Social Issues
Reunification
Reunification is continuing to affect Germany in many ways, even today. The standard of living in Germany is much higher in the West while in the East continues to try and improve. Unemployment rates are much lower in the East due to their lack of money flowing around for the past 50 years. Since the Soviets took over Eastern Germany, they let all the money flow out of the country. This caused Eastern Germany to not become modernized and it lowered the standard of living significantly until a few years ago when the German government really tried to fix the other half of their country. People in both Eastern and Western Germany have problems with one another such as how the Westerners think the Easterners are whiny. When Easterners and Westerners get along in Germany, it is a big deal like they show in this picture where they are celebrating unification.
The organization for Security and Co-Operation in Germany continually helps Germany in helping their people try to unify themselves with one another. The people on either side have some problems with one another because of their histories. The OSCE helps people by having gun control and they also make sure that people on either side have the exact same rights. This helps unify the people because they feel as if they are one country, not physically, but socially. The OSCE is a great organization that helps unify Germany by helping with post-conflict rehabilitation.
School Violence and Dropouts
School Violence in Germany is an ongoing problem, especially in Elementary Schools. It has gotten to the point where teachers have been writing the Senate Office asking if the school could be shut down. Bullying and victim-ism of children is the main problem that they are facing in Germany. Also, school dropout rates have skyrocketed since 2008, especially in Eastern Germany. Some say it is their surroundings, such as bad neighborhoods, bad parenting, etc. The government is currently trying to stop Elementary School violence and High school dropouts, but it is very hard to stop because of the plethora of children taking place in both. Children have begun to resort to bullying and dropping out of school because of their social and household problems, especially in Eastern Germany where the children are extremely disadvantaged money wise compared to children in the West due to reunification. School bullying and dropping out is an ongoing problem which the government and many worldwide organizations are trying to help.
WWE is an organization dedicated to anti-bullying in schools around the world. They exist in over 25 countries and touch most schools which have problems with bullying and dropouts. They help the kids realize that they are worth it and that dropping out of school is not the answer to their problems. They exist around Germany to help with mostly middle and elementary school bullying. They hold meetings with the kids, teachers, parents, and sometimes even the state so that the government can help implement ideas that WWE puts in place for the children. They promote positive methods of social interaction and they encourage the kids to think of one another as their equal regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc. WWE also has a program which rewards children who do not have any advantages like some children. They reward the children if they see a change from bad behavior to exemplary behavior with vacations, school scholarships, and money for the child. WWE helps German children everyday with realizing that bullying and dropping out of school is not the answer to any problem in their life.
Political Extremism
Political Extremism in Germany has increased by 3.8% in this past year to roughly about 25,000 people causing trouble around the country. This doesn't seem like a lot but 25,000 Neo-Nazis and communists creating violence toward immigrants and policemen is a big problem for everyone in the country, even if they are not directly affected by it. Domestic Islamic extremism is one of the larger problems in the country because it causes the most violence in the cities. In this picture, an anti-Nazi protest is going on which shows that the threat of the Nazi party actively coming back is a worrisome threat for the whole country. There is a recent popularity toward anti-immigrant resentment, which lets the far right (Third Reich) evolve and become increasingly popular. The Eastern part of Germany, especially has a hatred toward immigrants due to their lack of jobs because of the foreigners taking them which increases the popularity of Neo-Nazi's in the East.
The German government is currently battling political extremism in Germany by searching out the main anti groups, especially in the East. The government is modernizing constantly and the neo-nazis, islamic groups, and the communists are trying to fight against them. The government sets up programs where they seek out underground parties that periodically murder a random person, have a random shooting against their "enemies", and set up groups such as the Third Reich. The government tries to stop these groups so that the citizens of Germany, especially in the East where the neo-nazis are most prominent, do not get injured. The neo-nazis solely lash out against people with disabilities, differences, and especially immigrants. The communists mostly lash out against the government and people working for it or the law, such as policemen. Because these groups try to keep their plans and information quiet, the government knows little about their exact whereabouts and what crazy thing they will do next, so they constantly keep a lookout for anyone who displays suspicious behavior of one of these groups.
Gender Roles
In this picture, we see international feminist protests that contains people from many different countries including Germany. In Germany, there is a large feminist community which pro-women unions and jobs reserved for women specifically. These feminist movements in Germany started mainly in the West during the 70's because of the UN's Decade for Women. The women in this picture were fighting for sexual rights, reproductive freedom, and equality before the law. Germany is famous for using women on billboards for provocative ads and many of the feminists protest this because they think that people are acting as if women are not equal with the men. Protests in Germany happen frequently for women's rights and equality for women socially.
