Austro-German Boiled Beef: Tafelspitz

This dish has a strong tie to Vienna, but it is well known in other parts of Austria and Germany, especially in Bavaria. In German, "Tafelspitz" literally means "table tip or point," presumably because of its shape (see photos below). "Spitz" means "point or tip" in German, and it is closely related to English "spit," not the saliva meaning, but rather, "a pointed rod used for cooking meat;" that is, a type of "skewer." While in more recent times some may use various cuts of beef, the dish seemingly originated by the use of what in the U.S. is called a tri-tip, or triangle roast, which is still the traditional choice for this dish; in fact, the name "Tafelspitz" is also used for that specific cut of beef in German, although, as in just about all things German having to do with food, there are regional names like, "Hüferschwanz," "Hiefelschwanzl," "Pastorenstück." Because the slow simmering of the beef drains much of the flavor from the vegetables, when the meat is done, it is best to strain the broth and discard the vegetables, then cook fresh vegetables in the broth for serving with the beef. Celeriac (celery root) is pretty easily found these days in many supermarkets or produce shops, or you can use parsnips.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 pound beef tri-tip/top round roast
3 large carrots, divided use
1 onion (baseball size)
1 celery root (celeriac, baseball size), peeled, or 1 or 2 parsnips, peeled
2 stalks celery (with leaves)
(optional) beef marrow bones
10 peppercorns, cracked
1 tablespoon salt (or to taste)

Apple/Horseradish Salad
2 apples, peeled and cored
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 tablespoon sugar (more if needed)
2 to 3 tablespoons horseradish (freshly grated or from a jar, but drained)
1/4 teaspoon salt

Place the roast into a pot, cover it with water, and add one of the carrots (washed, but it needn't be peeled). Halve the onion and peel one of the halves, then roughly chop it and add it to the pot. Add the other onion half, skin on, to the pot, along with the celery stalks (each cut into 3 pieces). If you have a couple of marrow bones, add them to the pot and toss in the peppercorns, but do not add salt at this time. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat to maintain a gentle simmer for about 2 to 2 1/2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Remove the meat and strain the broth into another pan or large bowl. Remove the marrow bones, if using, from the strained matter, you can then discard the rest of the strained matter. Return the broth to the pot and add the remaining 2 carrots, but this time you can peel them and slice them into multiple pieces. Peel the celery root or parsnips and cut them into multiple pieces also, then add them to the pot, along with the salt. Bring the broth to a boil again and cook the vegetables until they are tender. For the apple/horseradish: grate the peeled and cored apples into a bowl (sprinkle on some lemon juice as you grate the apples; otherwise, the grated apples will begin to turn brown). When the apples are grated, add any remaining lemon juice, the sugar, the salt and the horseradish, then mix everything together well. Horseradish can lose its "zip" if it sets too long, so it's best to grate it fresh and serve the apple/horseradish alongside the meat immediately.

Slice the meat rather thinly across the grain and serve with the just cooked vegetables and the apple/horseradish salad; additionally, fried potatoes, called "Bratkartoffeln" in German, are a frequent side dish for "Tafelspitz."    

WORD HISTORY:
Claw-This word is related to "clay" and to "cleave" (the verb meaning, "to stick or cling to"), both words from the Germanic roots of English, and to "glue," a Latin-derived word borrowed by English through French. It goes back to Indo European "gleuh/gleyh," which had the notion of "stick together, adhere," with the further sense, "form into a ball." This gave Old Germanic "klawo," with the meaning, "animal foot forming a round shape or appearing to form a round shape." This gave Old English "clea," meaning "claw, nail of a claw," and then the form "clawu," with the same meanings. This then became "clawe/claue," before the modern form. Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German has "Klaue," meaning, "claw," but also secondarily, "hoof," perhaps from the split in a hoof resembling a claw? Low German "Klau" (claw), West Frisian "klau" (claw), Dutch "klauw" (claw), Swedish, Danish, Norwegian "klo" (claw), Icelandic "kló" (claw). The verb form seems to have come from an Old Germanic form like "klaujanan" (?), which gave Old English "clawian" (to claw or scratch), with relative German "klauen" having somewhat more extensive meanings like, "to steal," in the sense, 'to snatch away, to swipe,' seemingly from the notion of birds of prey swooping down and using their claws to snatch up small animals or birds, but also meaning simply, "to seize, to grab," and further, "to crawl (like a crab)," seemingly from the idea of the crab having claws and their moving like a crawl. Verb forms in Low German (klouwen) and Dutch (clouwen) are now archaic. 

Hitler Gradually Consolidated Power, Part One

First... Adolf Hitler did not "seize" power. Hitler was appointed chancellor of Germany very legally on January 30, 1933 by President Paul von Hindenburg, a major German military figure and field marshal during the "Great War" (later to be called "World War One").*//** Hindenburg was an old time conservative, and he had resisted appointing "the Bohemian corporal," as he referred to Hitler at least on one occasion. He also appointed more traditional conservatives to the cabinet, with the idea that they would "control" Hitler. But with Hitler as chancellor, he and his Nazi inner circle began to outmaneuver the conservatives and to circumvent the German constitution and to consolidate power for himself and for the Nazi Party in general. Conservative opposition began to melt, as more conservatives became complicit in Nazi rule, if not outright accomplices. Does this sound familiar Americans?

In the Reichstag election of November 1932, the last truly free German election before Hitler became chancellor, the Nazis received 33% of the vote, a drop from 37% in the prior election, but the Nazis still remained the largest German political party in terms of the number of votes. After Hitler was appointed chancellor on January 30, 1933, new elections were authorized for March 5. On the evening of February 27, the Reichstag building in Berlin was reported to be on fire. Police arrested a mentally unstable Dutch communist named Marinus van der Lubbe, who admitted he set fire to the building. The Nazis screamed "communist conspiracy," and some other known communists were arrested and put on trial with van der Lubbe. Hitler got President von Hindenburg to sign a decree to "protect" against a communist conspiracy. The decree suspended virtually all civil liberties in Germany, including freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and freedom of speech. Further, the decree turned over many state powers to the national government.*** The law essentially gave the Nazis a free hand to arrest about anyone who opposed them by accusing the person of being a communist. "Generally," the German courts were still outside Nazi control. While van der Lubbe was convicted of the Reichstag fire, and then beheaded, the other main communists were acquitted, a verdict by the judge that led Trump... I mean Hitler, to establish a new Nazi court, the People's Court (German: Volksgerichtshof), to get around the not yet Nazified constitutional courts.

