Many of the people reading this blog who do not speak German might be a bit confused by the title. Well, it means “The Land of Poets and Thinkers,” which is a self-given nickname for the country of Germany. Many famous cultural icons have come from Germany, producing popular philosophical teachings, useful scientific realizations, and prevalent musical works that practically everyone can hum along to upon hearing them.
First of all, to get a nice little tune stuck in your head as you read the rest of this post, check out this link and listen to a little bit of Canon in D, also known as Pachelbel’s Canon. The piece should sound especially familiar around the 1:42 mark.
Although Johann Pachelbel is the eponymous composer of this classical work, he is responsible for hundreds of other musical pieces as well. He was born in Nuremburg, Germany in the 1600s, and then continued to spend much of his life there during his education, musical writing, organ playing at churches, and his eventual death at age 52. Pachelbel had a large influence on other composers in the Baroque period, especially Johann Sebastian Bach, who is also a German composer.
In addition to providing a decent amount of substance to the classical music culture, Germany has also produced brilliant scientists who served as catalysts in the progression of physics and technology. Albert Einstein was born in the late 1800’s in Wurttemberg, Germany, but spent most of his childhood in Munich. Now, be honest. When you read the word Einstein, what words did your mind immediately throw at you? Something like “genius” or “brilliant” and possible “science expert?” None of these are far off. Throughout his studies, Einstein discovered many scientific theories and explanations that proved to be monumental realizations for modern physics and quantum mechanics. He is most well known for his Theory of Relativity and his equation for mass and energy equation, e=mc^2. Einstein received the 1921 Nobel Prize in Physics. He died in New Jersey at age 76.
These are just two of the many influential people who came from Germany. Use the link below to see a list of others. Either way, it is hard to deny the fact that Germany is indeed a land of thinkers, given the discoveries and cultural icons that the country has produced.
Written By: Greg Leon
Related Links:
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/DichterAndDenker