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A Day in the Life: Berlin 1890
The date is July 25, 1890. My name is Nils Hoffmann, born December 7th, 1870 in Berlin. I have recently returned to my parent’s home after attending school in Potsdam. I am hoping to hear back from a friend’s father who manages a chemical laboratory, for he had offered me a job upon my graduation.
However business has been stagnant for him of late, so in the meantime I have been under hire of a baugesellschaften. My father has worked for this same building society since he entered the work force. There has been plenty of work for him in this flourishing city. This company and ones similar have extended the city to the point that it has devoured its sister communities and made them one.
My parents, along with my sisters ages 15 and 5, live In a decent two bedroom apartment in Kruezburg, a few blocks down from the river. Our first dwelling, which we lived in before the youngest Mitzi was born, was located in the suburb of Charlottenburg. Though my parent’s first rent was modest, it was a lovely place, located in a clean and peaceful neighborhood. As the rapid growth approached our little Charlottenburg, it became decreasingly desirable. We were lucky enough to get out before our neighborhood had been completely surrounded by the rental barracks, and before the rent in the city became too high.
Our current home is a typical three story stone building, with ten apartments per floor. My parents took pride in this little home. Though I have noticed that it has been cluttered with useless decorations since I first moved away.
I awoke from my couch in the front room. I was the first up in my family, which was pleasing, for I enjoy a few minutes to myself in the morning. I flipped on the lamp to enhance visual abilities, and headed toward the adjacent kitchen. I searched through the refrigerator, and chose two hard-boiled eggs and some leftover chicken schnitzel. I chopped the chicken and sandwiched it between two slices of weizenbrot.
My breakfasts are usually more ambitious than the usual Hoffmann family breakfast. Truthfully, Mitzi and I are the only two that eat anything near a decent breakfast. My father usually just has a cup of coffee, and my mother and sister either skip it, or have a slice of a Baguette French roll. When this unmotivated family does feel inspired, they will also have salami, sliced meat and orange juice.
My middle sister, Jutta woke next. She is a tall, strong, intelligent girl. She dreams of going away to study, to become engineer. It is not beyond her capabilities, I am sure of it. The difficulty is that area of study is not available for girl, especially not a middle class girl. The cost alone would be too much for my family. Not to mention they have expressed behind her back that they would not support her further than secondary school.
I really feel horrible for the girl; she has all the potential in the world, but has grown up in such an nonsupporting environment, and will not likely be given many opportunities to thrive. The rest of the family soon awoke, and the small house was jammed with creatures, including the dog and cat. My mother preoccupied with rambunctious Mitzi, and my father gathering his equipment.
It was off to work for my father and I. It was a decent morning, the air was cool and thick. The ground was damp from the evening dew. We headed down the road to catch the tram. We had a job up at Schoenberg on the south side. The region was becoming notorious for filth and poverty. Plain five story apartments stretched for many blocks, and were multiplying out toward the countryside. The apartments filled blocks in a honeycomb shape, with an open-air courtyard in the center.
A few of my friends lived on this side of town. All families of the house shared the kitchens. I never liked to spend the night over there; the rooms were closed off from any sunlight. The whole place always smelled of rotting garbage. My last stay overnight at my old pal Bruno's, I found several rats in my blanket when I woke in the morning. I was terribly sick for several weeks afterwards. My parents would not let me over there from then on, for good reason. But I can recall there was a strong livelihood about the courtyard. Bruno and I spent many afternoons interacting with the interesting characters of the neighborhood.
As the tram slowly made its way across town, factories passed in a seemingly endless blur. This city had become an industrial power within my lifetime. Berlin was founded in 1244. At the turn of the century, the city was home to about 200,000, and most were employed by small manufacturing businesses. It also served important military functions. Around the time of my birth and German unification, the city held 900,000 inhabitants. Today the city is home to 1.9 million, and continuing to grow. City officials are making efforts to accommodate for the growth by widening streets and incorporating traffic systems. Many of the main streets are now lined with lights.
We jumped off the tram a few blocks from the construction site at Schoneburg farms and walked the remaining distance. This area was once filled with potato farms. Those fortunate to have owned one of those farms became instant millionaires once the developers purchased the land.
