How to measure life

December 31st, 2015

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

–Anonymous

Nature - the poetry of life, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2014

Nature – the poetry of life, Photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2014

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

 

Black Dot on White Paper

December 28th, 2015

As we are about to usher out 2016, I want to share a thought-provoking story. I am not sure where this tale originated, but it definitely provides food for thought. It is the story of the black dot on white paper. Here is how it goes:

Upon entering the classroom, a professor told his students that he was about to spring a pop quiz on them and handed out the tests, text facing down. Then he asked his students to turn over the paper. To their surprise, they were staring at a white sheet graced by a single black dot. Puzzled, they looked at their professor who calmly instructed the class to write a short essay on what they saw before them. The students went to work. They wrecked their brains. Uneasily, they scribbled down a few sentences. The task was tough. They tried to describe the location of the black dot, its size and its color. After all, what can you say about a black dot on white paper? When the allotted time was up, the professor collected the papers and proceeded to read the answers out loud. After all the papers had been read, the professor spoke again, “I am not going to grade you on this. But I want you to ponder something. Did you notice that each of you focused on the black dot? Not one of you wrote about the white part of the paper. The same applies to life. Life is like this large piece of white paper. All of life is there to enjoy. Yet we tend to focus on life’s limitations and imperfections, which is the black dot on the paper. Instead of enjoying the good things that surround us – home, family, friends and nature – we zoom in on the black dots – issues concerning health, relationship, work or finances. Even though the black dot is tiny in comparison to the white sheet, it becomes the focal point of our thoughts. As we embark on a new year, try to pay more attention to the good things in your life, enjoy each moment, think outside the box and keep the black dots in perspective.”

The black dot on a white sheet of paper, © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

The black dot on a white sheet of paper,
© J. Elke Ertle, 2015, www.walled-in-berlin.com

 

On that note, I wish you a wonderful 2016!

J. Elke Ertle

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

human being vs. being human

December 24th, 2015

 

There is a big difference between a human being and being human. Only a few really understand it.

–Anonymous

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

Germany’s word of the year: 2015

December 21st, 2015

Germany’s word of the year for 2015 is Fluechtlinge – refugees. After having taken in 1 million refugees during the past twelve months – most of them from the Middle East – the word Fluechtlinge has been on the collective German mind. TIME Magazine named German Chancellor Angela Merkel “Person of the Year 2015” for standing her ground relative to the refugee crisis http://time.com/time-person-of-the-year-2015-angela-merkel-choice/. Despite growing discontent among the populace, Merkel has continued to put humanity, generosity and tolerance above all else and stated repeatedly, “Wir schaffen es – we can do it.”

How is the word of the year selected?

The Gesellschaft fuer Deutsche Sprache (Society for the German Language), located in the city of Wiesbaden, chooses a word or a group of words every December. The word is to embody a key topic that dominated German political, economic or social life during the preceding twelve months. This year’s word was chosen from close to 2,500 entries and published in “Wort des Jahres” (Word of the Year), the group’s annual publication.

Runner-ups for the word of the year

This year, the Gesellschaft fuer Deutsche Sprache selected Fluechtlinge as the word of the year. Runner-ups were Je suis Charlie – I am Charlie, the mantra of solidarity with Paris in the wake of the attacks on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Another strong contender for the word of the year was Grexit, which refers to the scenario of Greece leaving the Eurozone. And lastly, Wir schaffen es – We can do it, coined by Angela Merkel and expressing her conviction that Germany can successfully cope with the massive influx of refugees.

Previous words of the year

Each year, the word of the year has reflected the zeitgeist. In 1989, the word was Reisefreiheit – Freedom to Travel, the demand of the East German people that led to the fall of the Wall. Post-unification in 1991, former East Germans sensed that their West German brothers had come to regard their achievements under communist rule as inferior. That’s when the term “Besserwessi” cropped up. “Besser” and “wissen” refer to knowing everything better, and “Wessi” was an informal name for a citizen of West Germany. The changeover from Deutsche Mark to Euro made Germans question whether the introduction of the Euro had not prompted a hidden price increase. And in 2002, the new currency came to be referred to as the Teuro, a pricey Euro, based on the German word “teuer,” meaning expensive.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com

Give a stranger a smile

December 17th, 2015

Today, give a stranger a smile. It might be the only sunshine he sees all day.

–Jackson Brown, Jr.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.

Tukki-Turkey for Christmas Dinner

December 14th, 2015

Turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, gravy, cranberry sauce and vegetables is the traditional Christmas dinner in the United States. Americans are said to consume an estimated 22 million turkeys on Christmas. In addition, roast beef and ham are quite common. In Germany, it is goose, duck or turkey on Christmas Day and potato salad with Wieners on Christmas Eve. When I was a child, goose was the feast of choice on Christmas Day, but because turkey meat tends to be leaner than duck or goose, turkeys are increasing in popularity at the Christmas dinner table.

