It’s hard to be confused about where you might be when you visit Upper Lusatia. Yes, you’re in Germany; more specifically in Lusatia. But, you could very well be in Poland, too. Upper Lusatia is found mostly within modern day Saxony, and stretches to Brandenburg and Poland.

It’s an old piece of real estate near the River Kwisa that once belonged to the Kingdom of Saxony, the Kingdom of Prussia; as well as being under both Bohemian and Habsburg rule.

That’s confusing, right? Please, for as many rulers as Upper Lusatia’s had, it’s got just about that many languages. OK, I’m exaggerating some; but you’ve got High German, Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian, and Silesian to name some.

FYI, long before these guys came to power, Upper Lusatia was settled as far back as the Stone Age in 8000 B.C. It’s pretty here, I understand why people would want to stay.

There are about 20,000 Upper Sorbian speakers within Upper Lusatia, just about 6,000 more than Lower Sorbian in Lower Lusatia.

It appears that the Sorbs (a minority Slavic group) suffered the most under all these rules, especially under the Holy Roman Empire. The Feudal System was just kicking off, and many of the nobility considered the Sorbs their serfs.

They also suffered terribly during the days of the Third Reich. The Sorbs of Upper Lusatia today have a thriving culture, with a museum dedicated to it in the “capital city” of Bautzen.

First lesson, Upper Lusatia is called Hornja Lužica. And just so you know, it’s called Oberlausitz in German. (You’ll see that addition to some town names proudly showcasing which German region they belong to.)

The region is also a UNESCO Biosphere area (as is Lower Lusatia) with both a hilly and mountainous (the Zittau and Lusatian Mountains) landscape. OK, mountain hiking might not be your idea of a good time, but you’re still able to find plenty of walking and cycling trails through this UNESCO reserve.

There’s a lot of ground to cover; and with only about 780,000 people living within the whole Upper Lusatia region, it’ll feel like you’ve got the whole place to yourself.

Depending on what you like, there’s bird watching at the Grey Heron colony; or hike the Dubringer Moor. Choice is yours.

For those of who that rather have nature better left on the Discovery Channel, there are some things for you too. Upper Lusatia would never leave you out. ;-)

There are many historical cities found within the region. The most notable is Bautzen (which I mentioned earlier and is the largest city within the region).

This is a right proper medieval town with bilingual street signs (about 10% of its population in Sorb), a gorgeous yellow Rathaus, a local history museum, and the Sorbian Museum. Its historic downtown area is only about 50km from Dresden, so it won’t take long to get here from there.

Hoyerswerda is another Upper Lusatia town. It’s got a 13th century castle (with a museum), houses with cannon balls still imbedded in them (this area was hit hard during the Thirty Years’ War and World War II), a Soviet Cemetery, and its Altes Rathaus dates to 1449. It’s also where you’ll find mile markers from its Prussian days.

I have to give Bad Muskau and Löbau an honorable mention. The former is a little village of around four thousand people with a Renaissance castle, a 16th century church (Jacobuskirche), botanical gardens, and (of course) its own war memorials.

The latter, has a most lovely Marktplatz, surrounded by a historic Town Hall (a Rathaus) and the fantastic St. Nicholas Church. Charming is an understatement.

Whether you choose to see the medieval or hike, follow history or the natural; you couldn’t find a more wonderful place to do it than Upper Lusatia. I’m going to have to find the Sorbian and Silesian word for perfect. ;-)

I won’t even begin to psychoanalyze one of the most dreaded names in German history, Adolf Hitler. There are many historians, psychiatrists, and sociologists that have probably spent their careers trying to do it; and not ever fully coming to any understanding of what caused a simple boy to become the megalomaniac that he became.

There might never be an answer.

He was born average enough on April 20, 1889 in Braunau am Inn, in what was then Austria-Hungary, to Alois and Klara Hitler. That’s right, the German Führer wasn’t even German; he was Austrian.

His family moved to Bavaria when he was three years old, remaining an Austrian citizen until 1925. For seven years he was a “stateless” citizen until Germany gave him citizenship in 1932, only a year before he became Chancellor of Germany.

Yes, that’s a long time between being a three year old boy living in Passau to the forty-four year old guy running the Reichstag. He went to school like everyone else, albeit in a beautiful 11th century Benedictine Monastery. For a time he lived in Leonding and Lambach, before going off to Vienna to paint.

Yes, paint. Hitler loved to paint, even selling some of his paintings for extra money. His deepest wish was to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, but they wouldn’t accept him. They turned him down twice, suggesting he attend school for architecture. He didn’t have the necessary schooling for that, so he bummed around Vienna for a while longer living on his orphan’s pension, money from his mother, and sales of his art.

He returned to Germany in the first decade of the new century, selling more of his artwork to try and support himself (for a stretch he lived in a homeless shelter). By 1913 he had moved to Munich, just as the First World War was about to break out.

