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John Jacob Astor (17 July, 1763 – 29 March, 1848) was a German-born American businessman, merchant, real estate mogul and investor.

Johann Jakob Astor (Wikipedia)

Early Life

Astor was born in Germany in a small town near Heidelberg to parents who owned a butcher shop. At the age of sixteen, Astor moved to London to work for his older brother who was a flute and piano manufacturer. In England he changed his name form Johann Jakob Astor to the anglicized version. 

Astor moved to the United States in 1783 after the Revolutionary War. He had intended to work for his brother in a butcher shop in New York City, but became interested in the expanding fur trade in North America during his crossing to Baltimore. After working for his brother for some time, Astor began to purchase raw hides from Native Americans and sell them in Europe at a great profit. When the United States formed the Jay Treaty with Great Britain in 1794, Astor took advantage of new trading markets in Canada and the Great Lakes region. He imported furs from Montreal to New York and shipped them to Europe. By 1800 he had amassed over a quarter of a million dollars and was a major international player in the fur trading industry. 

Real Estate Baron

After 1800, Astor started to trade furs, tea and opium to Canton, China. He increased his fortune tremendously. In the 1830’s Astor foresaw the property explosion in New York and condensed his business interests into real estate in and north of Manhattan. Among other investments, he built a farm at Hellgate, a property that ran west of Broadway to the Hudson between 42nd and 46th streets in Manhattan. When he retired from business, Astor became a patron of culture and the arts. He was a Freemason and also President of the German Society of New York (1837-1841).

In proportion to the GDP, Astor was one of the richest people in modern history. He left behind an estate worth 0.9% of the US GDP at the time of his death, roughly equivalent to $276 billion in 2025.

Descendants and the Family Today

One of John Astor’s most famous descendants was his great-grandson John Jacob Astor IV. Like many of the other descendants, John made his fortune in real estate and was the founder of the Astoria Hotel in New York City. This hotel later merged with the Waldorf Hotel, owned by a cousin and rival. Today we know the hotel under the name Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, a leading luxury hotel of the world. 

John Astor IV (Wikipedia)

John Astor IV died on the maiden crossing of the Titanic. Other members of the family were prominent in New York aristocracy, and several were involved in philanthropic work. Today the name Astor is still connected with luxury, history and high society, but the family’s wealth has largely been dispersed. The descendants live spread across the world and no longer control vast real estate empires. 

Source:

www.wikipeda.org

German Roots

German Fredrich Fröbel (1782-1852) founded the first kindergarten in 1838. He created this ‘play’ environment as an experimental social experience for children about to enter school. Up till then, most emphasis in childhood education was based on rote learning and strict behavior. Fröbel’s approach was to let the children be nurtured and nourished ‘like plants in a garden.’ (Wikipedia)

Fredrich Fröbel (source: Fredrich Fröbel Museum)

The pedagogical environment in kindergarten allowed children to develop their self-expression and self-directed learning. This approach was facilitated by play, songs, stories and other activities. Around 1873 musical instrument teaching was also introduced into the national kindergarten movement in Germany. 

School in the 18th Century (source: Getty Images)

Kindergarten Spreads to the United States

The first kindergarten in the USA was founded in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856 by Margaretha Meyer-Schurz and was conducted in German. Elizabeth Peabody founded the first English language kindergarten in 1860. The first free-of-charge kindergarten was founded by philanthropist Conrad Poppenhusen in 1870, and the first publicly financed kindergarten in the US was founded in Saint Louis in 1873 by Susan Blow. By 1880 there were more than 400 kindergartens in 30 states and kindergarten teacher training schools existed in every major US city.

Elizabeth Palmer Peabody (source: Virginia Commonwealth University)

Preschool Child Care in Germany Today

Since 2013, every child in Germany had the legal right to childcare. There are several types of child care available:

°Kinderkrippe (creche) is for children up to three years of age. It is not free and costs vary by region.

°Kindergarten is for children between the ages of 3 and 6. It is not part of the regular school system, and it is not mandatory. Kindergarten can be free, church-subsidized or privately funded and costs vary by region. 

