The Premise of This Blog

I ostensibly started this blog as a venue for describing my experiences with and thoughts about the German language and culture. I still intend to use it for that. But that doesn't explain the title I chose for the blog. The meaning might be somewhat obscure, so I'll attempt to clarify it now. It was meeting my now-husband that triggered my interest in Germany but only after I dealt with the fact that he was German. When I first met him, I had no idea that he was from Germany. I didn't even think that he was foreign. His writing was a little stiff and formal but I assumed that he was some kind of stuffy middle-aged professor. Oh, did I say that I met Guenther on the Internet? (More about that later.) When I found out that he was German, I was nonplussed. I'm a little bit German myself, but not so you'd notice, except that I do have looks that correspond to the stereotype (blonde hair, blue eyes). But I'd never been particularly interested in things German. In fact, other than what most people know, which is about World War II, the Nazis and the Holocaust, I didn't know a whole lot about Germany. I was familiar with German beer and traditional foods and Martin Luther and Wittenberg (I also happen to be Lutheran and went to Wittenberg University--in Springfield, Ohio) and I knew a few German words and phrases, the same ones that most other people know. But I knew practically nothing about its history and I certainly knew nothing about its people.

I have to be honest however and admit that my ideas about Germany were mainly negative, as are many people's, because of both World Wars and the Holocaust. So when I found out that my email partner was actually German, my heart sank. How was I going to reconcile my feelings about Germans with what I was beginning to know about this one German? He was anything but a monster, nor did he conform to any stereotypes I'd been introduced to. If anything, he is an aberration to some extent: he's actually half Spanish. Still, he was born and raised in Germany. And I was falling in love with him. What was I going to do? How would we ever be able to talk frankly about that dark period in Germany's history? Would the way that I felt forever be an obstacle in our relationship?

These questions will be answered as I add to this blog. But this brings me to the point I want to make about my title and subject. I have come to believe that Germany deserves a better deal than it has been given by most people, including historians and politicians. I intend to show that things German are actually germane to the historical and the personal, and not only human but also humane. I know that this is not a popular point of view, which is why I want to address it. I will show how I came to develop a much different attitude toward Germany than the one I grew up with, a process that did not come easily, but which has been born not only from my relationship with Guenther and his family, but also from a great deal of study. (For instance, I went back to school and earned a degree in history, specifically German history.) For these reasons, I believe I have the credentials to write about this topic. I hope that my readers will come to agree. I may not be able to change anyone's mind--and I know that I will also find many who already agree with my thesis--but I cannot help but write about this. It has become too important to me not to.