Austrian authorities wanted Hitler to fight for them, Adolf wasn’t having it. He was shown not to be physically fit enough for military service, yet when Germany (Bavaria) entered the war he went out of his way to be considered. He eventually earned the Iron Cross (2nd Class) in 1914 and the Iron Cross (1st Class) in 1918.

At this point in his life is where the maniacal Hitler emerges. It’s been said that Hitler had a “vision” to save Germany while recuperating from a Mustard Gas attack in 1918.

Hitler continued his military service after the end of the war, which by chance and military order put him into the German Workers Party as a spy. Although his mission into the political party was a covert one, he agreed with many of its policies (which were anti-Semitic, anti-Marxist, and anti-Capitalist). He joined their ranks in 1919 as member number 555.

After being discharged from the army in 1920, he dedicated his time to the German Workers Party; that eventually became known as the National Socialist German Workers Party. The world calls it the Nazi Party.

A year later he was elected the leader of the Nazi party, which talked against Jews and just about everyone else. His involvement in the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei or NSDAP (the German name for it) brought him to know many other famous names in Nazi history, Hermann Göring, Rudolf Hess, Ernst Röhm, and Julius Steicher (the man responsible for the very anti-Semitic newspaper Der Stürmer) to name just a handful.

With the backing of the party behind him, Hitler and his friends tried to overthrow the Bavarian government, in what’s called the Beer Hall Putsch. This failed attempt in the early 1920’s landed him in jail for treason; a sentence that was pardoned in 1924.

In the short time Hitler was incarcerated is when he wrote his book, Mein Kampf (English translation, My Battle) that was dictated to Rudolf Hess. Within two years (1925-26) the book sold almost a quarter of a million copies; with 10 million books having been in circulation by 1945. Now more than sixty years later this book (still in publication) is quite controversial.

The NSDAP Party was banned while Hitler was serving his sentence. He petitioned the government to reinstate his party, which was granted in 1925. Throughout the rest of the 1920’s, Hitler used his political platform to again blame the Jews for Germany’s problems, including the loss of the war. He attacked the Treaty of Versailles (the treaty that officially ended World War I), more specifically the part that cut Germany’s military strength (no tanks, no submarines, not much of anything).

That was only part of his tactics to rally the people of Germany. He kept attacking the Jews, as well as the Weimar Republic’s liberal policies. When the Great Depression hit the country in 1930, Hitler again used his propaganda to gain more political influence. But, by not being a German citizen there wasn’t much more he could do.

That changed in February 1932, when he was granted citizenship of Brunswick (one of Germany’s states). This was the foot in the door Hitler needed to gain even more power, which he did get when he was elected Chancellor in 1933.

In a political underhanded move, Hitler asked von Hindenburg to “dissolve” the Reichstag which no one party could attain the majority vote. Von Hindenburg agreed, added to the Reichstag’s fire that was blamed on the Communists — the NSDAP party got the majority vote in the Reichstag it needed.

Within months of the Nazis gaining control of the Reichstag, Hitler used his political power to outlaw any other political party. President von Hindenburg died in August 1934, giving Hitler the title of Führer and Reichskanzler; cementing his full control over Germany.

Over the next few years Hitler (and those like him) used propaganda and legal doctrine to turn Germany into an authoritarian regime; still blaming the Jews, Communists, Captialists, Monarchists, and many other “-ists” for what was wrong.

What he really wanted was to get Germany back to work. By taking women out of the workforce, jobs opened to German men. By ignoring the Treaty of Versailles, Germany created jobs in weapons and rearming itself. By building the famous Autobahn, railways, and other public service works, Germany prospered again. He was thought by some to be the “Savior” of the German people.

Hitler also used his office to align himself with other parts of Europe (and the world) under Fascist regimes, like the Soviet Union, Italy, and Japan.

Throughout the mid to late 1930’s, Hitler’s biggest idea was Lebensraum, or living space. He wanted Germans to spread out. He also started his racial cleansing programs, killing many deemed “unworthy.”

Hitler killed many of his own people (those handicapped and retarded); as well as clergy (interesting considering he took money from the Catholic Church in Germany to further his cause and madness), Romas (gypsies), homosexuals, Poles, political opponents, and Jews; just about 17 million people in total. (That figure doesn’t include the soldiers who died on both sides of the war).

It’s been said Hitler knew about the concentration camps, however there’s never been any shred of evidence to prove he ever actually visited one.

Throughout the six years of war, not to mention the preceding years, many attempts were made on Hitler’s life. He managed to escape them all, including those by some of his top officers like Claus von Stauffenberg and Erwin Rommel (who was buried with full Nazi fanfare, so that people wouldn’t know his top guys were trying to oust him). He used this to his advantage, believing Divine Providence kept him safe.

Hitler also never really wanted a war with the United Kingdom; he believed they all stemmed from the same Germanic Tribes. In England’s case, they were part of the Germanic Anglo-Saxon Tribes. Again, he used propaganda to turn Germans against the British Empire, believing that they were a bunch of hypocrites.

