Tag Archives: History

14 February 2023Access AmericaAncient Rome, chocolate, Christianity, gift giving, Gifts, History, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Leuphana University Lüneburg, love, lovers, Marketing, self-made, Valentine’s DayJanina Malena Sähn

Valentine’s Day – A Marketing Scam or a Day Filled with Love?

By Veronika M. Heinrich

Whenever I talk to people about Valentine’s Day, I get some sort of hateful response. It’s only about money. You’re forced to buy something for your significant other or they’ll be mad. It’s more romantic to show your love every day in small gestures rather than doing so only one day a year. And it’s all just a devious plan of the industry, trying to sell heart-shaped food, flowers, and other festive nonsense.

Is that the truth or can Valentine’s Day be something more? As a fan of spreading love and appreciation, I want to investigate this further. What are the roots of Valentine’s Day? And how can we escape all this negativity and make it an enjoyable day?

3 August 2022Creativity CornerBerlin, Berlin Wall, History, Iron Curtain, Leaders, Leuphana, Leuphana University Lüneburg, RussiaHenrike Kattoll

Iron Curtain, Please

By Michael Lederer

One man’s trash is another’s treasure.

Vladimir the Small, as history is sure to remember him, has pulled the iron curtain off the trash pile and ordered it rehung. His security blanket. Thirty years exposed to Western ideas of choice – enough of that. Obedience or destruction, enough choice for his people.

The good old days.

Photo Credit: The Fall of the Berlin Wall, 1989

1 June 2022Access AmericaCold War, Eastern Europe, Economic Impact, Economy, Europe, European Recovery Program, Foreign Politics, Fritz Stern, George Marshall, Germany, Henry Morgenthau, History, Leuphana, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Ludwig Erhard, Marshall Plan, Moscow, Nobel Peace Prize, Politics, Soviet Union, U.S. Secretary of State, U.S. Treasury, U.S. Treasury Secretary, Ukraine, United States, Washington D.C., West Germany, Western Europe, Winston Churchill, World War I, World War II, World WarsHenrike Kattoll

Getting Germany Back on Track

By Markus Ziener

The Marshall Plan has become synonymous for massive help, for bringing about a herculaneum task and having a country rise again from the ashes. Originally designed to help Europe get back on track after the devastations of World War II, it has a much broader meaning today. In discussions about how to rebuild Ukraine at some point in the future, there’s again talk of the need for a Marshall Plan. However, it’s worthwhile to take a step back and look at what the original Marshall Plan was all about.

14 July 2021Best Books & Fabulous FilmsBabylon Berlin, Binge-Worthy, Fascism, Germans, Germany, History, Hollywood, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Nazi Germany, Nazis, Netflix, Reviews, TV Series, Weimar Republic, ZeitgeistHenrike Kattoll

The Reviews Are In: Babylon Berlin Sets the Scene for Unusually Visionary Television, Intercontinentally

By Hannah Quinque

Granted, Babylon Berlin has at its disposition all the means necessary to become a true blockbuster. But it isn’t every day the viewer gets to experience just how phenomenally a big budget can be spent on a TV series – without compromises between bombastic montages and cinematography for lovers, between fast-paced story development and credibly complex characters, that is.

For Babylon Berlin, produced in Germany by German production companies, the commitment to an unflinching and unreserved depiction of a nation on the verge of fascism pays off. As a bit of an inside tip, the show’s spectacular efforts are appreciated far beyond its country of origin, as demonstrated by almost exclusively glowing U.S. reviews.

21 October 2020Access AmericaAmerica, Ancient Artifacts, Artists, History, Human Nature, I Have Seen the Mississippi, Jordan Peele, Knock On Wood, Leif Eriksson, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Michael Lederer, New Century, New Decade, New Millennium, New World, Norman Vincent Peale, North America, Power of Positive Thinking, Science, Telluria, The Twenties, Twitter, United Nations, Vikings, Vladimir SorokinHenrike Kattoll

A New Millennium?

By Michael Lederer

“MCU035” by maxxtraffic is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0

January 1, 2000. Not just a new century, but a new millennium. Spotless, for the briefest moment, though far from empty. Arriving so brimful of promise and hope. “What will it be like?” we wondered, staring almost child-like at the clock as it approached the new era. A brand-new, unopened, ready-to-use millennium! And this time, with all we’d learned over past millennia, we would get things right.

Knock on wood.

1 April 2020Creativity CornerEducation, Heritage, History, Ireland, Leuphana, Leuphana Universität Lüneburg, Traffic Lights, U.S. CultureHenrike Kattoll

“Do they have traffic lights in Ireland?”

By Deidre Hutchison

“Do they have traffic lights in Ireland?” This was a naive question posed to my cousin on a visit to the United States in the 1980s. To my pre-teen intellect, this was the kind of insult that demonstrated the height of American ignorance my friends and I so often scoffed at. There was laughter at such a ludicrous concept.

The image of Ireland as backward bordered on comical and more often, irritating. After all, we were a nation with a deep history and a rich culture with literary giants like James Joyce, Oscar Wilde, and W.B. Yeats. Musically, we boasted the renowned talent of everything from The Dubliners and Thin Lizzy to the global phenomenon of U2. In our minds, we might be a small island, but we were extremely proud and accomplished.