Autobahns in Germany - Essay Example

One of the most surprising things I learned in this was about the autobahns in Germany. I cannot imagine a road that does not have a speed limit. This may seem like a good idea in a place that is very broad and flat, but Germany has lots of mountains where the autobahns run. I would think that this would be a very dangerous situation. I think that it is especially surprising that a culture like they have in Germany would have a road that has so few rules. I know that we talked about how the Germans follow lots of driving rules on the autobahn so they can safely travel at high rates of speed, but it seems odd that a culture that loves rules and order would have no rules for speed on their highways. Another surprise the autobahns have for me is the fact that traveling fast burns more fuel. We have learned that the German culture values many things including laws, order and thrift. I find it surprising that a group of people that value these things would make a road system that actually encourages waste. From our classroom discussions, it seems that the Germans are very proud of their autobahns. They seem to be a source of national pride in some ways. I have never been to Germany, but I hope to see the country some day. I would like to experience driving on the autobahn so I can better understand how this highway system fits into the national character of Germans. The most important thing that I learned in this class was about Germany’s role in World War II. I know that this is a favorite topic of many historians because the conflict was so big and has so many different aspects that can be studied. I think it is important to see the role that Germany played in this global conflict by looking at the issues from a western point of view as well as from a German point of view. Learning how the outcome of World War I and the treaty that was signed there actually contributed to the start of World War II and the rise of the National Socialist party is an important lesson. I think it is easy to just look at Germany as the bad guy in World War II and then leave it at that. An important lesson that this class has taught me is that there are always two sides to a conflict. The Germans viewed everyone else as the bad guy. Understanding why this was is an important less on modern politics. I think the lesson from German history needs to be that a nation or a culture will do horrible things if they feel as though they are going to be ruined or exterminated. They will organize and fight back, often in terrible ways. We need to keep this in mind when we deal with countries and cultures that are opposed to the culture we currently enjoy. We do not want to make future problems resulting from the decisions of today. America didn’t want to enter World War I but they did this because of the Zimmerman letter. The Zimmerman letter was a note sent to Mexico from a German diplomat. He wanted to exploit the fact that America had taken land away from Mexico during the Spanish and American War. The Mexicans were promised that if they declared ware on America and started to cause problems on the boarder, then the Germans would give Texas and other parts of the southwestern United States back to Mexico. When American’s heard about this letter, they decided that they wanted to enter the war. Public opinion and government leaders both wanted to stay out of the war because America believed in being isolated. Americans suddenly were worried that they might have to fight a war with Mexico if they joined the Germans. There were other problems, such as the German’s sinking passenger and cargo ships in the Atlantic that were headed towards Great Britain, but even this was not enough to make America want to fight. It took the Zimmerman letter to do this. Some people felt that even the Zimmerman letter was not enough to cause America to fight in Europe. Some of them felt that the Mexicans really weren’t a threat, even if they joined Germany. America could easily handle Mexico’s outdated military, so the threat wasn’t real. Other people, such as Benjamin Freedman said that the only reason America got into the war was because Jewish people forced them to do it. Benjamin Freedman is a delusional man that thinks Jews control the world. He knows nothing but hatred for Jews and Israel. The world would be a very different place if the United States had not gotten involved in World War I. There is a real chance that the Kaiser and the German forces would have defeated France, Great Britain and their allies. If this had happened, democratic institutions in Western Europe would have suffered a great setback. The many advancements in personal freedom and representative democracy realized in Western Europe over the past century might not have happened. If America had continued to be an isolationist country and Europe would have fell to the Germans, then trade and cooperation between the two continents would have been diminished. Areas such as Africa and the Middle East would also have fallen to the Germans, because Great Britain and France had colonial interests in these places. All of these resources would have been used by the Germans to continue to conquer Europe and then into Asia. The withdrawing of colonial powers from Africa and Asia during the 1960’s on part of the British and French would probably never have happened. The Germans were not interested in social equality or fair trade with colonies. Had America not entered the war and tipped the balance in favor of the Western allies, the entire world, not just Europe and America, might be a very different place in a negative way. Read More