By 1939, Hitler had put all the steps in place to go to war. Early that year he declared Czechoslovakia as a German protectorate, then six months later he invaded Poland. The beginnings of World War II were considered a “Phoeny War” by writers and journalists, because it had yet to escalate. Little did they know what was to come.

Historians have blamed disease for Hitler’s madness, even naming syphilis as the culprit. Their basis for this theory was his mentioning this affliction numerous times throughout Mein Kampf and his lack of sexual promiscuity. He was powerful and wealthy; he could have had any woman he wanted.

But he only married his longtime companion (OK, she was his mistress) one day before committing suicide in order to avoid capture of the approaching Red Army at his bunker in Berlin.

Today, the former underground bunker is a parking lot with only a small information board detailing what was once here. (You can find it at Gertrud-Kolmar-Strasse in Berlin.) It’s also one of the only places in Germany (other than Hitler Exhibit at the German Historical Museum in Berlin) where you’ll find any pictures or mention of Hitler the man, or his mission for Germany.

Throughout Germany in many small towns and large cities you’ll find hundreds of monuments and memorials to one man, Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, or simply Otto von Bismarck. But, what contribution did he make to German society that would facilitate the erection of them all?

It wasn’t that he was JUST the Minister President of the Kingdom of Prussia, the Federal Chancellor of the North German Confederation, First Chancellor of the German Empire, or a member of the Prussian House of Lords. No, that doesn’t quite cover it.

Bismarck wasn’t always the political dynamo as he’s often portrayed. I’m not downplaying his accomplishments in Germany’s history. I’m only saying he was once a young boy who GREW to become a powerhouse.

He was born to a well-to-do family in the town of Schönhausen (Elbe), in what was then the Province of Saxony in Prussia, to Karl and Wilhelmine von Bismarck on April 1, 1815. Both parents were politically connected, his father a Prussian officer; his mother was the daughter of high government official.

His family’s affluence and connections did afford him quite an education. He attended the University of Göttingen and the University of Berlin, originally studying law. He kind of screwed that up a bit, after chasing after a girl (two, actually). That was quite scandalous back in the mid-19th century.

He eventually married Johanna von Puttkamer in July 1847. Their marriage was happy and produced three children (Marie, Herbert, and Wilhelm).

Bismarck was also father to Germany’s unification (we know about Germany’s reunification, but you would have once had to been united to be “reunified,” right?); although, he originally opposed the unification of Germany’s states, kingdoms, and duchies in the late 1840’s.

Both Otto and his wife were quite devout Lutherans; and it was this religious fervor that had had von Bismarck enact quite a bit of anti-Catholic legislation throughout his political career.

Despite having a bigoted view of Catholics (it was really the Catholic Church, because he felt they were a bit too politically powerful in Prussia — even throwing priests and bishops in jail), he was an excellent statesman and diplomat. His speaking (and writing) four languages (German, Russian, English, and French) helped with his foreign policy; that was quite liberal when it came to Britain and Italy.

Not so liberal when it came to some other countries, I might add. In the 1860’s, Bismarck had his hand in the Austro-Prussian War. Prussia added some territory to its already vast kingdom, fueling Bismarck to set his sights on France.

Less than a decade later, the Franco-Prussian War broke out; totally orchestrated by Bismarck himself. It was a dirty, underhanded political move that caused this conflict that started when one of the Hohenzollerns (who ruled Prussia) was given the chance to become king in Spain.

It was the start of the conflict that kicked off what became the German Empire (for all purposes was known as the Second Reich). By the end of Otto’s political career, the German Empire has added Schleswig and Holstein (at that time they were two separate duchies), Frankfurt, Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, and Nassau into its territory.

He also had a hand in the creation of the modern welfare state. Von Bismarck was a staunch anti-Socialist, so be creating a Health Insurance Act (1883) and an Old Age & Disability Insurance Program (1889) he tried to shut down the Socialists and the flood of emigration to the United States.

Otto remained in office until 1890 (he was seventy-five years old), only retiring after many conflicts with Wilhelm II, including the prediction of World War I (though he didn’t call it that back then).

He spent his remaining years at his estate in Varzin (that’s in today’s Poland), and after losing his wife he went back to his estate in Friedrichsruh (today part of Aumühle; given to him for his loyal service many years before) to write his memoirs.

After his death on July 30, 1898 many nationalists made him a “local hero.” They banded together to create hundreds of monuments in his honor, which you’ll find in places like Bad Kissingen, Dresden, Berlin, Bielefeld, Hamburg, Langerwehe, Heilbronn, and Goslar to name just a few in Germany. You’ll even find them in Russia, France, Poland, and the former German East Africa (which is now Rwanda, Burundi, and Tanganyika).

So revered was Otto (Fürst — a title of Prince) von Bismarck that Germany named two ships of the German Imperial Navy after him. And the capital of the state of North Dakota in the United States bears his name.

