It's a story which won't be told much around Wiesbaden because it reflects on some negative events.
Once upon a time.....the King of Serbia fell in love with some lusty gal, and got married. Then, after having a kid....relations went sour.
The best we can say....is that the King....Milan...of Serbia and his queenly wife....Natalija....ended up in a divorce hearing of sorts on the sixth of April of 1887. Call it the start of a very messy divorce
We can skip all of the negative talk about affairs, other women, or bad nature. What matter is this discussion of the divorce hearing....where the queen simply says that she's had enough in Serbia and wants to entertain leaving there....with her son. Naturally, the kid is the future king of Serbia, and there's some inside frustrations about allowing this to happen.
Eventually, there is some agreement that because Wiesbaden is such an international city.....blessed with a Russian Orthodox Church (since 1850s), that it just plain makes sense to hide the divorced wife and the son there in plain view. Being a casino and spa resort....probably helped too.
No one talks of money involved, but you have to imagine thousands sent each month to ensure the status and survival of the prince and the divorced queen.
By early summer of 1888 (a year into the divorce talk).....Queen Natalija had chosen a prime real estate location in Wiesbaden.....Villa Clementine. It's a major five-star house down on the main street of Wiesbaden.
Back and forth....talks went over the status of the queen....how the divorce would be finalized, etc.
Over the course of three weeks.....communications went back and forth between the two at a hectic rate. Yeah, the mother was holding the crown prince as part of the deal, and figured that was worth a bargaining chip in the whole matter.
Well....things went sour around the 20th of the June, 1888.
The Serbian Minister of War sent a message to prepare a train car for the prince's return to Serbia. Somewhere in this mix of message traffic.....word went to the chief of Wiesbaden city government to prepare for this "return" to occur.
Naturally, you can imagine the mess about to occur.
Around the evening of the 13 July 1888, the chief of police for Wiesbaden came to Villa Clementine. It was a stressful hour of discussion, I would imagine. Basically, he laid the events about to occur, how the queen would best cooperate, and how this end peacefully.
The next morning....the Wiesbaden police chief returned with fourteen men, and took possession of the crown prince....returning him to Serbia.
The twelve-year old prince? Well....it's an interesting twist on things. He would arrive back in Serbia, and within roughly twelve months....the king had to abdicate. The crown prince? He became this tool with three regents over him, of which the former queen was allowed back into the circle of power. History will record the crown prince (Alexander).....would eventually marry, have a testy and negative relationship with his mother, and she'd eventually end up as a nun in Paris. Yeah, it's the stuff that legends are made of.
The villa in Wiesbaden? Its still there....on Wilhelm Strasse. In a curious footnote, there was this massive plan in 1965 to build a subway in Wiesbaden. The main station was to be where the villa stood, and the villa would have been torn down....to make way for the subway station. All of this possible....because the city acquired the villa as city property in 1960.
By the early 1970s....this whole subway idea had fallen apart. The villa? Well....it turned into a city-run operation....as a house of literature, and the center for Wiesbaden journalism. How many locals know the connection of the villa to the Queen of Serbia and the biggest child custody case in German history? Likely less than a dozen I would imagine.
Saturday, April 12, 2014
The Last Duke of Nassau (Wiesbaden)
It's not a piece of history that most Wiesbaden residents really remember. There was probably a couple of mentions in grade school, and most of it was boring....so why remember? The last duke of Wiesbaden.....was Duke Adolph of Nassau. So, lies a story that weaves through a number of events.
Nassau was the accepted name of the region up until 1866. The duke was the figure of authority in the region, and respected for changes that occurred.
The young duke ended up marrying a Russian gal who had the title of "Grand Duchess of Russia"...so there was this brief period of fame. Then, as the wife of the duke.....the new wife passes away after giving birth. This, in the mid 1840s.....brings a graving duke to bring a Russian Orthodox chapel in the hills above Wiesbaden....near the Neoberg area....as a monument of sorts for his wife. Thousands trudge up the hillside today....to view the chapel which is one of the top ten things in the region to see.The railway structure? The duke led the way, and probably had the best infrastructure of any German municipality there in the 1850s.
The local banking structure? The duke helped to push it, and establish it as a credible institution.
The duke then goes through a chaotic period in the mid 1850s.....where demands of the locals grows to the point where rights are finally given. For those in Nassau....it's the beginning of civil rights.
By 1865, a war is brewing, and Nassau is to put their weight behind the Habsburg Empire (not Prussia). The Duke will watch the conflict end....with the Habsburg Empire losing, and Prussia annexing Nassau into itself.
The original negotiation of how it'd all fold together....probably didn't go that well. Eventually, the Prussians came to agree that the duke would simply exist with a title, some property, and some limited funds that would come out of the Prussian pot of revenue. The properties? Locally, there was the Schloss Biebrich (down near the river and easily found today in the Wiesbaden local area), the Weilburg Castle (where he is buried), a hunting lodge, and the Luxembourg Palace in Konigstein.
What generally can be said is that the duke had a vision for Wiesbaden as a resort spa center. Whatever occurred after 1865....was mostly from that vision.
