Die dritte Woche

WEEK THREE.

Week three began with Thorsten's discussion about the exhibition of Jews. The reading was interesting to me because I did not know that Jews had such large exhibits at world's fairs and other international gatherings. We discussed the differences in various exhibits, namely who put on the exhibits and what the focus of the exhibits were. For example, some exhibits were intended to emphasize that Jews belong among the major cultures of the world whereas others emphasized religious tolerance for all. It was interesting to learn about how Jews attempted to show themselves to the world and which aspects of their religion and culture they wanted to focus on. Attempting to embody and portray an entire culture into one exhibit is an impossible project; it is therefore understandable how each of the exhibits focused on one major aspect of Jewish identity or attempted to prove their worthiness in different ways.
Our weekly screening was Kuhle Wampe: Oder wem gehoert die Welt?. This movie was different to me because it had a story line and some sense of character development. I enjoyed the beginning scenes with people frantically rushing around the city to find jobs. Based on the focus on the working class and the enforcement of working-class ideals, I can see how one would view the film as a political propaganda film; however, Kuhle Wampe is much more interesting and aesthetically pleasing than typical political films. Also the social situation, pregnancy and marriage, presented in the movie was interesting considering the time and place in which it took place.
Our weekly excursion with Thorsten was to Rosenstrasse and the New Synagogue. I saw the Rosenstrasse movie about two years ago so I knew a little about the event. It was pretty cool to see the actual street and learn about the differing viewpoints from the two historians about the significance of the event. Personally, I feel that it was very courageous of these women to stand up to Nazis and demand that their husbands be release, but I feel that anyone in that situation would fight for their spouse. I would be interested to find out how many, if any, Germans who were not related to one of the Jewish men fought for their release. I feel that it would be much more remarkable and important of an event if non-related Germans fought for the Jewish men as well.
Film group! Christopher and I did some filming at the Holocaust memorial. We got some good footage but I see how difficult filming is going to be. We have tweaked our film idea a little more, this time relating the moods that one experiences in the city to the moods associated with adapting to a foreign city: disorientation, loneliness, fear, excitement, awe, joy, indifference....sounds cool.