°Kitas (Kindertagesstätte), or child daycare centers provide after-school and sometimes pre-school activities for children after the school day ends. It goes up to the age of 11 or 12. Fees are required and this form of day care is very popular due to the number of women who work.

°Schulhort is an after-school daycare for primary school pupils. 

Sources:

www.wikipedia.org

www.expatica.com

www.socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu

Germany has over 11,000 libraries. Libraries are not just repositories for books: They are also cultural treasure chests that reflect the spirit of a nation. What better time to explore libraries than during the cold and dark months during winter! Here are a few inspirational sources complied from Internet recommendations.

Learning German

If you want to learn German or read in German, take a trip to Berlin to the State Library. This library is home to over 11 million books. It houses everything from historical manuscripts to modern resources and in-house learning programs. If you are in Bavaria, you could visit the Bavarian State Library in Munich. The library is especially well-known for its collection of rare maps and musical scores. The German National Library in Frankfurt and Leipzig is the central archive for all German language publications from in and outside the country. It is a great resource for research requests. 

Beautiful Libraries Worth a Visit

Germany has some stunning libraries that you won’t want to miss. The Anna Amalia Bibliothek in Weimar is named after a patroness of the arts and literature and is famous for its Enlightenment literature collection. It is situated in a beautiful baroque building. The library suffered a devastating fire in 2004 but has since been fully restored. Guided tours are available on request. 

Anna Amalia Library in Weimar (Photo: www.klassikstiftung.de)

Several monasteries are also homes to extensive libraries and beautiful classical architecture. For example, the Maria Laach Jesuit Library in Rhineland-Palatinate is a 19th century gem and one of the best preserved libraries from the time. Over 260,000 items are stored in its galleries which are accessible by curved balustrades leading up from cast-iron staircases. Many other beautiful monastery libraries can be found throughout the country. 

The Göttingen State and University Library in Göttingen is home to one of the few remaining original Gutenberg Bibles and is also cited for its classical beauty.

For those interested in modern design, the Stuttgart Library, designed by Sun Young Yi, looks like a cube. Its facade is composed of large square panels and exposed concrete with glass blocks. Illuminated in blue at night, the library is one of the most frequently photographed sites in the city. It is said to be a top location for Instagram postings!

Stuttgart Library (Photo: Alamy)

And last but not least, a visit to the Berlin Philological Library could provide some ‘intellectual’ stimulation. The building, designed by star architect Lord Norman Foster, has a spectacular cranial shape and is known as ‘the brain’. The library is dedicated to the philological studies of linguistics and literature.

Berlin Philological Library (Photo: WikiArquitectur)

Why Go to the Library?

Whether it is for an excuse to get out of the house, go for a browse, or find a space with a bit of peace and quiet, libraries are havens for our minds and spirits. They offer a chance to go to places and make new experiences through reading. They can inspire and educate. They can mold us and our children to be better people. And they are free! 

As Albert Einstein said: “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library”. 

Have a good winter!

Sources:

www.talkpal.ai

www.iamexpat.de

www.germany.travel

Who Was Peter Minuit?

Peter Minuit was born sometime between 1585 and 1594 in Wesel, Germany, part of the Kleve archduchy on the lower Rhine near the Dutch border. He married into affluence and became a successful business man, but few records survive. In 1625 Minuit took a job with the Dutch West India Company, which sent him to their small colony called New Amsterdam. Here Minuit was tagged by his employer to replace the current governor. In New Amsterdam, Minuit demonstrated his skill as a businessman and guided the colony to rapid growth. His most famous achievement was the purchase of Manhattan Island from the Lenape natives for $24. The colonists and native Americans lived and traded together in peace and prosperity under Minuit’s reign.

How Did Minuit Come to Purchase Manhattan?

The Lenape people had long been settled through the Hudson River region. They spent their summers on the island of Manhatta, Algonquian for ‘hilly island’, where they traded food supplies and furs with other indigenous Americans. The beaver trade quickly became interesting to the Europeans when they arrived in the region. Dutch merchants traded beaver pelts with the natives to send back to Europe for the fashion industry. Many European traders took up residence in the colony that later became know as New Amsterdam and eventually became Manhattan. 