The local folks wanted to put a monument up for him in the 1880s as success finally came big-time for the city. The duke didn't want the statue, but came to agree....after he passed on....if they wanted to build it...fine.
So, in 1905 as he died....within two years....the memorial was complete. Duke Adolph of Nassau....was the last royal figure of Wiesbaden, and probably the only significant reason why the city has significance today.....and was the guy who didn't want statues made over himself.
Location? If you travel from the train station of Wiesbaden toward the Rhine River.....half way is the Henkel factory on the left. Opposite of it is the Duke Adolph Memorial (Landesdenkmal) and a small park. The lion figure? On the rear of the state, facing east. You won't see the lion unless you walk around the statue.
Part II? The Russian Orthodox Church, and a Queen-versus-King child custody case out of Wiesbaden (after the Duke leaves power).
UNESCO and Wiesbaden
Four years ago (2010), there started this campaign to identify Wiesbaden as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Generally, this means you get on a special United Nations list....with an exceptional reason....for having a historic and very significant reason to exist as a community or constructed place.
Yeah, it sounds like a bogus club that spends money to get more bogus attention than it deserves. But, here in Wiesbaden....people believe in this effort.
So, it all started with some Hochschule (Freseniu) in town which got the students engaged on the topic, and the city council said to go full-speed ahead.
The logical gain for the city of Wiesbaden....if blessed....is this tourist 'note' which goes out, and there is some thinking that it's like a magnet....drawing people to visit. So, a silly notation by the city of Wiesbaden's name.....could possibly attract another 100,000 visitors a year....maybe 300,000. Why would you not seek such a honor?
Naturally, all this means paperwork. Forms. Questions posed. Standards put out....which you must attest that you meet those standards.
This week, the city council got around to asking the Lord Mayor of Wiesbaden about the status of the application. I suspect they knew the answer already, but they wanted him to utter the problems. Lord Mayor Sven Gerich uttered the phrase: "It's difficult".
Somewhere in the groups of decision-makers of the UNESCO World Heritage Site club.....there is the controlling authority of the Czech Republic. Because they have generally more spas in the world, and this category that Wiesbaden went after was "spa"....it invites a more difficult process.
The Czech's put some interesting qualifiers into the mix. It isn't so much the city itself that matters in the spa category.....as it is the buildings and urban "look". For Wiesbaden, their application talked at length of the great and proud history of their spas. Throughout the Roman ages....people flocked to the area for the warm baths, charm of the locals, food, and exceptional drink. Throughout the 1700s and 1800s....Wiesbaden grew into a major spa resort, with a casino operation....numerous exceptional hotels (now mostly all gone), and entertainment draws worthy of kings, queens and princes.
What Wiesbaden is banking on....is past history and glory. It's a major sales job....limited on appeal that relates to present circumstances. Czech stumbling blocks? Yeah, and they know that there's no real spa draw in Wiesbaden presently....so why note it on a historical identifier?
From the dozen-odd magnificent resort hotels that existed in the late 1800s in Wiesbaden....there might be three still left today. The casino? Still in operation, but it takes state money to keep it looking 'grand'. A place where kings and queens walked? Today, there might be a couple hundred foreign tourists daily....staying in town and walking the streets. They don't come for the spa deal, or status-tourism, or grand balls. They simply come for the 'look'.
July is now set for a meeting and long discussion with the controllers of this status symbol. Wiesbaden will send it's finest to argue the point.
The curve in this whole application process? Well, it's an interesting side-story. Several wind-power syndicates and consortiums have had planning episodes in the works for the past decade. Wind-power growth is booming. And yes, they want to put windmills in the Taunus region (the hills around Wiesbaden) and on the Mainz side of the Rhine River....safely outside of Wiesbaden claim to authority but certainly within site of the city and it's long-dreamed goal of UNESCO status.
This past week....the city authorities of Niedernhausen (the town on the other side of the hill from where I live)....did a vote, and declared that they would be wind-mill "free". Within the city authority's control, there's to be no construction projects....which might interfere with both the appeal of their valley town, and the UNESCO status of Wiesbaden.
This anti-wind mill episode....helping to keep focus on UNESCO? Or the UNESCO application helping to keep focus on the anti-wind mill agenda? Take your pick.
So, when you hear Wiesbaden and 'weltkulturerbe'.....it's all about spa status of an era long gone, and an environmental agenda....which denies wind-mills. Yeah, I'll admit this humorous part of the story....the same crowd pushing the application....was the same crowd stuck in turbo-status a decade ago demanding wind-mills to be raised to replace nuclear power. And now? Hocus-pocus...it's a whole new agenda with the same guys.
A lot about nothing? Yeah. It's about a dreamed-up status symbol, about a bygone era, used to effectively fight an agenda item, and keep people busy on something of a marginal nature.
Yeah, it sounds like a bogus club that spends money to get more bogus attention than it deserves. But, here in Wiesbaden....people believe in this effort.
So, it all started with some Hochschule (Freseniu) in town which got the students engaged on the topic, and the city council said to go full-speed ahead.
