Why German History is Different 

Script & sources at: www.thenandnow.co/2023/04/07/why-german-history-is-different/ ► Sign up for the newsletter to get concise digestible summaries: www.thenandnow.co/the-newsletter/ ► Why Support Then & Now? www.patreon.com/user/about?u=3517018

Finally someone who understands the german soul and doesn't talk about beer, the Autobahn or WWII. Thank you for this video.

"The land belongs to the French and the Russians, the sea belongs to the British, but we (Germans) possess undisputed dominion in the airy kingdom of dreams" - Heinrich Heine paraphrased

I'm german and to see someone that speaks with such a great choice of words about Germany and his culture is heartwarming. Thank you for your awesome video and all your work you put into this :)

I’ve always admired Germany and it’s people. This was a good watch. Shoutout to my German friends! 🇬🇧🇩🇪

As a German-American, it took me a while to realize how special Germany is. Many in the United States only know Germany for the last century and have no idea about Germany’s past. For its influence, folklore, literature, and art. Thank you. Hopefully, this sentiment will change in the States eventually.

this page of german history is so pleasant and without hate.It's rare that someone talks so positively about the german past and their people

This is a great video! Im not german but I am going to Germany for 10 months so I really want to make sure to understand its history, philosophy and culture. I feel that a lot of germans are ashamed of their origins and culture due to certain dark chapters in its history, but Germany and germans are more than that. Liebe Grüße aus Mexiko! 🇩🇪

I read medieval history and literature. I also wrote a couple of papers in my first year on German history. I’ve always felt that the true German spirit is hopelessly romantic. It amuses me to think how appalled the Germans of the past of would be if they knew how their descendants are perceived by other nations. The German efficiency would have been an absolutely ridiculous concept.

Ich bin absolut gerührt über diese wunderschöne Sichtweise auf diesen Aspekt der deutschen Geschichte

As a german, I'm just proud that this is video isn't talking about german beer ;)

I love Deutschland from Greece. It's naturally very beautiful country. German literature , philosophy , history are amazing. 🇬🇷❤🇩🇪

I love german history and culture! Sincerely, an American

You sir, get us Germans better than most of us get ourselves. And thanks for mentioning Jena. I studied there myself and I feel there's no single place better to visit to understand Germany.

From an anthropological and historical point of view it makes a lot of sense that so many wild thinkers, nonetheless ones that pumped out the concept of dialectics, originated from Germany. A huge melting pot of Europe, constantly swaying between different more powerful nation states, etc. I was excited to see this video as I always had a similar thesis of Germany in my head. It really does seem like a different place. Great video as always, dude.

Being german myself, it's crazy how much of what i personally think, the values and views on the world i have, seems to be rooted indeed in Romanticism, something that wasn't really obvious to me before (randomly) watching this video. Thanks !

Germany is also home of the most influential scientists like Gauß, Leibniz, Hilbert, Kepler, Born, Cantor, Riemann, Alzheimer, Einstein, Heisenberg and so on. The list is very extensive. It is not just about literature, art, music or philosophy. Many of the greatest scientists came from Germany and revolutionized medicine, physics and mathematics.

It makes me incredibly happy as a German that you shine light on Germany’s extraordinary history of science, music and art.❤️ There is so much more than WW2.

Italian here. Germany and Italy are the more conservative and fragmented counterparts of England and France. Two germanic and two romance countries, they form a square in the middle of Europe, both geographically and historically/culturally.

I've studied the German language, and that spirit is imbued in the very language. The language has crafted those lofty ideas & ideals, and was also shaped by it.

As a non-german, appreciate your work. Germany is not only a place, but a concept. An only country's name that reminds me of not the German land alone but all the thoughts that have been thought in Germans' minds, when it's name appears to me. Mit freundlichen Grüßen ...

man i'm not german but i really appreciate germany it's a great example of resilience and i admire them

I came to Germany for a postdoc period. Do the mission and leave... But after a few years i realized how much more i feel at home here than anywhere else. This video is remarkable. All germans should be proud of who they are, because as it was thoroughly demonstrated here, they are much more than just Hitler and that period... I am proud to walk among them everyday. Liebe Deutschland.

beethoven originally named his 3rd symphony "Napoleon" as he was an enthusiastic follower of the french revolution. but when he heard what napoleon did he took the first page, ripped it apart right through the word napoleon and instead called it "eroica" the heoric.