To be clear, the situation with the Reichstag fire has been, and still is, contentious. Van der Lubbe admitted to starting the fire by himself, but there are those who feel the fire was too big for one person to start, and that van der Lubbe had help, either from the communists, or from the Nazis, who, some quite logically believe, wanted an incident to provide them with a reason to crack down on opponents prior to the approaching election. There have also been theories that Hermann Göring, who was then the president of the Reichstag, had helped to plan the fire and to provide aid by sending Nazi stormtroopers through a tunnel that connected his office and residence to the Reichstag, which were across the street from one another. Whether such a tunnel existed, I don't know, but regardless of who started the fire, or who participated in the fire, the Nazis used the Reichstag fire to full effect. On election day the Nazis stationed Stormtroopers throughout the country. Even the strong arm tactics could not win the bastards a majority, and the Nazis received just shy of 44% of the vote. Less than three weeks later, the Reichstag was to vote on what is usually called "the Enabling Act" in English (German:  "Ermächtigungsgesetz"). The law allowed Hitler and the cabinet to make changes to the German constitution WITHOUT the consent of the Reichstag. Because the law changed the constitution, it needed support from two-thirds of the delegates, with two-thirds of the delegates needing to be present. All Communist delegates had been locked up after the post Reichstag fire decree and this removed a block of "no" votes. Still, Hitler lacked votes to get to the necessary two-thirds affirmative vote, and he turned to the Center Party, a Catholic-based political party. After Hitler's promise to protect Catholic religious practices and Catholic schools, the Center Party, although skeptical about Hitler's promises, voted with the Nazis and the Reichstag became irrelevant for the rest of the Nazi era. Hitler periodically used the Reichstag as a forum for important speeches, and to rubber stamp his policies, but it actually held no importance.

By the way, the fire destroyed much of the main meeting hall in the Reichstag, and thereafter, meetings were held in the nearby Kroll Opera House (German: Krolloper), and if you've seen photos or films of Hitler speaking to the Reichstag, almost all of the films and photos were taken in the Kroll Opera House, not in the actual Reichstag building itself. The Kroll Opera House was badly damaged by bombing during the war and it was torn down a few years after the war ended. The damaged Reichstag building remained, and it was a focal point in the fighting between Soviet and German troops in late April and early May of 1945, during the street fighting in Berlin, but it was not used for any legislative meetings until after German reunification in the 1990s. When Berlin was divided into "occupation zones" after World War Two, the Reichstag building was in the British zone, essentially right on the line with the Soviet zone. The (Communist) East German government erected a wall to divide Berlin in the early 1960s, "officially" to keep other people "out," a propaganda ploy that fooled no one. The Reichstag building was substantially renovated in the 1990s and it has kept its name, "Reichstag Building," but since the post World War Two years until the present, the German national parliament is called the Bundestag; that is, the Federal Parliament or Diet.

This is a picture of the Reichstag from a postcard I bought in Berlin back in the mid 1980s. The infamous "Berlin Wall" and Communist East Berlin was right behind the building. 

* The German president was the head of state; the German official, elected by a vote of the German people, who represented Germany in public ceremonial events. He also had the tremendous powers to appoint the chancellor and cabinet ministers, to dissolve the Reichstag (the German representative parliament) and to call for extraordinary national elections for delegates to the Reichstag (Note: this means the president could call for elections to be held outside the normally scheduled election dates). He was also the supreme commander of the armed forces, a very substantial power, as the army, especially, was held in very high regard in those days in German society, as the army was limited by the Versailles Treaty to 100,000 men, meaning that likely EVERY soldier was a veteran of the Great War. The chancellor of Germany was the head of the German government and its various departments (called ministries in German terminology and in many other countries, too).

** Hitler and the Nazis always wanted to present themselves as "strong," and the idea of "seizing power" was part of that effort, with the further idea that they were "revolutionaries," wanting to overthrow the then constitutional German government, and to prevent the Communists from taking power. The failed Nazi putsch (coup) of November 9, 1923, which was truly an attempt to "seize power," became a sacred event to the Nazis year after year, and a virtual holiday to them, complete with a Nazi banner carried during the coup attempt, and a solemn ceremony officiated by Hitler. You would likely be hard pressed to find elsewhere so much time and effort expended in celebration of a failure, but it was a failure Hitler and the Nazis turned to their advantage; thus, covering up just what a colossal failure it had actually been. A similar effort was made with the expression "seizure of power" ("die Machtergreifung"), which in reality, was simply the legal appointment of Hitler as chancellor by President von Hindenburg, but the terminology was used to make it sound strong and to show it as the realization of the putsch from 1923. As Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels said, "Truth isn't truth" ... oh wait, Rudy Giuliani said that.       

*** Germany had a federal system; that is, a system where the states had many powers delegated to them and where the national government had other powers for the entire country. By allowing the national government, then under Hitler's authority, to control many powers within the individual states, the Nazis took control of much of the authority in all states, including in those states where they were in a distinct minority. 

WORD HISTORY:
Cough-While the ancient origin of this word is uncertain, its "likely" an Old Germanic attempt to imitate the "sound of the act of coughing, throat clearing, forcefully expelling air from the mouth or gasping," as "kokh." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "cohhetan," meaning, "to cough, to make noise by forceful expulsion of air." This then became "coughen," with the "gh" pronounced similarly to "ch." The noun developed from the verb (between 1200 and 1300?). Words spelled with "ough" in them gradually began to change in pronunciation, as English speakers got further away from the more guttural sounds of before. As with "laugh," "cough" came to be pronounced as if "coff." Relatives in the other Germanic languages: German "keuchen" ("to wheeze, to huff and puff, to gasp for air"),^ Low German "seemingly" does not use a form in modern times, but it once had "küchen" (cough, clear the throat), Dutch "kuchen" ("to cough, to clear the throat"), Swedish "kika" (breath heavily, but its use seems to be limited today).

^ German also has "hauchen," meaning, "to breath (through the mouth)." It's a word not used by everyone, but initially it carried the idea of "to breathe audibly through the mouth," and it was spelled with a beginning "k." While I'm not totally certain, it could well be another form of the modern German form "keuchen" (once spelled "keichen"); thus, this would make it, too, a relative of English "cough."        

Creamy Zurich Veal Pieces: Zürcher Geschnetzeltes

 Totally new "Word History" 8-24-22

Known in German as "Zürcher Geschnetzeltes,"* this dish is Swiss German, but it is far from uncommon in other German areas, including, of course, Austria and Germany. It is traditionally made with veal (usually from a hind leg), but boneless, skinless chicken breast or turkey breast and boneless pork are often used nowadays. Veal is an expensive meat, and the leg meat is commonly $15 to $20 a pound. There are some recipe variations, as for instance, some people do not use mushrooms, and others do not use paprika. "Geschnetzeltes" is traditionally served with "Rösti," Swiss fried potatoes, which Americans know as "hash browns," ** but "Spätzle" (English: "spaetzle"), common German little dumplings/pasta bits, are also a good choice.***  NOTE ON COOKING: If you use a cheaper cut of veal, you may need to cook it longer to get it tender. Making sure to cut it into thin strips certainly helps, but you can also simmer the veal separately in a pan with some oil or butter and with the chicken broth, with a lid, over low heat. Just keep checking it for tenderness. When tender, add the veal to the skillet, and reserve the cooking broth until called for in the instructions. I've done this before myself when I've used veal stew meat. Chicken breast, turkey breast or boneless pork should not pose any such similar problem.

Ingredients:

1 to 1 1/4 pound boneless veal cut into strips (or use chicken, turkey or pork)
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons flour
1/3 cup white wine
1/3 cup chicken broth 
2/3 cup heavy cream
1 cup sliced mushrooms, crimini or button 
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pinch to 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika (use Hungarian paprika for authenticity)
lemon juice/lemon slices

In a skillet, melt the butter over low heat (or you can certainly use a mixture of butter and olive oil or canola oil). Add the onion and cook for about two minutes, then add the veal. Add the mushrooms, paprika, pepper, and sprinkle the flour over the skillet ingredients and stir to mix. Cook for another couple of minutes, then gradually add the white wine and chicken broth, stirring to mix everything, which should thicken somewhat. Add the salt and stir to mix. Gradually stir in the cream until it is all mixed in. You can let everything gently simmer to cook down, if you'd like. The sauce should be somewhat thickened (if too thick, add a little more broth or wine). Serve with lemon slices on the side. 

