*This is a persiflage on Goethe's poem Wanderers Nachtlied (Wanderer's Nightsong). Below, you will find the full text of the poem.
Red Baron remembers his school days when the teacher casually mentioned the
oak tree, and I trumpeted in class: Die Deutsche Eiche. She told me
that she would teach me about the German Oak, and she really did. Oh, that's
history.
The positive development of oak trees is not mirrored in the case of beech trees, for which the status of the tree tops has dramatically deteriorated. On the other hand, today, 11.4 million hectares (28.2 million acres) of Germany's surface is covered by wood, which is one million more than in 1980. Thanks to the built-in filters in coal-fired power stations, the sulfur contamination of the soil has decreased from up to 30 kilograms per hectare per year to one-tenth of its original value. Today, it is no longer the acid rain that stresses trees, but instead climate change.
The new enemies of Germany's trees are bark beetles, oak processionary caterpillars, and other invasive pests that are migrating north in response to climate change. As one expert said, the situation with the forests is not life-threatening, but we should keep a close eye on it.
Be assured: more than 150 million German eyes will be watching.
Wanderers Nachtlied
Style censors will teach you that adjectives are verbiage and evil. I'm curious whether Goethe had this rule in mind when he wrote Wanderer's Nightsong on the wall of a wooden cabin on the evening of September 6, 1780. No adjectives! Some Germanists regard Wanderers Nachtlied as the most perfect German poem, although, as you already know, it is not the most popular one.
**
With this title, Germany's news magazine Der Stern stoked German
angst about the woods dying in 1981. Nothing is more dramatic for a German than Waldsterben:
Erst stirbt der Wald, dann stirbt der Mensch (When forests die,
men/women will follow).
What has happened since 1981? Have the trees died? Recently, several
newspapers have taken up the topic. There is good news concerning oak
trees. While in 2012, 50% of their tree-tops were sick, the figure
dropped to 36% in 2014. Germany's agricultural minister commented on the positive trend:
>Es ist schön, sagen zu können: Viel Laub auf Deutschlands Eichen
(It is nice to be able to say: Much foliage on Germany's oaks).
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| Damaged fur trees in the Harz Mountains near Goslar (©dpa) |
The German Oak was named the Tree of the Year in 2014. As a national symbol,
it figured and still figures on German coins.
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Following the Second World War, the German people had hope for a new
currency. Planting an oak tree on a 50 pfennig coin (©Wikipedia/Raphael) |
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The positive development of oak trees is not mirrored in the case of beech trees, for which the status of the tree tops has dramatically deteriorated. On the other hand, today, 11.4 million hectares (28.2 million acres) of Germany's surface is covered by wood, which is one million more than in 1980. Thanks to the built-in filters in coal-fired power stations, the sulfur contamination of the soil has decreased from up to 30 kilograms per hectare per year to one-tenth of its original value. Today, it is no longer the acid rain that stresses trees, but instead climate change.
The new enemies of Germany's trees are bark beetles, oak processionary caterpillars, and other invasive pests that are migrating north in response to climate change. As one expert said, the situation with the forests is not life-threatening, but we should keep a close eye on it.
Be assured: more than 150 million German eyes will be watching.
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| Healthy deer in healthy Taunus woods (©dpa) |
Wanderers Nachtlied
Style censors will teach you that adjectives are verbiage and evil. I'm curious whether Goethe had this rule in mind when he wrote Wanderer's Nightsong on the wall of a wooden cabin on the evening of September 6, 1780. No adjectives! Some Germanists regard Wanderers Nachtlied as the most perfect German poem, although, as you already know, it is not the most popular one.
My mentor and lecturer, Professor James Steakley, introduced me to Henry W. Longfellow's beautiful English translation.
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Über allen Gipfeln Ist Ruh, In allen Wipfeln Spürest du Kaum einen Hauch; Die Vögelein schweigen im Walde. Warte nur, balde Ruhest du auch |
O'er the hill-tops Is quiet now, In all the tree-tops Hearest thou Hardly a breath; The birds are asleep in the trees: Wait, soon like these Thou too shalt rest. |
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