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Alexanderplatz

Sarah Hunzelmann, Kerstin Jans, Linus Lorenz

Future Development

Future plans include the demolition of the 410 ft. high former Hotel Stadt Berlin (today: Hotel Park-Inn), as well as the construction of three tower buildings. As the hotel was refurbished in 2005 and was remodeled with a new facade and has a very good occupancy rate, it is not decided if and when the plans will be implemented. The deadline (2013) set by the state of Berlin and the investors for the completion of the 492 ft. high towers, seems to have been given up. The state of Berlin announced it wouldn’t follow through with the corresponding urban development contracts. Ten out of thirteen originally planned buildings remained after modifications. For eight of them a building lease already exists. Since 2007, the investors of the shopping center Alexa have announced several times their willingness to sell their property to another investor supervising the construction of the tower. Unfortunately, no other investor has been found so far. Hines, investor of die mitte, has developed further construction plans. Since 2009, the new construction of a 492 ft. high tower right behind the mall has been announced. On September 12, 2011 a slightly changed zoning map was presented providing an apartment tower with 400 apartments. Whether this plan will be executed or not and when this might happen is still not decided.

Monty Python’s Life of Brian(by Michelle, Tanja, Annkatrin)

Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) is a comedy by Monty Python, a British group of comedians who are famous for their black, satirical, nonsense humor. Born at the same time as Jesus, the naïve and unremarkable Brian is involuntarily worshipped as the Messiah as the consequence of several misunderstandings. Because he engages in the resistance against the Romans, he eventually meets his pointless death in a mass crucifixion. The satire attacks religious and political dogmatism, which particularly Christian and Jewish organizations found insulting. They reacted with harsh protests to the movie’s publication. In countries such as the US, UK or Norway the movie was boycotted and banned which further stoked the controversial discussion about freedom of expression and blasphemy. Although the accusation of blasphemy was practically invalidated from all sides, the satire is still criticized by pious Christians. Due to its history of reception the movie is a prime example for the conflict between artistic freedom of expression and religious tolerance. Movie critics and the Pythons themselves refer to Monty Python’s Life of Brian as their most mature, relevant and intellectually challenging work. Numerous surveys confirm the ongoing success with the audience. The ending song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life has become famous above and beyond the context of the movie.

"Radler" (by Asya, Carola)

The Radler ("cyclist") is a Biermischgetränk (beer-based mixed drink) with a long history in German-speaking regions. Consisting of a 50%/50% or 60%/40% mixture of various types of beer and German-style soda pop or lemonade, the invention of the Radler has been widely attributed to the Munich gastronomer Franz Xaver Kugler in 1922. However the recipe for the Radler had been mentioned as early as 1912.[1] Nowadays, the Radler is drunk not only in Bavaria but across Germany, Austria, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Croatia, Hungary, Lithuania, Slovenia, Northern Italy, Republic of Macedonia and Romania. During the summer months, Radler is very popular due to its reputation of being a thirst-quencher.[2] The product is now being offered by various breweries in bottles and cans.[2]

Variants

In German-speaking countries there are many variants of the Radler which often have different names:

•	In Switzerland, in Saarland, in Italy and in France they call it Panaché (French word for “mixed”), Germanized (German-speaking part of Switzerland, Saarland) Panasch, written as Panasche (without the é). In Switzerland you can optional order Panasch sauer (with mineral water instead of lemonade).

•	A variant, especially in Bavaria popular, is the Russ or Russe, consisting of Weissbier and lemonade.

•	A mixture of Schwarzbier (dark beer) and soda pop with raspberry flavor is called Ententeich in several regions in Central Germany.

•	In Austria the mixture of beer on tap and Almdudler (herbal soda pop) is known as Almradler or simply Radler. Contrary, bottled beer contains no-name lemonade. In the region of Vorarlberg they differentiate between sweet Radler (with lemonade) and sour Radler (with mineral water). Otherwise, the latter is referred to as Soda-Radler. Beer mixed with Coke is sometimes called Diesel. •	In northern Germany the mixture consists of Pils and is called Alsterwasser, short Alster, named after the color of the river Alster in Hamburg. Outside of northern Germany, the term Alster is used differently. Partly, the term Alster is applied to a mixture with soda pop with orange flavor. However, Radler is a mixture with lemonade. Sometimes both terms are used synonymously. In the Netherlands they also use Pils but call it Sneeuwwitje (Snow White).

•	In Berlin, in Brandenburg and in the northern Saxony-Anhalt they use the term Potsdamer, short Pots. However, there are several differentiating variants, e.g. Radler for beer with lemonade, Alster for beer with soda pop with orange flavor, Diesel for beer with Coke and Gespritztes for beer and Fassbrause.

•	In the Ruhr area they distinguish between the use of lemonade (Radler) and orange flavored soda pop (Alsterwasser).

•	In some parts of the German Münsterland they mix beer with orange flavored soda pop and call it Wurstwasser (“sausage water”). Probably, the name has something to do with the color of the water in which the Bockwurst (kind of German sausage) is pickled in.

•	Sometimes you can find the terms Radler sour and Radler dry, referring to a mixture of beer and mineral water.