New Amsterdam in the early 1600’s (Source: Reddit)

Did Minuit Really Pay $24 for Manhattan?

A colonist named Peter Schagen wrote in a letter to the Dutch West India Company in 1626 that the Dutch (Minuit) had ‘purchased the Island Manhattes from the Indians for the value of 60 Guilders’ (National Geographic). In the 1840’s, historian Edmund O’Callaghan researched documents from the sale and wrote that the natives had received ‘for that splendid tract the trifling sum of sixty guilders’. Eventually this figure became associated with the sum of $24. However it is not clear whether money was actually exchanged in the purchase. It is possible that the exchange involved a combination of money, commodities like fur and beads or both. The insinuation however was firmly established that the Indians had been cheated, and is cited as an early example of how early European settlers destroyed Native American culture and  economic welfare. 

Summary

The Indians probably did not see their agreement with Minuit as a sale, but thought they were agreeing to share the land and its riches with the Dutch. The Dutch, on the other hand, clearly viewed the agreement as a purchase and subsequently began to settle the island with their own colonists. By 1664 New Amsterdam was home to 1,500 people and 18 languages were reportedly spoken. The town was known for the wall that surrounded it. Built by slaves, the encompassed area eventually became known as Wall Street. 

Peter Minuit was later involved in a dispute with his employer, the Dutch West India Company, and was dismissed. He founded another colony called New Sueda under the Swedish West India Company and died on a trading mission in the Caribbean during a tropical storm in 1638.

Today the land value of Manhattan is estimated at $1.74 trillion (Bloomberg 2018).

Sources:

www.wikipedia.org

www.nationalgeographic.com

www.jstor.org

www.landofthebrave.info

On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, German theologian, posted 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, Germany. The result changed the world!

Portrait of Martin Luther from Cranach. Source: Wikipedia

What are the 95 Theses?

The 95 Theses are a list of concerns that Martin Luther held against the Catholic Church and the pope. They were aimed at provoking a discussion about Catholic Church policy, in particular the sale of ‘indulgences’, which were a vehicle for the faithful to ‘buy’ forgiveness for a variety of sins against the Catholic faith.

Castle Church in Wittenberg. Source: Alamy

What Were the Main Points of the 95 Theses?

There are three main points according to Internet sources:

1.The selling of indulgences to finance the building of St Peter’s is wrong. Luther argued that the revenues from Christian indulgence purchases were being funneled into the building of the ‘insatiable basilica’ in Rome. He argued that church institutions closer to the people, especially local churches, should receive the funding first. Luther argued that the pope was rich and could finance the Rome Basilica with his own finances: ‘He would do better to sell St. Peter’s and give the money to the poor folk who are being fleeced by the hawkers of indulgences,’ cites www.uncommon-travel-germany.com.

2. The pope has no power over Purgatory. Indulgences are not an effective reconciliation with God. The pope can only remove penalties which he has imposed himself on earth. Hence the pope has no jurisdiction over Purgatory. 

3. The buying of indulgences gives people a false sense of security and endangers their salvation. Indulgences are harmful because they impede salvation by diverting charity and inducing a false sense of security. Christians should be taught that those who give to the poor are better that those who receive pardon. Indulgences induce complacency and so imperil the possibility for salvation. Peace only comes through Christ. Without faith, absolution alone cannot bring peace to the individual. 

A Few Things You might Not Have Known About Religious Protest At the Time

According to www.wordbyword.org, Luther’s thoughts had been brewing throughout Christendom for years. The act of nailing his complaints against the church door was a fairly standard form of protest for those times. Luther was a professor at the new University of Wittenberg and participated in debate in the customary contemporary fashion. He hoped to create a dialogue within the Catholic Church, however the outcome went well beyond his expectations. 

The Doors of the Wittenberg Church Where Luther Posted the 95 Theses. Source: iStock

The Idea that Led to Worldwide Change

Luther’s texts were originally written in Latin, the language of the Church. They were intended to spark a dialogue within the theological community. However, the Theses were translated into German without Luther’s permission. They quickly became the ‘fodder for the masses,’ according to www.wordbyword.org. This turned Luther into an unintended revolutionary. 