Traditional Turkey Dinner

Traditional Turkey Dinner

Where did the turkey originate?

The turkey is a native to the Americas and classed in the family of Phasianidae (pheasants, partridges, grouse and others). Long before Christopher Columbus sailed to the New World, Native Americans were already domesticating turkeys. Research indicates that the birds were already domesticated in south-central Mexico at around 800 B.C. and in the southwestern U.S. at about 200 B.C. The Aztecs called the bird huexolotl and raised turkeys not for their meat but for their feathers, which were used in rituals and ceremonies.

How did the bird become known as “turkey?”

Christopher Columbus, or possibly the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortes, brought the turkey from the New World to Europe. Since Columbus had sown the seeds of geographic confusion with his assessment that the New World was India, Europeans tended to name the bird after its alleged country of origin. Therefore, the French called it coq d’Inde (rooster of India); in Arabia, the turkey became known as the Ethiopian bird; in Lebanon it was called Abyssinian cock; the Portuguese named it Peru bird; the Greeks settled on galopoula (French bird – presumably, the Greeks got their first birds from the French); and the Germans called it Truthahn (male), Truthenne (female) or Puter (male) or Pute (female) – an anglicized version of “turkey.”

Then how did the English-speaking world end up calling the North American bird “turkey” when everyone else was heading off in the direction of India, Peru, or Ethiopia? As the story goes, Native Americans were calling the bird “toka” based on its vocalizations that sounded like “tok tok.” When the Spaniards arrived, they changed “toka” into “tukki.” Many decades later when the conquerors of the Americas became known as Americans, the “tukki” became known as the “turkey.” (see also Christmas Time in Berlin, Christmas Tree Tradition is German, and Christmas Calendar and Advent Wreath.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

impact on others

December 10th, 2015

In the end, a person is only known by the impact he or she has on others.

–Jim Stovall

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on the home page of http://www.walled-in-berlin.com. Walled-In is a story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War.

Genscher: detoxifier of East-West relations

December 7th, 2015

Eight-eight-year-old Hans-Dietrich Genscher is a highly regarded elder statesman of German foreign policy. Last September, his party, the Free Democratic Party – FDP (Freie Demokratische Partei), honored him for his role in German detente politics. Genscher’s proposals frequently set the tone and direction of foreign affairs among Western European democracies. He was instrumental to the final accord reached at the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) in Helsinki in August 1975, the Two Plus Four Treaty (Zwei-Plus-Vier-Vertrag) signed in Moscow in 1990 and to the first parliamentary elections held in the reunified Germany that same year.

German statesman Hans-Dietrich Genscher - photo by 50jahre.freiheit.org

German statesman Hans-Dietrich Genscher – photo by 50jahre.freiheit.org

Genscher’s life

Born in 1927 in Halle, Germany, (which became part of East Germany in the post-World War II era), Genscher served in the German Army during the Second World War and studied law and economics in Leipzig and Halle after the war. In 1952, he fled to West Germany, joined the Free Democratic Party and began practicing law in Hamburg, West Germany. Throughout his political career, he held several key posts in the FDP, including that of party chairman. In 1974, he became foreign minister and Vice-Chancellor of West Germany and retained those positions until 1992 when he stepped down for health reasons.

Genscher’s “Ostpolitik”

Beginning in 1969, Hans-Dieter Genscher helped shape West German Chancellor, Willy Brandt’s vision of easing hostilities between West Germany and the communist East. The de-escalation of hostilities and normalization of strained relations between the West and Eastern Europe is commonly referred to as Ostpolitik.

Genscherism

As Foreign Minister, Hans-Dieter Genscher promoted compromise between East and West. He advocated compromise and negotiated settlements to international problems. During the Cold War, skepticism about detente with the East was widespread. Genscher’s tendency to seek a happy medium often annoyed US policy-makers. British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was especially fearful of a reunified Germany. Genscherism is a term that was coined in London at that time. It was meant to be derogatory and referred to Genscher’s quasi-neutralism. But despite diplomatic conflicts, Genscher was able to stay the course. And on March 4, 1991, the Soviet Union became the last treaty partner to ratify the Two Plus Four Treaty. Genscherism, it seems, won out after all.

