Akcesja Polski do Unii Europejskiej na łamach prasy regionalnej Ziem Zachodnich

Wydział Nauk Politycznych i Dziennikarstwa

Niemieckie lotnictwo myśliwskie. Koncepcja i realizacja w latach 1939-1945

Wydział Historyczny

Warianty realizacji austriackości w wybranych autorów (Joseph Roth, Stefan Zweig, Franz Theodor Csokor i Ődön von Horváth) w odniesieniu do kategorii granicznych starego i nowego świata

Wydział Neofilologii:Instytut Filologii Germańskiej

Polskie Wojska Lotnicze w okresie walk o granice państwa polskiego (1918-1921)

Wydział Historyczny

Spanish Sociology and Anti-Semitism Between passed prejudice and key to civilization

There is a significant lack of sociological research in Spain about anti-Semitism. At the same time there are alarming anti-Semitic tendencies and anti-Jewish stereotypes which are above the European average. This article aims to explain this lack of sociological research about anti-Semitism in Spain. Therefore two types of explications are offered: on the one hand side some structural problems will be shown which sociology in general had since its beginnings and which complicate the understanding of anti-Semitism. Furthermore explications regarding the specific social and historic situation in Spain and of Spanish sociology in particular will be exposed. It will be shown that for its rationalistic character and with the exception of very few authors – who are considered marginalized for practical research – sociology in general has had enormous problems in understanding anti-Semitism. The specific historic situation, Francoism, the dispute about the historic memory and the delayed institutionalisation of sociology could also explain the lack of sociological interest in the topic especially in Spain. The article shows that the study of anti-Semitism is not only relevant for struggling against this burden of society in many of its variants. Furthermore, thinking about anti-Semitism can help sociology to recognise its own epistemological problems. It can serve to criticise and improve instruments of sociological research by showing the limitations of the sociological approach and to uncover the importance of interdisciplinary research for understanding specific social phenomena. In that sense, anti-Semitism, far from being a marginal subject, can be considered a key topic in the process of civilisation and it can help us to decipher the contemporary Spanish society.

No or only population-specific effect of PON1 on human longevity: A comprehensive meta-analysis

Paraoxonase 1 (PON1) has been suggested as a plausible candidate gene for human longevity due to its modulation of cardiovascular disease risk, by preventing oxidation of atherogenic low-density lipoprotein. The role of the PON1 192 Q/R polymorphism has been analyzed for association with survival at old age in several populations, albeit with controversial results. To reconcile the conflicting evidence, we performed a large association study with two samples of 2357 Germans and 1025 French, respectively. We combined our results with those from seven previous studies in the largest and most comprehensive meta-analysis on PON1 192 Q/R and longevity to-date, to include a total of 9580 individuals. No significant association of PON1 192 Q/R with longevity was observed, for either R allele or carriership. This finding relied on very large sample sizes, is supported by different analysis methods and is therefore considered very robust. Moreover, we have investigated a potential interaction of PON1 192 Q/R with APOE epsilon4 using data from four populations. Whereas a significant result was found in the German sample, this could not be confirmed in the other examined groups. Our large-scale meta-analysis provided no evidence that the PON1 192 Q/R polymorphism is associated with longevity, but this does not exclude the possibility of population-specific effects due to the influence of, and interaction between, different genetic and/or environmental factors (e.g. diet).

The development of national in-group bias: English children's attributions of characteristics to English, American and German people

This study investigated the development of national in-group bias in 5-11-year-old children. Three hundred and seven English children were asked to attribute characteristics to their own national group either on its own or in conjunction with attributing characteristics to one of two national out-groups, either Americans or Germans. The importance which the children ascribed to their own national identity in relationship to their other social identities was also assessed. It was found that, with increasing age, there was an increase in the number of negative characteristics attributed to the national in-group, and an increase in the number of positive characteristics attributed to the two out-groups, the net result being an overall reduction in in-group bias across this age range. However, in-group favouritism was still exhibited at all ages. Greater importance was attributed to national identity with increasing age. However, the characteristics attributed to the English in-group did not vary as a function of the comparative out-group which was present while the attributions were being made. The presence of a comparative out-group also did not affect the importance that was ascribed to the national identity. These findings suggest that children are relatively insensitive to the prevailing comparative context when making judgments about national groups.

The effect of essentialism in settings of historic intergroup atrocities

Three studies tested the effects of essentialist beliefs regarding the national ingroup in situations where a perpetrator group has inflicted harm on a victim group. For members of the perpetrator group, it was hypothesised that ‘essentialism’ has a direct positive association with ‘collective guilt’ felt as a result of misdeeds conducted by other ingroup members in the past. Simultaneously, it was hypothesised to have an indirect negative association with collective guilt, mediated by perceived threat to the ingroup. Considering these indirect and direct effects jointly, it was hypothesised that the negative indirect effect suppresses the direct positive effect, and that the latter would only emerge if perceived ‘ingroup threat’ was controlled for. This was tested in a survey conducted in Latvia among Russians (N?=?70) and their feelings toward how Russians had treated ethnic Latvians during the Soviet occupation; and in a survey in Germany among Germans (N?=?84), focussing on their feelings toward the Holocaust. For members of the victim group, it was hypothesised that essentialism would be associated with more anger and reluctance to forgive past events inflicted on other ingroup members. It was proposed that this effect would be mediated by feeling connected to the ingroup victims. This was tested in a survey conducted among Hong Kong Chinese and their feelings toward the Japanese and the Nanjing massacre (N?=?56). Results from all three studies supported the hypotheses.