The logical gain for the city of Wiesbaden....if blessed....is this tourist 'note' which goes out, and there is some thinking that it's like a magnet....drawing people to visit. So, a silly notation by the city of Wiesbaden's name.....could possibly attract another 100,000 visitors a year....maybe 300,000. Why would you not seek such a honor?
Naturally, all this means paperwork. Forms. Questions posed. Standards put out....which you must attest that you meet those standards.
This week, the city council got around to asking the Lord Mayor of Wiesbaden about the status of the application. I suspect they knew the answer already, but they wanted him to utter the problems. Lord Mayor Sven Gerich uttered the phrase: "It's difficult".
Somewhere in the groups of decision-makers of the UNESCO World Heritage Site club.....there is the controlling authority of the Czech Republic. Because they have generally more spas in the world, and this category that Wiesbaden went after was "spa"....it invites a more difficult process.
The Czech's put some interesting qualifiers into the mix. It isn't so much the city itself that matters in the spa category.....as it is the buildings and urban "look". For Wiesbaden, their application talked at length of the great and proud history of their spas. Throughout the Roman ages....people flocked to the area for the warm baths, charm of the locals, food, and exceptional drink. Throughout the 1700s and 1800s....Wiesbaden grew into a major spa resort, with a casino operation....numerous exceptional hotels (now mostly all gone), and entertainment draws worthy of kings, queens and princes.
What Wiesbaden is banking on....is past history and glory. It's a major sales job....limited on appeal that relates to present circumstances. Czech stumbling blocks? Yeah, and they know that there's no real spa draw in Wiesbaden presently....so why note it on a historical identifier?
From the dozen-odd magnificent resort hotels that existed in the late 1800s in Wiesbaden....there might be three still left today. The casino? Still in operation, but it takes state money to keep it looking 'grand'. A place where kings and queens walked? Today, there might be a couple hundred foreign tourists daily....staying in town and walking the streets. They don't come for the spa deal, or status-tourism, or grand balls. They simply come for the 'look'.
July is now set for a meeting and long discussion with the controllers of this status symbol. Wiesbaden will send it's finest to argue the point.
The curve in this whole application process? Well, it's an interesting side-story. Several wind-power syndicates and consortiums have had planning episodes in the works for the past decade. Wind-power growth is booming. And yes, they want to put windmills in the Taunus region (the hills around Wiesbaden) and on the Mainz side of the Rhine River....safely outside of Wiesbaden claim to authority but certainly within site of the city and it's long-dreamed goal of UNESCO status.
This past week....the city authorities of Niedernhausen (the town on the other side of the hill from where I live)....did a vote, and declared that they would be wind-mill "free". Within the city authority's control, there's to be no construction projects....which might interfere with both the appeal of their valley town, and the UNESCO status of Wiesbaden.
This anti-wind mill episode....helping to keep focus on UNESCO? Or the UNESCO application helping to keep focus on the anti-wind mill agenda? Take your pick.
So, when you hear Wiesbaden and 'weltkulturerbe'.....it's all about spa status of an era long gone, and an environmental agenda....which denies wind-mills. Yeah, I'll admit this humorous part of the story....the same crowd pushing the application....was the same crowd stuck in turbo-status a decade ago demanding wind-mills to be raised to replace nuclear power. And now? Hocus-pocus...it's a whole new agenda with the same guys.
A lot about nothing? Yeah. It's about a dreamed-up status symbol, about a bygone era, used to effectively fight an agenda item, and keep people busy on something of a marginal nature.
Serfs and Germany
When you pour over German history....especially anything prior to the 1900s.....you come to the topic of serfs, and it requires a bit of understanding. As a kid in an American high school....when the topic of serfs came up, I can remember the definition of serfs being laid out as "slaves". Course, as a southern kid, I have a certain view of this definition....which doesn't relate to Germany. In college, it went into a three-minute explanation....which wasn't any better.
So, to understand serfs....put aside your current view of Germany as a modern place, and put yourself into 1600s Germany. Rural situations, with counts, lords, bishops, knights, and princes in charge.
There are two categories of people.....those with authority, and everyone else (serfs). When you control a village, a valley, a certain territory.....you dominate the land, the structures and the people who reside there. It's not a slave-master situation....more of a domineering leader with people who utilize his property.
The best way to describe the initial step into serf status....is that there is a need or a feeling of helplessness. The authority figure or family will have something that you desire....safety. The authority figure will have a few men, or a number of men....who have fought in wars either nearby or distant, and they fight for a living.
A deal will be struck in a way.....you get to stay on some land owned by the authority figure, and will gain protection. You might ask at this point....is the protection necessary? Well....in the period prior to the 1900s....you had brigandage.
I know....it's an odd word....brigandage. It is a an all encompassing word to cover highway robberies, theft, armed assault, kidnappings (ransom appeal), and murder. If you lived in the woods, the odds are pretty good that some group of six thugs might come along....burn down your barn, take your daughter away to sell, and put a knife into your side. So the local baron or lord was a method of being part of a bigger structure....a village....and having protection. In exchange....you gave up some of your personal freedoms. You were.....a serf.