"they were pregnant with mystery, they were midwife to history" what a most beautiful rhyme!

Even as a German myself, I learned a lot about the essence of our culture and what we perceive as sort of "normal" but is very different from other European cultures Thank you ❤

A massive history lesson for us Germans. You should get it translated into German. :-) Unfortunately, you did not mention Alexander von Humboldt and the open vision of the world.

I dont think i have ever seen a video capture the german soul and culture as well as this one. Truly amazing work with lots of effort behind it. 10/10

Was ein absolut geniales Video. Habe selten erlebt, wie die deutsche Seele so gut von außen festgehalten, reflektiert und hinterfragt wurde. Danke!

I never really thought this myself, the fact that Germany had something of an inferiority complex before WWI. It was a very different place before unification: I knew this, but I never made anything of this outline. This video colored in such an outline. An incredible viewing experience: your work, thought, and life are appreciated

In Southwest Germany, there is a satirical rhyme: Der Schiller und der Hegel, der Uhland und der Hauff, die san bei uns die Regel, die fallet gar net auf - (Friedrich) Schiller and (Georg Wilhelm Friedrich) Hegel, (Ludwig) Uhland and (Wilhelm) Hauff, they are just ordinary here, they don't stick out.

A lot of german poetry and writing in general before the world wars were about nature and mankinds relationship to, and sometimes struggle with, the nature around them. Look at Theodor Storms The Rider On The White Horse, for instance. It takes place at the north sea coast, up in Schleswig-Holstein. The region is, as coastal regions tend to be, notoriously stormy, but the north sea coast in particular is shaped by these storms. See, the north sea coast in Germany is marked by the Wattenmeer, an intertidal mudflat which stretches from southern Denmark all the way to the Netherlands. It is very flat water. So flat that, once every 6 hours, as the tides retreat, the seafloor is revealed to the sun, becoming land for some time, before, 6 hours later, that same tide rolls back in, turning it back into seafloor. This very biome, however, also brings with it great storms that sweep inland. The flat water cause the waves to build up, and a great storm pushes the water towards the land. In response, the locals there have taken to building big earthen walls, dikes, sometimes up to seven meters tall, to keep the water away from their homes. The Rider On The White Horse, in that regard, details the life of a young man named Hauke Haien. This young man lives at a small farm, right near one such dike. He'd known the weather there from an early age, grew up with it, was as rough, as weather worn as the coast itself. From a young age, Hauke Haien was withdrawn, preferring to read his fathers book about mathematics over the interaction with other people. He is, however, sure of one thing. The next big storm to breach the dike would come. It would happen in his own lifetime. The last such storm was 20 years ago. The one before that 50, and the one before that 60. It stands to reason, therefore, that the next such storm would come 40 years after that last one, which is to say, 20 years from now. When he eventually takes over his fathers estate, he takes out a loan. A loan he needs to build another dike. A new dike of his own design, which he believes will hold the storm. He intends to build this dike to reclaim more land. Land reclamation is common place, though rather expensive. Since this land can then be used for farming after some work to desalinate the soil, it is, however, almost always a return on investment. He builds this dike into the intertidal mud before him, intent to encapsulate it, pump any remaining water out, and make the land his own. Such, he shapes the land infront of him, forcing his will onto nature. As for his prediction, it holds true. The storm eventually arrives, just as his math told him it would. His new dike held firm, as he had predicted. He notes how the water rolling in onto his new dike moves slower, less aggessive, as though it were another water. However, the old dike, which had seen its fair share of storms already, breaks under the battering of the storm, a breach which he seals by throwing himself and his family into it, sealing the devastating damage in the process. Another example is "Trutz, Blanke Hans" by Detlef von Liliencron. It's a poem about Rungholt, a city that was, when Liliencron wrote the poem, almost mythical, though