In Closing

After gathering the many facts available regarding the richness of the German culture, I was amazing to learn how diverse it was. It was interesting to learn just how new that the country itself is, not nearly a century old, but the people of the area have been there, investing in their own cultures for centuries. Only recently has it become a real country, yet the people have been so bonded and united in their common interests and attitudes that their culture has existed for a long time. In learning, and in some cases re-learning, about the German culture, I realized how similar the American culture is to my family's mother country. Everything from fashion to food, fine art to politics has a sense of familiarity and resemblance to what I know of from America that I wonder if this country of mine hadn't borrowed some culture from Germany. We know that America doesn't exactly have its own culture, but rather borrows from the many foreigners who come to call this place home. The cultures of the world come together to form America and, in doing so, creates a culturally rich place. I see how influential Germany is on America, especially in the "desirable" areas like fashion and art, and how "undesirable" the German political climate was at one time for American taste. Unfortunately for Germany, it is so often remembered for its role in World War II, the Holocaust and Hitler that it is difficult still to get beyond that American tendency to associate Germans with the Nazism of that time in history. Not less than 100 years later and the country still holds that reputation, at least in my opinion from many I have spoken to and what can be seen on television. No doubt that this period in history plays a big role in how Germans are perceived, but maybe this serves more to remind other countries, especially democracies like America, the "undesirables" in politics and in nationalism.

Works Cited:

1.    Samovar, Larry A. et al. “Intercultural Communication: A Reader.” Wadsworth Cengage Learning: Australia. 12^th edition, 2007. 


http://www.justgermany.org/germany/germany-facts.asp 


http://www.foodbycountry.com/Germany-to-Japan/Germany.html

http://www.kickupthefire.net/top-german-fashion-models/#more-38

http://www.everyculture.com/Ge-It/Germany.html

http://www.ethikrat.org/_english/main_topics/end_of_life_care.html

http://www.alsintl.com/resources/languages/German/

http://www.joesclass.com/bits221/Gestures.htm

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/09/10/country_facts/main3246509.shtml

http://www.tatsachen-ueber-deutschland.de/en/culture-and-media/main-content-09/fine-arts.html