Year of Germany Film Series: The Masterworks of the German Horror Cinema

Oct. 25 at 3 p.m., Library Media Room

Attend a screening of the Masterworks of the German Horror Cinema as part of the Year of Germany Film Series. This special showing will be Oct. 25, at 3 p.m., in the Library Media Room.

Source: Amazon.com

Three seminal works in one package make this an ideal choice for film buffs and horror fans. The Masterworks of the German Horror Cinema contains three influential masterpieces from the early 1920s: The Golem, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and Nosferatu. All three films are excellent, and their influence on later works, most notably Frankenstein, is clear. Nosferatu, directly plagiarized from Bram Stoker’s Dracula, is by far the scariest of the three. Max Schreck’s bizarre, creepy performance as the vampire is still surprisingly effective. The Golem is a retelling of the Jewish legend of a rabbi who dabbles in the black arts to protect the inhabitants of the ghetto. He makes a man of clay and brings him to life, with dire results. Though all three have gorgeous images, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, the tale of a mysterious mesmerist, is the most interesting as a prime example of German expressionism. The swooping, distorted sets are brilliantly nightmarish. The three silent films are best enjoyed with the volume turned all the way down. While The Golem is presented in silence, by far the most satisfying option, the music soundtrack tacked onto Caligari is unnecessary at best, and the score Nosferatu has been saddled with is absolutely dunderheaded. Bonus material includes stills and poster art from all three films and a clip from the lost film Genuine: A Tale of a Vampire. –Ali Davis

American soldiers remember the concentration camps in recent release by Dr. Theresa Ast

“Confronting the Holocaust: American Soldiers Liberate Concentration Camps” a monograph about American military personnel who entered the Nazi concentration camps in Spring 1945, was released by  Theresa Ast, Ph.D.,  professor of history at Reinhardt University.

Speaking of the GI experience Dr. Ast wrote, “American soldiers were not prepared emotionally or psychologically for the enormous human suffering and degradation they witnessed. Viewing the camp atrocities and being exposed to the full extent of Nazi barbarism was a watershed experience for many soldiers.” She published her research because of continued interest in the Holocaust, knowing there will soon be no living witness to the liberation of the camps.

After surviving both the Nazi and Soviet invasions, the Polish side of her family emigrated to America in 1949. Not surprisingly, World War II and the Holocaust are central to Dr. Ast’s teaching, research, and writing. She earned an M.A and Ph.D. in Modern European History at Emory University in Atlanta.

Dr. Ast has made numerous presentations on the Holocaust at a variety of scholarly conferences, including the Mid-America Conference on History, Southern Historical Association, Tennessee Holocaust Studies Conference, West Point Association of Atlanta, Association for Core Texts and Courses, and the Georgia Association of Historians. She was also a Fellow of the U.S. Army Center of Military History in Washington, DC, and the Witness to the Holocaust Project at Emory University. 

“Confronting the Holocaust: American Soldiers Liberate Concentration Camps,” is available through Amazon. 

Year of Germany Presents: Oktoberfest!

October 17, from 11 a.m.-3 p.m., Donor Plaza

From the 22nd of September, millions of people will travel to Munich, like every year, to attend the world’s largest fair. Until the 7th of October, Munich will once again be hosting the Oktoberfest, which boasts a long tradition. It first took place in 1810, when Crown Prince Ludwig (later King Ludwig I) married Princess Therese of Bavaria. To celebrate the royal wedding, a horse race was held in an open space which is now called the Theresienwiese, named after the bride Princess Therese. It is truly a festival of superlatives with 6.9 million visitors in 2011 alone. Over the years, Oktoberfest has developed many traditions and it is quite an experience. (cited from OxfordDictionaries.com)

Come and find out how we celebrate Oktoberfest at Reinhardt, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m.- 3 p.m., at the Donor Plaza. Celebrate this special time of year with games, food and lots of fun!

Club and Organization participation is still needed!

Year of Germany is inviting all groups, clubs, classes, departments, residence halls/floors, teams, honor societies, or groups of friends to participate in this year’s Oktoberfest! We are looking for informational booths relating to Germany, such as German culture, literature, art, businesses – whatever is relevant to your area of interest.

Oktoberfest will also have a fun fair with games if you’d prefer. Root beer pong is already planned, so get creative!

Please submit your ideas to mhd@reinhardt.edu as soon as possible!

YOG Film Series: The Lives of Others

Sept. 27, at 3 p.m., Library Media Room

Attend a screening of The Lives of Others as part of the Year of Germany Film Series. This special showing will be Sept. 27, at 3 p.m., in the Library Media Room.

Source: Wikipedia.com

“The Lives of Others (German: Das Leben der Anderen) is a 2006 German drama film, marking the feature film debut of filmmaker Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, about the monitoring of East Berlin by agents of the Stasi, the GDR’s secret police. It stars Ulrich Mühe as Stasi Captain Gerd Wiesler, Ulrich Tukur as his boss Anton Grubitz, Sebastian Koch as the playwright Georg Dreyman, and Martina Gedeck as Dreyman’s lover, a prominent actress named Christa-Maria Sieland.

“The film was released in Germany on 23 March 2006. At the same time, the screenplay was published by Suhrkamp Verlag. The Lives of Others won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film had earlier won seven Deutscher Filmpreis awards—including those for best film, best director, best screenplay, best actor, and best supporting actor—after setting a new record with 11 nominations. It was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 64th Golden Globe Awards.”