* In the German dialect of Zurich it is "Züri Gschnätzlets."

** In the United States the potato dish is called "hash browns," and it is typically served as a "fried block of shredded potato," whereas in Switzerland, the dish is usually a round portion, from the shape of the pan. The Swiss have variations on the basic potato dish, like the addition of cheese, or onion, or other items. I often ordered Rösti at a restaurant in Wiesbaden, Germany years ago. Rösti is usually a side dish. By the way the word "Rösti" (noun) is simply a dialect form of standard German "rösten" (verb); and it is, therefore, related to English "roast." 

*** Spaetzle are also called "Knöpfle" in some German regions. To make your own "spaetzle," this article has the recipe:  http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2017/02/spatzle-in-sour-sauce-sauer-spatzle.html
 
I made a nice big serving of "Rösti," and a kale and tomato salad for my "Zürcher Geschnetzeltes"

WORD HISTORY:   

Otter-This name for a sleek weasel-like animal that lives in or near water is related to "wet," "water" and "wash," all words from the Germanic roots of English, and it is distantly related to "vodka," a word English borrowed from Russian, and to "hydro," a word English borrowed from Greek. "Otter" goes back to Indo European "wed," meaning "water," which spawned the adjective "udros," which meant "of or relating to water," and from this came the noun "udra/udro" meaning "water animal, water creature." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "utraz" (then "otraz" in the West Germanic branch?), meaning "otter," and this gave Old English "otr/otor," which then became "otir/oter," before the modern form. The other Germanic languages have: German and Low German "Otter," West Frisian and Dutch "otter," Danish "odder," Icelandic "otur," Norwegian "oter," Swedish "utter."  

German Egg Grog: Eiergrog

The German North Sea coast is the ancestral homeland of the Germanic tribes that sailed to Briton 1500 years ago and founded England. To this day the English and the Germans of the area share more than their DNA and the common Germanic source of their languages,* as they also share a good deal of weather, as well as food and beverage similarities. Like their English cousins, these northern Germans like tea, although I'm sure this isn't some shared genetic trait, but rather more a fact of shared cool, damp weather conditions in many parts of both northern Germany and parts of England, as well as the fact that tea drinking has become quite a tradition among these North Sea cousins. The Germans in this area of the north use rock candy (called "Kluntje" in the region) to sweeten their tea. Another shared drink is grog, borrowed by the Germans from the English. The drink is served hot, and it is another tie to weather conditions, as it can take the chill out of a polar bear (German: Eisbär, literally, "ice bear," but they also use "Polarbär"). So the English and the northern Germans share tea and grog, both a type of "drink," which is "Drank" in both Low German and Frisian, and "Getränk" in standard German. This grog has egg yolk and is called "Eiergrog" (the first part is pronounced as if, "eye-ah") in German; that is, "Eggs Grog." **

Ingredients (4 servings):

3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
8 ounces rum (light or dark)
8 ounces hot water (you can adjust the amount of rum and water)

If you have a stainless steel bowl that will fit over a pan of hot water, that is ideal for this. Heat the water in the pan. Meanwhile, heat some more water to be added to the mixture. Mix the egg yolks and sugar and set the bowl over the hot water. Stirring constantly, gradually add the rum, then the hot water. Don't let the eggs curdle, and pull the bowl off of the hot water if need be to prevent curdling. Keep stirring (whisking is best) until you get some froth to the rum mixture. Serve the grog in glasses and stir again to keep the froth. If desired, dust each glass of grog with a bit of nutmeg or mace.  

* The Germans of the area often grow up bilingual, speaking Low German and standard German, and some even grow up multilingual, speaking Frisian, or even Danish.

** English long had "ei/ey/eai" (dialectal variances all pronounced essentially like "eye") as its word for "egg," with "egg" being a close relative of the former word, but brought to northern England long ago by the Danes, who spoke Old Norse, a Germanic cousin of English from the North Germanic branch of Germanic. "Egg" eventually won the battle, but not until the 16th Century. If my memory is right, some linguists have speculated that the "eye" pronunciation of the long time English word may have aided "egg" as a replacement, because of the same pronunciation for the "eye," the organ of sight.  

WORD HISTORY:
Grog-This word goes back to the nickname for Edward Vernon, an English admiral of the mid 1700s, who often commanded ships in the West Indies, famous for its rum. He was called "Old Grog" for his grogram coat. Grogram was a fabric of strong, but coarse material. The admiral gave orders that the rum for his men was to be watered down, thus providing the basis for the drink of rum with water added. The drink also often had lemon added as a preventive measure for scurvy on ships. I've read somewhere, but I cannot now recall where, that the admiral's "water down the rum" order was met by the talk of mutiny. George Washington's brother served under Vernon, and it is for this reason the Washington estate came to be called Mount Vernon (the admiral died well before the American Revolution). "Groggy" came from the idea of being under the influence of too much grog, although later the term broadened in meaning to any condition of not being clear in mind, regardless of alcohol intake.  

German Fish Goulash (Helgoländer Fischgulasch)

Heligoland is a two island German archipelago in the North Sea, about 30 miles from the German mainland. In German, it is "Helgoland" and it is part of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. During most of the 1800s, Heligoland was a British possession, having been seized by Britain from Denmark during the Napoleonic Wars. Denmark was Napoleon's ally. In 1890 the British and the Germans reached an agreement giving control of the archipelago to Germany in exchange for some German territories in Africa. The fact that Britain's Queen Victoria was the grandmother of the then German Kaiser, Wilhelm II, likely helped move the deal along.

The main island is only about a half square mile in size, while the second island, "Düne," lying just a very short distance to the east, is only about a quarter square mile in size. Heligoland is essentially motor vehicle and bicycle free, by law, except for authorized vehicles, like for emergencies. Heligoland is known for its beaches and sunbathing areas, its geological rock formations and red sandstone cliffs, its use as a stopping point by seals and a number of birds, making it a great place for bird watching (a bird observatory is there). Heligoland's airport is located on Düne. The actual population of Heligoland is less than 1400, many of whom are Frisians, and they speak a form of North Frisian, alongside standard German, and likely, Low German. From what I understand, a couple hundred thousand tourists visit Heligoland each year. By the way, Heligoland is exempted from collecting European Union taxes and duties on purchases, which means... CHEAP BOOZE! Ah, I mean, reasonably priced alcoholic beverages.