What is generally said....is that it was a honor in some ways because there was often an oath or ceremony in the village or valley, where you agreed to your status, and to honor the Lord, or Baron.
There's no iron-clad rules about how this whole thing works. Some will talk of different status groups within a village or valley. Some Lords had written rules which everyone knew as the standard. To say there was one way of doing a serf situation....would be wrong.
In the original state of mind, there were just plain serfs, who did farm work. Agriculture was the survivor skill of society for a long period of time. At some point, with construction in demand....some guys learned the skill of roofing, or masonry, or baking, or how to butcher.
As these skills came along....different classes of serf started to exist. The trade class became an important development tool. If you had a certain skill....it meant something. You were becoming the middle-class of German society. By the 1600s....the trade craft meant something in every community.
In the mid-1700s in Europe....serfdom started to dissolve. Various states had significant dates attached to the end. For most states and city-states in Prussia/Germany.....it was the early 1800s where the end occurred. Some European countries had it later.....Iceland for example went to 1894 when it ended.
Today? There's little said or mentioned over serfdom. No statues. You might have a German TV series which features some element of the life of a serf. It's kind of a forgotten part of history.
So, to understand serfs....put aside your current view of Germany as a modern place, and put yourself into 1600s Germany. Rural situations, with counts, lords, bishops, knights, and princes in charge.
There are two categories of people.....those with authority, and everyone else (serfs). When you control a village, a valley, a certain territory.....you dominate the land, the structures and the people who reside there. It's not a slave-master situation....more of a domineering leader with people who utilize his property.
The best way to describe the initial step into serf status....is that there is a need or a feeling of helplessness. The authority figure or family will have something that you desire....safety. The authority figure will have a few men, or a number of men....who have fought in wars either nearby or distant, and they fight for a living.
A deal will be struck in a way.....you get to stay on some land owned by the authority figure, and will gain protection. You might ask at this point....is the protection necessary? Well....in the period prior to the 1900s....you had brigandage.
I know....it's an odd word....brigandage. It is a an all encompassing word to cover highway robberies, theft, armed assault, kidnappings (ransom appeal), and murder. If you lived in the woods, the odds are pretty good that some group of six thugs might come along....burn down your barn, take your daughter away to sell, and put a knife into your side. So the local baron or lord was a method of being part of a bigger structure....a village....and having protection. In exchange....you gave up some of your personal freedoms. You were.....a serf.
What is generally said....is that it was a honor in some ways because there was often an oath or ceremony in the village or valley, where you agreed to your status, and to honor the Lord, or Baron.
There's no iron-clad rules about how this whole thing works. Some will talk of different status groups within a village or valley. Some Lords had written rules which everyone knew as the standard. To say there was one way of doing a serf situation....would be wrong.
In the original state of mind, there were just plain serfs, who did farm work. Agriculture was the survivor skill of society for a long period of time. At some point, with construction in demand....some guys learned the skill of roofing, or masonry, or baking, or how to butcher.
As these skills came along....different classes of serf started to exist. The trade class became an important development tool. If you had a certain skill....it meant something. You were becoming the middle-class of German society. By the 1600s....the trade craft meant something in every community.
In the mid-1700s in Europe....serfdom started to dissolve. Various states had significant dates attached to the end. For most states and city-states in Prussia/Germany.....it was the early 1800s where the end occurred. Some European countries had it later.....Iceland for example went to 1894 when it ended.
Today? There's little said or mentioned over serfdom. No statues. You might have a German TV series which features some element of the life of a serf. It's kind of a forgotten part of history.
Thursday, April 10, 2014
The NSA Mess, Part II
Yesterday was an odd day in Germany over the NSA episode that is brewing....ever so slowly.
Weeks ago, the government came to an agreed stance (both the CDU/CSU and SPD groups were in agreement)....that an investigation would occur over the NSA, and this committee of investigators would be led by Clemens Binninger.
Binninger is a CDU member, but generally respected a very fair legal mind, and has a distinguished reputation. One should state though....he deals in facts....not guesses. That attitude has been prevalent in just about everything he accomplishes.
Yesterday, Binninger resigned from the committee.
There's this issue which is breaking up the committee and its agenda (two agendas apparently). From the SPD side, along with the Greens in the Bundestag, there's the attitude that only by bringing Eric Snowden from Moscow to Germany.....can the truth be established.
No one much believes that it's a round-trip deal. You'd have to offer him immunity, and some quietly believe that immunity would include a permanent presence in Germany. No one from the SPD will say that part in public, but some journalists have noted that you can't just fly the guy in for a twenty-four hour interview and fly him back. And if in Germany....the US can present court documents demanding that they hand him over.
The general feeling is that the SPD wants this US confrontation, and will refuse to hand Snowden over. By generating a must-come-to-Germany situation, they basically throw the US to the next chaotic moment. Chancellor Merkel probably sees through this argument, and knows what the ultimate goal really is.
Binninger commented over the issues as he resigned yesterday. Snowden now openly says....that he doesn't have or control the documents from the NSA. Journalists hold them. So in Binninger's mind....Snowden is of minimum value. He can't talk absolutes....only the documents can do that. The case of bringing Snowden to Germany....now is of marginal value. Yet, the SPD won't drop the demand and can't grasp why Binninger absolutely refuses to discuss the bring-Snowden-to-Germany deal.