Le 'bon Allemand' dans le roman français de l'immédiat après-Seconde Guerre mondiale: une erreur de casting?

The end of the Occupation, which was much more violent than its beginning, dramatically affected the overall perception of Germans and Germany for many years in post-WWII France. This vision is of course reflected to a large extent in French literature. Yet, paradoxically, many novels—including the ‘best-sellers’ E ´ ducation europe´enne (1945) by Romain Gary, Mon Village a` l’heure allemande (1945) by Jean-Louis Bory or Les Foreˆts de la nuit (1947) by Jean-Louis Curtis—contain a ‘good German’ character. Firstly, this article will give an overview of the dominant representations of Germans in post-WWII France, before suggesting that the ‘good German’ character follows both a literary tradition and the humanist values of the French Resistance, to which these writers claim to subscribe. Finally, it will show how this character, far from blurring the Manichean ideology of the novel in which he appears, actually reinforces it.

Moving beyond the rhetoric of provocation: the French and World War II in the novels of the Hussards (1949-1954)

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, only those who had opposed the Germans or were perceived to have done so could freely express themselves. Soon, however, three young writers clearly leaning to the right of the political spectrum – Antoine Blondin, Roger Nimier and Jacques Laurent – dared to challenge their narratives in a series of provocative novels published between 1949 and 1954. Quickly referred to as the Hussards after the publication in 1952 of a famous essay by Bernard Frank, these writers momentarily occupied the literary space left vacant by their older peers. Without denying the provocative, political and subversive dimensions of the Hussards’ war novels, this article will argue that their success was mainly due to the fact that they were largely in line – and not in contradiction – with the ‘horizon of expectations’ of their time (Jauss, 1982).

Max Weber and the First World War: Protestant and Catholic living standards in Germany, 1914-1919

We assess informal institutions of Protestants and Catholics by investigating their economic resilience in a natural experiment. The First World War constitutes an exogenous shock to living standards since the duration and intensity of the war exceeded all expectations. We assess the ability of Protestant and Catholic communities to cope with increasing food prices and wartime black markets. Literature based on Weber (1904, 1905) suggests that Protestants must be more resilient than their Catholic peers. Using individual height data on some 2,800 Germans to assess levels of malnutrition during the war, we find that living standards for both Protestants and Catholics declined; however, the decrease of Catholics’ height was disproportionately large. Our empirical analysis finds a large statistically significant difference between Protestants and Catholics for the 1915–19 birth cohort, and we argue that this height gap cannot be attributed to socioeconomic background and fertility alone.

Max Weber and the First World War: Protestant and Catholic living standards in Germany, 1915-1919

We assess informal institutions of Protestants and Catholics by investigating their economic
resilience in a natural experiment. The First World War constitutes an exogenous shock to living standards since the duration and intensity of the war exceeded all expectations. We assess the ability of Protestant and Catholic communities to cope with increasing food prices and wartime black markets. Literature based on Weber (1904, 1905) suggests that Protestants must be more resilient than their Catholic peers. Using individual height data on some 2,800 Germans to assess levels of malnutrition during the war, we find that living standards for both Protestants and Catholics declined; however, the decrease of Catholics’ height was disproportionately large. Our empirical analysis finds a large statistically significant difference between Protestants and Catholics for the 1914-19 birth cohort, and we argue that this height gap cannot be attributed to socioeconomic background and fertility alone.

Notions of Conflict and 'New' Citizens' Inclusion:Post-Cosmopolitan Contestations in Germany

This chapter argues that there is a gap between symbolic exclusion from the national community when it comes to the inclusion of new German citizens of Turkish or Kurdish background, and a broad claim to be a cosmopolitan society, at large. While focusing on narratives of minority key political activists in Berlin, and analysing individual stories on the background of contemporary populist xenophobic debates and hate crime of the 1990s, the chapter illustrates both, individual success and vulnerability due to institutionalised forms of anti- Muslim and anti-Turks segments in Germany.

Speech delivered by Hon. Hermann Ridder at the one hundred and forty-second anniversary dinner, German Friendly Society, Charleston, S. C., January 15th, 1908

The speech was delivered to the German Friendly Society by the Hon. Hermann Ridder and opens with a brief history of the society and its importance. He then goes on to acknowledge notable German settlers and their importance. He calls for history to be rewritten and textbooks to be revised to give credit to the Germans who contributed to America’s foundation and history.

Marketing plan for Book-a-Cook

This thesis studies the marketing plan for the new brand Book-a-Cook. Book-a-Cook is an online platform connecting well-to-do urban Germans with professional chefs that prepare meals at consumer's homes. By analyzing the external and internal audit, it was possible to develop an appropriate strategy to launch the service in Germany. The main goals are stimulating demand and creating a strong brand in order to establish a successful business model. A quantitative research was made to identify potential customers, their needs and how Book-a-Cook can satisfy them.