Berlin and the Brandenburg Gate

Berlin had been divided into two sections similarly to Germany. The west was controlled by the Americans, French, and British, where as the east was controlled by Nazi Germany. Since Nazi Germany was in control of East Berlin, the German people were not happy with the amount of control that was being put upon them. Many of them had decided to flee East Berlin and head to the west in order to pursue their personal goals. This did not sit well with the East Berlin and East German government so a wall was constructed in order to keep the East Berlin citizens. Many citizens constructed tunnels and mapped out many other escape routes to flee East Berlin.

One of the monuments in Berlin that has fascinated me the most was the Brandenburg Gate. I knew that the gate had some significance to the Berlin Wall and World War II, but I was unaware of the exact significance of the gate. The statue atop the gate consists of four horses pulling a chariot which is being ridden by the goddess of victory. The statue was created for Frederick the Great because of his excellent military knowledge and expertise. The statue is gorgeous and I had no idea that it was a tribute to Frederick the Great. I also was unaware that there were so many other gates surrounding Berlin. I found it interesting that the Gate symbolizes German Unity. It makes sense that they would construct an open gate that symbolizes the unification of Germany. The video stated that the gate was designed to represent the hope and peace that could come in Germany. This information makes the Brandenburg Gate seem that much more interesting. I love that it was constructed to unify and bring together all of the people of Germany.

The Brandenburg Gate

The Berlin Wall was constructed in 1961 to divide Berlin into the east and west. There have been many stages of the wall over the years to keep Berlin divided. The beginning of the wall was very different from the end of it. Since there were so many attempts to escape East Berlin, the wall had to be renovated over and over. It began as a simple wall with barbed wire but had to be constructed into a concrete wall with many watch towers and barbed wire with many guards. Many families sacrificed everything to get to the west so that they could either connect with lost family members, escape Nazi Germany, search for freedom, and many other reasons. I know a little bit about the Berlin Wall because of German class. I was really fascinated of all the different ways that the East Germans attempted to flee their country. The intricate tunnel systems and secret groups that they created in order to help each other find their family amazed me. Another piece of information that I previously knew about the Berlin Wall was that the East German government constructed the Berlin Wall around all of West Berlin. I found this very interesting because they had created a fail-safe so that the East Berlin citizens couldn’t find another easy way into West Berlin.

A blueprint of the Berlin Wall

It is a shame that Germany had to be divided and separated for many years. It is also a shame that many families were separated and some never were able to be reunited with their family members. The Brandenburg Gate is a beautiful representation of the unification of East and West Germany. The idea for the gate to be wide open is a wonderful idea to show the unity between the two. I am very excited to visit these monuments and learn more about them when we visit.

A map of the complete Berlin Wall surrounding West Berlin

Word count: 612 

Martin Luther and the Reformation of the Catholic Church

It takes a lot of courage to oppose the norm and to try and change something that you know isn’t correct in society. It takes even more courage to do so when that group you are opposing controls most of Europe. Martin Luther realized that there were many things wrong with the Catholic Church so he devised a group of problems with it. This group of problems was known as the 95 Theses. These were 95 attacks on the Catholic Church.

Martin Luther created the 95 Theses as an attack on the Catholic Church

Martin Luther was a religious, cultural, and political revolutionary because he saw something that was very wrong with how people were living their lives and he had his mind set on changing it. Although Luther’s writings became very widespread and popular, he never intended on them to cause a storm to arise in Rome over them. The Catholic Church defined Luther’s work as “heresy” and burned many of his books. Even though heresy was punishable by death, Luther did not fear the church and dismissed their threats. As the Catholic Church continued to try and silence Luther, he became more and more convinced that he must spread the wrong-doings of the church. Even when Luther was threatened with excommunication from the Catholic Church, he continued to pursue this change.

Martin Luther can be considered the first propagandist. Even though Luther had many enemies in the church and throughout the Holy Roman Empire, he had one powerful friend. This friend was Frederick the Wise, ruler of Saxony. Frederick the Wise enjoyed Martin Luther’s recognition because he felt that it brought more recognition to Wittenberg and the university. He was proud of Luther and refused to turn him over when Charles V, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, demanded that he do so. Luther had gained an ally who had political power and would back him up in his opposition of the church. Frederick the Wise presented the idea that Martin Luther be able to explain his case. This allowed Luther to have more time criticizing the church and finding more that he wanted to change.