In 1518, the pope condemned Luther’s writings as conflicting with the teachings of the Church. A second papal commission was less convictive and cited his writings as ‘scandalous and offensive’ (history.com). He was excommunicated in 1521 and spent the next next ten months hiding in Eisenach, where he translated the New Testament into German. 

The culmination of Luther’s relentless work was the fruit of what later became the Reformation,  which was key to the development of Protestant religious movements around the world and is still celebrated on the 31st of October.

Sources:

www.uncommon-travel-germany.com

www.wordbyword.org

www.history.com

Apples are one of the world’s favorite fruits. America leads global consumption with 52.9 kilograms consumption per capita, according to a survey of 165 countries as reported by the Helgi Library. By comparison, the average German consumes roughly 20 kilograms of apples per year (www.statista.com).

Jonagold apples (Source: Dreamstock)

German Apples: An Overview

There are two classifications of German apples: dessert apples (for direct consumption) and cider apples (for processing to juice or pulp). Germany produces the majority of its own dessert apples (about 70%). Of the apples that are imported, most come from other European Union countries like Spain, the Netherlands or Italy. About one-quarter of the apples grown on German land are farmed organically. The most important apple growing regions are the so called ‘Altes Land,’ which includes a stretch across northern Germany from Lower Saxony to Hamburg, and in the south is concentrated around the Lake Constance area. The most popular apple varieties are Elster and Jonagold, accounting for about one-third of all sales.

Map of apple production in Germany, darker spots are higher production areas (Source: Thünen)

Heritage Apples

Germany actually has between 3,000 and 4,000 different apple varieties, according to botanist Barbara Bouillon at DW Magazine. She claims that many are getting lost because the commercial food industry doesn’t need them. Industry favors apple varieties that are sweet, red and firm-fleshed to standardize taste and promote more uniform fruit sizes, which eases packaging.

The reallocation of pasture and orchard lands into housing developments outside cities has also contributed to the decline of many heritage apple varieties. In some German cities there have been efforts made to create green spaces with apple trees, but the coordination of harvesting can be challenging in a community setting. 

There is good reason to maintain the heritage varieties, however, because they are more resistant to disease. Some years ago scientists found a single gene that conferred resistance to an important fungal infection in apples. This gene was successfully used in commercial production until eventually the fungus mutated. But some ancient varieties of heritage apples have been fungus-free for hundreds of years. A few of these varieties came to Germany from the Roman Empire. Others were already cultivated thousands of years ago in Persia, Greece and even ancient Babylon.

‘Fallobst’ organically grown (Source: Dreamstime)

Are Apples Really Healthy?

According to the New York Times in an article from 23 September, apples are very healthy indeed!

They are good for your gut. Apples are rich in dietary fiber that is important for feeding many of the bacteria species that thrive in our intestines. These bacteria are powerful in maintaining good health, lowering cancer risk, and in influencing weight and mood.

Apples are good for your heart, too. They have high amounts of pectin that can help maintain healthy cholesterol levels. Apples are also one of the biggest dietary sources of polyphenols, health-promoting molecules that stimulate nitric oxide production. Nitric oxide runs through our blood and helps to dilate blood vessels. That is good for maintaining lower blood pressure. 

Apples can reduce chronic inflammation, also thanks to the polyphenols. Even a half an apple a day can help reduce inflammation markers in the blood.

So maybe the saying ‘an apple a day keeps the doctor away’ is more true than not. Especially if eaten with the skin on, an apple is a delicious and healthy fall treat. Guten Appetit!

Sources: 

www.thünen.de (Institute of Farm Economics)

www.helgilibrary.com

www.statistica.com

www.dw.com

www.nytimes.com

In the early days of America prior to the Revolution, most Germans who immigrated to the country lived in Philadelphia or other towns in Pennsylvania. 

