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Struwwelpeter & Co. - Morals or simply Horror Stories for ages 3+ ?

The Struwwelpeter book was written by the German doctor Heinrich Hoffmann in the year 1845. It is supposed to teach children what happens to them if they don't behave well, but in a very drastic and exaggerated way. There are stories, all of them written in merry rhymes, where children starve to death because they don't eat their soup, get their thumb chopped off because they suck it, burn to ashes because they played with fire, etc.
There have been endless discussions about whether this book is good for children because it teaches them rules and morals or bad because it scares them to death. It says on the outside that this book is appropriate for children at the age of 3 and up, on some books it even says from 3-6. At home, we have a paperboard(!) version of "Der Struwwelpeter oder lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder". I almost don't dare translating this for you and you will soon see, why. It says "The Struwwelpeter or merry stories and funny pictures". "Merry" stories? "Funny" pictures? Oh, sure.
I guess the book can't be too harmful as my mother read it to me when I was a child (same thing with the "scary German fairy tales"), but looking at the stories now, 20 years later, does make me think about the educational value of this book.
Let us take a look at the book which starts with the Struwwelpeter story. By the way, there is the German expression of "looking like a Struwwelpeter" which means that your hair looks messy.
The book starts with a little introduction stating that only well-behaved children who eat their soup and bread, who aren't noisy and who stay with their mother when going for a walk get rewarded.
The next page looks like this:
In rhymes the author talks about the bad boy Struwwelpeter, who didn't let his nails get cut for almost a year and didn't get a haircut either. Consequently, he is unpopular. "Pfui!"
Here you can see the story "Die gar traurige Geschichte mit dem Feuerzeug" (The very sad story of the matches).
The story is about a girl named Paulinchen who is alone at home with her two cats, Minz and Maunz. She looks for something to do and finds matches. Both cats tell her to leave the matches alone and tell her that her father has forbidden her to play with them and that otherwise she will burn to death. Paulinchen doesn't listen and lights one of the matches. She jumps joyfully around the room. Once again, the cats tell her to stop and that also her mother has forbidden her to play with the matches. But, too late, her dress already catches fire and she burns to death. The cats cry out for help, but it is too late. All that can be found is a heap of ashes and her two shoes.
Another story, "Die Geschichte von den schwarzen Buben" (The story of the Black Boys) deals with racism.
In this story, there is a black boy, going for a walk. Three boys names Ludwig, Kaspar and Wilhelm make fun of the black boy, because they think he looks as black as ink. Then Nikolaus comes with a big ink pot. He tells the boys to leave the black boy alone and that it's not his fault he isn't as white as they are. The boys don't stop and make even more fun of the boy than before which leads Nikolaus to get really mad and put all three of them in his big ink pot. On the last page it says that now they are even darker than the black boy and that this wouldn't have happened to them if they had behaved and not made fun of the black boy.
One last story I want to show you is "Die Geschichte vom Suppen-Kaspar" (The Story of the Soup-Kaspar).
It deals with Kaspar, who had always been a healthy boy with fresh, blushed cheeks and a big belly, but who, one day, didn't want to eat his soup anymore. He says: "Ich esse keine Suppe! Nein! Ich esse meine Suppe nicht! Nein, meine Suppe ess' ich nicht!" which means "I'm not eating any soup! No! I'm not eating my soup! No, my soup I won't be eating!" The next day, he is thinner, but he still repeats what he said on the first day. On the third day, when he is even thinner and weaker, he still repeats that he won't be eating his soup. On the fourth day, he is thin as a piece of string and on the fifth day he dies. There is a picture of his grave with a soup pot on top.
Go figure.
For a full version of the Struwwelpeter book in English, click here and scroll down: http://www.gutenberg.org/files/12116/12116-h/12116-h.htm
German Sundays

Sundays in Germany are not the same as in other countries. To Germans, Sunday is a mandatory rest day. Most people don't work except for doctors, nurses, waiters/waitresses and other people who are needed at their working place every day.
All stores/shops/supermarkets etc. are closed. There are a few Sundays a year on which some shops downtown will be open. This is called verkaufsoffener Sonntag, but this phenomena does not happen too often as stores are only allowed to be open on 10 Sundays a year, including the 4 Advent sundays preceding Christmas. Gas stations are open, but they aren't convenience stores as for example gas stations in the US. So you should always plan ahead and not realize on Sunday morning that you ran out of toilet paper, milk or other things you need for the day.
