German

In a small cemetery at Fort Meade, the base's installation commander and others will gather tomorrow in a section of 33 graves for a tradition of commemoration that dates back at least three decades. But the fallen soldiers they will honor fought not for America, but against it. They were Germans fighting for the Nazis - and they were among thousands of Axis prisoners of war held in Maryland during World War II. The annual ceremony - planned in conjunction with Germany's Day of Mourning, akin to Memorial Day - is organized by Fort Meade authorities at the request of the German Embassy.

I read with interest James Maxeiner's op-ed, "The Bavarian case for registering guns" (April 28) in The Sun. Mr. Maxeiner advocates for the licensing of gun owners and registration of firearms, what he calls "sensible regulations on firearms. " He rationalized that if Bavarians "...accept that they must be licensed to own and operate their Ultimate Driving Machines, so too do they accept, without objection, that they must be licensed to own and shoot firearms," so should the citizens of the United States.

DURBAN, South Africa — The World Cup semifinal Wednesday between Spain and Germany is a rematch of the last European Championship title game. But that's where the similarities end — at least on the German side. "Two years later for us there are many changes while the Spaniards are similar," German coach Joachim Loew said Tuesday. Loew took over the German team after the last World Cup, where Germany finished third. "We have made progress in the style of football we play and the results we get," he said.

Besides drinking beer, there are two other pastimes that Bavarians love: driving and sport-shooting, including hunting. Bavarians build BMW's "Ultimate Driving Machines. " Bavarians' national dress is hunter green. No one who visits Munich is likely to miss the German Hunting and Fishing Museum in the middle of the main shopping street. When in Munich, I saw the world's best-known opera devoted to shooting and hunting, Carl Maria von Weber's " Der Freischütz " ("The Marksman"), with its unforgettable Hunters' Chorus singing, "What on earth can equal the pleasure of hunting?"

On November 2, 2005 MARLENE GERMAN, of Elkridge, MD, beloved daughter of Muriel Eaton, loving mother of Tracie Aorilio and husband James, Terri Goodrich and husband Dave, and Dale and Shelley German; grandmother of James, Jonathan, Jacie, David, Krystal and Karlene. She is also survived by her sisters, Linda Baier and Sandy Dennison and her brothers, David and Howard Eaton. She was preceded in death by her husband, William Dale German, Sr., her father, Delbert Eaton, Sr., and her brother, Delbert Eaton, Jr. Relatives and friends are invited to call at the GARY L. KAUFMAN FUNERAL HOME AT MEADOWRIDGE MEMORIAL PARK, INC, 7250 Washington Blvd.

On January 21, 2005, FREDERICK A. "Ricky" GERMAN, III; devoted son of Frederick A. "Cricket" German, Jr. and the late Donna J. German; dear brother of Shawn P. German and his wife Michele E.; cherished uncle of Michael, Riley and Emilie German. Friends may call at the family owned Evans Chapel of Memories - Parkville on Tuesday 7 to 9 PM. Services and Interment will be private.

BERLIN -- Gangs of German youths are harassing Polish travelers at crossing points to Germany in circumstances that are causing concern among German officials about the rising level of abuse of foreigners in the regions that were once East Germany.

On May 17, 2004 PEGGY LOU GERMAN beloved wife of the late Paul G. German, Sr.; devoted mother of Suzanne Duncan and her husband Bill, Paul G. German, Jr. and Beth, Karen Heier and her husband Richard; dear grandmother of Christopher, Kelly and Kendyll Heier, Garrett and Jo Anna German; loving sister of James and Sally Bloom. Friends may call at the Ruck Towson Funeral Home, Inc., 1050 York Road (Beltway Exit 26A) on Thursday from 10 until 12 at which time funeral services will be held. Interment private.

Clarence E. German, who retired in 1968 as a Baltimore police lieutenant colonel and as head of the force's Criminal Investigation Division, died Tuesday at a hospital in Camp Hill, Pa., after a heart attack.He was 85 and had lived in Mechanicsburg, Pa., since 1979.Services for Colonel German were being held today at Mount Olivet United Methodist Church in Mechanicsburg.He is survived by his wife, the former Elizabeth Fry; a sister, Gladys Shawker of Gaithersburg; a nephew, Alvin German Jr. of Columbia; and a niece, Norma Jordan of Arbutus.

