Oh Boy, Currywurst!

New York Times: "National Dish Comes With Foreign Flavoring" An article about German fast food favorites: Currywurst and Doner Kebabs. Yum.

Multikulti is Dead--now that's depressing news

anti-mosque agitation

Now that Angela Merkel has declared German multiculturalism "dead" , Germans can begin to openly grapple with the issue currently facing all western European nations. For the Germans, the touchy subject of Muslims (particulary Turkish) integration is shadowed by the fate of the last major religious minority to find itself accused of living off the majority. A recent poll indicates that 30% of Germans believe their country is being "overrun by foreigners". In these times of fiscal belt-tightening, outsiders who appear to be a drain on the social state will be feeling increasing pressure. I worry about Turkish-Germans who have grown up in Germany--they will never be accepted as "German" they way they could embrace an American non-ethnic identity.

Back to Berlin

During the early 20th century, Berlin was home to a vibrant Jewish population. The Jerusalem Post reports that young Israelis are moving to Berlin "in droves". Read this in conjunction with my last post about young Germans who finally embrace "pride" and no longer feel so burdened by their grandparents' crimes. It's an exciting development, hinting at the real possibility of genuine reconciliation and a broader horizon for both peoples.
Of course, I'm a pessimist when it comes to issues of ethnic identity and the capacity of individuals to embrace violent ethnocentrism over rational co-existence. I would love to see this young generation of Germans and Israelis prove me wrong.

There's a Specter Haunting Germany...

National Pride. A Lebanese immigrant in Neukoelln is having difficulty keeping his giant German flag safe. Autonomen (left-wing radicals) are presumably to blame.
Nationalism is very complex for post-war Germany.