Self-Assesment
My
project centered on the history of engineering in Germany through various facets
of the economy. I focused on the rebuilding process following the aftermath of
World War Two. Germany’s economy was brought to a complete standstill. Despite
this, companies from this nation remain top competitors in the international
market to this day.
To
begin my adventure, I boarded a United Airlines flight from Newark airport at
8pm. Seven hours later, I landed in Frankfurt, Germany. Prior to my Magellan, I
had never left the United States let alone the eastern seaboard. Therefore,
changing time zones and jetlag was uncharted territory. One can imagine my
headache and feelings of despair when the flight touched down in Frankfurt with
the sun shining. All the clocks read 9am. Meanwhile my phone, not to mention my
body, kept reminding me it was 2am back home. After I was bussed to the
terminal, I claimed my baggage, passed through passport control, and stepped
into the main section of the terminal. Up until this moment, nothing had seemed
out of place. In previous trips around home I have flown by myself, so this was
not new. However, when I looked up for the signs for the “Hauptbahnhof Flug,”
everything hit me at once. The fact I was in a foreign country by myself, with
nothing to rely on but the plans made in a dorm room back in Pennsylvania,
became very real. I had to take a couple minutes to gather myself. After
finding my train ticket, I stepped through the gate, and began my adventure.
Two
train stations later, I met my cousin Max Huth inside the Hauptbahnhof of
Cologne. Exiting the station, I walked up a set of steps to gaze upon one of
the most breathtaking sights of my entire trip. The front of the station was
made of glass windows, which revealed the massive Cologne Cathedral. This
towering monument represents the trials of recovering from World War Two. The
Cathedral is the only standing building of downtown Cologne form the pre-war
era. The rich history of reconstruction and rebuilding turned my comprehension
of the war upside. Here I was standing in a bustling metropolis in Germany,
which was once nothing but ruins.
Inspired to
learn more, I continued on to Dusseldorf, Aachen, Monchengladbach, and
Frankfurt to ascertain the industries of past and present that fuel the
country. In those cities I uncovered the history of how a nation in ruins
transformed itself back into an international economic powerhouse. It was
amazing to observe the differences of the cities and how they prospered in the
post war. Finding the answer to this daunting hypothesis was a thrilling
experience.
After observing
the reconstruction process in Cologne, I travelled to Monchengladbach to delve
into the struggling textile industry which once stimulated the city into life. The
fading of the industry as well as the city itself evinced the constant
transition the nation is in to maintain modern industries. Yet some industries
are ageless and irreplaceable such as energy and resources. I traveled past the
city limits to the abundant farms and mining fields of the German nation. My
breath was taken away by the magnificent landscapes, hills, and villages of the
countryside. The size of Germany handcuffs its ability to spread the cities and
industries over vast areas as America does. My host family laughed at me while
I asked them to explain if it were normal for one minute to be driving through
an industrial park outside of the city, only to blink and be surrounded by open
landscapes, and the next moment see the world fill with noting but dense
forest. At this moment, I understood why people say everything is bigger in
America.
My next stop of
Dusseldorf further added to the nation’s transformation from World War Two.
Dusseldorf was one of the more interesting, complex destinations of my journey.
Instead of walking around museums and reading English translations, I had to
interact with representatives of the city using my limited German language
skills. Dusseldorf today is filled with luxurious, commercial businesses
alongside a plethora of restaurants lining the Rhine River. What made this area
most remarkable was it was once one of the largest port cities in the nation. Wandering
through the plethora of markets and restaurants, I made my way to the gorgeous
view along the Rhine River. Here, I strolled through the many levels of the
Schifffart Marine Museum observing how the once prominent trading ports became
commercial icons in the city. Throughout my visits to these cities, I had to
remind myself each of the locations had once been a wasteland of ruins. Yet
today, the only reminders were pictures and history books to tell of what once
was. The perseverance and resilience of these people was amazing. Not only
cities and factories, but a whole nation was rebuilt with the dream of a
brighter future.
Up until this
point, my trip had gone smoothly. However when I arrived in Frankfurt, the
hotel incorrectly booked my stay, and I had no place to sleep. To add on to my
issue, my second host family notified me the week prior they would be coming
home late form vacation. This meant I had to extend my stay in Frankfurt to a
few days instead of just one. So I had to search for lodging online, flag down
a taxi in the late evening outside the airport train station, and make my way
to a new hotel. Fortunately, no more major issues arose, and I even had some
downtime to enjoy the commercial capital of Germany.
Frankfurt marked
the end of the first section for my Magellan in Northern Germany. To say it was
a culture shock is an understatement. It was such an amazing experience to stay
with my German relatives instead of a hostel because it exposed me to the daily
routine of a family in Monchengladbach. From the water being carbonated and
packaged in strangely shaped bottles, to using public transportation for almost
all travel, I truly felt like I was in another world. Breakfast usually
included deli sandwiches instead of eggs, bacon, or cereal. By far the most
fascinating difference to me was the layout of the cities. No city, except for
Frankfurt, contained skyscrapers. All the cities were short (in comparison to
large cities of the United States). Instead, the buildings were all built
compactly and spread out for miles in the surrounding area. Even the house I
stayed in was three stories tall but built thin in comparison to its height.
The same was to say with the backyard. It was maybe 10 or 15 feet wide, but
extended 100 feet into the back. I assumed this may be a trend only for the
northern section of Germany, but I had the same observations as I traveled to
Stuttgart and Munich for the final section of my project.