The Federation of Young European Greens is currently fighting for women's equality socially. FYEG believes that even though women have equality on paper, there are many social issues that are not completely visible to everyone. This organizations goal is to make those social issues known for women so that more people can help stop them. One of the main problems in Germany is advertising sexual things on huge billboards. Even though many countries advertise things such as lingerie, Germany acts as if the women on the bill boards are some time of 3rd person who isn't even part of society. The FYEG tries to make women just as equal as many in all fields of work, social life, etc. They do this by holding awareness meetings and seminars for people all around the country. The FYEG is a great organization promoting women's social rights so that they are able to make both genders in Germany perfectly equal in society.
Integration of Immigrants
The Turkish immigration rate in Germany skyrocketed in the 50's and 60's due to the new demand for workers because of the economic boom. The Turks were not meant to stay long; just long enough for everything in the country to get patched back together and for the Germans to get back on their feet after the Holocaust. The Turks, however, were very attracted to Germany for their jobs openings, good government, and a high standard of living. So, even though the Turks were not meant to stay long, they have stayed in Germany to make up about 15% of the population until today. Because the German government did not grant the Turks citizenship or try to integrate them into German society, the Turks and the Germans have have social conflict since the 60's. About 30% of the Turks living in Germany do not possess citizenship because according to German law, they cannot have dual citizenship between Turkey and Germany. The Turks must renounce their Turkish citizenship to become a citizen of Germany. The German people do not like that the Turks are part of their society because they believe that the Turks are taking their job opportunities even though they are not even part of the country. Because Germany was not a multicultural society to begin with, the German people and the Turks have many issues that they go through every day.
The German government is helping with Turkish immigration by encouraging them to become part of the culture if they would like to live and work in the country. The government does not want to exile the Turks, but instead want them to become formal citizens of Germany. Many Germans find Turks to be threatening because they are taking their jobs but the government of Germany wants to Turks to become one with their culture instead of "aliens" to the culture and the indigenous people. the government want to solve these immigration problems while making both societies happy, but still the country is against Turks, Islams, and anyone who is coming into the country and working without citizenship. The German people are also getting upset with immigrants because the government is calling the people without citizenship part of their German culture. The immigrants pose a threat to the German working class while the government believes the country should be more populated and used by other people instead of be exclusive to only Germans.
Reunification is continuing to affect Germany in many ways, even today. The standard of living in Germany is much higher in the West while in the East continues to try and improve. Unemployment rates are much lower in the East due to their lack of money flowing around for the past 50 years. Since the Soviets took over Eastern Germany, they let all the money flow out of the country. This caused Eastern Germany to not become modernized and it lowered the standard of living significantly until a few years ago when the German government really tried to fix the other half of their country. People in both Eastern and Western Germany have problems with one another such as how the Westerners think the Easterners are whiny. When Easterners and Westerners get along in Germany, it is a big deal like they show in this picture where they are celebrating unification.
The organization for Security and Co-Operation in Germany continually helps Germany in helping their people try to unify themselves with one another. The people on either side have some problems with one another because of their histories. The OSCE helps people by having gun control and they also make sure that people on either side have the exact same rights. This helps unify the people because they feel as if they are one country, not physically, but socially. The OSCE is a great organization that helps unify Germany by helping with post-conflict rehabilitation.
School Violence and Dropouts
School Violence in Germany is an ongoing problem, especially in Elementary Schools. It has gotten to the point where teachers have been writing the Senate Office asking if the school could be shut down. Bullying and victim-ism of children is the main problem that they are facing in Germany. Also, school dropout rates have skyrocketed since 2008, especially in Eastern Germany. Some say it is their surroundings, such as bad neighborhoods, bad parenting, etc. The government is currently trying to stop Elementary School violence and High school dropouts, but it is very hard to stop because of the plethora of children taking place in both. Children have begun to resort to bullying and dropping out of school because of their social and household problems, especially in Eastern Germany where the children are extremely disadvantaged money wise compared to children in the West due to reunification. School bullying and dropping out is an ongoing problem which the government and many worldwide organizations are trying to help.
WWE is an organization dedicated to anti-bullying in schools around the world. They exist in over 25 countries and touch most schools which have problems with bullying and dropouts. They help the kids realize that they are worth it and that dropping out of school is not the answer to their problems. They exist around Germany to help with mostly middle and elementary school bullying. They hold meetings with the kids, teachers, parents, and sometimes even the state so that the government can help implement ideas that WWE puts in place for the children. They promote positive methods of social interaction and they encourage the kids to think of one another as their equal regardless of race, gender, age, sexual orientation, etc. WWE also has a program which rewards children who do not have any advantages like some children. They reward the children if they see a change from bad behavior to exemplary behavior with vacations, school scholarships, and money for the child. WWE helps German children everyday with realizing that bullying and dropping out of school is not the answer to any problem in their life.