Food wise, Heligoland is famous for its lobsters, but naturally other seafood is common there too (hey, it's in the North Sea). This recipe from Heligoland is subtle, unlike many of the dishes I tend to like, which have strong flavors, but it cannot be highly seasoned, lest the mild taste of the seafood be overwhelmed, although there are other German recipes for fish goulash with much stronger flavors. In this recipe, however, the taste of the seafood shines through so much, you may just have a wish for some "German Egg Grog" to top off your lunch or dinner. (Here is the link to the recipe for grog: https://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2018/06/german-egg-grog-eiergrog.html  

Ingredients:

1 pound cod (or substitute the cheaper pollock fillets)
1/2 pound small shrimp, shelled
1/2 pound crab meat
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons butter
5 green onions, including some green, chopped
2 potatoes, diced
2/3 cup dry white wine
3/4 cup fish broth or clam broth
6 white peppercorns
3 juniper berries, crushed
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out, then sliced
2 to 3 tablespoons dill
1/2 cup sour cream (or creme fraiche)

Cut the fish into chunks (like bite-sized or a little larger), put in a bowl, then season with salt, ground white pepper, salt and lemon juice; set aside. In a pan over low heat, melt the butter and immediately add the chopped green onion. Cook for about 2 minutes, stirring enough to make sure that neither the onion nor the butter brown. Add the potatoes, the white wine, the fish broth, the white peppercorns and the juniper berries. Cook for 3 minutes, then add the cucumber. Cook until both the potatoes and cucumber are tender, but not falling apart. Add the fish, the shrimp and the crab (along with any of the lemon juice collected in the bowl), stir well. Cook until the fish and the shrimp are just cooked through, then stir in the dill and the sour cream. Remove from the heat after about a minute or so.
 
Click the photo to enlarge it

WORD HISTORY: 
Cod/Cuttle-The history of these "seemingly" related words is shaky, at best, but there does seem to be some logic to what I've compiled here. They seem to go back to Indo European "gewt," which meant, "to bend, to bow;" thus also, "sack, bag." This gave Old Germanic "kuddon," meaning, "bag, sack." This gave Old English "codd," meaning, "bag, sack;" thus also, "husk for a pod." This then became "codde," before the modern version. The name "seems" to have been applied to a number of similar fish in the North Sea area in the late 1200s, with the theory being that Englishmen back then thought the fish looked like a pod husk. "Cuttle" has the same origins, but it was "cudele" in Old English and it was the name for the "cuttlefish." It then became "cutil," before the modern form. Forms in the other Germanic languages include: German "Kudele," for "cuttlefish," but the German word is now confined to some dialects (the standard German word for "cuttlefish" is "Tintenfisch; literally, "ink fish"); I found references to Dutch "kodde" being a term for "scrotum," which certainly fits in with the "sack, bag" meaning in Germanic, but "apparently" this usage is dialectal or archaic; likewise with Danish "kodde," which seems to be an archaic term for "scrotum" or "testicle;" Swedish "kudde," meaning, "pillow" (a bag stuffed with feathers, straw or rags); likewise with Icelandic "koddi," which also means "pillow."   

Operation Valkyrie (2004): The Plot to Kill Hitler

Note: "Valkyrie" (German: Walküre) was the cover/code name of a plan by the German army to implement a form of strict martial law in case of a breakdown of order in Germany. The anti-Nazi plotters in the army cleverly decided to use this plan to take over the German government from the Nazis after Hitler had been killed (or perhaps, arrested). 

Main Cast: Colonel Stauffenberg: Sebastian Koch; Henning von Tresckow: Ulrich Tukur; Werner von Haeften: Hardy Krüger, Jr; Nina Stauffenberg (the Colonel's wife): Nina Kunzendorf; Joseph Goebbels: Olli Dittrich; Friedrich Fromm: Axel Milberg   

There have been a number of movies about the plot to kill Hitler on July 20, 1944, and this German/Austrian production should not be confused with the film "Valkyrie," starring Tom Cruise, released in 2008 (I have now posted the article on this movie as of July 17, 2018). The 2004 film's original German title was, "Stauffenberg," after the man who actually planted the bomb near Hitler that July day. Since the end of World War Two, Germans/Austrians* have struggled to come to terms with the Nazi period of their history. It has not been an easy thing to do, as fascism is a movement that is tough to define precisely, but it always mixes in ultra nationalism with other elements. Nationalism can make people highly sensitive to criticism of one's country, as some folks allow themselves to become so identified with their country, they seem to feel personally attacked and insulted by any attempt to point out real or perceived flaws in their country or its leaders. And, in this case, I mean criticisms coming from their fellow citizens, not from people outside of their country, which, when that happens, can quickly ruffle feathers and cause tempers to flare. The more distant the war's end has become, the more some younger Germans have tried to face their history. This movie is one of those attempts at such. It is available on DVD, and it has settings for the original German, with subtitles in English (or, presumably for other languages in other editions), or for dubbed English, so you will not have need to read along in subtitles.

The horrific crimes against humanity committed during the Nazi era left many postwar Germans very defensive and conflicted about their own roles during those times. Some tried to deal with it by pretending (or maybe even believing) that things weren't as bad as claimed by historians, foreign governments and survivors of Nazi terror, while others said, "I was just following orders," and others still felt some degree of shame and complicity. Traudl Junge (pronounced as if, "yung-eh" **), one of Hitler's personal secretaries during the last two and one half years of his life, felt so much guilt after the war, she had pretty serious emotional troubles, even involving hospitalization.*** This movie and others that have dealt with this subject, faced a difficult task, as it is almost impossible to show all of the feelings and motivations involved in the anti-Nazi German resistance. Further, films are made to make money, and that means movies are made to try to maintain audience interest, but actual history is not always so dramatic at every turn. The movie does correctly show that Claus von Stauffenberg, played by German actor Sebastian Koch, was supportive of Hitler for quite some time. The thing to remember about the anti-Nazis is, they were NOT saints who opposed Hitler and the Nazis from the very first, but rather, they were people who gradually saw that Hitler was exposing Germany to great danger by leading the country into an ever expanding war, and that later, Hitler's racism and murder would also drag Germany's honor and reputation into the abyss with the defeated nation. This is "essentially" Stauffenberg's own history up until about 1942, and it is so depicted in the film. He begins to learn of other officers who are more than a little troubled by the course of the war and by atrocities committed by Germans, especially in Russia. One of those officers is Henning von Tresckow, played by German actor Ulrich Tukur, who moves Stauffenberg's doubts about the Hitler regime along by providing him with an eyewitness to mass murder. The disillusioned Stauffenberg is sent to Tunisia in North Africa, where the German and Italian forces are facing the end of their military resistance to the Allies. His rising anti-Nazi feelings are reinforced when a young German officer from Stauffenberg's home province of Swabia is killed just after reporting for duty. He sees the futility of it all and he smashes Hitler's photo.