Arriving in Essingen,
Germany, I met up with the Weiland family. I initially met Luca Weiland through
my high school’s exchange program. The first two things I received when I
arrived was a warm welcome from the Wieland’s along with a notice I had to turn
my schedule upside down. One interview I scheduled fell through at the last
minute, and the second had to be pushed back a week to compensate for a last
minute vacation. Confident in my managing abilities, I rearranged my schedule
for the final two weeks to compensate for these changes. Originally, I hoped to
have most of my observations done prior to travelling to Munich, but instead I
fit them in to the final days of my stay, and travelled across Munich first.
Munich
provided an in depth look at the past and present all in one package. Walking
through the old city was a portrayal of past, present, and future Germany. With
my project focusing on the changes of one facet of the German economy, the
engineering sector, my research centered on the impact of the Nazi party. Every
place I visited had at one time been controlled by the Third Reich. But, it was
not until I arrived at Munich that I felt the effect of it. Staring at the
Glockenspeil in the center of Munich, I swapped gazes between the building in front
of me and the picture in my hand of the same structure decorated with nothing
but Nazi flags. Just a few blocks away stood the plaza where Hitler gave one of
his most famous speeches leading to the rise of the party. This experience was
bone chilling. I thought to myself how did companies suffer during the reign
and then prosper after? How does the company tell this story as part of their
history? To seek the answer, I found my way to the international headquarters
of Bavarain Motor Werks just outside of Munich.
The BMW complex included its main factory,
international headquarters, interactive museum, and showcase hall Welt (world).
Inside I found a lengthy history in the museum which detailed their rise as a
company, apologetic role in World War Two, near bankruptcy after the war, and
their rise to become a leading edge luxury company of
today. I was surprised to find how openly representatives of the company talked
about their role in the war and how they overcame it in the years after. Next
door I sought out BMW Welt to uncover how the company incorporated innovative
technology to provide not only a superior car, but a superior effect on the
world. Pacing through the numerous showcases of the powerful and luxurious line
up of cars offered, I was able to see just how far the BMW had advanced from
fixing and building motorcycles with spare parts in the years following WWII,
to producing some of the most popular vehicles across the globe. However, I did
not want my project to focus solely on the automotive sector. So, I searched
through the national archives of the Deutsches Museum (a national technological
museum) in the heart of Munich. The halls of technological achievements were
fascinating, but the answers I needed lay in one of the newest exhibits on
implications of renewable energy sources and their role in Europe. I had not
expected this to be such an eye opening experience to explain the observations
I had gathered in the first section of my trip. Looking back on my project, I
cannot say with confidence I would have drawn the same depth of detail and understanding
without this stop. But there was one more step to complete before my findings
created a complete picture.
To
complete the puzzle, I returned to Essingen, and then traveled to Stuttgart for
the rescheduled meetings. Stuttgart is home to Mercedes-Benz much like Munich
is home to BMW. Therefore, I gained an in-depth look into the history and
future of Mercedes-Benz just as I did with BMW. It helped with my
understanding, but I needed more than just speak with another company
representative in a museum and read off of exhibits. Thankfully, I was able
reschedule the interview I mentioned prior, and met up with Mr. Joern Engel,
quality control manager of AMG, the high performance division of Mercedes-Benz.
Here is where I gained a good bit of advice. If someone inquires if there a
specific place to meet for the interview, I highly recommend saying no. Why?
The interviewee may just offer to pick you up in his 612 Horsepower, 180,000
Euro Mercedes AMG 6.2 E S and conduct the interview on the Autobahn (at 180mph!).
But in all seriousness, I cannot thank Mr. Engel enough for his help. His
perspective provided the missing link of what “German Engineering” has evolved
into in the modern world. Nations cannot survive in the competitive markets of
today on their own. In order to continue to evolve, they must cooperate with
one another to grow and expand, which is an integral part of the success of
Mercedes-Benz and so many other successful companies not only within Germany,
but all of Europe. My search for the secrets of German Engineering had come to
a close.
The
experience gave me a completely different outcome then I had anticipated.
Entering my project, I figured I would leave with a general knowledge of the
history of Germany and some of their famous companies. Instead, I gained a
whole new perspective on how the different challenges of life pertain to
different outcomes within ones state. Allow me to explain. Germany’s constant
push for innovative technologies, whether it is infrastructure within cities or
the next top automotive model, comes from the ever changing needs of their
society. My perspective on the necessities of cities to provide for the needs
of a population has revealed my hubris to what the United States has. The
reason the reputation precedes “German Engineering” because the companies in
the region continue to advance their technology to compensate for the changing
needs of the citizens. This is the reason the nation incorporates new efficient
systems. They push themselves to create new technologies, and continue to
thrive no matter the era. A lesson we
can learn is that in order to continue to advance as a society, we cannot solve
the problems of just today but must look forward to the future and prepare for
what is to come next.
Of all the
amazing locations and sights I experienced, the most meaningful effect of my
Magellan was what I learned about myself. I have always been confident in my
ability to plan a trip, but I was terribly nervous about my ability to execute
it. Of all the factors on my trip my biggest fear was taking care of myself on
a budget. Especially with the difficulty of a language barrier, I dreaded
finding inexpensive places and markets to eat using my language skills. It was
difficult, but I persevered through my fears and to my own surprise, was able
to hold conversations with locals everywhere I went. I always envied others who
travelled internationally with ease, and I honestly never pictured myself being
able to accomplish the same tasks. However as I reflect on my experiences, I
realize I was more than prepared to tackle a trip across the globe. Looking
ahead to my future, I plan on applying for an internship or independent study
in the country of Germany. My research on the technological needs of the
societies of tomorrow will continue to inspire me in my efforts to succeed as a
chemical engineer. Even in my daily life, the personal experience of indulging
in a foreign country gave me a new level of respect for the various
nationalities I interact with. My Magellan trip truly changed my life by
opening doors I never considered myself capable of conquering. Today, I am a
better person and student thanks to this experience of a life time.