We were in the process of pouring a concrete foundation for an apartment complex. Our Baugesellschaften picked up large-scale residential projects. We finished a project in Hasquietrel a few weeks back. That area used to be a bog, unsuitable for building. However several boatloads of sand were transported up the river and spread over the marshy terrain.
The motto of this company is quantity over quality. The company gets paid a flat rate per project. Therefore the faster we throw these buildings up, no matter the sloppiness of the work, the more money the company and therefore workers can make. It is possible, if we do not work with haste, for us to loose money for working. Though that is rarely the case, the system seems counter intuitive. I believe that if we were given more time, the quality of our product would increase, and we could therefore charge more for our services. Nonetheless this line of work has been busy all summer, and it pays better than most other jobs.
The day grew warm as I methodically mixed concrete. When you perform the same task for hours on end, you learn to keep yourself busy with your own thoughts. My mind was still centered on the city, which seemed to have grown overnight. The origin of this rapid growth can be traced to the industrial boom. Germany and Berlin especially had become world power in steel production. Chemical labs were also popping up all over the city. The development of industrial uses for chemicals was helping us catch the British.
Germany was a big business economy. Only the very wealthy could finance a steel mill or chemical lab operation. These capitalists raised money by organizing corporations, and selling stock. The wealthy executives would run these corporations. Beneath them, individuals would be hired specifically for managing sales, production and finances. My grandfather worked for I.G. Farben chemical cartel, which now dominates the industry in Germany. Some other industries in Germany included coal, glass, potash and cement.
The state of the German economy is currently unstable. The net national product is on the decline. Twenty percent of recently founded corporations have gone bankrupt. American and Russian grain products have flooded into the German market, which has proven the main contributing factor to our slumping economy.
In the distance, I saw one of the job sight managers yelling at one of the Polish workers. The very sight of him put a bitter taste in my mouth. Most of these men wake up every morning, put on the same cloths, and going to work for this same company, performing the same tasks day in and day out. They have to hear it from this asshole, which I have found is no more talented than many of the workers. It makes it worse that I feel there are more efficient ways to perform these tasks, but our foreman is resistant to any new methods, apparently it isn’t broke, so he isn’t going to fix it. My father and I are of equal value to this company as any foreman or job site managers as far as how productive we are in a given time frame. The difference is that we receive a much smaller percentage of the cream. This company is basically screwing us. The ones at the top make the majority of the income, yet do similar amounts of work.
Unfortunately, nobody will stand up for himself because we all realize our expendability at this point. Labor unions among unskilled workers have grown in popularity, however. The socialists have recently formed the Second International labor union. Socialists have been able to unify, and now have the ability to spread their cause more effectively.
The concrete mixing continued, and I overheard old Camper talking to another man about imperialism. Four years ago, the Berlin Conference was held. It set the ground rules for claiming territory on the African continent. Basically, a country needed enough fortitude and manpower to control and develop there. The native Africans were to be treated humanely. "It’s an exciting time. This is our chance to flex our muscle and show the rest of the world that Germany is a dominant force." Camper said.
I had to admit that seeing my country colors spread across the globe did incite a sense of pride. "If a country decides not to participate in the emancipation of Bavarian lands, I’m afraid they too may one day loose their lands. If I were in one of those passive countries, I would be scared out of my wits. Here comes the big German machine." he proudly roared. With the sun directly overhead, lunch was upon us. I cleaned up my work area and headed off.
Lunch is traditionally the largest meal of the day. I had made arrangements to meet at my girlfriend’s house this afternoon. Usually I would go home, but I was near East Elbia, and her pantry was usually much fuller, and her parents much more interesting and attentive than mine. East Elbia is one of the classier neighborhoods in the city.
Mr. Thalberg managed a department store, but he had a large sum of inherited wealth. Now days he was active in local politics as a member of the currently favored Junker party. I worked for him a few summers back. He and I often chatted, and he liked me enough to introduce me to his middle daughter, Petra. We began seeing each other two years ago, but seem to be growing apart. I have a feeling that she doesn’t care much for me, but her family adores me so we have stayed together. Often times I come to the Thalbergs just to drink beer and converse with Marko and Therese (her parents).