Allied aircraft attack a German column and Stauffenberg is severely wounded; so severely, in fact, he is sent back to Germany for treatment. He loses his left eye (over which he always wore a black patch after his release from the hospital), his right hand, and two fingers on his left hand. He is now also more convinced that Hitler must be removed from power, which means Hitler will have to be killed. The anti-Nazi plotters eventually agree to have Stauffenberg make the actual move to kill Hitler, as he is on the staff of the German Replacement Army (German: Ersatzheer), the part of the army responsible for inducting, training and then sending men to units as replacements, and also responsible for the raising of new units. This gives Stauffenberg periodic access to Hitler at military conferences, and indeed, on July 20, he will again be in Hitler's presence. Plans are made to take over the German government once Hitler is dead, and on July 20 the whole operation begins with Stauffenberg and his aide flying to Hitler's military headquarters in northeastern Germany, located in a forested area of East Prussia. Stauffenberg carries the bomb into the military conference in his briefcase. After a momentary exchange with Hitler, Stauffenberg gets as close as possible to the Führer and he places the briefcase under the large conference table. Stauffenberg then exists the conference with the excuse of a telephone call. I'm not going to go into everything that happens, as much of the film deals with actual historical details, as known. When the bomb explodes, Stauffenberg is convinced that Hitler could not possibly have survived, a view quickly reinforced when he sees a body being carried out of the devastated room covered with Hitler's cloak. Stauffenberg flies back to Berlin only to learn that virtually nothing has been done to advance the take over of the government. The problem: reports that Hitler is alive! Stauffenberg tries to convince other conspirators that the Nazis are lying and that Hitler is really dead. Orders go out to military units in Berlin to ignore orders from Nazi leaders, and some SS officers and men are arrested in Vienna and Paris (which is still in German hands), but the conspirators mistakenly leave a pro-Hitler major, Otto Remer, played by Italian actor Enrico Mutti, in charge of part of one of Germany's elite army units, "Grossdeutschland." Remer is summoned to the home of Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, who then contacts Hitler directly by telephone. Hitler speaks to Remer and issues orders to put down the revolt and the major sets about doing just that. Once it is confirmed that Hitler is alive, the plot, already on life support, is left with the final acts to be played out; namely, the arrest of the army leaders of the conspiracy. General Fromm, the actual head of the Replacement Army, is, at first, arrested by the conspirators when he won't commit himself to the anti-Hitler side, but he is then freed by pro-Hitler army troops. Fromm sets about rounding up the officers in the building, including Stauffenberg.

Longtime anti-Nazi (dating back to the 1930s), General Ludwig Beck, asks that he be allowed to take his own life, but he botches it, and Fromm orders others to finish off Beck. The other officers are led outside during the early part of July 21. A vehicle's headlights are used to provide light for the executions. When Stauffenberg is led up, just before the order to fire (German: Feuer) is given, his aide, Werner von Haeften (played by Hardy Krüger, Jr.), attempts to run in front of him, and both are killed by the execution squad. We then hear a part of the actual radio broadcast of Hitler speaking about the assassination plot.***** The film ends with General von Tresckow, one of the leading conspirators, holding a hand grenade to his body to commit suicide just behind the Eastern Front, where he was stationed.             

* For the sake of simplicity; hereafter, I will use "German," in the broad ethnic sense, to include Austrians, as well as people of German ethnicity who lived in German communities in other countries back then. Switzerland and Liechtenstein are excluded, but it should be noted, some men from both countries did serve in the German armed forces during the war, including in the Waffen SS, although the overall numbers were very small. To make this clear too, however, I must also say that MANY non Germans participated in Hitler's military or in his murder apparatus, in some way.

** The German name "Junge" is closely related to the English name, "Young."   

*** For more detail about Traudl Junge, I did a three part series on her. Here are the links:

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/02/traudl-junge-working-for-evil-part-one.html

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/02/traudl-junge-working-for-evil-part-two.html

http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/02/traudl-junge-working-for-evil-part-three.html

**** General Friedrich Fromm has long been a controversial figure regarding the anti-Hitler conspiracy. Fromm's exact involvement with the conspirators has never really been satisfactorily explained, but he certainly generally knew of the conspiracy and he did not report it, which legally made him culpable. Since Fromm had the main conspirators in Berlin executed within hours (detractors feel Fromm 'conveniently' had these officers executed, as they knew of his complicity), it's doubtful we'll ever know everything about Fromm's participation prior to July 20, 1944. Even though the Gestapo could not make a direct link with Fromm and the conspiracy, he remained under heavy suspicion and the Nazis removed him from his military positions. Two months before the end of the war, Fromm was sentenced to death by a Nazi court for "cowardice before the enemy" (German: "Feigheit vor dem Feind;" see Word History, below). The sentence was carried out just days later.

***** As Hitler's headquarters was in an isolated part of Germany, a recording unit had to be  dispatched there by Goebbels to record Hitler's speech, then the recording was transported from there to a plane and flown to Berlin. It wasn't broadcast on German radio until late at night.  

Photo is from the 2009 The Weinstein Company DVD 

 WORD HISTORY:
Fiend-This word goes back to Indo European "pheyeh," which had the notion, "to give pain, to hurt." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "fijand," which meant, "to hate;" perhaps from the notion, "we hate someone or something that brings us pain," or perhaps even the reverse, "someone or something that causes pain, hates us." The Germanic form gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "feond," which meant, "enemy" (someone we hate, someone who wants to do us harm; thus, the opposite of friend). This meaning even expanded later to mean, "the enemy of humanity, enemy of all;" thus, it was also a way of referring to, "the devil, Satan," and later to the less specific, "evil spirit." Its primary meaning of "enemy," which it shared as something of a synonym with the old form of modern "foe," began to be lost in English, when a form of the word "enemy" was borrowed from French, although "foe" has kept that meaning to this day. The notions of "evil spirit" and "someone wishing to harm us," still underlie the modern meanings of "fiend," as in the meaning of being possessed (in the sense of being "obsessed"); thus, "I'm a real music fiend," or the less flattering, "He is a dope fiend." The primary modern meaning, "someone who is evil and cruel," still connects to the old meaning, just not in the direct sense of "enemy" today. The Old English form later became "feend/fend," before what became the modern form. Other Germanic forms: German has "Feind" (enemy), Low German Saxon has "Feend" (enemy), West Frisian "fijân" (enemy), Dutch "vijand" (enemy), Danish "fjende" (enemy), Swedish and Norwegian "fiende" (enemy), Icelandic "fjandi" (enemy, but no longer the primary word for such). 

Stewed Pork and Fruit is Silesian Heaven (Schlesisches Himmelreich)

This is THE dish of the former German region of Silesia (German: "Schlesien"), an area, since the end of World War Two, largely in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. The region had been contested going back a couple centuries or more, although often by German versus German. It was a region with lots of coal and copper, which saw heavy industry develop there, thus making it a coveted area for any ruler. The population had been very mixed for centuries, with Germans much in the majority in the overall area, but with a substantial Polish minority (and outright Polish majorities in some locales), and even a Czech minority (which was actually a Czech majority in that particular part). The Habsburg monarchy (the Hapsburg ruler also being emperor of the Old German Empire in those times) controlled the area for quite some time, until Frederick the Great, of the Hohenzollern monarchy, successfully wrestled most of the region (except the Czech part) from the Habsburgs, giving control to Prussia. The end of World War Two saw the Allies give most of the region to Poland, although a small part went to Czechoslovakia, and a small part remained with Germany, essentially around the city of Görlitz. Much of the German population was expelled from the area given to Poland, although there remains a small German minority there of about 350,000, from what I understand, and they are Polish citizens.

To some, perhaps even to many, this dish may sound strange, and it may be that you will need to acquire a taste for it, but it's really very good, with the fruit sweetening the meaty, mildly smoky sauce. This dish is well known, as the German Silesian refugees carried their individual recipes for it to their new homes elsewhere in post-war Germany.* I've seen recipes for this with cured, but unsmoked pork too, but smoked pork is more common, often pork belly. You can use pork stewing meat, but it's cheaper to buy some pork steak or pork chops and cut them up yourself, then add some pieces of smoked bacon for that flavor. Typically served with potato or yeast dumplings.

