A Nobel for the Land of Poets and Thinkers

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The Nobel Prize can be a very powerful thing. It can endorse a political platform and a set of causes. It can also honor accomplishments. So imagine the pleasant surprise in Germany when people learned that this year’s Nobel laureate in the literature category is Herta Müller.

The Romanian-born, German author was viewed as a dark horse in the contest, and the Nobel award astonished the world's literary scene.

Müller's work is heavily influenced by her time growing up under the totalitarian regime of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceauçescu. Born in a Romanian enclave in 1953, Müller emigrated to West Germany in 1987. Her mother spent five years in a work camp in present-day Ukraine, and her father served in the Waffen SS during World War II.

Müller went on to study German and Romanian literature at the University of Timisoara during the mid-1970's where she was linked with the “Aktionsgruppe Banat," a circle of young, German-speaking authors who opposed Ceauçescu’s dictatorship.

German-American Day

In the United States, October 6 is German-American Day. As I wrote in a post at my Southeast Schnitzel blog:

It may not be a National Holiday (yet?) but today is the day when America celebrates its German heritage. It commemorates the date in 1683 when 13 German Quaker and Mennonite families from the city of Krefeld landed in Philadelphia and later founded Germantown, PA, the first German settlement in the original 13 American colonies. Originally celebrated in the 19th century, German-American Day died out during World War I as a result of the anti-German sentiment that prevailed at the time. The holiday was revived in 1983 by Ronald Reagan for the 300th anniversary of German immigration and culture in the United States.

The next official holiday we need may be Israel-Germany Day. Why, you ask? The Bavarian town of Dachau, only a few miles north of Munich, has been trying to partner with a twin sister in Israel for about two years. They finally found the town Rosh Haayin in the holy land where officials and citizens are willing to do it. Mind you, we're talking about the same Dachau that is synonymous with its Nazi past. This would be an enormous gesture of reconciliation. But Israeli Holocaust survivors are outraged that a town which was the location of a concentration camp could have a sister city in the Jewish state. Let me know what you think: Too soon?

 

Learn how to shake hands the "American Way"

You should also watch this short video by Dan Fishel explaining how to identify an Amerian and how to properly shake hands with him. A funny primer for non-Americans.

In other non-news last week: Christian Wulff, Ministerpräsident (Governor) of the German state of Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) visited the Enterprise South site. Great photo ops for local politicians—lots of backslapping, etc. But, it is important to establish a mutual level of respect and trust.

While SEC fans were following the game between the Volunteers and the Bulldogs, Germany beat Russia 1:0 in a qualifier match, which means the Nationalelf is going to the 2010 Soccer World Cup in South Africa.

Also, Bradley County schools are trying to adapt to future growth in connection with the impact of Volkswagen and Wacker Chemie.

German-American Business News

• The car transmission plant leaders at BMW and Daimler had planned to jointly build in the United States appears to be no longer an issue. The companies didn’t give reasons for their decision.


• LSP Automotive Systems, the US arm of German car supplier Läpple AG in South Carolina, has been sold to the Spanish company, Gestamp, for an undisclosed amount. Gestamp was the first VW tier 1 supplier who committed to setting up shop at Enterprise South.


• Tom Loafman, VW Group of America’s director of purchasing, said it’s “highly probable” there will be future announcements of suppliers building plants locally such as was done by Gestamp. Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce officials said while there is interest, the economy is weighing on decisions about building new facilities.


• Ficosa North America Corp., an Upper Cumberland manufacturing firm in Crossville, TN, bagged a supplier contract from Volkswagen to produce exterior mirrors for VW's new sedan.


• Meanwhile, in Bradley County the timeline for the arrival of Wacker Chemie appears to be unchanged. Chamber officials will discuss the next steps during meetings at Wacker's US headquarters in Michigan in November.


• Munich remains Germany's most economically successful city for the sixth year in a row.

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Christian Höferle (or Hoeferle, for those without umlauts on their keyboards) is a German-American entrepreneur who grew up in the Southeast...the Southeast of Germany, that is.

He is the founder and owner of Höferle Consulting, a bilingual/bi-cultural service company, based in Cleveland, TN. Christian blogs (SoutheastSchnitzel) and tweets (@HoeferleConsult) about the many differences and idiosyncracies, as well as some of the commonalities, between the American and German lifestyles.