I was whole heartily welcomed by Therese at the door. The apartment was roomy and well decorated. Marko was enthusiastically speaking into the telephone. Nobody else I knew owned one. I always wondered whom he was talking to.
The maid, Irmgard already had lunch prepared, and quite a spread it was. The plethora consisted of baked Kartoffel, Curry-wurst, bratwurst, and a marinated beef pot roast dish served with red cabbage and dumplings called sauerbraten. I chose a sampling off all options, but omitted the torts and pastries.
I realized that Petra was downstairs. Though I hate playing mind games with her, I found myself making a conscious effort to avoid going down to see her. If she wanted to see me, she could come upstairs. Besides, Marko's conversation was usually more interesting.
"I just got off the phone with a lobbyist proposing a bill to give women the vote" he said. He then began to chuckle. "'Not any time soon, my friend' I told him. Besides, you know, the very nature of being a women would be tarnished if they are given political power." I realized immediately this statement was flawed. Being a woman and lacking political power were not directly correlated, for women were not defined by lacking political power. To me it was simple, why was it so difficult for this man to see? If he weren’t kind enough to let me hold his daughters’ hand, I would have told him how I felt.
"No, you see, men really prize women’s value. Really. There must be someone to tend to the house. Home is where the heart is. If the heart is tattered, then the family mechanism will not work. The family dynamic will be thrown off if women are forced out into the working world, and forced to make the types of decisions we have to make. When I see women working, it is a sign that their husband is not doing his job as the provider of resources."
As he was speaking, i remembered reading an essay by Clara Zetkin. She argued that women would only receive fair treatment when all workers are released from the oppressions of the economic and social world. It instantly came into the light. This man had never seen poverty. Maybe he didn't understand it. For most commoners, it is impossible to gain any ground financially, for they were working as many hours as humanly possible just to pay off debts. That is if there is even enough work for him. With women of the family unable to participate in money earning, some families become trapped. The issues of rights for women and workers are intertwined, and workers and peasants drew the heaviest burden.
I finished my meal, gave Marko a handshake, Irmgard a hug, and Petra a cheep goodbye. I walked lazily back to work, full of food.
At this point the sky was very warm. Feeling uninspired to churn concrete, I again tried to shift my focus inward, and again thought about the city. In 1871, Berlin was named the capitol. Many were upset with this decision. Others viewed Berlin as a rough place, and Berliners themselves were thought to be unruly and rebellious. Improvements were made to the city including street improvements and a sewage system. However, Berlin has never really fit the mold of a capitol. It is not considered modern, and Bismarck provided our city with little financial support. Bismarck rarely came into the city. He usually holds conference in Potsdam, which has long been the preferred stay of the Kings. In 1881, Berlin became a city-state separate from Brandenburg. The city looks much different today then it did when I was a kid. It is still struggling to adjust to its new title.
At last, we were released from our duties. I cleaned up my workstation and headed home to wash. I remembered I was to have dinner at my uncles this evening, so I hustled along.
I arrived at my uncles as the sun was descending towards the trees. I was the first of my family to arrive, which was uncomfortable, for my aunt and cousins are socially awkward people. My aunt was running the vacuum cleaner, and my uncle was preparing a fire.
My three younger cousins were reluctantly practicing their violins. I wish I would have an opportunity to learn an instrument. Over the past few years I have grown to truly appreciate music. Some of my favorite artists include Gustav Mahler, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner and Arnold Schonberg. I noticed the kids were attempting to rehearse a Beethoven piece.
Dinner at my uncles meant a heated political discussion was inevitable. I made sure to think of some topics for discussion before coming over. The elections to replace Chancellor Bismarck were approaching. Otto von Bismarck was named Chancellor twenty years ago. He had long supported universal male suffrage. He believed the influence of liberal bourgeois classes would be eliminated. He also believed his conservative policies would have the support of the workers and peasants.
Bismarck was able to unify the German states and people under Prussia. He brought all law codes, currencies, and military forces to the lesser states into conformity with those of Prussia. Laws were passed asserting states rights to restrict religious orders, and require civil marriage. He succeeded in bringing all education under state control, including catholic ran schools. The clergy resisted and authorities arrested hundreds of priests and six bishops. However many of these measures backfired and actually made the Roman Catholic Center Party stronger. Several years after the initial attack, Bismarck repealed the most severe anti-Catholic laws.