I think it would be a fair assumption to say that Otto von Bismarck did just as much to change the political situation in Germany as Martin Luther and his Protestant Reformation. Wouldn’t you agree?

Do you remember where you were at the German Reunification (German: Deutsche Wiedervereinigung) on October 3rd, 1990? No? Weren’t born yet? That’s OK, most folks around the world probably don’t remember where they were at that particular moment. But, for the millions of Germans living in East and West Germany, it was a watershed moment.

Oh, I’m sorry. At that particular time, there was no East and West Germany anymore; it was simply Germany once again.

Doesn’t sound like much to you? Of course it does, there were some who never thought the day would come.

There were also some who dreaded the day it would.

All right, that’s a valid point considering we know what Germany’s history was like during the early 20th century. So, it was with a bit of fear in the hearts of some European and other countries that Germany was again to be whole.

Some of Germany’s detractors spoke openly about the possibility that Germany was no longer half belonging to the Soviet Union, the other a democracy that flourished with western ways.

It was Britain’s Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir who where the most vocal.

And the road to Germany’s Reunification (I call it the Wirtschaftswunder Reloaded) was not an easy one, even with many of the country’s allies fighting in their corner.

Even the term “reunification” was argued. Some say it was simply unified, others say it was “reunified” because the country was once a whole country back in the days of the German Empire, thanks to the works and statesmanship of Otto von Bismarck.

Shucks, I keep getting ahead of myself. I get so excited thinking about the day this incredibly proud nation flew again under one flag.

For those of you who weren’t born (or too young) before there was only ONE Germany, you have to understand this division came from Germany losing World War II. Yet, Germany’s issue with world politics kind of went further back than that.

You see, Germany lost World War I; and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles pretty much crippled its military force. Unemployment rates were astronomical and reparations paid to the Allies for causing the whole ruckus was costing a fortune in the midst of a Great Depression; it was a country humiliated.

Of course, Adolf Hitler kind of changed things a bit when he no longer paid reparations to France and other countries, as well as rearming itself like it wasn’t supposed to do.

After six years of war Germany fell to the Allies, they in turn cut it up like it was a piece of pie; each looking to exploit the country for their own gain. I’m sorry to say it that way, but it is what it is. I mean, it was what it was.

Federal states like Brandenburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony, and Thuringia went on to be ruled by the Soviets, creating East Germany or the German Democratic Republic.

Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein, Bremen, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland, and Baden-Württemberg went on to be occupied by “Western” countries (England, France, and the United States), making the Federal Republic of Germany.

It wasn’t just Germany as a whole country that was sliced; the amazing capital city of Berlin was divided. The Soviets went so far as to build the infamous Berlin Wall in 1961 (sixteen years after the end of the war).

Throughout the next two decades, East and West Germany went on about its daily business; even actually becoming an economic powerhouse (again).

By the late 1980’s the Communists’ system was faltering; and the door to Germany’s reunification came after Hungary slashed a hole in the “Iron Curtain.” By November 1989, the Berlin Wall was about to sold in pieces for posterity, and people could cross unimpeded for the first time in almost three decades.

Just about six months later both the East and West Germans agreed on economic union, with the Deutsche Mark taking over as the currency for the East German one. That was only part of the agreement, although the Soviets did remove their nuclear weapons from the country beforehand.

Throughout the rest of the year, negotiations took place to bring Germany back together. Legislation eventually passed through both East and West, which allowed West Germany to meld the now former East Germany into itself, effective at midnight local time on October 3, 1990 (I went to Berlin that night!).

At this precise moment, it forever became known as Tag der deutschen Einheit, the Day of German Unity.

Of course, you can have all of Germany’s many festivals (including Oktoberfest — ohh, I can’t believe I just said that) and other cultural activities throughout the year; but I like to be here on October 3rd for this national holiday; a day I’ll remember forever (even if you don’t). ;-)

Have you ever wondered why Germany is called Germany (in English, while other countries have some variations of the word), while we Germans ourselves call it Deutschland? I think perhaps we have to go back to the Romans, who called the area Germania.

Not just Germania, but Germania Magna (an area to the east of the Rhine) and Lesser Germania (to the south). Each had another area, known as Germania Inferior (Lower Germania, not because it wasn’t a nice place) and Germania Superior (Upper Germania).

It is believed that none other than the most famous Roman of all time, Julius Caesar, gave rise to the name back in 51 B.C. I hope you’re not thinking, so what’s the big deal?

It is a very big deal.

This was the same guy who said the Germanic Tribes that lived in the area were, shall we say, promiscuous? Yeah, because Rome was the pillar of virtue, weren’t they?

Whatever, that’s irrelevant to my story here.

One thing’s for sure, the Romans were smart enough to realize the Germanic Tribes were quite a bit different from the Celts (who also lived in parts of modern day Germany) and the Gauls (who lived in neighboring France).