Wartburg is the castle where Frederick the Wise hid Martin Luther from the Holy Roman Empire

One of Luther’s attacks was on the system of sacraments. Luther found in the Bible that there were only two sacraments, Baptism and the Lords Supper. Luther was convinced that the other five sacraments had been created by the church and that they were unneeded. As the people of Europe realized that Luther was onto something they had figured out that they didn’t need all the excess of the Catholic Church in order to become righteous. One of the academics in the video described it as the church controlled the water pipes to your house but you figured out that you can dig a well. He stated that the people of Europe realized that they didn’t need all this extra stuff in order to become religious and holy. This was very risky of Luther because the Holy Roman Empire controlled most of Europe so for him to turn the people on it could cause an uprising.

Martin Luther nailing the 95 Theses to the church door

When Luther arrived at the Diet at Worms, he was greeted with cheers and praise. The consensus of the Diet at Worms was that Luther must recant all of his works. When the council voted on whether Luther must go to Rome and face charges for heresy, Frederick the Wise abstained his vote so that there wasn’t a unanimous vote.  Luther was sure that he would have been sent to Rome.

Luther had become one of the most influential figures in the reformation of the Catholic Church. He realized that they were not truly being holy and shouldn’t have been doing many of the things that they were. He went against the Holy Roman Empire, which controlled most of Europe, even when he was threatened with excommunication and possibly death. Martin Luther sacrificed his well being so that the people of Germany and Europe could have more religious freedom and not have to abide by all of the Catholic Church’s rules. 

Words: 662

Hagen Schulze's Germany: A New History

In Germany: A New History, Hagen Schulze dives into many different aspects of the creation of the German hence the title. I am obviously not an expert on the history of Germany but from my previous knowledge of Germany I do know that it is a relatively new country, having only been unified for about 30 years. What I did not know and was unaware of was the background of how the German people became who they were and how they settled in what is now Germany. Schulze states in chapter 2 that the German nation did not consist solely of German-speaking people. In fact, it was constructed of a group of princes who were given the power of making political decisions that would represent their emperor. I had no idea that this is what the early stages of the German nation consisted of. Having not known this I had inquired that the nation of Germany had started like many other nations around it. This being that the people had been there as long as they could remember and that they were all alike. I found out that this is not the case for Germany and Germans. Schulze also goes on to say that if these princes’ orders to reform were followed correctly, then that would give the German nation a chance to establish itself like the French and English nations before it. I found this very interesting because like I stated earlier I had thought that Germany was created like other nations where it was a set group who decided to establish a unified nation.

This is a map of 15th century Europe showing the many areas of the Holy Roman Empire that are discussed in Germany: A New History

A little later Schulze’s book, he states that after the death of Emperor Maximilian I, his grandson, Carl V, succeeded him and had different ideas for the nation of Germany. The book says that when Carl V came into power he had the idea of unifying and modernizing the entire empire and creating a “universal monarchy,” which forced the idea of actual “German lands” out of the picture. Although the German nation was being pushed into the background, they did not give up. Schulze goes on to explain that when the Turkish Diet was in effect, German prince electors had advised that instead of attacking the Turks at Constantinople, they should concentrate their power towards reforming the empire because of the disorder in some of the areas already in the empire that already speak the German-tongue. This jumped out at me because of the way the German prince electors presented their idea. They saw that the emperor’s delegation had interests in taking Constantinople, but instead they argued that before taking other lands, you must first strengthen your own. I feel that this is an excellent example of the German people fighting for their unification. What I also found interesting was that even though the German people were trying to better themselves and better their nation in order to better the empire as a whole, Rome was inventing a multitude of ways to part the Germans from their money. I found this interesting because even though Rome and the German nation were in the same empire, there were still feuds based on which area is receiving more care from the Holy Roman Empire. 

Emperor Charles V succeeded his grandfather, Maximilian I, and became emperor in 1519

Word count: 538