Naturally the people who lived in German enclaves continued to speak German among themselves. They were interested in maintaining contacts to their homelands and cultures. In response, a printing industry in the German language was established between 1728 and 1737. The printed information included hymnals, almanacs and newspapers. Benjamin Franklin published the first foreign language newspaper in 1732 with the title Die Philadelphische Zeitung. Unfortunately the newspaper was not successful and Franklin abandoned it after two issues.

Source: Language Log

Two other German printing pioneers of the times were Andrew Bradford and Christopher Sauer. Sauer was born in Frankfurt and immigrated to Pennsylvania in 1724. He printed in German Fraktur, a typeface similar to what German immigrants would have known from home. His most popular works were almanacs with weather forecasts, sunrise and sunset information, Scripture passages and practical farming advice. In 1739 he began to print a German newspaper in Germantown that continued to be published by his family until 1777.

Source: Wikipedia

Urban Legend: German Almost Became the Official Language of the United States

Language became an emotional issue when English settlers in Pennsylvania began to resent that so many of their local compatriots were German speakers. The truth is that the United States has never had a legally-established official language. There was never a German vote in 1776, though the legend was that a vote was held: The English language won with one vote because a German-favorer had left the room to visit the mens’ room. 

The events that led to the misinterpretation of a German vote occurred much later in 1795. In that year Congress considered a proposal to print federal laws in German as well as English. There were a great number of plans, but none satisfied the House so a vote to adjourn was passed 42 to 41. The vote to adjourn is sometimes called the ‘Muhlenberg Vote’, after the speaker of the House of Representatives in Pennsylvania, Frederick Muhlenberg. As was the tradition, he stepped down from voting on the adjournment, thus dooming German in America to a minority-status language. He wasn’t in the bathroom!

Frederick Muhlenberg, Source: Bridgeman Images

Another legend is that Benjamin Franklin recommended that German be the official language of the United States. Actually the opposite is true: Franklin was deeply worried that German ancestry would overwhelm America and change its most basic virtues. Franklin wrote of the Germans in 1753: ‘Few of their children in the country learn English…Unless the stream of their importation could be turned they will soon so outnumber us that all the advantages we have will not be able to preserve our language, and even our government will become precarious.’

The German Language in America Today

The xenophobia of the 18th Century against Germans was later replaced with a respect for their hard work and assimilation. Today nearly 20% of all Americans have some German roots. Though at one point there were dozens of German language newspapers in the United States, the publishing industry in German dissipated during WWI, and the further during Prohibition, when advertisers withdrew their support. However German still thrives in the English language. From ’Kindergarten’ to ‘Schadenfreude’, from ‘Iceberg’ to ‘Angst’, many German words are a regular part of the English vocabulary. 

Sources:

National Constitution Center: www.constitutioncenter.org

Dialogue InternationalABC News: www.abcnews.com

National Endowment for the Humanities: www.neh.gov

Deutsches Historical Museum

www.wikipedia.org

Most people probably associate rose cultivation with England, but Germany also has a long history of rose-growing and a few interesting highlights that you can discover below.

European Rose Breeders Differentiate Between Garden and Cut-Flower Roses

Roses that are grown in the United States are primarily long-stem varieties used in bouquets.

Many European rose-breeding firms strictly separate their garden rose lines from their cut-flower varieties. Some of the leading European rose producers include Kordes and Söhne in Hamburg, Delbard in France and Peter Beale Roses in the UK. 

European rose growers tend not to use chemicals in the breeding process. Traditionally the US did use chemicals, but the use has declined in recent years. As chemical use declined, many US rose varieties began to flounder, developing blight and other illnesses. Roses came to be known as ‘fussy’ and US gardeners increasingly turned to traditional European varieties because they were said to be more disease resistant and easier to grow. Today one of the most popular rose brands in the US is David Austin roses. Austin Roses are said to have led to the rebirth of garden roses as flowering shrubs in the United States.

The Thousand-year Rose of Hildesheim

The oldest known rosebush in the world is located in Hildesheim, Germany. It has been estimated to be around 700 years old and grows up the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral, which has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1985. A wild dog rose (Rosa Carina), it is growing up the apse of the church and is about 10 meters (33 feet) high. Even though the church was destroyed by allied bombers in WWII, the roots of the rose survived. According to legend, as long as the rose bush flourishes, so will the town of Hildesheim. 