Rome’s Germania extended through most of modern day Germany. Upper Germania (again, Germania Superior) included a border along the River Rhine along the town of Rheinbrohl, to the River Main, the Taunus Mountains, to Lorch; whereas Germania Inferior went all the way to the North Sea, stretching to the present day Netherlands. That’s a lot of real estate.

The Romans fiercely guarded their little slice of Heaven (that would be Germany in my eyes) when, constructing more than 900 watchtowers and 60 forts along what’s called the Limes Germanicus.

It had something to do with the Romans fighting against the warring factions of the Germanic Tribes in 9 A.D. Augustus decided his Germania needed a defense wall after they lost in the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest.

For quite some time these same tribes gave the Romans a run for the money. These guys weren’t going quietly into the night while the leaders in Rome tried a hostile takeover of Germania Magna.

Just so you know, some of the areas conquered by the Romans were ruled over by Tiberius and Germanicus (two more famous names in Roman history).

Sometimes it’s hard to place historical dates and locations on maps, just as it is to just hear names in history spouted at you. Good thing Germany’s history of Germania is alive and well.

Yes, I realize this is a history article. But, wouldn’t you non-history loving people out there appreciate it better if you could see it live?

Now, you know I’m not suggesting there are real Ancient Romans running around Deutschland (Germania, I mean) today. But it does have two German scenic routes that detail the long and illustrious history of Julius and his buddies.

The German Limes Road follows along the border built by Augustus. It travels for more than 550km (900km if you follow the bicycle route) along Bad Ems, Holzhausen, Bad Homburg, and Regensburg (that has a Roman Museum). It’s also a UNESCO World Heritage area, so that goes to show you Germania was a very big deal.

Along the Neckar-Alb-Aare Roman Route, the theme is a bit different. This goes for 400km, passing along viaducts and other Roman buildings through the Swabian Mountains and beyond. Consider it a chance to follow the footsteps of Germanicus through Germania. ;-)

I think it’s a good excuse to see Sulz am Neckar, Rosenfeld, Rottweil, Köngen, Pliezhausen, and Rottenburg am Neckar in Germany, Germania, or Deutschland (or whatever you want to call it). Don’t you?

Depending on your history books, most will say that World War I started with the assassination of Austrian-Hungarian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand in July 1914. Let’s just say that was the match that lit the powder keg that was Europe in the very early years of the 20th century.

Again, politics played a key role in starting modern warfare (sadly) as we know it. The German Empire was in bed (so to speak) with two other huge empires (the Austrian-Hungarian and the Ottoman), promising to back Austria-Hungary when it decided to invade the little country of Serbia. Germany decided on its own to invade Belgium, France, and Luxembourg.

At the end of the war the Allied Powers (France, the British Empire, Russia, the United States, Greece, etc) placed blame squarely on Germany, forcing the country to pay the equivalent of 442 billion dollars (in today’s money) in reparations (much of which it borrowed from the United States).

The reparations Germany was forced to pay killed the country’s economy, a factor that helped contribute to the Third Reich coming to power in the early 1930’s.

It finally finished paying in October 2010, which it did so again after the Nazi Regime was ousted from power.

I’m sorry, I’m jumping the gun. There was a lot of politicking going on at time, as I said. But, as with most historians and history books they talk about the battles and those same politics. They don’t usually talk about the cultural and human side of the conflict.

The Great War, as it was called prior to World War II, was a new kind of conflict the world had never seen before. It was fought on the European, African, and Pacific stage on the land, on the sea, and for the first time the air.

World War I gave us probably the most famous name to come from this large-scale world conflict, the Red Baron. Whether Manfred Albrecht Freiherr von Richtofen was man or myth, his fight for the German Empire was legendary.

He was one of the most decorated pilots of all time, receiving the First and Second Class Iron Cross, as well as the Knights Cross, and the Red Eagle (that’s not even the half of it). He shot down more than 80 aircraft, no small feat considering fixed-wing aircrafts and aerial battle were in its infancy.

FYI — he was buried with full military honors by his “enemies” in France, then moved with fanfare to a military cemetery in Berlin; and moved yet again to be buried with his family in Wiesbaden. Parts of his aircraft are on display in London and Australia.

This war was also the start of using submarines (in Germany they were called U-Boote) to sink military and other ships. The United States remained neutral until a U-boat sunk a passenger ship, killing 128 Americans onboard.

Submarines and red bi-planes weren’t the only way things changed when millions of men went off to fight on foreign lands. Tanks and armored cars were used; and both sides employed the use of machine guns (leading to the creation of steel helmets) and chemical warfare (Adolf Hitler was wounded in a Mustard Gas attack while fighting in the war and caused the necessity for the gas mask). Trench warfare and the use of barbed wire was also another tactic used for fighting and defense.

Once the United States entered the war in 1917, it had a military strength of almost three million men, which was sending 10,000 troops to France daily. Germany realizing it was going to lose; did its best to save itself.