Ingredients:

1 pound pretty lean boneless pork
1/2 pound smoked bacon
water to cover 
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cups (total) dried apple, dried apricots, dried pears, golden raisins (even better if the peels are on the apple and pears) **
peel from one lemon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon sugar (optional)
2 tablespoons cornstarch and 4 tablespoons cold water (well mixed, to make a "slurry")

Put all of the ingredients, except the ground cloves, sugar and cornstarch and water mixture, into a pot over medium heat. Once the mixture comes to a boil, reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until the pork pieces are tender, and the liquid reduces a bit. Stir in the ground cloves. Taste it to see if the sugar is needed, and if so, add it and stir. Gradually add the cornstarch and water, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens a bit. If you're like me, and you like much thicker sauces, use more cornstarch/water.

* If you have seen the movie, "Nowhere in Africa" ("Nirgendwo in Afrika"), the main characters are from Silesia, and early on, Walter Redlich tells their Kenyan cook about "Silesian Heaven," adding, "Ummmm," to show how he loves it. While the Redlichs were German Jews, they were not practicing Jews, and thus, they did not forbid themselves pork. I did an article on this wonderful movie, an Academy Award winner for Best Foreign Film, at this link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2013/06/nowhere-in-africa.html

** Fresh apple and pear slices can be used, but they may well fall apart during cooking, and traditionalists would never approve.

"Silesian Heaven," with "Silesian Potato Dumplings." The apricots sure stand out. 

WORD HISTORY:
Belly-This word, closely related to "bellows," goes back to Indo European "bhel," which meant, "to swell," from which a derivative developed, "bhelg," with the same meaning. This gave its Old Germanic offspring "balgiz," meaning, "bag." This then gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "bælg," meaning "bag," but also "bulge." This then became, "belig," ^ then, "beli," before the modern spelling, but the meaning of "the abdomen" took place not long before 1300.

^ Old English words began losing the "ig" sound for words with that ending, leaving what came to be most commonly spelled, "y." Close relative German still spells many words with an "ig" ending, but the pronunciation by "some" German speakers sounds pretty similar to English "y."  

Kochkäse, German Cooked Cheese

This cheese is common in the German state of Hessen, where I have relatives, but also in other parts of the German language area. It is not at all sophisticated, as it came from rural areas and farms, where dairy products were readily available in times gone by, before refrigeration. It was a great way to use an abundance of dairy product, and to preserve it for an extra bit of time. It is a great cheese spread or a topping for boiled potatoes. While once made exclusively at home, now it is also made commercially. This is not a low calorie, low fat dish, but if you treat yourself to it occasionally, like every 3 or 4 days.... sorry doctors and nutritionists, just joking here a little; a couple times or so a year, hey, you've got to live life. A little philosophy here, and I'm sure it will not please everyone, but anyway, moderation is a key, in my opinion, something I'm not claiming to have done all the time, but if you live to diet and exercise, you are going to lie on that death bed and say, "Well after all of my dieting, deprivation and exercising, I'm about to kick the bucket. Why didn't I eat that delicious looking piece of chocolate cream pie in 2016? Hey, that was just last year?" There are so many variables that go into our lives and our health, some of them "baked in," to use a food expression, in that our genetics have much to do with our health and life span. If you enjoy a few "vices" once and awhile, that makes life worth living. If you spend your life worrying that "this dish has ten more calories than my allotment, and this one has 20 calories more, damn, I'm going to die from these 30 extra calories," you likely won't die from the calories, but the stress on your mental health may just edge you closer to the grave. Having self discipline is fine, but like anything else, it can go too far on some things. (Hey! What's the matter? What are you doing on the floor? .... Damn! He did die from those 30 calories. So much for that theory. Well at least he didn't eat any chocolate cream pie, so extra for me. What a way to go!) 

Ingredients:

24 ounce container 4% milk fat small curd cottage cheese,* pushed through a sieve (not a real fine sieve)
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 egg egg yolks
3 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup or less of milk or cream (I use canned evaporated milk, but I have used heavy cream on occasion)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 or 2 teaspoons caraway seeds (your preference on amount)

Put the cottage cheese into a flat-type dish, add the baking soda, mix and then spread the mixture out, cover with a clean dry towel, or paper towels, and leave the dish sit in a warm area to "ripen." The cheese will look .... ah, unappetizing, to be quite honest, but a bit shiny or glassy. Put the cheese into a heavy bottom sauce pan, over medium low heat. Then add the butter and gradually add the milk or cream, stirring to keep the cheese from sticking or browning on the bottom. Bring barely to a boil, reduce heat to very low, and don't be afraid to lift the pan off of the burner for a few seconds, as dairy products can stick/burn pretty easily. You may not need all of the milk/cream, which is fine, as less is great. Add the pepper and the caraways seeds stirring well.** Remove from heat and allow to cool down somewhat. Lightly beat the egg yolks in a bowl or cup, add one tablespoon of the cheese mixture to the eggs stirring constantly, so as not to cook the eggs and to blend together. Add a second tablespoon of the cheese to the egg yolks with the same process. Gradually stir the egg yolks into the cheese mixture. Allow to cool a bit, then refrigerate, and the cheese should be thickened after an hour or two. This should not be runny, but it is not likely to be anywhere near solid, rather more like commercial processed cheese in a jar. There will also likely be a yellowish color to it.  

* I've tried low fat cottage cheese and it just didn't work as well, but give it a try, if you'd like; maybe you'll have better success than I have had, especially if you let much of the cottage cheese liquid drain off. Secondly, if you have a regular brand of cottage cheese that is drier; that is, not all runny, use it, as the runny type also doesn't work as well, or you can put the cottage cheese into a large sieve or cheesecloth, if you have it, and let it drain.

** You don't have to add the caraway seed to the heated cheese, but rather you can just sprinkle some caraway seeds on the cheese when served, as I did in the photo below. Of course if you add the seeds when the cheese is warm, they will soften, if that is important to you. 

I put this on some real German pumpernickel bread, with a few caraway seeds sprinkled on top

WORD HISTORY:
Yellow-This word, related to "gold," goes back to Indo European "ghelwos," a suffixed form of "ghel," (shine, be bright). This gave its Old Germanic offspring "gelwaz," meaning "yellow." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "geolu" and "geolewe," depending upon dialect. Like its close cousin Low German Saxon, the English "ge" combination was pronounced more like a "ye," and thus, later the word became "yeolwe," then "yeolou," before the modern spelling. The verb form in Old English, meaning "to become yellow," was "geolwian, seemingly taken from the adjective (which was also used as a noun). While not proper, at all, the pronunciations "yeller" and "yellah" are not uncommon in every day speech in the United States. Why "yellow" became associated with cowardly behavior is something I have not been able to find out, although "apparently," that usage dates from the mid 1800s. Related forms in the other Germanic languages: German "gelb" (originally "gelo"), Low German Saxon "geel," West Frisian "giel," Dutch "geel," Danish, Norwegian and Swedish "gul," Icelandic "gulur." All mean "yellow." Notice, that in most cases, the other Germanic languages no longer have an ending, but rather use the basic root word, where English has "ow," rather than just "yel."

