Germany – Page 21 – understand-culture

Germany’s nationwide emergency warning day hitches

September 2020. For the first time in almost 30 years, Germany carried out a nationwide emergency warning day. But not everything went as planned. For those living in or visiting Germany on Thursday, things got loud this morning.

At 11 a.m. sharp (0900 GMT) Germany carried out a nationwide test of its civil alarm systems — with everything from sirens to push notifications on smartphones being tested. The test was slated to run for exactly 20 minutes. It’s the first test of its kind since Germany was reunified in 1991.

6 surprising things forbidden in Germany

It’s no secret that Germans love rules. But some surprising things can get you into trouble here. Don’t worry – Rachel is here to keep you on the right side of the law!

YouTube comments:

“An important German law that most countries don’t have is Unterlassene Hilfeleistung or duty to rescue. If you see someone in trouble who needs help, you must, by law, try to help them. Example: If you see an accident on the roadside where someone is injured. You must stop, call an ambulance and apply first aid till help arrives. Just driving by is an offence.”

“That’s really true about the insults. A friend of mine had a rather aggressive elderly neighbor who lived below him. My buddy was only allowed to move around the apartment as quietly as possible or he would receive a hail of complaints. One day his parents were visiting and the neighbor rang the doorbell and complained about “noise”, yelled abusive words and made insulting gestures. His father filed a complaint (there were enough witnesses) and the neighbor ended up in court – as it turned out later, not for the first time. He had to pay €900. Since then, the neighbor never yelled again against him.”

“Most of these laws are actually quite useful even if they sound petty. Anyone who has tried calling the police in the UK complaining about noise and has been told you will have to contact the council will agree. There is a little known minor breach of the law (Ordungswidrigkeit) in Germany titled “Unnützes Hin- und Herfahren” (unnecessary driving around). You can be fined up to €100 if you are caught driving around for no apparent reason in a built-up area if this is disturbing people. It sounds ridiculous but it stops all those eejits who drive up and down the road with music blasting out of their cars.”

The Schlieffen Plan

The Schlieffen plan of attack used by the German armies at the outbreak of World War I. It was named after its developer, Count Alfred von Schlieffen (1833–1913), former chief of the German general staff.

To meet the possibility of Germany’s facing a war against France in the west and Russia in the east, Schlieffen proposed that, instead of aiming the first strike against Russia, Germany should aim a rapid, decisive blow with a large force at France’s flank through Belgium, then sweep around and crush the French armies against a smaller German force in the south.

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Why the Schlieffen Plan failed

The Schlieffen Plan was the blueprint for Germany’s army to avoid a two-front war with Russia and France. It was supposed to be the solution for a quick victory against arch enemy France by invading Belgium and the Netherlands to circumvent French defenses.

Helmut von Moltke adapted the original plan by Alfred von Schlieffen and ultimately failed when the Germans were beaten at the Battle of the Marne. The video explains the numerous reasons why the Schlieffen Plan was doomed to fail.

German WWI planning

The outbreak of World War I demonstrated changes in warfare and warplans of both sides were thrown into disarray. This video looks on a strategic level how Germany attempted to find its path to victory in this new situation.

Otto von Bismarck is supposed to have said to Germans: “The biggest wisdom in the war is to know when to stop when you are succesful.”

Mike Tyson definitely said: “You can have all the plans in the world till you get punched in the face.”

How Germany lost control of Covid

In mid-2020, Germany was hailed the world’s shining star of coronavirus containment. Now, while countries like the UK and Israel are going back to normalcy, Germany has been under some form of lockdown for over six months. How did Germany, a country known for its efficiency, love of planning and rationality lose control of its COVID-19 response?

Covid: German success thusfar

April 2020 – A look at why Germany has been so successful in dealing with the pandemic, and has been able to keep its coronavirus death rate so low, compared to other nations, with Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister.

The world is reeling from the coronavirus pandemic, and some countries are reeling more than others. But Germany seems to be taking the epidemic in its stride with a high number of cases but a low number of deaths, thanks to a number of factors.

In Europe, while Italy and Spain are the worst hit countries with over 100,000 cases each, as of Friday, Germany has recorded 84,794 confirmed cases but has witnessed just 1,107 deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.

The low mortality rate in Germany, at just over 1%, is far below its neighboring European countries, and this has been put down to Germany’s decision to implement widespread testing of people suspected of having the virus, as opposed to Italy or the U.K.’s decision to only test symptomatic cases.

German history in six minutes

To understand German history is to understand how the German people thinks. It can’t be any other way. With any other people. Including your people.

Amazon thinks long-term

As an American Jeff Bezos is untypical in his long-term and customer-centric approach to business. The success of Amazon speaks for itself.

Julius Caesar on the Germans

This is an extract from Julius Caesar’s ‘Commentaries on the Gallic Wars’, first published between 58 and 49 BC. In 60 BC Rome was not yet an empire, but soon it would be. The momentous events of the next decades, many of which were put into motion by the famed politician Julius Caesar, were some of the most important and formative of the Western World.

We tell this story directly from the words of Caesar himself. Starting with his masterpiece ‘Commentaries on the Gallic Wars’ – first published over two thousand years ago yet still widely read all over the world today.