Not much was gained by this war for Germany, which lasted until November 11, 1918 — known as Armistice Day. But, the effects of this clash were felt for years. It also led to many changes in modern day culture; and the dissolution of four of the world’s largest empires.

The biggest blow to the German Empire came with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919. This simple piece of paper forever cemented Germany’s role, humiliating this proud country in the process.

One stipulation of the Treaty was the cutting of Germany’s military strength. They were never again to have more than 100,000 troops, nor was it to import or export weapons, have any submarines or armored vehicles of any kind.

Another stipulation was that Wilhelm II was to be tried as a war criminal; and the Rhineland was to be an occupied area for almost two decades. It also lost territory in northern Schleswig, the city of Frankfurt, and its colonies.

With Germany’s loss, the Hohenzollerns and the Habsburgs lost their empires. And thanks in part to the Russian Revolution (in 1917) the Romanovs lost their as well. The Ottoman Empire was gone, too.

With the fall of these giants, countries like Poland, Czechoslovakia, Lithuania, and Finland became autonomous once again. It is believed that Victorian England ended with the Great War, and women (having entered the workforce with all the men gone to war) decided they wanted equality.

Men who were lucky enough to return home to their families suffered from “shell-shock,” a term now called post traumatic stress disorder. Some 20 million men were injured in the four years of the war; and more than 5 million men (on both sides) suffered terribly in POW camps (2.5 million were held by the Germans, almost 3 million held by the Russians, with the rest held by the British, French, and US troops).

Call it whatever you want, World War I was one of the most tragic loss of human life in history. Almost 10 million souls were lost to fighting (Germany lost more than 10 percent of its male population), not including the millions lost to the Flu pandemic in 1918 (killing 50 million people worldwide) and a Typhus outbreak (killing countless others).

Sadly, this “Great” War wasn’t the end of such a global conflict; nor did it stop ethnic cleansing programs like the Ottomans did to the Christians during the war. The next biggest world war became World War II; however, some believe it was just a continuation of the First World War.

I’m no historian or military expert, so I’ll leave it up to you and them to ponder that issue.

If you’re about 40ish (like I am) you can probably remember the Olympic Games in 1976 and 1980. It was an international competition with two countries that stood out, East and West Germany.

Being very young, you might not have understood the politics between the two countries. Heck, you probably grew up not thinking they were never anything but two separate places.

Little did we youngsters know what was going on was in essence the Cold War, a phrase coined by George Orwell in October 1945.

But, it wasn’t always the case. You might also remember it wasn’t a “war” in the traditional sense. And while it was a “military conflict,” it was also political.

It also made for some great spy movies coming out of Hollywood throughout the years of the Cold War’s existence (1947-1991). What? I’m not trying to be funny here, but art reflects the time, right? Some would call it propaganda.

The Cold War started after World War II when the Soviets and the “West” (being the UK and US) divided a losing Germany. The Communist Soviets built themselves a “buffer” of other satellite Communist states between them (including Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and Lithuania). It was known as the Eastern Bloc.

They also sliced up the capital city of Berlin into four zones, governed by the French, the United States, Great Britain, and the Soviets.

Stalin wanted the Western Powers out of Berlin; and he did what he could to make life difficult. In the late 1940’s he instigated the Berlin Blockade keeping much needed food and supplies from those in the western section of the city for almost an entire year.

The Western Powers didn’t take this lying down. They airlifted food, medicine, and even candy to the children hurt by the Soviet’s stance.

One of the worst incidents of the Cold War took place in October 1961, when the Soviets stood at Checkpoint Charlie against the United States. It’s known as the Berlin Crisis.

By the way, Berlin’s Checkpoint Charlie that stands today isn’t the real one — but an interesting tourist spot nonetheless.

There was a loophole between what was under Soviet and Western control, so many people crossed from the repressive Soviet side to the liberal, democratic western side. The Soviet Union didn’t like it, tried to stop it (unsuccessfully), and eventually built a wall.

Yes, that’s right, the infamous Berlin Wall. It was a long, barbed fence that divided a city in a divided nation for decades. It finally came down in 1989; and for the first time since that God-awful wall was built, Berliners could cross freely. It was the most auspicious of days, I can tell you that.

The Cold War wasn’t limited to Germany only, though. The Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), the Korean War, and the Vietnam War were other conflicts that stemmed from it.

The United States and USSR weren’t just limited to “fighting” over sports or geography. Nope, the race to space was in full-swing by the late 1960’s, with the United States reaching the moon first in 1969.

The Cold War finally “warmed up” officially at the Malta Summit in December 1989. It took a little while longer for the fall of the USSR, which came on Christmas Day 1991; this left only the United States remaining as a world Superpower, which still maintains a large military presence within Germany. But, not in the sense that it did when it occupied the country after World War II.

It appears that when United States President, Ronald Regan said to Mikhail Gorbachev (the Soviet General Secretary), “Tear down this wall,” did anyone know it would tear down so much more than that.