When Johannes Brahms set about composing a requiem to commemorate his mother, he aimed for something that was more about comforting than crying, more about coming to terms than fretting about whatever judgment might await the dead. The result, "Ein Deutsches Requiem" ("A German Requiem"), is one of the glories of the choral repertoire, one of Brahms' most personal and affecting pieces. Melinda O'Neal, in her final concert as artistic director of the Handel Choir of Baltimore, conducted an impressive performance of the Requiem Sunday afternoon that communicated its bittersweet lyricism and the ingenious cohesion of its architectural shape.

The National German Exam is given each January to more than 25,000 high school students across the nation. Harford Christian School students regularly score in the higher percentiles and this year was no exception. Ten of the 20 HCS students taking the national exam scored in the top 20 percent. Five finished in the top 10 percent. High scorers were Ann Cornwell, Lysette Druyor, John Wilson, Leah Edwards, Caroline Harris, Shaune Young, Patti Lynn Good, Sue Edwards and Nicole Neidhardt and Conner Smith.

German wine. It's one of the most magical wines on earth. It is delicate yet full-flavored. Aromatic, yet firmly chiseled. Like scrimshaw, it is etched. Unfortunately, so many of its low-end offerings still give the entire category a bad name. German wine is not sugar water. Far from it. And the good stuff is not coming at you at $10 a bottle. Take the Donnhoff Estate Riesling Trocken 2011, Pfalz ($23) The nose is all talc, delicate and slightly pollen. On the palate there is jasmine.

Maggi Uhland was happy on Tuesday that she decided to pursue German at South Carroll High School. "It is a lot easier than Spanish and a lot more fun," the 14-year-old freshman said, of the language. "And we can choose to come here. " Uhland was one of more than 1,000 students from around the county, state, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C., to participate in German-American Day at McDaniel College in Westminster on Oct. 16. Now in its 18th year, the day focuses on German culture and history through workshops and lectures that discuss everything from German fairy tales and music to chilling survivors' tales of the Holocaust and anti-Hitler resistance movements during World War II. Among those was Rubin Sztajer, of Baltimore, a Polish Jew who told students of his experiences as a Holocaust survivor who endured the Warsaw Ghetto and Nazi concentration camps.

Amid all the beer and sauerkraut, all the wurst and schnitzel and strudel of every kind, 6-year-old E.J. Johnson was the clear hit of the 112th German Festival on Sunday. That's what happens when you don a brand-new Tyrolean hat and lederhosen and dance nonstop to a steady succession of polkas and oom-pah tunes. In fact, when you're that busy, there's not much time to talk, or to contemplate. Asked what he liked best about the festival, E.J. flashed a gap-toothed grin, said simply, "dancing," and continued clapping and swaying to the rhythm.

Supposedly, an estimated 10 percent of Americans can trace their ancestry back to the Mayflower. Not surprisingly, former President George W. Bush - son of a president, grandson of a U.S. senator, first offspring produced by the marriage of the blueblooded Bush and Walker families - is a Mayflower descendant. President Barack Obama's roots go almost that deep: He is a descendant of Thomas Blossom, who arrived in Plymouth Colony less than a decade after the Mayflower landed. America's two most recent presidents are distant cousins.

Karl Max Jenkins, a former German merchant mariner who jumped ship in Baltimore and later became a stationary engineer and building superintendent, died Saturday of heart failure at Oak Crest Village retirement community. The former longtime Lauraville resident was 104. "He was an old salt and a walking history book," said Frank G. Lidinsky, a Baltimore attorney who was Mr. Jenkins' personal representative and friend for more than two decades. "He was a smart and engaging guy. " He was born Karl Max Jeglinski (a name which was later changed to Jenkins when he served in the U.S. Army)

I recently came across a local newspaper headline from May 18, 1945, noting, "German Prisoners For Farm Work. " The idea that Carroll County was the home of German prisoners of war during World War II was nothing new to me. I had heard many oral histories, tall tales and folklore passed down from previous generations about German POWs in Westminster during the war. The combination of our heritage of German settlers — mostly in the northern...