its remaints have since been found. Rungholt was a city on the coast of Schleswig-Holstein, which was sunk in the great flood of 1362, a flood also known as the Grote Mandrenke. The Great Drowning. It wasn't merely a flood. It was so extreme, so devastating, that it recarved the german coastline significantly. Entire islands were completely sunk and drowned by this flood. The city of Rungholt had been one of them. The poem tells the story of what happened that night. Of Rungholt, a mythologized city, so rich, Liliencron goes as far as comparing it to Rome at its peak. The people of Rungholt, they were proud. Each night, they go out onto the dikes, and shout at the sea, taunting it. "Wir trutzen dir, Blanke Hans, Nordseeteich!" "We defy you, Blanke Hans, North Sea Pond!" And yet, as strong as the Rungholtians deem themselves, the sea is stronger. Eventually, the great storm comes. As for Rungholt? The city is devastated. Destroyed. Gone. Each of the verses of this poem ends on the words "Trutz, Blanke Hans!". An exclamation. The way the people tell the sea that they shall still defy it. Except, the last verse is different. The last verse, after Rungholt has been destroyed, the land it once stood on submerged, doesn't exclaim anything. It asks a question. Trutz, Blanke Hans? And of course, let's not forget about the poem "Een Boot is noch buten". One boat is still out there. This poem, partially written in Plattdüütsk, Schleswig-Holsteins local accent, tells the story of a boat that gets caught out in a storm, and a village desparately hoping that the boat, and their brothers, sons, and husbands aboard it, makes it back to their village before the storm hits them. One by one, the other ships, mere fisher boats not meant to withstand a storm, pull back into the harbor, but one of them counts them all, and, to everyones concern, point out that one of the boats is still out there. Desperate, hoping the ship had merely lost orientation in the middle of the rain and storm, they build a quick beacon, and light it ablaze, hoping the light would give the crew the waypoint they needed to make it back to the shore. But alas, there is nothing they can do. The sea has claimed its tribute. It has chosen that boat as a sacrifice. It, along with its crew, is now destined to sink. They wait all night, but when the ship does not return the following day, even after the storm has cleared, and the sun shines bright, one woman, now a widow, accepts her husbands fate. Much like with Trutz, Blanke Hans, each of the verses ends on the same sentence. Een Boot is noch buten. One boat is still out there. Such is the relation of Schleswig-Holstein to its stormy shore. A source of food, sure, and a place that man can dare to try and conquer parts of. But equally so, while the shore is a bringer of life, it is also a bringer of death. Not every dike is plugged in time to stop the destruction of the souls it is made to protect. Not every boat makes it back to shore. Some of those who live on the coast are destined to join those who once filled the streets of Rungholt. Man can tame the sea. But he may never cease control of it.

So far, I never knew there are actually people in the English-speaking part of the world who are able to understand German culture and national identity. Thank you so much for bringing light on this topic in such an understanding way!

I stumbled into this video by mistake and fell in love with the reduced pace of telling the story. Excellent content - thank you so much for this beautiful video.

That was awesome- what a great, passionate declaration of love to Germany! For me as a German it felt like a warm shower after a hard long day, and indeed it was very unexpected to be frank since it doesn't happen often that someone presents the positive properties and sides of Germany- thank you very much for this great video!

Thank you so much !!! This almost made me cry. There are so many (german) yt channels out there pretending to show german language, culture, history, people and their behavior, most of the time in a negative, mocking or disgraceful way. Thank you for making a difference and giving me hope. Much love from germany 🤍❤💛

What a trip. I stumbled upon this video and am in awe how you told a coherent story including Rome's defeat, 30 Years War, Martin Luther to romanticism pointing out the important turns in time that are still defining the culture of my homeland. The production level is extraordinary. Thank you for taking people on this journey. I truly appreciate and enjoyed it. I gladly donated.