And no longer will anyone sit to watch the Olympics (the news, or anything else) hearing about East or West Germany, they’re happily together again.

When Walter Ulbricht (of the German Democratic Republic) commissioned the Berlin TV Tower in the early 1960’s, I wonder if he knew what a smash hit it was going to be?

(But, between you and me, I’m not giving him too much credit; he’s the one who signed the order for the building of the Berlin Wall…)

More than a million people come to visit the tallest building in Germany. Yeah, I’d say that counts one of the city’s largest attractions.

You might not give much thought to what it took to build it, but I do. The Berlin TV tower is gigantic, standing some 365 meters above the ground. It was built at 1198 feet above the ground, adding nine additional feet after its new antenna was added after Germany’s reunification (the 1990’s).

Of course sitting down in its revolving restaurant you’re not that high up, only 207 meters (679 feet) from the bottom. It’s been said that on a clear day you can see forever. No, just kidding it’s a mere 26 miles or 42 kilometers in the distance. It doesn’t turn too fast though, about twice an hour; which is twice as fast as it used to be, so don’t complain. ;-)

From its observation deck (which is three meters lower than the restaurant) you can still see off into the Brandenburg state. The tower overlooks the Reichstag (which was on the West Berlin side when the tower was built) and Marienkirche, as well as many new sites that have been added to this vibrant city.

Both the restaurant and observation deck are accessible by two elevators (which can have you at the top in less than a minute!); but sadly neither are wheelchair accessible.

As exciting as the Berliner Fernsehturm is, we can’t forget this is a workhorse. It blasts both radio and television signals across Berlin and beyond. Television stations such as Das Erste (Germany’s primary TV station), QVC (the shopping channel), and Eurosport (for us sports fans) transmit their signal from here, as well as radio stations like Deutschlandfunk, Klassi-Radio, and the BBC.

The Berlin Television Tower isn’t without controversy. It’s called the “Pope’s Revenge,” because of its cross-like reflection on its silver dome (stainless steel actually). You see, it was built in the very secular GDR, which tried so hard to squash any form of religion. U.S. President Ronald Regan even gave it a mention when he was in Berlin for its 750th anniversary in 1987.

It’s also been decorated for special events like the FIFA World Cup in 2006.

The Berlin TV Tower isn’t all that original, though. It’s modeled after the Stuttgart TV Tower, in case it looks a bit familiar.

For the more technical & statistical side of the Berliner Fernsehturm, its dome weighs 4800 tons, adding to the weight of its 26 thousand ton shaft; with evacuation platforms at the 188 meter and 191 meter marks. It also has 986 steps from its pavilion at the bottom to the top. Whew, I couldn’t even imagine having to climb all those. Could you?

Even though Walter Ulbricht is the one who ordered the tower to be built (next to the famous Alexanderplatz), it was Hermann Henselmann who’s its architect. Construction started in August 1965, taking more than four years to complete (finally on October 3, 1969) with much fanfare.

For sure, I’d say the million or so people who come here every year (to look over the skyline or have lunch) still give the Berlin TV Tower as much fanfare now as it did back then. Even better now that Berlin is united again. Don’t ya think? :-)

I don’t know if it was rainy or sunny, cloudy or chilly on the 31st of October 1517. I don’t know what made that day different from any other day in the life of Martin Luther. But, it was a day that changed the world of religion (and politics) forever.

One thing’s for sure, Martin Luther had had enough of the status quo.

This day was the “official” start of the Protestant Reformation, when Luther nailed his 95 Theses (on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences) on the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Even facing excommunication, Luther never backed down. He was excommunicated on January 3, 1521. Doesn’t sound like much to us today, but back then it was unthinkable for churchgoing folks to be “tossed out” of the church.

You see, back in Martin Luther’s time the Catholic Church held a tight grip on the daily lives of the people, permeating just about every aspect of it. Luther and others like him (John Calvin, for one) felt the Church was corrupt, in the habit of “selling” indulgences (money paid for God’s forgiveness); as well as the buying of high clerical offices.

Of course there was more to it than just these two issues, celibacy and the Pope’s authority (ironic since Pope Alexander VI fathered seven children) were other big points in the reform that Luther and his followers were asking for.

One of the biggest changes to the Church was the translation of the Bible from Latin to German in 1522, thus bringing the Word of God to the people. The book was translated from Latin to English in 1526, so there was more religious reform going on the world (like the establishment of the Church of England in the 1530’s).

The Church did not meekly accept it, allowing all these changes or the threat to its “authority.” Some nobility and rulers remained loyal to the Catholic Church, adding to the conflict and opposition.

Reformation was sweeping the German nation regardless, as well as the Swiss, the English, and other European countries; even starting war. Both Germany’s Peasants’ War (1524-1526) and Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) were both a direct and indirect effect of the changing attitudes and social changes the Reformation brought about.