There is no construction working and any kind of noise is to be reduced. You could even get a fine for mowing your lawn on a Sunday. Children are being told that it's Sunday and that, while playing outside, they can't be too noisy.
So what do Germans do on Sundays?
In the mornings, first of all, religious people go to Church. Others like to sleep in and a lot of people have brunch around 10 or 11 o'clock instead of breakfast. Sundays are perfect days to spend some quality time with your family and friends. If the weather is good, you will find a lot of Germans outside: doing sports and other leisure activities, sitting in the backyard, sunbathing, going to flea markets or to the park. It is also a good time to go to the movies (although this is more expensive on the weekends), to the museum, have lunch/dinner in a restaurant or to just stay at home. A lot of students do their homework on Sundays, other people like to hang out at home and do all the things they don't have enough time for during the week or just hang out and enjoy doing nothing.
As you can see, German Sundays are something you have to get used to if you visit Germany or even live here, but not being able to go shopping on Sundays is definitely not the end of the world.
Getting rid of German Stereotypes (or maybe not?)

This is how German men are typically depicted abroad: beer-loving, lederhosen- and hat-wearing, tall, fat and of course with a huge beard. German women are tall as well, strongly built with huge breasts, have blue eyes, blond hair and wear pig tails. Do Germans really look like this? Are all of them heavy beer drinkers, sauerkraut and bratwurst eaters, strict, unfriendly and rude people?
Before we tackle these questions, here is an introductory video about some common German stereotypes:
Now let's take a closer look at the stereotypes and look for some truth.
1. Germans are tall, fat, blonde and have blue eyes. They wear lederhosen and dirndls all the time.
In contrast to South European, South American, Asian and other countries where people are rather short, Germans seem to be generally tall. However, there are exceptions and of course, you can find short Germans as well.
Obesity has increased, but that's a problem a lot of countries have to deal with lately. And, of course, not everybody is fat.
There are blonde, blue-eyed people in Germany, but less than you will find in Northern Europe and more Germans actually rather have brown (in all kinds of shades) than blond hair. Eye colors range from green over blue and grey to brown.
Lederhosen (leather pants) and dirndls (a traditional dress) will most likely be found in Bavaria, a state in the south of Germany, and in Austria. But even there, people don't dress in lederhosen and dirndls every day. It is most common to see it at the Oktoberfest.
2. Germans drink beer like water and love the Oktoberfest.
Germans do drink a lot of beer. In 2010, the average German drank 101,8 liters of beer, actually reaching a low during that year, with most of the beer being drunken by Bavarians and North Rhine Westphalians (NRW is a state in the west of Germany). But the fact that a lot of Germans like to drink beer does not mean that we drink beer like water. Germans love to drink coffee as well (in the morning, after lunch, in the afternoon...), a lot of water, juice, "Schorlen" (juice mixed with sparkling water), soda, etc. Germans most likely only have beer sometimes after work or on the weekends, unless they are alcoholics. We are said to be able to drink a lot and I guess that, in general, that's true.
The Oktoberfest takes place every fall in Munich, Bavaria, and is known world-wide. It attracts tourists from all over the world, but also Germans (70% of them being Bavarians, just to let you know).
3. Germans love sauerkraut, bratwurst and pretzels.
I would like to know where the sauerkraut myth comes from as I don't know anybody who is crazy about sauerkraut. It is eaten in Germany, yes, but when I encountered this here on the Chicagoer "Christkindlsmarket" last year, I was seriously shocked:
We would never even think of eating bratwurst or leberkäse with sauerkraut!
As for bratwurst, I guess the stereotype is partly true. Pretty much every region in Germany has their own style of bratwurst, so there is an endless variety of bratwurst. But again, there are Germans who don't even like bratwurst and it is not eaten that frequently by most families.
Pretzels are typical for Bavaria (once again), but known in other parts of Germany as well.
4. The good old German punctuality and efficiency
The term German punctuality exists in several non-German countries. Of course not every German is always on time, but in general, you can say that this stereotype is a true one.
It is very important for Germans to arrive on time and we will rather arrive 5 minutes early than 5 minutes too late. An exception is if you are invited to a party and know that a lot of people will be arriving. In this case it is usually okay to arrive a little late.
Public transportation should always be on time and Germans can get really angry if it isn't. "Time is money!" In many cities, there are also "tickers" indicating in how many minutes the bus/train/whatever will be arrriving.
The stereotype of Germans being depicted as efficient, hard-working and industrious is based on the Wirtschaftswunder after the Second World War when Germany quickly revived economically.