The replacement from the CDU to run the committee? Michael Gross-Bromer. He is a lawyer by trade, and generally noted for strong ethics. In this case? Well....he'll spend a week getting up to speed....then meet with the committee, and ask some stupid questions over Snowden. He may allow Snowden to testify....maybe while in Moscow, which won't be acceptable to the SPD. Then he might grin and suggest that he has no problems in sending a German navy vessel over to harbor by Russia, and having Snowden as a guest on the German navy vessel. Likely to also be unacceptable.
Will Snowden eventually be drawn into Germany? I suspect that a year will be wasted as the CDU/CSU fights this agenda item. It will simply beg for the US to present court papers to seize Snowden while in Germany. If they fail to comply.....there are dozens of ways that the US can be uncooperative the next time that Germany wants someone seized in the US, or a reduction in military forces in Germany, or perhaps zero cooperation in the Ukraine mess.
For the SPD? The game is on for the election of 2017. Through some process.....the CDU needs to be weaken enough for the SPD to recover and win the election. Presently, there's a fair amount of attention going to the Linke Party which is the alternate place for leftists to vote instead of the SPD. There is some fear that things could be screwed up enough....that the Linke Party would finally get twenty-five percent of the vote, and really toss the day-to-day operations of the government into absolute chaos.
Snowden? He's quietly sitting there and anticipating that he will get a permanent residence in Germany. He'll be some fake tool of some agenda....like he presently is in Moscow. The value of some court appearance? Without the documents? In my mind, he's of minimum value. A young guy who worked maybe five years for the NSA? His only value revolves around the documents. If he doesn't have them or control them....to me....he has zero value.
The bottom line? Sometime in 2014, this NSA mess will likely trigger some big headlines, for the reason of political agendas. And the public? They will get nothing out of this. Remember, this past week....they were finally told of several million German email accounts and passwords were compromised....NOT by the NSA....but by private individuals. These people are still waiting for the government to explain this, and to point the finger at the right person or group. A committee to investigate this? No. Don't count on the SPD doing that.
Weeks ago, the government came to an agreed stance (both the CDU/CSU and SPD groups were in agreement)....that an investigation would occur over the NSA, and this committee of investigators would be led by Clemens Binninger.
Binninger is a CDU member, but generally respected a very fair legal mind, and has a distinguished reputation. One should state though....he deals in facts....not guesses. That attitude has been prevalent in just about everything he accomplishes.
Yesterday, Binninger resigned from the committee.
There's this issue which is breaking up the committee and its agenda (two agendas apparently). From the SPD side, along with the Greens in the Bundestag, there's the attitude that only by bringing Eric Snowden from Moscow to Germany.....can the truth be established.
No one much believes that it's a round-trip deal. You'd have to offer him immunity, and some quietly believe that immunity would include a permanent presence in Germany. No one from the SPD will say that part in public, but some journalists have noted that you can't just fly the guy in for a twenty-four hour interview and fly him back. And if in Germany....the US can present court documents demanding that they hand him over.
The general feeling is that the SPD wants this US confrontation, and will refuse to hand Snowden over. By generating a must-come-to-Germany situation, they basically throw the US to the next chaotic moment. Chancellor Merkel probably sees through this argument, and knows what the ultimate goal really is.
Binninger commented over the issues as he resigned yesterday. Snowden now openly says....that he doesn't have or control the documents from the NSA. Journalists hold them. So in Binninger's mind....Snowden is of minimum value. He can't talk absolutes....only the documents can do that. The case of bringing Snowden to Germany....now is of marginal value. Yet, the SPD won't drop the demand and can't grasp why Binninger absolutely refuses to discuss the bring-Snowden-to-Germany deal.
The replacement from the CDU to run the committee? Michael Gross-Bromer. He is a lawyer by trade, and generally noted for strong ethics. In this case? Well....he'll spend a week getting up to speed....then meet with the committee, and ask some stupid questions over Snowden. He may allow Snowden to testify....maybe while in Moscow, which won't be acceptable to the SPD. Then he might grin and suggest that he has no problems in sending a German navy vessel over to harbor by Russia, and having Snowden as a guest on the German navy vessel. Likely to also be unacceptable.
Will Snowden eventually be drawn into Germany? I suspect that a year will be wasted as the CDU/CSU fights this agenda item. It will simply beg for the US to present court papers to seize Snowden while in Germany. If they fail to comply.....there are dozens of ways that the US can be uncooperative the next time that Germany wants someone seized in the US, or a reduction in military forces in Germany, or perhaps zero cooperation in the Ukraine mess.
For the SPD? The game is on for the election of 2017. Through some process.....the CDU needs to be weaken enough for the SPD to recover and win the election. Presently, there's a fair amount of attention going to the Linke Party which is the alternate place for leftists to vote instead of the SPD. There is some fear that things could be screwed up enough....that the Linke Party would finally get twenty-five percent of the vote, and really toss the day-to-day operations of the government into absolute chaos.