Genscher and the Two Plus Four Treaty

Representing the Federal Republic of Germany, Genscher, was one of the six foreign ministers who signed the historic Two Plus Four Treaty. Officially known as The Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany, this document embodies one of the great moments in diplomacy. It was signed on September 12, 1990 and is an agreement between the four victorious parties (United States, Great Britain, France and the Soviet Union) and the two defeated parties (East and West Germany) of the Second World War. The treaty ended 45 years of German division. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/two-plus-four-treaty/ Hans-Dietrich Genscher is credited with being one of the main players to organize German reunification following the fall of the Wall. In a celebration of the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Two Plus Four Treaty, Christian Lindner, current Chairman of the FDP, honored Mr. Genscher by calling him “detoxifier of East-West relations.” http://www.dw.com/en/german-unity-genscher-and-the-two-plus-four-agreement/a-18709829

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic and current events, people, places and food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

A yawn is a silent cry for coffee

December 3rd, 2015

“A yawn is a silent cry for coffee.”

— Woody’s in Pacific Beach, California

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.

 

Allied Control Council governs Germany

November 30th, 2015

Originally headquartered in the Kammergericht building in Berlin http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/berlins-kammergericht-appellate-court/, the Allied Control Council (Allierter Kontrolrat) was in operation for only three years – 1945 to 1948. The following year, it morphed into the Allied High Commission (Allierte Hohe Kommission), which met at the Hotel Petersberg, near Bonn, Germany. The Allied Control Council was disbanded when the final peace treaty of 1990 restored full sovereignty to the reunified Germany.

Location of the Allied Control Council between 1945 and 1948. Today, Berlin's Kammergericht is housed again in the building, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Location of the Allied Control Council between 1945 and 1948. Today, Berlin’s Kammergericht is again housed in the building, photo © J. Elke Ertle, 2015

Creation of the Allied Control Council

Preparations for the postwar occupation and administration of German affairs following the surrender of the Third Reich began during the second half of 1944. The European Advisory Commission – formed in 1943 – did most of the planning. It recommended shared-power administration. Therefore, following Adolf Hitler’s death in 1945 and Germany’s unconditional surrender, the Allies signed a four-power document that created the Allied Control Council. The Allied Control Council’s initial members were Marshal Georgy Zhukov (Soviet Union), General Dwight D. Eisenhower (United States), Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery (Great Britain) and General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny (France).

Potsdam Conference of 1945

The European Advisory Commission was dissolved at the Potsdam Conference. Germany was officially divided into four military occupation zones: American, British, French and Soviet. It was agreed that each occupying power would govern its zone. It was also agreed that all four Allies would jointly rule on all matters affecting Germany as a whole. A representative from each of the four powers would sit on the Allied Control Council.

Allied Occupation Zones of Germany (British, French, American and Soviet) - 1945 to 1990

Allied Occupation Zones of Germany (British, French, American and Soviet) – 1945 to 1990

Purpose of the Allied Control Council

During its three-year existence the Allied Control Council issued a substantial number of proclamations, laws, orders, directives and instructions. These dealt in large part with the abolition of Nazi laws and organizations, demilitarization and denazification.

Breakdown of the Allied Control Council

As time passed, the quadripartite meetings got more and more cantankerous. Relations between the Western Allies and the Soviet Union deteriorated, as did their cooperation in the administration of occupied Germany. On 20 March 1948, the Soviet representative on the Allied Control Council, Vasily Sokolovsky, walked out of the meeting and never returned. Since the Council was required to reach unanimous agreement on all decisions that pertained to the whole of Germany, Sokolovsky’s action effectively shut down the Council. Soon thereafter, the Soviet blockaded West Berlin. The three Western Allies countered with the Berlin Airlift. A Cold War between East and West ensued that continued until the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Post-Allied Control Council Operations

Although the Allied Control Council effectively ceased all activity in 1948, it was not formally dissolved. The only four-power operations to continue were the management of the Berlin-Spandau Prison and that of the Berlin Air Safety Center. Germany remained under nominal military occupation until 15 March 1991, when the final ratification of the Treaty on the Final Settlement With Respect to Germany, also known as the Two Plus Four Treaty (Vertrag ueber die abschliessende Regelung in Bezug auf Deutschland or Zwei-Plus-Vier-Vertrag) was signed in 1990. http://www.walled-in-berlin.com/j-elke-ertle/two-plus-four-treaty As part of the treaty, the Allied Control Council was officially disbanded.

 

For a sneak peek at the first 20+ pages of my memoir, Walled-In: A West Berlin Girl’s Journey to Freedom, click “Download a free excerpt” on my home page and feel free to follow my blog about anything German: historic or current events, people, places or food.

Walled-In is my story of growing up in Berlin during the Cold War. Juxtaposing the events that engulfed Berlin during the Berlin Blockade, the Berlin Airlift, the Berlin Wall and Kennedy’s Berlin visit with the struggle against my equally insurmountable parental walls, Walled-In is about freedom vs. conformity, conflict vs. harmony, domination vs. submission, loyalty vs. betrayal.