In this project, I’m going to focus on my ancestors that came from, and are still living in, south west Germany.
Before starting this project, I thought my family came from the city of Stuttgart in the south of Germany, but since starting this project I have learned that my grandmother came from a little town in the west of Germany called Pirmasens about 15-20 km north of the French border. In 1938, my Oma (grandmother) was born in the town of Pirmasens. Its main export is shoes. It was historically a shoemaking town. Her father, who had been forced to fight for the Nazis, did not make it back after the war ended. He was killed by a firing squad in the Czechoslovakian countryside. My great grandmother got remarried and moved to Muenchweiler when my Oma was 12 years old. My grandmother met my grandfather when he was an American soldier stationed in Germany. When he was called back to the USA, he asked her to come with him. They have been together ever since. They eventually moved to Toronto from California because my grandfather was offered a position as an engineering professor at the University of Toronto.
Life as a 16/17 year old in Germany would be a lot like life here in Canada. The education is similar to Canada's in some ways, but different in others. In Germany, elementary school ends at grade four, at which point they take a test to determine whether you will be in university level or college level courses. So from grade 5 to grades 12 or 13, students will always be divided into different types of schools. In Germany post secondary school is free to all German citizens. Healthcare in Germany is done a lot like health care in Canada. Like Canada, they have a universal health care system. It is different because 70% of Germany's hospitals are privately owned. These privately owned hospitals create a better form of health care because wait times are shorter. Hospital treatment in privately owned hospitals in Germany is cheaper than treatment in publicly owned facilities. About 75% of the funding goes to the government-owned facilities. 25% goes to the private hospitals. In Germany jobs are almost unheard of for anyone under 18. The only jobs for people under 18 tend to be in coffee shops. “Teenagers usually party most nights or are at bars till midnight” (Olszewski, interview). In germany the drinking age for beer and wine is 16. German driver’s license are only accessible at the age of 18. Because a driver’s licence is only accessible at the age of 18 and that post secondary is free there is no real need for a job before the age of 18.
So in conclusion, although i’m proud of my German heritage even with all the bad stereotypes it brings i am glad that my ancestors moved to Canada.
Works Cited
Hurdle, Gerda. Interview. 24 Dec. 2016.
Olszewski, Max. Interview. 14 Jan. 2017.
Hugh your family's history is very deep and sad. It is terrible that your great grandfather was killed by a firing squad. It's amazing that your grandmother was able to overcome that and find happiness with another man and eventually start a new life in North America. It is very cool that Germany's drinking age is so young because it probably teaches some responsibility. It makes sense that in Germany the driving licenses are not giving out till your 18 because if it were younger many teens would be drinking and driving and the crash rate would be very high in Germany. I personally think I would rather live in Germany because school is free which means that I would not have to worry about school debt and the drinking age is 16 which means high school is probably fun time in Germany
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ReplyDeleteHugh, this blog post was very intriguing to me because I have always taken an interest in Germany, especially around World World 2. I enjoyed the beginning where you wrote about how your grandmother is from Pirmasens instead of Stuttgart, where you originally thought she was from. This stood out to me because I too, can relate to it. Before gaining the knowledge that my family is from Ireland, I always thought that the majority of my ancestors lived in Scotland. I also found it interesting reading about the school system in Germany. I think that it is insane how in grade 4, that is as young as the age of 10, students learn whether they are are suitable for University or College level courses! My question for you is do you think you would be working a part-time job as a teenager in Germany? If so, what do you think that you would do for that job? Also, what are your views on teenagers being able to legally drink in Germany at the age of 16, but cannot obtain a driver's licence until they are 18? Overall, I think that this post is very thoughtful and it is clear that you did a lot of research.
ReplyDeleteYour grandmother’s life was quite intriguing. Just reading your blog make me think about the second world war and how it has impacted everyone. My great grandfather was also conscripted to fight in the war. War has made a long lasting effect of everyone’s life. I’ve have seen so many movies that involved Americans fighting the Nazis but I’ve never seen a movie about war struck families in Germany after the war. When you said that post-secondary is free in Germany do you mean that university and college is free? And if so, would you rather live in Germany or Canada?
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