[Ed. note: two messages follow.]

From: Jens Guettel <jens-uwe.guettel@yale.edu>
Subject: Re: MfG 8: Boettcher on the World Cup from Wolfenbüttel
Date: Saturday, June 24, 2006

Some comments from a German subscriber to H-Net, currently in Berlin:

I am German, although my home is currently (and has been for seven
years now) in
the US. For the summer, I am back in my hometown Berlin in order to
do research, and of
course watch and live football.

One question for the two American observers of the world cup who have
contributed
to this thread so far: I am not sure I have ever heard a stadium
chant in Germany
that contains the word "heil" (and I have been going to league games
all my
life). Here in Berlin, fans of the Hertha BSC sometimes chant
"Sieg" (victory),
when their (our) team is playing well and is about to win ... and I
admit that I
have never liked this chant, although I doubt that this chant has its
origins in
the Third Reich. This is not to say that drunken football idiots
wouldn't shout
something referencing the Third Reich on their way to and from a
game, yet from
the previous contributions I am getting the impression that people
think that
things like that are actually shouted by the fans in the stadiums,
which,
having been to two world cup matches in person so far, and having
watched all
but two others on TV I have not witnessed at all.

As a life-long football fan, I cannot help but to get irritated when
I see the many new "fans" of our national team that clearly
don't really care about the game itself. However, especially here in
Berlin,
the atmosphere is absolutely fantastic. Berliners are celebrating the
world cup
with everybody, regardless whether they're German, French, Swedish,
American (I
have met a number of disappointed Americans on the "Fanmeile" in the
Tiergarten;
I bought them beer), Tunesian, from Togo, or Ghana. As a matter of
fact, Germans
love the African teams as it seems so unfair that a continent that's so
football-crazy should not have more moments of glory during an event
like this.

On flag-waving: It might be annoying, yet it is understandable and
fun. I belong
to a generation of Germans that is certainly keenly aware of their
national
responsibilities, yet that does not mean that I feel compelled not to
express
my joy about a German national team that so far has played attractive
football.
And (I believe Andrew Port is right in this respect), of course, the
display of
the national flag is also a political statement: Germans of my
generation claim
the right, despite an acute awareness of Germany's past, to identify
with and
enjoy certain aspects of being German as much as people in other
countries
celebrate their nationality, given the appropriate reason.

However, this is of course just one dimension of this spectacle. One
should not
overinterpret the display of the German flag: To a large degree, all the
flag-waving that's going on is simply part of what in "Neudeutsch" is
called
"Eventkultur:" people celebrate because there's something to
celebrate. If you
go to the Love Parade in Berlin, you put on make-up and wear skimpy
clothes, if
you go to a "public viewing" of a world cup game, you bring the
symbols of your
team.

What is more, especially in light of recent discussions about failed
German
integration policies, it is fascinating to see that many shops owned by
immigrants (at least here in Berlin) display the German flag next to
the flag
of their homecountry. I am sure that these joyous feelings of
"togetherness"
will dissipate quickly after the worldcup, but I will enjoy them as
long as
they last. A similar phenomenon was observed by the French guest-
editorial
writer of the "Tagesspiegel" today (June 23), who tells the story of
her quest
to find German flags for her children.

Greetings from Berlin!

Jens Guettel


From: Mara Wade <mwade@uiuc.edu>
Subject: Re: MfG 8: Boettcher on the World Cup from Wolfenbüttel
Date: Saturday, June 24, 2006

The World Cup from the Hannover Hauptbahnhof

As a visiting professor at the Hochschule fuer Musik und
Theater Hannover  this summer semester 2006, I am regularly
in the Hannover Hauptbahnhof on game days.  I see miles of
flags--of all nations:  German, Angolan, Italian, Polish,
Ecuadorean, Swedish, and so on.  On the Friday when Mexico
played, the train station at 9 AM was like a wonderful,
colorful Volksfest, Literally thousands of Mexicans dressed
in flags.  And everyone was friendly and smiling and helpful.
The tenor of these games has given Germany the opportunity to
show its very best side.  People are slightly amused, maybe a
little amazed.  But for a country which, deserved or not, is
not internationally known for its Auslaenderfreundlichkeit,
the WM offers an excellent opportunity to demonstrate its
hospitality to strangers.  Germany is doing it in spades.
And this only shortly after a major newspaper ran a lead
article on where not to go in Germany.

As someone who normally does not follow soccer, I am
following the social and cultural aspects of the games very
closely.  It is worth attending to.  This Saturday, my
money's on Germany.

As for Susan's comments on the Schlossplatz in Wolfenbüttel-
she is entirely on target.  From Arbeitsplatz 9 in the
Zeughaus, I can even see the screen; I don't even need to
leave the library.

Mara Wade
University of Illinois

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