Snowden? He's quietly sitting there and anticipating that he will get a permanent residence in Germany. He'll be some fake tool of some agenda....like he presently is in Moscow. The value of some court appearance? Without the documents? In my mind, he's of minimum value. A young guy who worked maybe five years for the NSA? His only value revolves around the documents. If he doesn't have them or control them....to me....he has zero value.
The bottom line? Sometime in 2014, this NSA mess will likely trigger some big headlines, for the reason of political agendas. And the public? They will get nothing out of this. Remember, this past week....they were finally told of several million German email accounts and passwords were compromised....NOT by the NSA....but by private individuals. These people are still waiting for the government to explain this, and to point the finger at the right person or group. A committee to investigate this? No. Don't count on the SPD doing that.
Cleaning Up the Gurlitt Art Mess
Cornelius Gurlitt has just stumbled out of the chaos created over his art collection.
To put you through the earlier history to this.....Mr Gurlitt is a German....who is advanced in his years. His father had a great appreciation of art, and long before the Nazis came along....he bought and traded art pieces. During the Nazi era, he came out on the positive side because so many Jewish families owned art, and needed quick cash to flee the country. A sale....either by quick desires or regular desires....is a sale. You can trash up the family name over this Nazi era....but it appears that little of the Gurlitt collection was stolen art.
After the war, Gurlitt's father will pass on, and leave the collection (hundreds of paintings and drawings) to his son. No one knows of the vast collection.
Gurlitt will quietly live a hermit's lifestyle. Occasionally, he will travel beyond Germany with a piece.....sell it for cash.....and retreat back to his home in Germany. For decades, he survived this way, and enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle....never paying taxes....because he had no income.
Around two years ago....coming back from a sales trip.....from across a border, Gurlitt will run into customs police on the train. They will ask questions and demand to see his belongings. Yeah, it sounds like Nazi Germany of the 1930s.....but the customs folks do this on a regular basis. Gurlitt has a fair sum of money on himself, and it begs for questions. They write the name down, and days later discover this odd circumstance....he hasn't any income....so he hasn't paid any taxes. It has a bad smell to it. Toss in almost no use of credit cards and cash-only mentality, and you've got a curious episode.
So they come with a search warrant and find the hundreds of paintings in the house. These are regional customs cops.....so they seize all of this in the name of German law. But, there is this odd thing about German law. When you suspect this to be Jewish art.....it has to go to a national holding house out of Berlin....not the state guys of Bavaria. For some reason....the state guys really didn't want this attention, and it appears they wanted simply to seize the art....hold it a long while....then incorporate it into the state art collection.
Well...all of this stuff went on for a year or so.....then the news folks got ahold of the story. The holdings went to the national office, and the state guys were left asking questions but getting nowhere. Meanwhile....Gurlitt went to court, and triggered some hefty weight on the government's position.
This week, an odd event occurred. The federal government of Germany has reached a conclusion and wrote an agreement with Mr Gurlitt. He gets his entire collection back. There is suspicion that three-percent of the collection....likely twenty paintings more or less...are Jewish property. They put the rule into effect.....those paintings might be taken if a court rules as such. But.....you only have one year to get the court to settle this little ownership problem. After that....it's over completely.
Naturally, the Jewish folks are furious. They suspect the bulk of the collection is unfairly held by Gurlitt. Even if the Jewish family sold the paintings to his father.....it was a threat-sales, which in their mind.....is unfair. Everything ought to be returned. But then, there's the issue that some purchases were done way before the Nazis ever came around to run Germany.
There's also some hostility by the Bavarian authorities. They believe this affair is not ended, and that Gurlitt is unfairly holding a vast collection of art. They won't cite the law affected by the event....but they aren't happy about the federal decision.
I suspect that the German court system quietly sat down with the customs folks and national authority and asked some stupid questions. Most of the collection has a paper trail, and to suggest illegal purchases.....is wrong. Adding to the mess....what started this was a tax collection issue....not a art ownership issue.
Presently, Gurlitt has one significant issue. Taxes that are unpaid. I'm guessing that a state tax office in Bavaria is working maximum hours and trying to come to some number.....ever so precise in nature. Penalty fees, and such.....will figure into this. I would guess it's in excess of ten million Euro. Gurlitt will react by selling enough paintings to cover the taxes owed, and then quietly grin as he walks away, with the bulk of his collection
Worthy of a movie production? Yes. When you toss in art, Nazis, secret sales, police, taxes, and culture....you've got a five-star script.
An event ended? Well....there is one thing that I see as an issue. Mr Gurlitt is a bit on the old side, and one has to wonder....who is the person that gets the collection next? Would Gurlitt take the collection and leave Germany.....to hinder the German inheritance tax requirements? Would the Jews follow Gurlitt?
As we say in America....it's NOT OVER, until the fat lady sings.
To put you through the earlier history to this.....Mr Gurlitt is a German....who is advanced in his years. His father had a great appreciation of art, and long before the Nazis came along....he bought and traded art pieces. During the Nazi era, he came out on the positive side because so many Jewish families owned art, and needed quick cash to flee the country. A sale....either by quick desires or regular desires....is a sale. You can trash up the family name over this Nazi era....but it appears that little of the Gurlitt collection was stolen art.
