Category Archives: Germany

New in our “Minute Biographies” series: Anne Frank (1929-1945)



Our minute biography series continues with this reflection on the life of Anne Frank, Holocaust victim and diarist non pareil. Many people regard her diary as the most famous “Holocaust book.” Yet the diary is not a book about the Holocaust nor was it written by one who was, at the time she wrote it, a Holocaust victim.  Nevertheless the story of Anne Frank is essential for those hoping for a world of respect for diversity and human rights.  This year, the ninetieth anniversary of Anne Frank’s birth, is the perfect time for this new addition to the “Minute Biography” series on Hijacking History.  Audio segments are used in this program by permission as provided under Creative Commons licenses. They include “Amesterdam Bells Birds,” by everythingsounds, licensed under the Attribution CC Unported license, no changes made; “Angry Nazi Clatters,” by kineticturtle, licensed under the Attribution CC 3.0 Unported license, no changes made; and “The Letter from Anne Frank,” by stanrams, licensed under the Attribition Non-Commercial 3.0 Unported license, no changes made.


My Germany: Teaching and Living in Germany on an American Fulbright, 2007-2008 (Episode 2 of 2)



In this second of two episodes I conclude my recollections of my Fulbright semester in Halle an der Saale, Germany in 2007-2008.  What did Germans want to know most about Americans, and what do Americans need to know about Germans?  I discuss my talks before German audiences in Chemnitz, the former Karl Marx Stadt.  Interest in the American presidential election of 2008 was keen here, even though these citizens hardly ever even saw an American.   The positive and negative aspects of the German way of life are subjects of reflection. The rise of the radical right neo-Nazi party, NPD, and the day it made an appearance in Halle is also discussed.  Few nations have to deal with political factions so radical as does Germany, but few nations have the experience in doing so that Germans have had in the last 72 years.