At that point in time, his focus had shifted to fighting democratically minded and radical socialists. Socialists attacked the autocratic nature of Germany's government. As the Social Democratic party began gaining popularity, Bismarck reacted by outlawing their publications. The repressive tactics failed. Bismarck again switched his focus. He attempted to eliminate the causes for socialism, and to tarnish the Social Democrats appeal to the working class. Over the last few years, Bismarck implemented social insurance reforms providing accident, sickness and old age benefits. Last year Kaiser Wilhelm died, and his son took over the title. A few months ago Wilhelm II dismissed Bismarck.
The members of my family began to trickle in the house. My mother, father, sisters and grandparents were gathered in the small living room saying hellos.
As usual, the men eventually found themselves at one end of the room, and the women at the other end fussing with the children. They would likely continue to fuss throughout the evening. I would have liked for them to participate in our discussions. However they would not be welcome by my uncle and grandpa, nor would they have the will to talk politics. In general, adult women lack social skills. It troubles me, for the girls I went to primary school were no less capable than any of the boys. It’s as if they never develop. Why does this happen? Could at be that because they are not allowed to participate in many activities that they're social growth stunts? I sure hope that doesn’t happen to Jutta.
As I had expected, we began discussing possibilities for the upcoming elections. To the far right of the political spectrum are the Prussian Junkers. Since they are typically elitists, and therefore few, they often side with other more conservative groups.
One such conservative party is the Free Conservatives, the party that my uncle claims. They are the businessmen and industrialists who oppose high tariffs to promote free trade.
Next are the National Liberals, who are for a constitutional monarchy. They promote political reform to make the government more representatives. This is a popular group throughout Germany.
To the far left are the feared and growing Social Democrats. These are typically workers who wish for a socialist government.
My family tended to lean conservative, especially my grandfather. "Those peasants scare the heck out of me. Those unruly rummies will burn the damn city down and murder their brother, they don’t know any better. That’s why you’ve got to stay away from all these democratic reforms, they’ll allow the peasants to run the city."
My uncle had a pessimistic view on the situation. "We aren’t going to have much influence on anything. The members of the upper house are appointed for life by the king. They have the power to pass their seat to heirs. Though we are over represented in Berlin, Prussia holds 26 of the 56 deputies. They have the one third needed to block anything they don’t like coming for Berlin. Since they fear this city, they are not likely to side with us on many issues."
The discussion was relocated to the kitchen, where the family servant Elsa called us for dinner in her usual pushy manner. Dinner was typically a light meal. This evenings options included French bread slices, cheeses, sliced salami and turkey, and salad with pickled cucumbers. I chose a serving of each.
The discussion had morphed. "Will power is what enables people to survive. The strongest living people are the ones that come into power. Its talent; strength, will and intelligence; that is what makes leaders." stated my father. "Just like anything else, if you show that you’re gentle, modest and compassionate, your showing your weaknesses. Say what you will about Bismarck's policies, but he has the fortitude to lead this country."
Knowing my father is a proponent of democracy, i could help but to state "Ya, but Bismarck gave up on democracy years ago. He took more and more control of economic policies as his tenure went on. With the current policies, it is impossible for our nation to grow any further economically. Right now we are in the doldrums. Not only that, but since their are so many economic questions mounting, reforms will surely be put on the back burner."
"Eh, there was nothing wrong with the way it used to be. They're always trying to change this, and improve that. The city was a peaceful place before Bismarck. Now days, I walk down the streets and get lost, in my own damn city." There was no point in arguing with my grandfather. He was not going to open up to anything new at the wily age of 76.
I finished up dinner and said my good-byes. I was off to the tavern to celebrate the birthday of my buddy Dolf.
The pub life. Without question, Berlin does beer, and in large quantities. Since the weather here is a bit too harsh for grape growth, beer has long been a staple of German culture. Even tribal Germans were known to have had beer-drinking bouts. Dolf had a favorite tavern, which was fittingly quite seedy.
