Final Post

Over the course of the semester, our class has been taught many things. We have learned about the origins of various areas throughout Germany. We have studied movies which show many different cultural sides which reflect different views of Germany. We have even learned about different traditional dishes and drinks within Germany. There was a lot of information to take in within the course of just one semester. It is very difficult to select just one talking point to summarize this final blog. Since I am assigned to do so, I will select the final film which we watched together as a class. This film was titled, Baader-Meinhof Complex. This was a film based on the true story which presented it's viewers with the history behind the Red Army Faction, or the RAF. The RAF existed between 1970 and 1998. The RAF consisted of three 'generations'. The original generation included the original members who had founded and headed the RAF. The second generation included the members who had picked up after the original members were either killed or incarcerated. The final generation continued until the group was ended in 1998. The RAF believed the government was fascist, and they were down and determined to put an end to this fascism, or to at least make their point of view heard loud enough so that others could follow in their example. The RAF believed that they were a new generation in West Berlin. The protested that the Federal Republic had weapons to put the people down and that people must arm themselves in order to fight the oppression of the government. They began with organized protest, but became increasingly resistant as the government tried to put a stop to them. They received aid from allies in Jordan, and they were also partially trained by them overseas. When the RAF returned to West Berlin, they began robbing banks with the use of guns and bombs. This plan lead to the acquisition of new members to the RAF, but it also in turn, lead to the deaths and incarcerations of the original members of the RAF. Without the original members of the RAF at the helm, the group eventually lost its way and was inevitably ended in 1998. I chose the topic of the RAF as a final blog, because they were not afraid to stand up for what they believed in, even when facing an opponent such as the government. In one of our final class meetings, we were asked to stand in one of three areas within the classroom. There was an area for people who strictly believed in peace. There was an area for the people who believed in fighting for their beliefs. The final area was for those who were in between, and needed to hear more information to determine which side they truly stood for. I myself stood in the area for the people who believe that they will fight for their beliefs when it is required. I believe that this is where the RAF would have stood. This is also why I chose to blog about them. I can relate to many of their viewpoints, although I cannot see me blowing open a bank vault and robbing the place. I could have blogged about many different topics, but the RAF kept my interest from the start to the finish. I believe that students around the world should be taught about this group, because it is an important part of German history. I am very pleased with my decision of taking this Germany course. I feel like I have learned far more information about the culture of Germany than I had ever actually expected to know within the course of my lifetime. I have learned about traditions throughout Germany, I have learned about important dates and people, and I have watched films which show different views of Germany which are normally not shown within history books. I enjoyed the way that Professor Roland taught the class, and I enjoyed listening to all of the knowledge that he had to offer. He actually takes an interest in his students, and that made the class feel more 'home-like' for me, since I came from a very small high school. I look forward to taking additional German courses after being influenced by German 110.