All Quiet on the Western Front- 02/26

To view characters from the book and their descriptions, click here.

Character Description: 

Corporal Himmelstoss 

I am Himmelstoss. Before the war, I was a post man. I loved my job but was enthusiastic for a new profession. Now I am Corporal Himmelstoss. I have power over these youngsters that have enlisted. I'm ready to get them in tip-top shape and prepared for battle. Kids these days don't know what it is to have respect, and I am ready to teach them that. They will learn to follow orders in a timely matter. If they try any funny business, they will be punished, just like Tjaden was for wetting the bed. 

Now looking back at the war, I wish I had been more sympathetic. I am glad I helped carry Haie to a triage center when he was wounded. One of my better moments was doing this and offering soldiers extra food and delicacies when I was a cook. I wish I would have realized this earlier because I would have gained more respect this way than by pushing my power on others. 

All Quiet on the Western Front- Individual Post

Years before WWI-  Before World War I, Germany was imperialistic and militaristic. Before 1871, Germany consisted of many states that did not have a lot of unity. There was 25 German-speaking states. It was a big and prosperous country that was around 50 percent bigger than modern Germany. The country was very heavy in iron and steel production along with international trade and ship production. The education in Germany was superior than many other nations. There were many universities that were of high quality where great scientist had come from Max Planck. A big weakness of Germany was their lack of democracy. Since they were a military state, the parliament's powers were limited.

Sources:
http://alphahistory.com/worldwar1/germany/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_war_is_before_World_War_1#slide=1

Neue Sachlichkeit- This is a term that describes the attitude of the public in Weimar Germany  that ended around 1933 when the Weimar Republic fell. This attitude was meant to describe practical engagement with the world, or an all business attitude. It is also known as "New Objectivity." The term was used to describe art that was post-expressionist. This involved -begin clip-"public collaboration, engagement, and rejection of romantic idealism."-end clip

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Objectivity

German Realism- This is a revolutionary literacy movement known as Young Germany. It was used to turn romanticism to realism. Some great leaders were Karl Borne and Heinrich Heine.

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/entertainment/german-literature-the-nineteenth-century:-realism-naturalism.html

Interpretation of the Book-Paul Baumer and all of his friends go to war right out of school where their teachers, including Kantorek, taught the boys of patriotism and nationalism. They believed that there was an abundance of duty and glory they owed to Germany. Once they were at war, they feel disconnected to who they are fighting. They do not engage in fighting with personal weapons, but instead use gases and tanks. World War I is commonly known for their trench warfare where one side does not come in contact with their enemy. These boys are enthusiastic to go to war and fight for their nation but are soon to realize that these realities are much more harsh than they could have imagined. There is a small amount of food, their bodies are exhausted, and some of their closest friends pass away, yet they need to stay emotionally strong and stable for battle. Authority plays a role into this book too. Himmelstoss, the corporal, orders the boys to do ridiculous things such as making Tjaden and another soldier who wet the bet sleep with each other in the same bunk. This does not help prepare the soldiers for war. Many of the young and enthusiastic nineteen-year-old boys think that people like Himmelstoss and other important generals should be fighting the war for the countries instead of the ordinary “tommy sticks” fighting (page 45). However, these corporals embrace their power too much where there is abuse on the soldiers because of their uniform and the authority they are given.

All Quiet on the Western Front- Chapter 3 Presentation

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kNHtBYHbiyUcHDZD3DhINKX8tWN4aGG4evwJtv1P-Xg/edit?usp=sharing

• The task our group had was to present on Chapter 3 of All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque. 
• My group consisted of myself, Ella Bresson, and Evan Weinzierl
• We split the chapter into 3 parts. Each person took 5 pages each. Evan took 35-40, I took 40-45, and Ella took pages 45-50. 
• Suggestions? We can talk about our themes during out presentation to help the audience understand our chapter and how it connects to the rest of the book.

The Pirate Party (Piratenpartei Deutschland)

History

The Pirate Party was founded in September 10th, 2006 in Berlin, Germany. The party is currently headquartered in Berlin as well. The German Pirate Party is in agreement with the Swedish Pirate Party and is in partnership with the Pirate Parties International. In August of 2012 there were 35,000 members. The parties current Party Leader is Thorsten Worth.