700 Year Old Rosa Canina Bush on the Hildesheim Cathedral (Wikipedia)

Wild dog roses have 20-30 species and subspecies which appear in a variety of shapes and colors. The Caninae variety has pale pink, fragrant flowers and five to seven petals. The thorny stem helps it climb to a height of one to three meters, or in the case of the Hildesheim rose much higher with additional support. In the fall, the dog rose produces ‘hips’, often used in teas and homeopathic treatments. 

Rose ‘Hips’ (Wikipedia)

One legend says the dog rose was once a symbol for the old Saxon goddess Hulda. Hulda is depicted as a maiden in snow-white clothes and is associated with winter. When the deciduous dog rose loses its pale petals in the fall, it is said to remind one of the goddess Hulda shaking our her feather pillow. The legend is the basis of a well-known children’s fairytale in Germany.

Rosa Canina Flower (Wikipedia)

Steinfurth: the German Roses Capitol

The Steinfurth area north of Frankfurt is famous for its half-timbered houses, monasteries, orchards…and roses! Steinfurth is the rose-growing capitol of Germany with thirty nurseries that produce about fourteen million roses a year. On a breezy summer day, they say you can smell the perfume from the flowers before you reach the town. The industry was founded in the late 1860’s by a young German who had done an apprenticeship in England. Steinfurth celebrates its most well-known industry with a festival every summer and a museum dedicated to the history of the roses. 

Have a wonderful summer!

Sources:

www.wikipedia.org

www.finegardening.com

www.stripes.com

April, 2024 marks the 300th birthday of German political and moral philosopher Immanuel Kant (22 April, 1724-12 February, 1804). He is considered one of the most influential thinkers and political philosophers of the Enlightenment era.  

Portrait of Kant from the Smithsonian Institute

Kant’s Life and Work

Immanuel Kant was born in Königsberg, Prussia, which since WWII has been renamed Kaliningrad and is part of Russia. Kant was the fourth of nine children and grew up in a household that stressed pietist religious values like devotion, humility and the literal interpretation of the Bible. As a young scholar, he wrote significant scientific works about natural history, astronomy and astrophysics. However, he wrote his greatest works in later life. These works centered on the philosophy of ethics and metaphysics. His best known and most influential work is titled the Critique of Pure Reason (1887). 

In this treatise, Kant explores how we combine sensory knowledge (what we see, hear, experience) with intellectual knowledge based on reasoning. Kant argued that reasoning could help to explain the reality of subjective perceptions like ideas (e.g., causality, morality and objects not evident in experience). His thinking was important in the Enlightenment movement which reoriented the individual at the center of moral reasoning and responsibility in the balance between the natural world and religion. 

Portrait of Kant fromThe Collector

Kant and the ‘Categorial Imperative’ in Governance

Kant believed that the social contract between citizens and their governments must be based on a fixed set of laws, where every citizen has the right to pursue and maximize his happiness without violating the rights and freedoms of fellow citizens. Th

is is referred to as Kant’s ‘categorical imperative’ and stresses the moral responsibility of the individuals to ‘do unto others…’ in the sense expressed in the Bible. The citizen must respect the laws of the government, and the government must give the law-abiding citizen maximum liberty within that framework. Here liberty does not imply, however, libertarian or anarchical ideas. Rather it is the emphasis on free will and will under moral laws as being the same. 

Kant’s Enlightenment and its Influence on Early American Politics

Kant’s influence on American politics is prominently reflected by the freedoms expressed in the Constitution. His essay ‘An Answer to the Question: What is Enlightenment?’ first appeared in 1784, only a few years before the Constitutional Convention of 1787 and ratification of the Bill of Rights in 1791. In this essay Kant states: ‘Have the courage to make use of your own understanding! Is…the motto of enlightenment!…For this enlightenment, however, nothing is required but freedom!’. Kant later stated that he was primarily referring to religion (www.tradshad.wordpress.com).