After the war, Gurlitt's father will pass on, and leave the collection (hundreds of paintings and drawings) to his son. No one knows of the vast collection.
Gurlitt will quietly live a hermit's lifestyle. Occasionally, he will travel beyond Germany with a piece.....sell it for cash.....and retreat back to his home in Germany. For decades, he survived this way, and enjoyed a comfortable lifestyle....never paying taxes....because he had no income.
Around two years ago....coming back from a sales trip.....from across a border, Gurlitt will run into customs police on the train. They will ask questions and demand to see his belongings. Yeah, it sounds like Nazi Germany of the 1930s.....but the customs folks do this on a regular basis. Gurlitt has a fair sum of money on himself, and it begs for questions. They write the name down, and days later discover this odd circumstance....he hasn't any income....so he hasn't paid any taxes. It has a bad smell to it. Toss in almost no use of credit cards and cash-only mentality, and you've got a curious episode.
So they come with a search warrant and find the hundreds of paintings in the house. These are regional customs cops.....so they seize all of this in the name of German law. But, there is this odd thing about German law. When you suspect this to be Jewish art.....it has to go to a national holding house out of Berlin....not the state guys of Bavaria. For some reason....the state guys really didn't want this attention, and it appears they wanted simply to seize the art....hold it a long while....then incorporate it into the state art collection.
Well...all of this stuff went on for a year or so.....then the news folks got ahold of the story. The holdings went to the national office, and the state guys were left asking questions but getting nowhere. Meanwhile....Gurlitt went to court, and triggered some hefty weight on the government's position.
This week, an odd event occurred. The federal government of Germany has reached a conclusion and wrote an agreement with Mr Gurlitt. He gets his entire collection back. There is suspicion that three-percent of the collection....likely twenty paintings more or less...are Jewish property. They put the rule into effect.....those paintings might be taken if a court rules as such. But.....you only have one year to get the court to settle this little ownership problem. After that....it's over completely.
Naturally, the Jewish folks are furious. They suspect the bulk of the collection is unfairly held by Gurlitt. Even if the Jewish family sold the paintings to his father.....it was a threat-sales, which in their mind.....is unfair. Everything ought to be returned. But then, there's the issue that some purchases were done way before the Nazis ever came around to run Germany.
There's also some hostility by the Bavarian authorities. They believe this affair is not ended, and that Gurlitt is unfairly holding a vast collection of art. They won't cite the law affected by the event....but they aren't happy about the federal decision.
I suspect that the German court system quietly sat down with the customs folks and national authority and asked some stupid questions. Most of the collection has a paper trail, and to suggest illegal purchases.....is wrong. Adding to the mess....what started this was a tax collection issue....not a art ownership issue.
Presently, Gurlitt has one significant issue. Taxes that are unpaid. I'm guessing that a state tax office in Bavaria is working maximum hours and trying to come to some number.....ever so precise in nature. Penalty fees, and such.....will figure into this. I would guess it's in excess of ten million Euro. Gurlitt will react by selling enough paintings to cover the taxes owed, and then quietly grin as he walks away, with the bulk of his collection
Worthy of a movie production? Yes. When you toss in art, Nazis, secret sales, police, taxes, and culture....you've got a five-star script.
An event ended? Well....there is one thing that I see as an issue. Mr Gurlitt is a bit on the old side, and one has to wonder....who is the person that gets the collection next? Would Gurlitt take the collection and leave Germany.....to hinder the German inheritance tax requirements? Would the Jews follow Gurlitt?
As we say in America....it's NOT OVER, until the fat lady sings.
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
The Kur Park Lake
Not a natural deal.....man-made for the Kur Park guests in the 1800s.
Boats are rented in the summer, with ice cream and wine served by the side of the lake.
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
The Lawyer Mess
Getting to be a lawyer in Germany....requires a plan, an enthusiasm on the part of a young student, and a fair amount of thinking ability (or the ability to pretend to think).
Generally, you will advance through the schooling system, and be on your way to a major German university....which offers law degrees. There are two types of certificates or awards....the LL.B which is the bachelor of law studies, and the LL.M which is the master of law studies.
You basically run through the hoops for nine semesters....then go to exam number one. A state board is going to give exam number one....which covers public, civil, criminal, business, and work-labor law.
Exam one is a harsh deal. You walk in and take a five-hour sit-down test. Then, there's a take-home project which is graded in some way. You can call this a thesis or a test.....but it's geared to show your work ethic and serious nature. Then there's an oral exam, which consumes a couple of hours. This gets administrated by lawyers, public servants in your region, and court members. This public oral exam....usually amounts to one-third of the total grade.
Yeah, getting to lawyer status on exam one....is a pretty tough deal.
If you pass this deal.....you move to a two-year period of training, classes and mentoring. You are generally working with lawyers already in the system....getting trained on police actions, court reviews, defense strategy episodes, and public defenders. In essence....you are a junior lawyer, with no status.