Thank you Lewis. I'm from India. Thanks to your efforts and RU-vid many like me are able to learn and enlighten ourselves so much. Wish you were my professor, a friend or a neighbour to be the least. Please do more of this. I love your content and you have taught me better than the Univ of Delhi professors in my master's. Some of them had PhDs from Cambridge and UK: but they were the worst teachers who weren't interested to teach but rather to boast themselves as thinkers/academicians/intellectuals. I happened to watch your video on Benjamin during 2017. Year later, I still feel I'm fresh, young and same listening to each of your brilliant video essays. Thanks for existing. Love and hugs from South India.

As a German, the educational content in this video is impressive. Such a video should be a leading structure in our school education about Germany.

You have such a unique and beautiful style of narration. Bravo sir

It‘s really nice to see a video about Germany that doesn‘t involve either ww2 or beer.

As a boy of German descent with a lot of German friends this is a great video. I want to go back to Germany already to visit all my friends again I miss them so much!!!

As a german myself,I thank you very much for not reducing us to beer,ww2 and the Autobahn. We have and are much more than that. We're the country of poets and thinkers,of engineers and a language that may be sound harsh but is of clear definition. We have many castles, beautiful lakes,lush Forests,and much more. It really warms my heart that there are people who can see the beauty besides the bad history we had. If you guys out there want to understand us even more,and the struggle we have between loving and hating being german,go watch "Deutschland" (Germany) by Rammstein. You may not like the music,bc Rammstein isnt for everyone,but watch the video. Its a piece of art and they show germany from the very beginning up to today,with the most important things that happend in the history of our country :)

Thank you for a wonderful overview of this part of german history! One of the best videos I have seen lately! Looking forward to your further works!

I remember while learning about literary and artistic movements avross history in elementary school and how I always found myself most drawn to German romanticism. I loved reading the fairy tales collected by various people. The amount of influence Germany had on Serbian culture during the 18th and 19th century is greater than many understand. Grimm brothers were adored by our own "philosopher of nationalism", Vuk Karadžić, who collected Serbian folk tales and folk songs and regularly sent the to the Grimm brothers. He held their picture constantly at his desk and some of Grimm fairy tales are inspired by Serbian fairy tales (Rapunzel, Hanzel und Gretyl, Cinderella). The connection is deep, and the affinity towards the irrational ideologies within Serbia most certainly stems partially from this deep connection to Germany.

The best documentary I’ve ever seen on RU-vid. I done my dissertation on the counter enlightenment and Spengler and I loved watching this come together in the video. Fantastic!

Beautifully shot, poetically told, and extremely interesting insights. I did struggle a little halfway through due to information overload and think some of those topics could have been their own videos, but really glad I got the opportunity to watch this. I have lots to think about and reflect on!

My biggest culture flex is living in the hometown of Casper David Friedrich, the most important German representative of romantic art and the painter of pretty much all the paintings in the video. Its so powerful to walk through everyday life and seeing what he saw and put in his paintings. A lot of the town still consists of the old buildings, like the older uni campus for example :))

As a French chap said; We all believed in Darwinism and master races and the mastery of the European. Until that German was rude enough to apply it to Europeans!

Very well done! Maybe interesting in the Herder context is, that the German word for Experience is Erfahrung - the German word carries motion/driving/travelling... to make experiences.

I love your passion and your capability to walk us through german history that great! Also your filmography skills are astonishing.

What a deep dive into German history and even more so german culture. You have a holistic perception of both and make such a remarkable "Tale of Germany" out of it. I feel honored to be a part of it, even though I have never quite looked at it this way myself. Thank you for this great adventure.

I love this shorter videos filled with the history of art, philosophy, etc. Great work, i really enjoy this channel

This was a great video. Well done. It's really appreciated that you filmed this on location in Germany. Thank you.

Thank you for this. There are many Germans that are afraid of speaking about this part of our history because many people instantly think about the dark past everyone knows. But we were not always that bad, we have much more to give then hate and horror. We german people hope that one day the world will see what really drives us: To make the world a better place for everyone, everywhere. With a way of thinking, acting and inventing.

As an American who has made Germany my home and is considering obtaining German citizenship, thank you for putting into words so much of what drew me here.