The First Amendment establishes Kant’s idea as the bedrock of the Constitution: ‘Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thererof.’ The First Amendment also guarantees freedom of speech. Here we can see Kant’s influence when he claims that one should have ‘freedom to make public use of one’s reason in all matters’.

Kant’ Relevance Today

According to Kant, our rights and happiness require the state to follow two fundamental rules. First, it must protect our rights and liberties, and secondly it must promote the indirect happiness we seek as long as the rights of fellow citizens are not discriminated against in the process. The categorial imperative of the single person becomes the political imperative of the whole state, based on logic and a sense of duty (ibid, above).

Today, some believe that the individuality of the person is incompatible with the majority rule of the state. In an increasingly multipolar and polarized world it might perhaps be good to refocus more on the Kantian values that make us human across all geopolitical, cultural and social spheres so we can reconnect to what protects and unites us as global citizens rather than focusing on differences and dominance. 

Sources:

www.wikipedia.org

www.moderndiplomacy.eu

www.tradshad.wordpress.com

In an age where sustainable lifestyle is on the tip of everyone’s tongue, perhaps there are some useful ideas from Germany about how we view our forests and their role in contributing to keeping the world climate in balance.

How Important are Trees in Germany?

There are over 90 billion trees that cover one-third of the land area of Germany. Trees are very important here and are a big part of German culture, preserved and enjoyed in nature reserves where families can appreciate vegetation and animals in natural settings. 

But Germany also has a tree problem. The problem is that trees are dying. In 2020, more trees died in Germany than during any previous year (dw.com).

Draught, bark beetles, storms and other factors have taken a great toll on German forests in recent years. Fast growing spruce conifers planted after WWII account for 25% of trees in German forests (dw.com) and have been worst hit by environmental change. These non-native trees were planted because they mature fast, usually after about thirty years. The wood industry boomed as a result.

But the root systems of the conifers are flat, making them vulnerable to draught and wind. The bark beetle invades when the trees are no longer able to produce the sap they need to protect the  the tree. Once a bark beetle has found a weak or sick tree, it tunnels into the bark and lays its eggs. When the larva hatch, they eat the phloem (inner tissue) of the tree. Fungi subsequently grow in the galleries the bark beetles create (google.com). The fungi prevent the tree from taking up further water, and so it dies.

Leave Forests Alone

Peter Wohlleben, a German forest ranger and author of the international bestselling book ‘The Secret Lives of Trees’, says that the best ways to fight climate change is to leave the forests alone. Biodiversity is the key to reestablishing balanced ecosystems in our forests. He claims that ‘ecosystems when left on their own are much more resilient’ (New Yorker, June 20, 2021). German forests have been over-managed for timber extraction for too long. We have trained ourselves to believe that forests are for recreation, and that unsightly dead and fallen wood – essential to biodiversity – must be cleared. 

A woodland left on its own looks untidy but teems with life

Source: Google

Wohlleben’s philosophy centers on the idea of slow growth. Trees exist in social symbiosis with other trees around them and nourish each other through complicated underground root networks as conditions allow. In this sense, he submits that trees ‘communicate’. The more slowly a tree grows, Wohlleben says, the tighter its grain and the greater its chances of surviving natural threats (ibid above). Wohlleben is also an opponent of tree plantations and wood pellet power plants, which he claims further destabilize the climate: ‘My own personal goal is that, in the future, we will protect the climate by using less while simultaneously allowing as many forests around the world as possible to revert to their natural state;’ he writes (ibid above).

Even trees that look dead are part of the forest’s ‘communication’ network

Source: Getty Images

What We Can Learn

Not everyone agrees with Wohlleben’s approach to humanizing trees. Some argue that he cherry-picks and exaggerates scientific findings and portrays forests as ‘cartoonishly cooperative’ (ibid above).

But Wohlleben’s ideas do make us empathize with our environment and appreciate trees as living objects. In this sense, tree hugging may not do much to save trees, but it might just help us be more open to their preservation in the fight to keep our climate balanced enough to survive in the long run. 

Sources:

www.dw.com

www.newyorker.com

www.wkipedia.org