Wiener Schnitzel, Fried Veal Cutlet

Wiener Schnitzel (pronounced as if, "vee-ner shnit-zel"), is a famous fried breaded veal dish. "Wiener" is simply the German word for "Viennese," and "Schnitzel" means cutlet of meat. The Austrians likely took the recipe from Italian "Veal Milanese," although some Austrians apparently dispute that, but for whatever reason, "Wiener Schnitzel," generally speaking, became far better known internationally than the Italian version. The Habsburg rulers of Austria also controlled large areas of northern Italy for quite some time. The dish spread throughout many of the other German states, and it is a staple on many restaurant menus throughout Austria and Germany to this day. Real Wiener Schnitzel is made with veal, but it can also be made from the far less expensive pork or turkey, but it is then referred to as "Schnitzel nach Wiener Art" (Schnitzel, Viennese style). Many years ago a German friend of mine told me that in Germany the dish is always referred to as "nach Wiener Art" (Viennese style) out of respect for the famous cutlet from Vienna. Whether that is true, I really don't know, but I've had the dish in Germany many times, and I do believe it was always on the menu as "Viennese style," so perhaps he was right. For those unaware, Vienna was long the de facto capital of the old German empire, until its dissolution in 1806. The German word "Schnitzel" is not just used for "Wiener Schnitzel," as there are a number of other dishes of meat cutlets in Germany and Austria, and in other German-speaking areas. I plan to be doing recipe articles on two or three more Schnitzel recipes shortly. While the recipe for Wiener Schnitzel is simple, the high cost of veal has always made it a bit of a luxury food or special occasion dish for many. Getting the schnitzel cooked properly is the main challenge, as the meat should only be breaded right before it is fried, as once cooked, the coating should be able to be easily pulled away from the cutlet, and the meat should be cooked through and tender. Controlling the temperature of the oil/butter is essential to keep the breading from burning or darkening too much if the oil is too high, but on the other hand, if the oil temperature is too low, the breading will absorb the oil and become greasy.

Ingredients:

4 thinly sliced 4 oz. veal steaks, pounded even thinner using a kitchen mallet
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons milk (I use evaporated milk, known as "canned milk," to some, but just regular milk is fine)
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/4 cups breadcrumbs (regular finely ground bread crumbs is traditional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons butter
lemon wedges

First, place some paper towels onto a platter or baking sheet. Heat your oven to no more than 200 degrees. As you fry the schnitzels, you will remove each to the platter to drain off any excess oil and to keep the schnitzels warm. Spread the flour onto a large plate, lightly beat the eggs and milk together in a shallow dish (one large enough to fit the individual pieces of schnitzel), and put the breadcrumbs into another large plate. The three dishes should be close to one another and also close to the stove. In a heavy duty skillet, heat the oil/butter mixture over medium heat for about 60 to 90 seconds. Meanwhile, lightly salt each cutlet (hey, a 1/2 teaspoon of salt isn't going to go too far). Dredge the first cutlet in the flour on both sides, shaking off any excess flour. Dip the cutlet into the egg, then into the breadcrumbs, making sure there is a coating on both sides. Gently shake off any excess breadcrumbs to minimize their falling off in the grease and smoking/burning. Put the schnitzel into the hot oil/butter and fry about a minute to a minute and a half per side, until nice and brown. Remove the schnitzel to the oven platter, then repeat the same process with each of the other three remaining schnitzels. When the last piece is finished, remove the platter from the oven, and serve each with a wedge of lemon, the juice of which is to be squeezed onto the schnitzels. In Germany, I believe they always served Wiener Schnitzel with fried potatoes ("home fries" to many Americans)* in the places I ordered it, but I could be wrong. Further a side salad was served.

* In German, "fried potatoes"= "Bratkartoffeln"

I had Wiener Schnitzel with fried potatoes (Bratkartoffeln) and a salad...

WORD HISTORY:
To/Too- This word traces back to Indo European "do" (long "o"), with the notion of "toward," with the further extension, "for the reason of." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "ta," with the same meanings. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "to," still with the long 'o' sound, which later altered to the "u" sound that we still use today, but of course, the old spelling was retained (probably just to confuse people trying to learn English, hahaha!). The form "too," with the same "u" pronunciation, meaning "besides, in addition, also, more," was simply the same word, "to," with the notion, "further on (extending 'toward');" thus, "also, besides, in addition," and meaning "more" or "in excess," when used for emphasis. The spelling "to" was used until the 1500s, when the second "o" was added, differentiating the two words. Relatives in the other Germanic languages are confined to the West Germanic languages (English is West Germanic), as the North Germanic languages (Danish, Icelandic, Norwegian, Swedish, being the primary languages) use a form of English "til" (in "until") in the same way. German has "zu" (pronounced "tsoo," rhymes with "too"), Low German Saxon has "to," Dutch has both "tot" and "toe," ^ West Frisian has "ta."

^ Dutch "tot" means "to, at, until," while "toe" (pronounced similarly to English "to") means "to," in the sense, "the door is to;" that is, "shut, pulled to."

Some Memories of Germany, Rüdesheim, Part 9

I went on a bus tour from Frankfurt to the town of Rüdesheim in the late 1980s. They are about 40 miles apart. Rüdesheim is in the state of Hessen in a vineyard region along the Rhine River, and it is also known by its extended name of "Rüdesheim am Rhein," the addition meaning "on the Rhine." The town is known for its old style architecture and for its wine bars, especially in the "Drosselgasse," * a very narrow pedestrian street, or we might say, "alley" ** (see photo below), lined with wine bars, many of which have live music while you guzzle, I mean sip, your wine or beer. The tour included a lunch break in Rüdesheim, but I can't recall the name of the place. Our tour guide was a man from Brazil, I believe it was, but one of his parents was German, and he was fluent in German and English, as well as a couple of other languages. By chance he sat at my table during lunch, along with about 5 or 6 others, all but two of whom were Americans, if I remember correctly, and those two were Canadians. The guide asked everyone some questions, like where we were from and a few other things, which I just don't remember anymore. When he got to me, among other things, he asked if I was German. I explained my German heritage and he said, "Boy, you sure look like 'em." I never forgot that, but I have lots of English and Scots-Irish, too, besides bits of other European heritage. I think he was contrasting me with himself, as his appearance obviously favored his South American side, as he had black hair and a darker complexion; not that everyone of South American descent has black hair and a dark complexion. The tour actually then went on to Heidelberg, which I covered in an earlier segment. Heidelberg is about 65 or 70  miles from Frankfurt. 

* German has two words "Drossel," and while the two words are spelled the same in modern times, they come from different Germanic sources. One is "Drossel," the name of a common variety of songbird, the "thrush," in English, and "thrush" and "Drossel" are closely related, as they come from the same Old Germanic source. The other word "Drossel" (all German nouns are capitalized) is the same word as English "throttle." (see note below for changes in "t" to s").  

** The German word "Gasse" is closely related to English "gate," which once also meant "passageway," and is still present in many old place names for that reason. The old high Germanic dialects underwent a sound shift, often with "t" sounds becoming "s," thus English has "kettle," but German has "Kessel." For the Word History for "gate" and its relatives, here is the link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-weather-and-feeling-miserable-and.html

This picture and the next show the vineyards planted in like tiers up the hillside. Vines for the wine. The Rhine River is in the foreground.

