- von Maggie
On January 11th, we visited the Friedrich Ebert Museum in Heidelberg. He was the first democratically elected President of Germany in 1920, and was a socialist who wanted to help the working class. As Germany recovered from World War I, and even before then, the shift to a more socialist way of thinking was greatly influenced by Ebert. The museum included a walk-through of his childhood home, as well as a large walk-through timeline of not only his life but the political atmosphere at the time.
As we walked through his childhood home, I could clearly see why he wanted to support and aid the working class. Ebert grew up as one of fifteen children in a very small three bedroom apartment above his father’s cloth/tailoring shop. I could show how Germany values work ethic in how they highlighted not only Ebert’s political success, but his father’s small business success and the effort his mother put in to raise and care for the entire family. In America, we mainly focus on the spectacular success of the person themselves, and leave the more typical but still tough successes of those around them.
After walking through Ebert’s childhood home, we moved on to the historical museum. It was set up as a larger, interactive timeline where we could walk through the changing times. Instead of having a tour guide, we were left alone and followed the path at our own pace. Because of that, the museum put in a lot of effort to have the exhibit be as interactive and clear as possible. The amount of information that they could supply us with without it feeling overwhelming was incredible.
This entire timeline was different to me because it showed the other side of the World Wars. As the “winners” of the two wars, we never see or learn about how the other side was affected. Germany doesn’t like to talk about the wars, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t acknowledge it. This is also different from America, as anytime we are on the “losing” or wrong side of a conflict, we tend to ignore it. The fact that Germany chooses to acknowledge the role they played is a huge historical culture change for me. However, even though they acknowledged what they did during the war, most of Germany, and the Ebert museum especially, focuses on the political and economic repercussions they were faced with in the aftermath.
Recent German historical culture emphasizes rebuilding and growing, which I love. I could see this clearly in how proud they are of Friedrich Ebert and his compassion for the working class. The proof of that pride is having an entire museum dedicated to a man determined to lead the poor and struggling out of post-war poverty into a country where the people have a say in how they want it to run.
Overall, the Friedrich Ebert Museum was a great look into not only a man and his accomplishments, but German culture where work-ethic, growth, and acknowledgment of the good and the bad is key to a country to be proud of.
- von Garrett
Heute sind wir nach das Friedrich Ebert Museum gegangen. Draußen sieht das Museum sehr klein aus, aber in dem Museum da ist viel Raum und viel zu lernen. Erst sind wir um die alte Wohnung von Friedrich Evert und seine Familie gegangen. Die Wohnung hätte viele alte Dingen von die Evert Familie, zum Beispiel ein Anzug von Ebert! Die Wohnung war sehr klein und wir haben warum Ebert war mit der Arbeiterbewegung durch sein Leben gesehen. Nach sind wir aus die Wohnung verlassen, sind wir nach das Museum gegangen. Das Museum war ein langer Weg, dass durch viele Zimmern gelegen hat. Es hat in dem Jahr 1871 angefangen, wo man konnte über der Welt und das Deutsches Kaiserreich lernen. Durch der Weg haben wir über die SPD bevor und nach der Erster Weltkrieg gelernt, bis Ebert hat Bundespräsident bekommt. Endlich, der Weg auf Eberts Tod aufgehört. Das Friedrich Ebert Museum ist sehr wichtig für Deutschlands Geschichte und Entwicklung als ein Land.
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