I entered into the carnival like setting, and found my group at an end table. At first sight, I could tell that the boys had already been at it for an hour or so. Dorf and I exchanged our usual obnoxious greeting. I ordered a pint of Pauliner for myself, and a Lowenbrau for deer old Dorf. He is originally from Bavaria, the home of the world’s first breuerie, and Germany's most notorious drinkers. Dorf fit the stereotype perfectly. He was loud, proud, and a regular alcoholic. I really loved the man, he was a true friend. Unfortunately, he was not a scholar by any means.
"You wouldn’t believe it, Annette is selling herself around the corner," Dorf announced. She was an old playmate of ours from childhood. The poor girl had a terrible upbringing. "I think I’ll buy her tonight." he chuckled. "You sure would you ball of filth."
Tavern life was not a glorious one. I did not like to go out often, for it was a rather depressing scene. Germany is not known for great leisure activities. I guess the creativeness gets drawn out of people after a long day at work. And that was it, Berlin was a hustle and bustle town. There was little time for self-reflection. In fact, emotions were not to be expressed, especially by men. I for one enjoy taking walks in the countryside to relax. The majority of my country mates, however, stick to traditional methods of stress release. The lower classes are especially susceptible to falling into the drunken trap. Many peasants’ sole drive was to live to drink another beer.
Taverns always seemed to bring out the pride in people, or maybe more precisely, the boo's bring out the pride. Two of my friends were having an irrelevant argument with a French man over which country was stronger. The poor, ignorant fellow was better off just agreeing, for my stubborn friends would be willing to go on for hours about German supremacy. If they couldn’t find an outside countryman, they would find a willing opponent to fight over who was more German.
In need of a more insightful conversation, I heard my friend Darrin, an intelligent Scott preaching his liberal viewpoints. "It is competitive individualism and a lack of collective values that are wrecking ties that connect people to one another." I had to admit that I had felt that way. Though we were all proud Germans, we had to compete everyday. "Money is nothing more than a new form of slavery." He was a strong proponent of many socialist ideas. "Our party understands that a revolution is inevitable. In the meantime it is important for us to cooperate with the capitalist classes. We have the same short-term goal. Once the common goal is reached, we can then begin to gradually implement socialist aspects."
Though his views were gaining popularity, the view on the other end of the spectrum was prominent in the tavern on this particular night. The nationalist minds were becoming increasingly anti-Semitic. Berlin had a decent sized Jewish population. Most came within the last 25 years, for their talents were in high demand when the city began to develop. I can recall my younger years, when Germany was not a hostile place for Jews. However, as the years have gone on, a sense of envy is brewing into hatred from non-Jews.
"It was the Jews that murdered Christ," Dorf belched out. "That's not the point. We Germans belong to a special race, you know. We have higher qualities physically and mentally." Explained a tavern regular named Oswin. Here was a man that was very charismatic, and never hesitated to voice his strong nationalistic views. "You see, it is because of these natural differences that Jews and Germans cannot coexist. Jews are the cause of most of the misery in Europe. They find ways to scam you out of your money and then keep it all to themselves. It is because of this hoarding that democracy and socialism cannot work. Not to mention the fact that they are all assholes," he continued.
Darrin leaned to my ear. "I find that many Germans are mistaken if they think they are superior, especially when it comes to attaining and managing wealth. Jews are quite simply dominant in the financial world. It frightens me to think what would happen if these Ultra nationalists were to gain political power."
The night was growing late, and the crowd was thinning, but growing rowdy with intoxication. I decided to head home. I left without saying goodbye. I avoid farewells because my friends make me feel guilty for leaving. "It’s my birthday, don’t you want to stay out all night? Who cares if you work in the morning," he would say.
As I walked past the shabby neighborhoods, I watched my step. Bands of drunk, unemployed individuals lurked in the darkness. I began to think back to my readings of Darwin and Newton’s theories. I realized that knowledge was spreading. Soon, even the members of this unfortunate community would become cognitive to these ideas. It inspired me to think of that possibility, for once our people have the power of knowledge, we will no longer stand for oppression. With more liberated society members, there will be a higher likelihood that talent will surface. With more talent, the future generations will more likely be able to answer the questions that plague our minds as human beings.
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