis in a large city. I love these little spots where one can almost escape the bustling of a city. But, as talked about in previous blogs, Germany’s history is nearly never out of sight. I picked this statue just for that reason; the monuments and museums around Berlin create a kind of quilt of all different historical periods in Germany’s history, with communism seeming the most unusual to me.
Born in Trier in the year 1818, Marx was a revolutionary communist. It’s fascinating to think that there could be a Karl Marx statue in a country once under the Nazi choke hold, where communists were among the very first groups of people persecuted. No doubt, this is evidence of East Berlin’s occupation by the communist Soviet Republic. Just imagine, what would Hitler possibly think of the successor of his prized Aryan homeland being a communist state?
Another aspect of being alone in Berlin is how it felt to be alone. I wouldn’t say I’m paranoid, but I don’t like to be alone somewhere that I’m not totally familiar with. Not knowing much, if any, German makes me a little unsure about my own abilities to navigate this city. The first time I went to do my alone in Berlin, I cheated. I brought someone along because I didn’t feel safe. When we got back, I realized that I missed out on feeling independent and using my own wits. So I gave it another chance, this time on my own. I went to Alexanderplatz and walked around, just looking for something unusual. Before I knew it, I was far away from where I started, staring at this statue.
I am very glad that I did this project correctly, because now I feel so much more confident and assured that I can take care of myself. I don’t spend a lot of time in cities and it feels nice to be able to rely on myself for a change and not to look for others to help me.

Hey everyone
Just saying Hi. This weekend has been a nice quite one. Friday we just lingered at the hostel and around town, Saturday we went to Madame toiusoi's house of wax (v. cool), and yesterday we went to Wannsee to go the Beach. It was a great weekend, and I got a lot of reading done and all caught u with papers. In fact I am ahead in my readings.. haha I know I am a loser. I just got woken up by the cleaning staff... at 10! Ah now I can't fall back aslee, but its best to be productive I suppose. I don't feel so great, its a cold I think. Sore, raspy throat, runny nose and lots of coughing and stuffed up ears. Who knows, hoefully I will feel better before the flight home.

Blog #3

Blog # 3

How does the position of Chancellor compare to the US President?

There are many differences between the role of the US president and that of the German Chancellor. Although the United States had a lot of influence of the way that post WW2 was constructed, these two roles different in two major ways. The role of these two positions and also the election process make these positions very different.

In the United States, the President functions as the head of state and head of government. In contrast, the German Chancellor is only the head of government. The second role, that of Head of state, is reserved for the mostly symbolic position of German President.

I believe that the most fundamental difference between the two roles is the way that they reach their posts. In the United States, the President is elected through the Electoral College. This process begins with the citizens of each state casting their vote for their nominee. Although it’s not a direct election as some citizens think, generally, if the winning party for the state gets all the allocated electoral votes (the number of House of Representatives plus two more for senators).

The road to the chancellorship is very different. In Germany, people do not vote for their Chancellor, instead for the party. It’s a system of a dual voting, for a local representative and party. The party in control of the Bundestag, that with the most votes, chooses the chancellor. It’s usually well known who the party will select before the election takes place. It’s a fairer system in my eyes because party platforms and issue positions take precedent before personalities of candidates. Because the Chancellor does not get voted in by the public, he or she can not claim to be a direct choice ruler by the public like many US Presidents claim to be.

It’s vital to note coalitions and the number of parties that influence these two governments. In the United States there are two major parties, but really there are no viable options beyond these two. The third parties or independents have very little if any chance to make a dent in the polls. In Germany, although there are major parties, the minor ones can hold a lot of weight. Coalitions are frequently formed to combine parties to insure a majority of the bundestag, since no party at this time form a majority on its own. For instance the CDU/CSU-SPD has formed a union to insure that legislation can be passed. This creates a lot of negation between two different ideological parties to agree on positions. Smaller parties could also theoretically form together to create a majority. There is a lot more cooperation taking place in the German Bundestag then there is in the US Congress.

This leads into how legislation is formed and ratified. In the US it is a bottom up process where congress presents bills to the President. On the other hand, the Chancellors cabinet creates legislation then passes it down to the legislature to vote on. It first reaches the Bundestat then when things are ironed out there, it goes to the Bundestag. Once the bill goes to the Bundestag it will mostly likely pass there because if the chancellor (who was directly appointed by the major party in the Bundestag) had her cabinet write the legislation, the majority will vote in accordance.

As you can see, the Executive Brach in the US is much more independent of the legislature. The German chancellor, directly chosen from the majority in the Bundestag is very much involved in the congress and its standing. There is no way that the Chancellor’s party, therefore can be different than that of the majority party in the Bundestag.

Although these two governments have different roles for their Executive branch, it seems that the German is the updated form of the US.

Hey everyone!
I am having a great week here in Berlin. Its crazy to think we only really have one more week here. I saw Barack Obama today - how exciting! I have seen him in Oshkosh, Iowa, Berlin and will see him in Denver! We started a new book yesterday, which I really like. Its called "a problem from hell" by Power. Its a good read, more like a novel then a text book of some sort.
I am getting sick I think. I have a stuffed up nose and my throat hurts, but its nice that I can have a long weekend to do school work and not exert my self too much with traveling and not feeling well at the same time.
Yesterday we went to the Laundry mat. Thank god. It was getting bad. Now with clean cloths and a new appreciation for Berlin (in contrast to prague :) ) I am having an awesome time.
Today before the speech we went to a concentation camp right out side of Berlin. Its so scarey to be in a room and almost feel the presense of all those souls that have died there. In some ways I look at it as a blessing that the evidence of camps still exsist, so that they can remain like a reminder to the future generations that might otherwise just forget.
I pray that never happens.
Amy