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Peoples and Environments

Cultural Questions
How is a  people's hierarchical or government organization affected by the environment in which they live? To what degree does a people's environment influence their spiritual or religious beliefs?
How does the environment shape the culture of a people?

Germanic Movement

migration from Indo-Europe to the Baltic-Scandinavian region

migration onwards along the Rhine and Danube

the Franks

conquer the general region

Helvetii settlement in the Alps

The Germanic Tribes and the Roman Empire

the fending off of Roman invasion into Northern Europe

Roman army lead by Tacitus

Roman account of the failed invasion

Cultural Questions - Response
People are naturally influenced by the environment they live in, and that in turn affects their organizational systems. People in archaic eras would observe the natural world around them and develop a respect for the nature surrounding them, even to the point of worship. Aspects of human life is based on the setting in which they exist. Much of the reactions people have are based on deep, biological behaviors that cannot be removed; fears, avoidances, and attractions.

Image credits:
https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/739223726308853760/

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The Government and the Governed-Over

Cultural Questions
Upon what does a system of authority sustain itself and how? enact policies in regards to the ideals of the society which it rules over?

Pope Joan, the Female Pope

said to be the only female Pope of the Catholic Church

apparently deleted from history

lived in an era of violent misogyny

actually just a myth, most likely

Cultural Questions - Response
An entity of government or authority cannot sustain itself on tyranny alone. If a system has low public approval, then the chance of rebellion is high. No matter how severe a system becomes towards those who dissent, resistance of the people is capable of completely changing the system at large.

Image credits:
https://www.history.com/news/ask-history/who-was-pope-joan

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Tradition and Rebellion

Cultural Questions
How deeply valued are old traditions in a more modern society? What are the societal ramifications for refusal to adhere to commonly accepted facets of life?

Goethe's Faust

written in the 1800s

book takes place far earlier but is about events of the 1800s

story of Faust, a physician who sells his soul to the devil for knowledge

questions the blind loyalty to religion and the teachings of the Church

Cultural Questions - Response
Ancient traditions are worth noting but never worth respecting if they are preach corruption. This was a major point being made by Goethe. The Catholic Church doesn't exist to embody the values of the deity it worships, it exists as a means of control. Deception and deceit by positions of grand authority has long been an issue in human societies and likely forever will be. A will to think beyond flat preaching and actually rebel against systems of domination is a vital part of shaping societies into something that embodies the true values of the people.

Image credits:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faust

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Conflict's Influence

Cultural Questions
How does the history of a people shape their future? How is the aftermath of a great conflict handled?

World War I

began with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand by Serbian radicals

Germany backing the Austro-Hungarian Empire versus Russia backing Serbia

everyone else got involved because of course

rapid technological development

extensive trench warfare

many soldiers felt disillusioned towards the end of the war

Germany forced to pay war reparations

All Quiet on the Western Front

Erich Maria Remarque

autobiographical novel detailing the lives of German soldiers

features disillusionment and questioning of the mentality of war

World War II

1931 - 1945

the height of rapid technological and scientific advancement at the time

Nazi takeover of German government

several resistance groups

tuning into BBC radio, hiding of Jews, espionage, bombings, assassinations

all assassination attempts on Hitler's life came close, still failed

obsession with "mysticism"

secret conspiracies

expeditions into Asia

the swastika symbol

Germany divided, controlled by the Allied Powers

Division of East and West - East

USSR controlled the entire Eastern portion of Germany

harsh, oppressive government control

spying, wiretapping, blacklisting, assassination

cheap, decrepit infrastructure

high mortality rate

erection of the Berlin Wall

1961

mainly to keep people in

punishment for escape was death

wall came down without warning in 1985

Cultural Questions - Response
Conflict is a deep part of any social group. The conflicts between humans themselves are borne of a great many reasons, all as irrelevant as the next. A war and a personal dispute are still on the same level of relevance. Violent conflict has long been such a part of human societies because of the simple reason that it is an easy solution. "I don't like what you're doing, I'm going to kill you" is a very simple solution that requires little forethought. No matter what kind of justification people put on it, it tends to boil down to either an action made to establish dominance or an action made to refute that dominance for personal protection. In many cases, war was never something the populace vouched for or truly wanted -- it has been something the leaders of nations urged for and dragged the majority into supporting. At times, not even the populace supports it, despite a government raging for it. In the wake of a war, the tides change. The victors of a war are at first celebratory, and the nation is fervent. However, the victor rapidly goes into a decline, whereas those who lost the war begin a steady incline. On all sides, everyone is wrong. War benefits no o

Image credits:
https://azabgazab.com/2016/12/46-amazing-facts-about-sandeep-maheshwari/berlin-wall/

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Individual-Society Interactions

Cultural Questions
How are the traditions of other cultures respected or dismissed?
What vision of the future do successive generations possess? How does a government system enact policies in regards to the ideals of the society which it rules over?

Protest Against Anti-Semitism

2018

Germans of various faiths wore Jewish kippas and came together

against an earlier anti-Semitist attack on a Jewish man

policies to protect the rights of Jewish individuals

Chancellor Merkel officially announcing a Jewish commissioner, fight against anti-Semitism

Cultural Questions - Response
Germany in the post-WWII has made an effort to shed the bigotry and prejudice of the past. The German government has enacted policies to protect minorities and those who have historically been targeted or oppressed, and seek to make reparations for those harmed in past conflicts. It is perhaps because of Germany's former hostility to anyone deemed non-German that now the government as a whole apologizes for such atrocities in the hope that they can be avoided in the future. As such, Germany has become an increasingly progressive nation that focuses on a less conflict-riddled future, and enforces tolerance within the country itself.

Image credits:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/germany-sees-skullcap-protests-against-anti-semitism/2018/04/25/b8b7b934-487e-11e8-8082-105a446d19b8_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a188c79aa629