Excellent classroom material for Teachers of German
In connection with the world economy and especially with regards to the Euro Crisis, Germany has been covered in the American media for the past three years more often than ever before thanks to Chancellor Angela Merkel’s much applauded leadership in Europe. The recent special issue of Time Magazine titled “The 100 Most Influential People in the World” is no exception and it comes to no surprise that Chancellor Merkel is portrayed among one of the 100 most influential people. Surprisingly, however, is the fact that Mainz was chosen as one of Time Magazine’s picks of the most influential places in history.
Among Stonehenge, the Great Pyramids of Egypt, the Taj Mahal, and the North Pole, we would have expected to find the Berlin Wall but we discovered Mainz instead. Very rightfully suggested by the Internet entrepreneur Craig Newmark, Mainz, after all, is the city where Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press, thus enabling worldwide communication and eventually even social media.
Many other German, Austrian and Swiss traces can be found throughout this special issue that provides excellent overviews of the main developments and inventions in the last two centuries. In the 19th century overview, you’ll find, among others, a mentioning of German-born Levi Strauss who patented jeans in 1873, Karl Marx and the publication of “Das Kapital” in 1867, as well as the formal unification of Germany under Otto von Bismarck in 1871. The 20th century overview includes the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in 1914 triggering WWI, Albert Einstein and the theory of general relativity from 1916, the Berlin Airlift starting in 1948, and much more.
It’s a great read for anybody interested in world politics and history but especially recommendable for teachers to show their students how influential many inventions, historic events, personalities, and developments from German-speaking Europe have been for the US. – gw/ps
>> www.time.com
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