Hotel Krone in the Assmannshausen part of Rüdesheim.

More of Rüdesheim.

The tour included a stop for lunch, but I forget the name of the place, but you can see the mural in the wall. 

Drosselgasse in Rüdesheim. As you can see, it is very narrow, which likely gave it its name, as "Drossel" means, and is related to, English "throttle;" that is, "a device that constricts the flow of fuel to an engine," and of course "constricts" implies narrowing.  

Some Memories of Germany, Castles, Part 8

I took a Rhine River cruise at some point in the second half of the 1980s. If I remember correctly, it was termed something like "the Rhine castles tour," as it went past numerous castles that had been built along the river hundreds of years ago, and some are in ruins, while others are used for tourism or for other purposes. They were built to provide protection for their owners and their lands, but also so the owners could extort ... I mean, make money from them, by providing protection for travelers, especially traveling merchants, who were highly vulnerable to the robbers of those days; I mean, the robbers outside the castles, the "robber barons" were inside, as all were nobles. The owners often charged tolls and duties on travelers for passing through their lands, or for transporting certain goods. Some German emperors (Kaiser) did crack down, although the practice took quite some time to die out, but the growing use of cannons made the castles far less secure. Some castles were also built right along rivers to give their owners and imperial officials the ability to control river traffic, and thus collect tolls for boats and ships seeking passage. One of the most famous castles along the Rhine River is the one built in the 1300s near the town of Kaub, and known as the "Burg Pfalzgrafenstein" (Burg=fortified castle, see picture below).* A heavy chain was kept stretched across the river to prevent boats and ships from being able to pass without first paying the toll. Cannons were later added to the castle's means of extortion, I mean, protection. Not far away, but on more elevated terrain with a better view of the river, is another castle called "Gutenfels." It supplemented the river castle to be certain tolls were paid. (You can click on the individual pictures below to enlarge them )

* German "Burg" is closely related to English "borough." See this article for information on the words "borough/burg," "weir," and "town:" http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2009/06/some-english-words.html 

This is the "Burg Pfalzgrafenstein" near Kaub, Germany.

 The tour boat.

 A little closer view.

 I don't have notes on what each of these pictures shows, as to name of the castle or to its location.

 The castle tower in the distance.

 The castle is sort of hidden in the hillside.

 In the distance.

 This picture and the next are of the same castle, but at slightly different angles.

Some campers below this castle, shrouded in some fog.

WORD HISTORY:
Flood-This word goes back to Indo European "plew," which meant "flow." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "flotuz," ^ which meant "flowing water, surge of flowing water." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "flod," which meant "tide, overtaking of land by water." Originally the "o" was long, but over time it softened in sound to the point where it was spelled "ou," before the modern double "o." The verb form was derived from the noun in the 1600s. The other Germanic languages have: German "Flut" (flood, high tide), Low German Saxon "Floot" (flood, tide), West Frisian "floed" (flood, high tide), Dutch "vloed" (flood, high tide), Norwegian "flod" (flood, tide), Danish (river, flood), Swedish "flod" (river, flood), Icelandic "flóð" (ð=th, flood, tide).

^ The change of Indo European "p" to Germanic "f" was a common occurrence.    

Some Memories of Germany, Bus Tour To Heidelberg, Part 7

In the late 1980s I took a bus tour to Heidelberg, which is located on the Neckar River in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg. One of the main places to visit in Heidelberg is the "Heidelberger Schloss" (Heidelberg Castle/Palace), some parts of which are about 700 years old. It sits just above the main part of the city. I bought a print of the castle when I was there, and I have it on my wall to this day.  

WORD HISTORY:
Sorrow-In spite of the similarity, "sorrow" is not related to "sorry." It goes back to Indo European "swergh," the initial notion of which may have had to do with sickness, as some non Germanic relatives had forms tied to that meaning (for example, Old Irish had "serg"=sickness). From the idea of sickness came the idea of, "to care for, to worry over." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "sorgh," with that meaning. This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "sorg/sorh," meaning "terrible worry, grief," which then became "sorwe" (the "e" was pronounced "eh/ah"), which then became the modern form. Old English also had the verb form "sorgian," which meant "to worry, to care, to grieve." The other Germanic languages have: German "Sorge" (noun), meaning "worry, concern," and more rarely, "sorrow," but also "care," and a verb form, "sorgen," meaning "to worry, to care for, to look after;" Low German Saxon "Sorg," meaning "worry, care," and the verb form "sorgen," meaning "to care for;" Dutch "zorg," meaning "care, worry;" West Frisian "soarch" (in compounds), meaning "care;" Danish "sorg," meaning "grief, sorrow;" Norwegian "sorg," meaning "grief, mourning;" Swedish "sorg," meaning "grief, sadness;" and Icelandic "sorg," meaning "sorrow, grief."

Some Memories of Germany, Photos & Materials, 6B

This is part "B" of the photos and materials section. There will be more articles about castles and Heidelberg as a part of the overall series, with their own pictures.

This is a business card for a Viennese tavern/bar specializing in the most recently produced wine (they sold beer too). The top says, "A little piece of Vienna in the heart of Berlin"

This is the back of the business card. The top line notes, "Austrian charm and good times."

These are business cards from two hotels in Frankfurt where a friend of mine was the manager. He first managed the Hotel Union on Münchenerstraße near the main train station in Frankfurt. Later he worked at the Lian-Yi, a Chinese government owned hotel on Niddastraße, a few blocks from from the train station.

This is a post card I bought in Berlin showing various aspects of "Die Mauer" (The Wall). "Mauer" is derived from the same Latin source as English "mural." You can see the guard towers, where heavily armed soldiers tried to prevent anyone from escaping East Berlin. In the center is one of the wooden platforms on the West Berlin side of wall, where people could look over into East Berlin.

This is another post card I bought, due to the great clarity and quality of the picture. It is the Reichstag building in the 1980s. This was the former German parliament/Congress building. Since reunification, it is again in use, extensively renovated, as Berlin is again the capital.

This is the Reichstag building in 1929; that is, about four years before Hitler took power. Within a short time of Hitler becoming chancellor, the Reichstag building was set on fire and was badly damaged. It was never used again as a legislative meeting building until after German reunification. The Nazis moved the Reichstag legislative sessions, often just forums for Hitler's speeches, to the nearby Kroll Opera House (badly damaged in World War II and then torn down). For more on the Reichstag fire, see my article at this link: http://pontificating-randy.blogspot.com/2010/01/berlin-before-wall-tumbled.html

These are the German and English version of the menu for one of my flights from Frankfurt back home..

German and English version of the menu for another flight.

WORD HISTORY:
Wield-This word, meaning "use power well, to use and control something with great skill," goes back to Indo European "wal-dh," which had the notion of "be strong," and was an expanded form of Indo European "wal." This gave its Old Germanic offspring "waldan," meaning "to control, to rule." This gave Old English (Anglo-Saxon) "wealdan," which meant "to rule, to direct," and the also the form "wieldan," which meant "to control." From these two forms came the single form "wield." The only other forms still used in the Germanic languages are: German "walten" (to rule") and the derived "verwalten" (to administer, to manage), and Swedish "vålla" (cause, basis; from the notion 'controlling idea, decisive reason').