Political Extremism
Political Extremism in Germany has increased by 3.8% in this past year to roughly about 25,000 people causing trouble around the country. This doesn't seem like a lot but 25,000 Neo-Nazis and communists creating violence toward immigrants and policemen is a big problem for everyone in the country, even if they are not directly affected by it. Domestic Islamic extremism is one of the larger problems in the country because it causes the most violence in the cities. In this picture, an anti-Nazi protest is going on which shows that the threat of the Nazi party actively coming back is a worrisome threat for the whole country. There is a recent popularity toward anti-immigrant resentment, which lets the far right (Third Reich) evolve and become increasingly popular. The Eastern part of Germany, especially has a hatred toward immigrants due to their lack of jobs because of the foreigners taking them which increases the popularity of Neo-Nazi's in the East.
The German government is currently battling political extremism in Germany by searching out the main anti groups, especially in the East. The government is modernizing constantly and the neo-nazis, islamic groups, and the communists are trying to fight against them. The government sets up programs where they seek out underground parties that periodically murder a random person, have a random shooting against their "enemies", and set up groups such as the Third Reich. The government tries to stop these groups so that the citizens of Germany, especially in the East where the neo-nazis are most prominent, do not get injured. The neo-nazis solely lash out against people with disabilities, differences, and especially immigrants. The communists mostly lash out against the government and people working for it or the law, such as policemen. Because these groups try to keep their plans and information quiet, the government knows little about their exact whereabouts and what crazy thing they will do next, so they constantly keep a lookout for anyone who displays suspicious behavior of one of these groups.
Gender Roles
In this picture, we see international feminist protests that contains people from many different countries including Germany. In Germany, there is a large feminist community which pro-women unions and jobs reserved for women specifically. These feminist movements in Germany started mainly in the West during the 70's because of the UN's Decade for Women. The women in this picture were fighting for sexual rights, reproductive freedom, and equality before the law. Germany is famous for using women on billboards for provocative ads and many of the feminists protest this because they think that people are acting as if women are not equal with the men. Protests in Germany happen frequently for women's rights and equality for women socially.
The Federation of Young European Greens is currently fighting for women's equality socially. FYEG believes that even though women have equality on paper, there are many social issues that are not completely visible to everyone. This organizations goal is to make those social issues known for women so that more people can help stop them. One of the main problems in Germany is advertising sexual things on huge billboards. Even though many countries advertise things such as lingerie, Germany acts as if the women on the bill boards are some time of 3rd person who isn't even part of society. The FYEG tries to make women just as equal as many in all fields of work, social life, etc. They do this by holding awareness meetings and seminars for people all around the country. The FYEG is a great organization promoting women's social rights so that they are able to make both genders in Germany perfectly equal in society.
Integration of Immigrants
The Turkish immigration rate in Germany skyrocketed in the 50's and 60's due to the new demand for workers because of the economic boom. The Turks were not meant to stay long; just long enough for everything in the country to get patched back together and for the Germans to get back on their feet after the Holocaust. The Turks, however, were very attracted to Germany for their jobs openings, good government, and a high standard of living. So, even though the Turks were not meant to stay long, they have stayed in Germany to make up about 15% of the population until today. Because the German government did not grant the Turks citizenship or try to integrate them into German society, the Turks and the Germans have have social conflict since the 60's. About 30% of the Turks living in Germany do not possess citizenship because according to German law, they cannot have dual citizenship between Turkey and Germany. The Turks must renounce their Turkish citizenship to become a citizen of Germany. The German people do not like that the Turks are part of their society because they believe that the Turks are taking their job opportunities even though they are not even part of the country. Because Germany was not a multicultural society to begin with, the German people and the Turks have many issues that they go through every day.
The German government is helping with Turkish immigration by encouraging them to become part of the culture if they would like to live and work in the country. The government does not want to exile the Turks, but instead want them to become formal citizens of Germany. Many Germans find Turks to be threatening because they are taking their jobs but the government of Germany wants to Turks to become one with their culture instead of "aliens" to the culture and the indigenous people. the government want to solve these immigration problems while making both societies happy, but still the country is against Turks, Islams, and anyone who is coming into the country and working without citizenship. The German people are also getting upset with immigrants because the government is calling the people without citizenship part of their German culture. The immigrants pose a threat to the German working class while the government believes the country should be more populated and used by other people instead of be exclusive to only Germans.