One of the biggest changes brought on by the Reformation had to do with the “sacraments.” No longer was the bread and wine of the ritualistic Catholic Church considered to be the “blood & body” of Christ. It was more symbolic in the Reformed services, reverting back to its original form (bread and wine) after services were over.

The issue of marriage was a big change as well. Men of the Cloth weren’t allowed to marry within the Catholic Church (as it remains to this day), but Luther himself changed that. Yes, there were other reverends and monks who were legally married before Luther, but the issue was cemented when Luther married Katharina von Bora (he was 41, she was 26); going on to bear him six children. They were totally devoted to each other, as well as to God.

It might appear that almost 500 years later, the Reformation (and subsequent Protestant) services are nothing out of the ordinary. But, in the wake of what Luther and his friends did back more than five centuries ago it was revolutionary.

It also wasn’t an overnight process. Luther nailed his Theses on the church door in 1517; the religious and political strife didn’t end in Germany until the signing of the Treaty of Westphalia (thus ending the Thirty Years War) until 1648. That was a total of 131 years, not to mention almost (depending on whose account) 25-40 percent of Germany’s population lost due the religious conflict of the Thirty Years War alone.

The road of the Protestant Reformation wasn’t an easy one. Martin Luther and others like him paid a heavy price for the reform of the Church.

Today you’ll find many monuments and churches dedicated to him throughout Germany; a mere pittance to pay back to a man who changed the world.

I don’t think it’s fair that when most people talk or read about history that most of it’s about war. Sure, war (or the constant threat of warfare) was a fact of life, however, there was much more to daily life. History is much more than who’s fighting where, when, and why.

Never was this more evident than the history of the Germanic Tribes, often called the Teutonic, a people thought to have originated from somewhere in Northern Europe in a time period called Late Antiquity, ending around the Early Middle Ages.

And I ain’t saying that these guys didn’t go off to war or pillage somewhere — but they did have settlements, a hierarchy, and gave rise to some infamous (I mean famous, depending on how you look at it) names in history (like the Franks, Saxons, Anglos, Lombards, Vikings, Merovingians, and Goths).

Whew, reads like a who’s who of European invaders, doesn’t it?

Starting sometime in the Nordic Bronze Age (~1700-600 B.C.), archaeology has shown Germanic Tribes lived in the area of Schleswig-Holstein and Hamburg, eventually spreading out along the Elbe, Danube, and Rhine Rivers as well as the Baltic Sea.

By around 250 B.C. the Germanic Tribes were living in the Rhine-Weser and North Sea area, too. A huge migration of these tribes took place over the course of 300 years, from around the 2nd to 5th century A.D. By this time, areas of Austria, Switzerland, England, and Scandinavia were settled by the Teutonic; who also invaded Italy and Gaul (parts of modern day France).

Many of these Germanic Tribes were pagans; and eventually Christianized (the Goths were the first). By the time Charlemagne came during his Saxon War Campaign, many of these tribes were already Christian. But, he did see to it that anyone holding on to their pagan beliefs was severely “punished.”

But on an average day, who were these Germanic Tribes? How did they live? What did they do? What did they eat? What role did women play in everyday society?

As proper, let’s start with ladies first. Women (or I should say Free Women, cause the Germanic Tribes had slaves) weren’t able to “rule” in their own right. Their status (or rank) in society was dictated by either their husband’s or father’s social status.

However, the penalty for hurting or killing a woman was two times the “penalty” for that of a man (see, I told you they had a hierarchy). The women of the Teutonic did the weaving and spinning, as well as raise the children and cook.

Families lived together in small settlements, often less than a dozen households; and lived in the same dwellings as their livestock. They grew barley, hunted, brewed beer, danced, created their own form of art, and practiced husbandry (breeding livestock — because social status was determined by size). A reconstructed Germanic settlement can be seen in Fritzlar-Geismar — a real life look into the time period.

Of course, not all settlements were exactly alike; and most noticeable differences were seen between the Celtic and Germanic culture within what is today’s Germany. Julius Caesar wrote about the Germani people in 51 B.C., noting that promiscuity (which was rampant in Ancient Rome) was severely frowned upon (disgraceful was the word he used).

It was unthinkable (according to good old Julius) that a man should be with a woman before turning 20 years old, downright middle-age back then.

See, it wasn’t always about war. The “S-word” played a part in daily Germani life, otherwise there wouldn’t have been anyone of us left. ;-)

Eventually the last of the Germanic Tribes were assimilated into the Holy Roman Empire sometime in the 10th century; and the Teutonic settlements gave rise to the Feudal System and cities like Köln (Cologne), Mainz, and Aachen.

The “common” language of the Germanic Tribes can still be heard (well, partly) today, since German, Dutch, and English are considered Germanic languages. Duh, on the German, right? ;-)

Funny, I always thought “Love” was the common language… I just hope you’re over 20 before you “speak” it.

Hey, what can I say — I stem from a Germanic Tribe! ;-)