20:45 opens the door with the writing "bitte Tür schließen" (please close the door) - proceeds not to schließ the door. As a German, I am offended. We have Regeln Edit: 26:34 the door is still open

Yeah, as someone who recently moved here from the USA, you’re spot on. The Germany you picture here is the Germany that I see and cherish everyday. I’m an artist and so I’m especially in touch with the “I” that you mention and also the Romantic movement of art, poetry, music, etc. It’s totally German. The created it, it spread throughout Europe and then influenced everything. Now, with the Millennial generation being so romantic, égoist and dynamic these ideas will, I think, earn a revival. Or even better, inspire a new movement? We live, I think, in an age much closer to romanticism than we might think.

Everything that guy wrote about leaving the "library" to travel to other lands to experience first hand other cultures, languages, religions, art, philosophy, landscapes, etc. is what was going through my mind and soul throughout my 20s, 30s, and early 40s. I turned down several career opportunities (at great cost) to travel overseas, because mentally and spiritually I couldn't just take a job behind a cubicle when constantly dreaming of other worlds, like Walter Mitty. Now that I'm finally behind a miserable desk at a cubicle, working for a stuffy municipal city agency, I can look back fondly on the places I've been, the languages I've learned (French, Arabic, and Turkish) and the people I've met. I'm fortunate I had a chance to do while young.

62 year old German living overseas for half my life. Germans are very ‘head heavy’ and your analysis helps me understand - why. Thank you.

Goodness - the sweeping scope of this beautiful contribution is extraordinary. Art, philosophy, history and the origins of personal and societal meaning are all touched tangentially in empathic, lilting flow. The video leaves an orchestra of conceptual and factual singing bowls all reverberating together. All were touched skillfully, momentarily, to deliver the end moment of peaceful listening and appreciation: harmonics of every component as it relates to every other, interacting with harmonics interacting with...... I didn't want this to end. Astonishing work - thankyou so much for putting this together 🌼

I live in the southernmost part of Brazil, where thousands of german immigrants came to along the XIX century, since 1824. Their descendants are millions now. Although immigrants from other countries also came later, mostly from Italy (the northern region of Veneto) and Poland, it's clear that the germans had the deepest influence in our lives. And some negative comments I've heard about the german character contrast with the impression I have from the german descendants that I've always met. I don't know if they are different because they haven't suffered the traumas of the XX century in Europe, or if the criticism towards germans is simply unfair; but I know that germans here are the sweetest people, very peaceful, orderly, fair, honest and compassionate. They are constantly trying to do the right thing.

Thank you very much for your excellent video! You presented an historical, philosophical, and social aspect alike in a very knowledgable, entertaining, and moving manner. I totally look forward for more of your videos!

as a german it´s great to see being appreciated for the huge impact in art, philosophy and engineering and not shrinking it all down to ww2 and bavarian lifestyle

Another amazing video- your thoughtfulness and attention to detail (especially with that camerawork) is impressive every time

For us in Germany the enlightenment begins with Martin Luther. Kants definition as sapere aude for instance is a reference to Philip Melanchthon. Schiller changed his ode to freedom t ode to joy because freedom by itself is not a value and freedom is eventually also freedom from limits and responsibilities. Enlightenment in France, England and Germany mean quite different things

This was one of the most amazing and eye opening videos i have seen on youtube in a long time if not ever. Thanks for making it.

only when leaving germany behind did I find this romantic soul ingrained in the German culture and way of living. The language is surprisingly suited for poetry, even though it is often cited as sounding very harsh. The people work hard and get up insanely early, but they value their free time very highly and often refuse to compromise on it and accept this blunt refusal as normal. They are very efficient in their way of organising things by standardising almost anything, while at the same time managing to include things as comfort, beauty and preference. The valuation of the natural is in everything from building where wood and loam is still preferred over medicine with its large share of homeopathy to things like education, where biology is a mandatory course you can not get rid of throughout the school life.

As someone from the "place of poets and philosophers", I am flattered and cajoled and even flabbergasted by your video!

The drone footage is very cool & is used very effectively in the essay.

