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The Week in Germany: Culture
June 15, 2007
Readings: TWIG Cannot Cover it All - But We Can Tell You Where
to Find it!
As you might imagine, the TWIG editors spend a lot of time sifting through
the mountain of information available on the Internet about Germany. For
those of you who are not quite as surflustig, we continue our
roving weekly selection of links to top-notch writing about Germany on
the Web. If you like TWIG, you might find these stories interesting as
well.
Happy Reading!
 With
World Cup, Germany Scores at Home
Dutch Sports journalist Simon Kuper wonders whether Germany's image boost
from last year's World Cup will last, given that past World Cup hosts
were unable to sustain the good vibes. Kuper is sanguine about Germany's
prospects for holding on to its new place in the hearts of other nations
across the world. The reason, Kuper says, is that people's positive beliefs
about Germany are largely true.
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| Soccer fans flocked to Germany for the World Cup, Knut fans flock
to Berlin for - Knut, now six months old, shown napping here, Photo:
dpa |
A
Rattletrap East German Icon Has Its Day Again
Mark Landler covers a Europe-wide "Trabi" festival for Spiegel
Online on the eve of the iconic East German vehicle's 50th anniversary.
While a significant part of the Trabant's appeal can be chalked up to
nostalgia, Landler writes, enthusiasts also share an appreciation for
the practicality of the design. Besides, as one Trabi fan pointed out,
"When you're driving in the city, it goes just as fast as a Mercedes
S-Class.
Deep-fried
Toy Tanks? Documenta's Mission to Explain Modern Art
Many locals in sleepy, blue-collar Kassel have long regarded Documenta
as a peculiar infestation by obtuse artnicks that revisit the city every
five years like a swarm of white-wine sipping locusts. Documenta is finally
making efforts to shed its Sprockets image. Spiegel Online
reports on initiatives to bring the art into the community by employing
local high school students as guides and sponsoring community discussions.
Documenta
12: "No Meaningless Art from Opportunistic Virtuosos"
Meanwhile
Roger M. Buergel, artistic director of documenta 12, told Deutsche Welle
in an interview why he waited to reveal the list of artists whose works
are now on show in Kassel (not as a PR strategy!) and why it is
important to bring art to the public.
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| Claus von Stauffenberg |
Suri
Visits Knut; Tom Prepares to Play Stauffenberg
The Cruise family have visited Berlin again, Spiegel Online
reports. This time, the agenda included scouting film locations for Tom
Cruise's upcoming film on an assassination attempt against Hitler, a visit
to the local Scientology headquarters and the Berlin Zoo, home to Knut.
Cruise is set to play Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg, a German army
officer and one of the leading figures of the failed July 1944 plot to
kill Adolf Hitler. He paid for this brave act of rebellion with his lifeand
has been revered as a hero in postwar Germany.
Hitler
Bunkers Revealed - Real and Virtual
The Guardian's Kate Connolly explains how Albert Speer's military
academy was buried under a hill of rubble known as the Teufelsberg
(Devil's Mountain). Another underground complex - the infamous Führerbunker,
the Berlin bunker where Hitler spent his last living hours as illustrated
in the critically acclaimed film Der Untergang (Downfall), has
now been "reborn" as a virtual tour.
Links:
Documenta
12 Revealed in Kassel (Germany.info)
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