5. The land of poets, thinkers... scientists and engineers
Germany is known as "das Land der Dichter und Denker" (country of poets and thinkers). Ever heard of Goethe and Schiller? A great deal of Germany's literature of the 19th century was written by them and they remain important German figures.
Well-known German scientists and engineers are, amongst others, Albert Einstein, Konrad Röntgen (discovered x-rays), Gottlieb Daimler and Carl Benz (invented the automobile), Karl-Heinz Brandenburg (developed mp3), Johannes Gutenberg (invented printing with moveable letters), Otto Lilienthal (constructed airplanes)...
Well-known German brands include Adidas, Aldi, Audi, Beyer, Beiersdorf, Bosch, BMW, Lufthansa, Mercedes Benz, Puma, Siemens, Volkswagen and Porsche.
6. Germans stick to rules and fear the unknown
We do have a lot of rules, be it in the class rooms, traffic, in any kind of public institution or public transportation. It is required to stick to these rules and otherwise you get punished. You don't have a ticket for the public transportation? - You have to pay 40€. You drove too fast and got caught? - Depending on how fast you were and how much above the limit, there are fees, seminars or they will even take your license away (for some time or longer). We might seem stricter than people in other cultures, but rules do give us a sense of security.
Germans have rules for everything. And that's just how we grow up. It's also linked with the fear of the unknown. "I've always done it this way and it's always worked perfectly. Why should I change a thing?" There is just a specific way things ought to be done and that's it.
Of course this was only a small insight into stereotypes about Germans and there is a lot more to talk about. As with stereotypes of every culture, there is usually some truth to it, but even if so, there can only be generalizations made.
I will be tackling other interesting topics in the future as well, so stay tuned!
Schon GEZahlt?
This is a slogan Germans encounter everywhere: on TV and on the radio, in advertisements - be it in the movie theater, newspaper or throughout the city, in our mailboxes...basically everywhere possible.
Literally, the slogan means "Already paid?" and refers to the so-called GEZ (which is also included in the slogan - how clever). So what is this famous GEZ about?
GEZ stands for 'Gebühreneinzugszentrale' which is the radio and TV license collecting agency in Germany. It was founded on Jan 1st, 1976 by the two public TV stations (ARD and ZDF) and a public radio station called Deutschlandradio.
The GEZ works like this: If you have a radio, TV, a DVD Player, GPS and/or any device that you can get internet access with and that enables you to get access to any kind of TV or radio channels - be it a personal computer, laptop, cell phone with internet access, you name it, you have to pay this fee.
So basically every German has to pay it but a great deal of people don't and this is why there is such a huge amount of advertisements everywhere. There is an exception, however, for people with low incomes who don't have to pay the fee and there are some other exceptions that might be made as well, but many people who could afford to pay it do not understand why they should pay an additional fee if they already pay the cable station and probably most people don't even know the reasons behind the GEZ.
Let me give you a quick introduction to German TV services. We have public as well as private TV channels. Whereas the latter are funded mostly by commercials -and therefore have a TV program that includes a great deal of commercials-, the public channels are, with more than 80%, mostly funded by the fees that we pay to the GEZ and only by a small percentage of commercials. This 'mixture' of funding allows for an independency from the state and economy. In total, the GEZ does not only help to finance 21 public TV channels, but also 57 radio stations and a diversity of additional services.
So how much do we have to pay for this radio and TV license fee? This depends on which and how many devices you have. If you own a radio, a 'new device' (that enables you to use the internet or GPS) or both, you have to pay 17,28 € every quarter. If you have any of the following combinations: TV, TV + radio, TV + 'new device', or all three, you are required to pay 53,94€ every quarter. In 2010, they took in 7545,3 million € which is 58,9 million more than the year before. Obviously numbers of people who pay the radio and TV license fee are going up - even though there are a great deal of complaints about the GEZ and their infinte advertisements.
Here is a translation for you:
- Here you are.
- When I get bread rolls in the morning, I pay for them. I can't expect the others to pay for me as well.
Or when eating in a restaurant. I won't just walk off without paying.
...would be embarrassing.
At home, I have TV and radio. I pay for that. My GEZ fees. Because I need independent media. Because I need variety. Because everybody needs it.
(On her T-Shirt it says „Of course I'm paying.“)
And how about you?
- Be fair. Get registered. „GEZ. Schon gezahlt?“
For more information, check out http://www.gez.de