Wow, it really feels like you explained what I sometimes feel better than I ever realized it myself. Thank you so much for this, it's going to take days until I actually processed it I guess. Thank you!

A very worthwhile, witty contribution and another nice example of the existence of the RU-vid university! Thank you for this wonderful video!

First time finding this channel... This is fantastic content, amazing that it's free to watch. Keep it up!

A wonderful video. Thank you so much for making it. Too often German history is limited to WW I & WW II.

What a beautiful video, stunning. Rare to see something so in depth about history and philosophy on RU-vid. Thank you for the enlightenment. ;-)

Okay, this is crazy! I live in Alsfeld, the town you can see for a view seconds in the beginning of this video. It's actually so cool but also surreal to watch a video of an english channel with literally your small german hometown in the very first seconds of it! 😄 Btw, great video I apprichiate

This video is fantastic and very informative! I learned a lot from it, even though I am german myself and my aunt is a historian so I would consider myself somewhat well versed in german history

I clicked on this video solely for the thumbnail - I recognised the Alheimerturm in it. Well researched video, I do have to say. And thank you, for showing the beauty of my hometown. The tower you showed at 20:00, however, has a very specific meaning. It is a memorial for the lives lost during the two wars. The inscription in front of the tower reads: "Steige hinauf und schaue, wofür wir stritten und litten!" - "Gedenke aller, die ihr Leben für die Heimat opferten" meaning 'ascend (the tower) and look at what we fought and suffered for - remember all, who gave their life for their home.' I used to go there often and did exactly that.

A big thank you here from germany, Gertrud. You are so kind, and in this bad times, people like you, give us hope!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you❤️👍👏👏👏👏❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I am from jena, very interesting video, i loved listening to your voice, i can really hear the genuine excitement you feel while talking about this

Great. Fascinating subject and fine shots from your trip to Germany.

I found that to be quite beautiful, a great watch and a really interesting take. Thanks for another fantastic video 👍

Let’s not forget Gutenberg, Luther (for better or worse), or art and design movements like the Bauhaus.

As you Talk about the Connection to the Forest I can feel This. This Connection The fear, the Adventure With the Forest it’s very deeply rooted

Your video is absolutely brilliant!

A truly wonderful video. You really do make just magic content. I am not German. I’m Australian , though have a great respect and fondness for the people and their contribution towards our modern world. Your video in a less than 30 minutes has summed up much of my thinking and reading over the last 30 years. Well done!

Nice to see you actually where in Marburg and Homberg (among other places) Always felt Hesse is a bit unrated as a travel destination, thanks for the great video!

Wow, I feel inspired and somehow moved to a different reality. That was amazing and very informative, thank you

Thanks for the video, now I feel myself like German philosopher. It's incredible how fresh and relevant their worldviews feels.

Thank you for this video and the great view of german history. I think the book and also film "Die Vermessung der Welt" from Daniel Kehlmann describes also a part of the mentioned thinkings and the meaning of Alexander von Humbold, Kant and Gauß the mathematican.

The effect of the 30 years war on european history cannot be overstated.

I found it beautifully symbolic that the tower door that has a sign on it -- "bitte tür schliessen" -- remained open, almost as if to demonstrate how despite our great efforts to be intellectual, well-educated, and studied on any subject, we miss the most simple things right in front of us

So informative. I learned things I had not been taught in United States school history.

Beautyful video, BUT: You kept the door on that tower open, although on 20:36 and 20:46 it said "Bitte Tür schließen"

Absolutely fantastic video. Very interesting. Thank you very much from Catalonia .

As always such a great narration! Really, really good, thank you so much for all the efforts.

I am really thankfull for this video, its just wonderfull to see someone talk about the extremely underrated german history

I just randomly clicked on this in my recommended and with shock recognised my street lol. Hope you enjoyed Marburg! Shoutout to my beloved Oberstadt-Aufzug ( 10:54 )

Wow, thank you very much for this video! I'm from Germany, living in Kassel (I've seen many scenes in your video from here!) and never learned this in german school. I very appreciate this video! Thank you!

Your videos are such high quality. Thank you for sharing them.