Massacre of the Jews (by Lisa, Friederike)

Course:

The new rulers of the city did not care about both the contract of protection with the Jews and the financial losses for the city which resulted from the pogrom. The two deposed officials were left with the task of leading the Jews to the place of their execution, pretending to lead them out of Strasbourg. At this place, a wooden house had been built in which the Jews were burnt alive. Those Jews who were willing to get baptized as well as children and beautiful women were spared from the burning alive. The massacre is said to have lasted six days.

Result:

After getting rid of the Jews, the murderers distributed the properties among themselves which suggests another motive for the murders. By killing the Jews, the debtors had the opportunity to restore themselves which they used consistently. Many of those who promoted the overthrow were in debt of the Jews.

American Psycho#Trivia (by Matthias, Max)

•	In the film, Patrick Bateman says that he lives in American Gardens Building on 81st & West. Tom Cruise once lived here. The producers had originally planned for Tom Cruise to play the role of Patrick Bateman. In the book, Bateman had a brief encounter with Cruise, during which it came out that the actor lived in the penthouse of the building.

•	During Patrick Bateman’s workout, Texas Chainsaw Massacre is playing on the television.

•	Some events that Bateman mentions at the end of the film in a phone call to his lawyer only appear in the novel, not in the film.

•	When Bateman confesses his crimes in the final scene of the film, a wooden door can be seen in the background with a sign that reads “This Is Not An Exit”. These are the last words of the novel. They represent the endless circle that Bateman finds himself in.

•	Some of the paintings in Bateman’s apartment are by Robert Longo.

•	In 2002, the sequel “American Psycho II: All American Girl” appeared, in which William Shatner starred among others. Patrick Bateman makes a masked appearance in the Straight-to-Video release, but only in a flashback in which he is killed.

•	The filming began on March 1st 1999 and took place in New York and Toronto.

•	In the first season of Dexter, the eponymous protagonist uses the pseudonym Patrick Bateman in order to obtain M99, a very strong narcotic.

Hinduism in Austria (By Julia&Christian) Hinduism in Austria is less organized in comparison to other communities of faith. Since 1998 the “Hinduistische Religionsgesellschaft in Österreich” (HRÖ), one of several Hindu Religious Societies in Austria, has the status of a „registered religious denomination” (according to the Austrian „Bekenntnisgemeinschaftsgesetz” of 1998, a law concerning faith based communities). This status does not provide the same official recognition and the accompanying rights as the status of a legally recognized religious community does. According to the 2001 census there lived 3,629 avowed Hindus in Austria. In contrast, the leaders of the various groups estimate the number of Hindus as several thousand people, however for the most part they are not official members of the denomination. In 1980 Bimal Kundu, who emigrated from Bengal, founded the first religious group consisting mainly of Indian immigrants. This group still exists today. Kundu, who has a Ph.D in chemistry, led services (called Pujas) and other religious rites. Under his guidance the Hindu Mandir Society (HMA) was founded in 1990. This was the foundation of the “Hinduistische Religionsgesellschaft in Österreich” (HRÖ) as a registered religious denomination. Mukundrai Joshi, the president back then, achieved this step in 1999 for Hindu groups in Austria to be legal entities for the first time. For several decades there exist groups with people not only of Indian origin, but also numerous groups consisting mostly of people with western background, so called New Religious Movements, who regard themselves as Hindus.

This text is a translation from the corresponding German Wikipedia Article.

Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism By Kathrin and Daniel

Along with the Free State of Bavaria and with the Federal German government, the City of Munich is meeting its responsibility, in the shape of the Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism, to create a place of learning for the future. This place is intended to embed memories of the Nazi era topographically into the city and at the same time offer scope for discussion and better understanding of Munich’s significance and function as the one-time ‘Capital of the Movement’. Cited: English Page of the Documentation Center Building began in 2011 on the former grounds of the Brown House in the Maxvorstadt city borough of Munich.

History

First Considerations after 1945

After the Second World War the American military government ordered all symbols of National Socialism such as the Reichsadler and swastika to be removed. Various national-socialist buildings like the Führerbau, a place where Hitler displayed his power, which had not been destroyed during the War, took on different functions and the two buildings which made up the “Ehrentempel,” a tomb for the victims of the Beer Hall Putsch in 1923, on the Königsplatz were destroyed in 1947. All of this added fuel to the debate on how best to deal with the history of the National-Socialist regime. Directly after the end of the War there were already considerations whether or not to construct a place of learning and remembrance where future generations could critically and comprehensively discuss and examine National-Socialism. However, nothing came of it for quite some time.

A New Attempt in 1989

In 1989 the Munich City Council suggested that a “House of Contemporary History” should be erected. For a location the City Council eyed the grounds of the Brown House, where the leadership of the National Socialist Party had its headquarters during the Third Reich – right by the Königsplatz in the center of the city. This plan, however, was not realized right away.

New Directions in the 1990s

A short time later at the beginning of the 1990s the City Council made efforts to get people to remember the era of National-Socialism through exhibits and events more than ever before. In doing so they above all encouraged citizen initiatives and remembrance activities on location.

2001 – The Breakthrough

In 2001 the Munich City Council finally decided in a resolution to erect a Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism. Six months later the state of Bavaria joined the project. There followed four symposia where citizens were involved.