My German Roots 1

My German Roots
Kendal Buckalew
UWRT 1103
February 20, 2018
My German Roots 2

I tend to think of myself as a “hodgepodge” of different nationalities. From Scotch-Irish,

to Cherokee Indian, to German- I’m it. For this prompt, I have decided to focus on my German

roots, and what these German roots entail.

The German flag consists of three horizontal stripes. The top stripe of this flag is black,

followed by a middle red stripe, and finishing with a gold stripe. This flag was established on

May 23, 1949. The colors of the flag are not random but instead have very specific meanings.

The black stripe means “out of the blackness of servitude”, the red stripe means “through bloody

battles”, and the gold stripe means “to the golden light of freedom”. These colors originated due

to the fact that these colors were used on German soldier uniforms during the Napoleonic Wars

(German Flag, 2017).

The national anthem of Germany is called “Das Lied der Deutschen” or “Song of the

Germans”. This anthem was musically composed by Joseph Haydn, an Austrian musician who

developed his inspiration from the poem “Das Lied der Deutschen”. While reading the English

translation of this poem, one can see that the country of Germany holds themselves in very high

regard compared to the rest of the world (like many other countries). For example, in one of the

stanzas of the poem it states, “Germany, Germany above everything, Above everything in the

world!” (Germany Very Easy, 2015).

In order to become a German citizen, one must have legally resided in Germany for eight

years, hold a valid Afenthaltserlaubnis permit, have a guarantee you will support yourself
My German Roots 3

without the need for welfare, have a B1 level ability of the German language, take an oath on the

German constitution, have no criminal activity convictions of the past or present, and be able to

give up their former citizenship (Just Landed, 2018).

My German Roots 4

References

German Flag, Germany Flag. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from

https://www.mapsofworld.com/flags/germany-flag.html

(2016, March 01). Citizenship. Retrieved February 20, 2018, from

http://www.justlanded.com/english/Germany/Germany-guide/visas-permits/citizenship

GermanVeryEasy.com: The Free Online German Course. Retrieved February 20, 2018,
from https://www.germanveryeasy.com/