Notable Joining Members

• February 2009, The City Councillor of Strausberg, Jens Knoblich joined the Pirate Party Germany.
• June 2009, Bundestag member, Jorg Tauss left the SPD and joined the Pirate Party.
• August 2009, Herbert Rusche, one of the founding members of the German Green Party and in the 1980s, the first openly homosexual member of parliament in Germany, joined the Pirate Party.

Ideology

Begin clip.

The party supports the preservation of current civil rights in telephony and on the Internet; in particular, it opposes the European data retention policies.

The party favors the civil right to information privacy and reforms of copyright, education, genetic patents  and drug policy.

In particular, it promotes an enhanced transparency of government by implementing open source governance  and providing for APIs to allow for electronic inspection and monitoring of government operations by the citizen.

The Pirate Party also supports an unconditional basic income for citizens and direct democracy. End clip.

According to political theorist Oskar Niedermayer, the party sees itself as part of an international movement to shape the digital revolution and transition into a information society. With their focus on freedom in the net and their fight against government regulations. The group has caught the attention especially of the younger generation. The network policy was the core identity of the party, it is now more than just an advocacy party of digital natives. The Pirate Party characterizes itself as a social-liberal-progressive.

Notable Election Results

2009 German Federal Election

In the 2009 German Federal Election pm September 27, 2009, the Pirates received 845,904 votes which was only 2.0% of the vote. Needing 5.0% to secure any seats in the Bundestag they fell short. However, this was still the best result among parties that did not meet the 5.0% threshold. Also noted among first-time male voters, the party received 13.0%.

2009 European Parliament Election

In the 2009 European Parliament Election The Pirate Party received 229,117 votes which was 0.9% of the vote. Needing at least 5.0% of the vote they did not earn any seats.

German State Elections

(Note: To gain seats you need to recieve 5.0% of the vote or more)

• 2009 Saxony State Election the Pirates received 1.9% of the vote.
• 2009 Schleswig-Holstein State Election the Pirates received 1.8% of the vote.
• 2009 Hesse State Election the Pirates only received 0.5% of the vote.
• 2010 North Rhine-Westphalia State Election the Pirates received 1.5% of the vote.
• 2011 Hamburg State Elections the Pirates received 2.1% of the vote.
• 2011 Baden-Wurttemberg State Election the Pirates received 2.1% of the vote.
• 2011 Saxony-Anhalt State Election the Pirates received 1.4% of the vote.
• 2011 Rhineland-Palatinate State Election the Pirates received 1.6% of the vote.
• 2011 Berlin State Election the Pirates received 8.9% of the vote and managed to gain 15 seats in the State Parliament.
• 2012 Saarland State Election the Pirates received 7.4% of the vote and gained 4 seats in the State Parliament.
• 2012 Schleswig-Holstein State Election the Pirates received 8.2% of the vote and gained 6 seats in the State Parliament.
• 2012 North Rhine-Westphalia State Election the Pirates received 7.8% of the vote and gained 20 seats in the State Parliament.
• 2013 Lower Saxony State Election the Pirates only received 2.1% of the vote.
• 2013 Bavaria State Election the Pirates only received 2.0% of the vote.

Number of Members

Decline in Numbers and Polls

Begin clip. After those successful state elections, the party was able to score up to 13% in nationwide polls. However, after a lengthy array of scandals and internal disputes which were handled unprofessionally and picked up by the media, the party lost the trust of voters and entered a steady decline in polls. End clip.

At the 2013 German Federal Elections the Pirate Party suffered a major defeat where it was only able to achieve 2.2% of the votes, leading to the resignation of party leader Bernd Schlomer. The Pirate Party has often been criticized as well for the lack of women in the Pirate Party. At the height of the parties popularity they had over 35,000 members.

Past Party Leaders

 Bernd Schlomer, Sebastian Nerz, Dirk Hillbrecht, Chrstof Leng, and Jens Seipenbusch.

Sources

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirate_Party_Germany

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Piraten_de_ew_2009.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mitgliederentwicklung_Piratenpartei_Deutschland.png