After this two-year period is wrapped up....now you go to exam number two. The test is both written and oral.....requires eleven projects to be discussed or written, with only two hours to write or produce. If you screw up on this test....you get ONE and only ONE repeat chance to pass. Failure on the second time? You are finished and will never be given another chance to take the exam.
Why this discussion?
Well....yesterday....some state guys from Lower Saxony came to announce that they are after one of their test monitors....who fled Germany (with cash and a girlfriend).
You see.....this test monitor is now believed to have sold text copies....to hundreds, and perhaps thousands. The state isn't sure, and are waiting for this guy to be returned from Italy (where they found him).
What the state says.....they will form up a team, which will take candidate by candidate....from 2011 on....and see what their test scores were, and if they were engaged in criminal behavior by buying these test copies.
A long episode? Well....at present, they guess the issue is around 2,000 (more or less) students. This ripples across Germany....because there is some process where tests in one district or state.....might be gained from another state. No one is saying much or talking of absolutes.
You can imagine this scene.....Ivan graduated in 2012, and is prospering from his legal achievements....then some state guy calls up and wants him to come down for a four-hour interrogation to defend the grade he got on the exams. I doubt if Ivan will cooperate, and it might require court action or threats to make him participate.
If you have your status revoked....then what? There's not exactly a bunch of rules to exempt you from this mess. If found guilty.....I suspect you are finished and no second chance or future opportunity to recover. Hostility or frustration? I'm betting several hundred young lawyers are extremely angry.
The chance that a second cheating monitor will be found? Maybe a third and fourth....dating back to the 1990's? I'd take a guess that these guys are simply opening Pandora's Box and we are about to see hundreds of German lawyers decertified.
The extreme nature of this testing business? Well....someone is going to look over how things are done elsewhere, and ask stupid questions. What does a guy do in life....if he wasted six years of study, and doesn't pass test number two? Well.....there's not much left in the legal world.....and I guess you'd end up selling real estate, working for some political party, or running a hotel operation. Yeah, this would be one of the last occupations in Germany that any sane guy or gal would get themselves into.
Generally, you will advance through the schooling system, and be on your way to a major German university....which offers law degrees. There are two types of certificates or awards....the LL.B which is the bachelor of law studies, and the LL.M which is the master of law studies.
You basically run through the hoops for nine semesters....then go to exam number one. A state board is going to give exam number one....which covers public, civil, criminal, business, and work-labor law.
Exam one is a harsh deal. You walk in and take a five-hour sit-down test. Then, there's a take-home project which is graded in some way. You can call this a thesis or a test.....but it's geared to show your work ethic and serious nature. Then there's an oral exam, which consumes a couple of hours. This gets administrated by lawyers, public servants in your region, and court members. This public oral exam....usually amounts to one-third of the total grade.
Yeah, getting to lawyer status on exam one....is a pretty tough deal.
If you pass this deal.....you move to a two-year period of training, classes and mentoring. You are generally working with lawyers already in the system....getting trained on police actions, court reviews, defense strategy episodes, and public defenders. In essence....you are a junior lawyer, with no status.
After this two-year period is wrapped up....now you go to exam number two. The test is both written and oral.....requires eleven projects to be discussed or written, with only two hours to write or produce. If you screw up on this test....you get ONE and only ONE repeat chance to pass. Failure on the second time? You are finished and will never be given another chance to take the exam.
Why this discussion?
Well....yesterday....some state guys from Lower Saxony came to announce that they are after one of their test monitors....who fled Germany (with cash and a girlfriend).
You see.....this test monitor is now believed to have sold text copies....to hundreds, and perhaps thousands. The state isn't sure, and are waiting for this guy to be returned from Italy (where they found him).
What the state says.....they will form up a team, which will take candidate by candidate....from 2011 on....and see what their test scores were, and if they were engaged in criminal behavior by buying these test copies.
A long episode? Well....at present, they guess the issue is around 2,000 (more or less) students. This ripples across Germany....because there is some process where tests in one district or state.....might be gained from another state. No one is saying much or talking of absolutes.
You can imagine this scene.....Ivan graduated in 2012, and is prospering from his legal achievements....then some state guy calls up and wants him to come down for a four-hour interrogation to defend the grade he got on the exams. I doubt if Ivan will cooperate, and it might require court action or threats to make him participate.
If you have your status revoked....then what? There's not exactly a bunch of rules to exempt you from this mess. If found guilty.....I suspect you are finished and no second chance or future opportunity to recover. Hostility or frustration? I'm betting several hundred young lawyers are extremely angry.
The chance that a second cheating monitor will be found? Maybe a third and fourth....dating back to the 1990's? I'd take a guess that these guys are simply opening Pandora's Box and we are about to see hundreds of German lawyers decertified.
The extreme nature of this testing business? Well....someone is going to look over how things are done elsewhere, and ask stupid questions. What does a guy do in life....if he wasted six years of study, and doesn't pass test number two? Well.....there's not much left in the legal world.....and I guess you'd end up selling real estate, working for some political party, or running a hotel operation. Yeah, this would be one of the last occupations in Germany that any sane guy or gal would get themselves into.
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