Arts & Literature: A Review of the Poetry Book unBuried-unMarked—The unTold Namibian Story of the Genocide of 1904–1908: Pieces and Pains of the Struggle for Justice

Between 1904 and 1908, about eighty per cent of the Herero and fifty per cent of the Nama perished in what is today known as the first genocide of the twentieth century that took place in today’s Namibia under German colonial rule. Over decades, the German government has not officially recognized the genocide as such. Jephta U. Nguherimo is one of the descendants of survivors of this genocide and today lives in the United States. In his poetry book unBuried-unMarked–The unTold Namibian story of the Genocide of 1904-1908: Pieces and Pains of the Struggle for Justice that he has self-published in 2019, J. Nguherimo gives insights into long-lasting impacts of the Herero and Nama genocide, into ways of dealing with painful memories, and into processes of healing in post-genocidal contexts. This art review gives an overview of the book and discusses main features of this artistic piece: the way the poems are linked to pictures, the use of different languages, the presence of nature or the importance of intergenerational bonds. It reflects on the author’s leitmotiv: dialogue, empathy and compassion, and on the impact these could have had or could have on negotiations between Germany and Namibia on the recognition and reparation of the genocide.

Merkel’s positive agenda has collapsed before it started

The German Government is desperately trying since years to appease the Turkish dictatorial regime to the expense of Turkish democrats but also EU’s core values. Alas, as always with similar regimes appeasement doesn’t work. Today the more the EU appeases the more Erdoğan abuses.

Banning the sale of modern firearms in Africa: On the origins of the Brussels Conference Act of 1890

The Brussels Anti-Slavery Conference in 1889–1890 agreed upon a sales ban of modern firearms for large parts of the African continent, a covenant that served joint imperial interests amid the ‘Scramble for Africa’. This article reconstructs the historical context in which the Brussels provisions came into being and explores the inter-imperial co-operation that paved the way for the agreement. To understand its origins, special attention must be paid to local events in East Africa and to a naval blockade that was executed here in 1888–1889. It was against this background that the German government, navigating between commercial and security interests, drafted the international control scheme that was later in large part adopted by the Brussels Conference. The article also demonstrates how in this context the issue of arms control was bound up with anti-slavery politics, thereby linking it to the imperial ‘civilising mission’.

The impact of the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) on aspects of education policy reform in Germany

The poor performance of German students in PISA 2000 was a wake-up call for Germany, with the students’ scores in reading, mathematics and science being considerably lower than the OECD average. The immediate reaction to the disappointing results, dubbed the German “PISA shock”, stimulated a heated public debate and a strong policy response, with the German government enacting reform measures that led to significant improvement in the country’s educational performance. One of the core elements of the reform was the passage from the German Bildung, which is an education philosophy based on the development of the individual rather than on specific functional abilities, to a notion where educational standards and assessment of students’ achievements are central. Another crucial intervention was to define standards for teacher education, which led to a critical reflection on the quality of teacher training. In this article, we propose to review those measures, while touching upon others, of the German educational reform following the publication of the PISA results.

Chances of a centre-left German government have risen

Headline GERMANY: Chances of centre-left coalition have risen

Problems of adult education development in Germany in the second half of the twentieth century

The article examines the process of formation and development of the system of additional adult education in Germany in the second half of the 20th century. The historical, eco-nomic and political prerequisites that influenced the formation of the adult education system are analyzed. Special emphasis is placed on the value and importance of the legislative acts on adult education adopted by the German Government. It is established that adult education in Germany is “the fourth column” of the education system after primary, secondary and higher education. The principle of unity of the educational system serves as the basis for obtaining a high-quality and satisfying all the emerging needs of a rapidly developing modern society.

Empirical determination of sustainable withdrawal rates considering historical yields and inflation rates in Germany

On account of the current low interest rate phase, which is most likely to continue in the coming years, the average yields to be achieved in the bond, time deposit and savings product sectors are declining, so that risk-averse investors in particular have few opportunities to generate return-oriented retirement provisions.This scientific article analyzes the level of a possible safe withdrawal rate for diversified pension portfolios, considering historical returns and inflation rates. Consequently, this article provides immediate practical added value for a possible retirement provision.The evaluation is based on the consideration of historical returns of the stock and bond market in Germany. To determine a safe withdrawal rate, the development of portfolios with different compositions and inflation-adjusted withdrawal rates are simulated over periods of 15 to 35 years. In this simulation, the risky part of the portfolio is represented by German equities, the low risk part by German government bonds.To sum up, the empirical results show a maximum safe withdrawal rate of 4%. The underlying portfolio is composed of 50% equities and 50% government bonds. Particularly due to the outlined demographic change in Germany as well as the ongoing low-interest phase, the empirical study can provide significant theoretical and practical insights.

Predictors of Changes in Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior during the COVID-19 Pandemic in a Turkish Migrant Cohort in Germany

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting response measures have led to severe limitations of people’s exercise possibilities with diminished physical activity (PA) and increased sedentary behavior (SB). Since for migrant groups in Germany, no data is available, this study aimed to investigate factors associated with changes in PA and SB in a sample of Turkish descent. Participants of a prospective cohort study (adults of Turkish descent, living in Berlin, Germany) completed a questionnaire regarding COVID-19 related topics including PA and SB since February 2020. Changes in PA and SB were described, and sociodemographic, migrant-related, and health-related predictors of PA decrease and SB increase were determined using multivariable regression analyses. Of 106 participants, 69% reported a decline of PA, 36% reported an increase in SB. PA decrease and SB increase seemed to be associated with inactivity before the pandemic as well as with the female sex. SB increase appeared to be additionally associated with educational level and BMI. The COVID-19 pandemic and the response measures had persistent detrimental effects on this migrant population. Since sufficient PA before the pandemic had the strongest association with maintaining PA and SB during the crisis, the German government and public health professionals should prioritize PA promotion in this vulnerable group.

Germany’s Approach to Countering Antisemitism since Reunification

Since reunification in 1990, the German government has taken numerous steps to counter antisemitism and improve its relations with the Jewish community more broadly. Its approach has consisted primarily of two parts: antiradicalization legal measures and public diplomacy. In terms of legal measures, Germany has banned hate speech and incitement, adjusted immigration policy for Jews, and granted Judaism full legal status. In terms of public diplomacy, Germany has created a network of both governmental and non-governmental organizations to counter antisemitic attitudes within domestic society and to demonstrate progress abroad. This article examines these facets of the German approach, evaluates its success through an analysis of extremist group membership and survey data measuring antisemitic attitudes, and discusses some evolving challenges to which the approach must adapt.