Multifarious German Facts Trivia Quiz

Answer: Polar bear

Knut was a polar bear. At birth he was rejected by his mother Tosca. Zookeeper Thomas Dorflein took care of him for several months, and Knut attracted large crowds - even when he was no cute cub any more, but a polar bear of over 100 kg. In March 2011 Knut suddenly had convulsions, fell into the pool and drowned.

A necropsy showed no clear reason why - it was only after a while that scientists discovered that Knut had suffered an autoimmune form of encephalitis, a brain infection. The other animals were popular species in various Belgian zoos. Gust the gorilla was for many years the "star" of the Antwerp zoo. Kai Mook the elephant was an attraction in the Mechlin zoo Planckendael. And the giant panda Tian Bao was born in 2016 in the Walloon zoo Pairi Daiza.

Answer: Schleswig - Holstein

List has only about 1,500 permanent inhabitants and thus is quite small. And yet it is subdivided into five hamlets. List was first mentioned as a Danish settlement in 1292 but became part of Prussia (the precursor of the united Germany) in 1864.
For such a small village, List attracts quite a lot of tourists: almost 40% of the total inhabitants are tourists. One of the interesting economic ventures in List is an oyster farm - the only oyster farm in Germany.
Oberstdorf in Bavaria is known as the most southern place in Germany. Selfkant in Nordrhein - Westfalen is the most western point. And Görlitz in Saxony is the most eastern city in Germany. These four rather small communities have joined (touristic) forces in the Zipfelbund. There is also the Zipfelpass: a special souvenir for those who have spent at least one night in each of these four extreme points of Germany.

Answer: Die Wende

After World War II, Germany was divided into four occupation zones. The French, British and American occupation zone rapidly fused into the Bundesrepublik Deutschland (German Federal Republic), but the Russian occupation zone (Deutsche Demokratische Republik - German Democratic Republic) stayed apart for many years. Distrust between East and West grew so high that it led to the closure of the borders by way of the Iron Curtain and (in Berlin, an enclave in West Germany) the erection of the Berlin Wall.
1989 saw the end of all this and the start of the event called "Die Wende" (literally: "the turning point"). Hungary and Czechoslovakia relaxed the border controls, and an opposition party in East-Germany rapidly assembled 100,000 members and more. Weekly protest marches in various East-German cities were supported by the Church, and the government hesitated to oppress these movements, fearing a condemnation by the Polish Pope John Paul II.
On the evening of November 9, 1989 the East German government held a press conference that was live broadcast all over Germany. At the end of this press conference the spokesman (Gunter Schabowski) misinterpreted the new legislation and bluntly stated that East German people could ask for a permit to travel towards West Germany "sofort" - instantaneously. Large crowds crossed the borders and were welcomed by West Germans.
Die Wende continued: the Berlin Wall was demolished in the following weeks, the communist government of East Germany resigned, the exchange rate between East German mark and West German mark was fixed at 1 to 1, and finally on October 3, 1990 the two German countries were reunited into one.
Der Dolchstoss was the nickname militarist Germans gave to the Treaty of Versailles. Literally it means "the stab with the dagger".
Das Turmerlebnis (literally "the towering event") refers to the decisive moment when Martin Luther broke with the Roman Catholic Church and started a new version of Christian belief.
Der Kulturkampf ("the cultural war") refers to the later part of Bismarck's rule in Prussia at the end of the Nineteenth Century. After having reunited the hundreds of small German states under Prussian control, Bismarck decided to get rid of all internal forces that might cause a splitting. The Roman Catholic Church was a specific target.

Answer: Der Zauberberg

All these novels were written by the German author Thomas Mann (1875-1955), who also wrote the novella "Der Tod in Venedig" (1912, "Death in Venice"). He won the Nobel prize for literature in 1929.
In "Der Zauberberg" (1924, "The Magic Mountain") we meet the aforesaid characters: all admitted to the Berghof, a sanatorium in Switzerland because of lung diseases (mostly tuberculosis). Castorp wants to visit his cousin Ziemssen, but shortly after arriving in the Berghof, he is diagnosed with tuberculosis. Castorp and the other patients have lengthy discussions about seemingly superfluous themes, but each character is likened to a certain idea or ideology. For instance Settembrini is likened to humanism, while Naphta embraces communist ideas.
"Buddenbrooks" (1901, translated with the subtitle "Decline of a Family") follows four generations of the family Buddenbrook.
"Doktor Faustus" (1947) is a transposition of the famous Faust legend to the German Nazi empire. Characters are Adrian Leverkühn (a modern Faust) and his college friend Serenus Zeitblom, the narrator of the story.
"Lotte in Weimar" (1939) retells Goethe's story "Das Leiden der jungen Werther" (1774, "The Sorrows of Young Werther"). But it is Charlotte Kestner née Buff who plays the main role, and not her young lover Johann Wolfgang von Goethe whom she meets again after having married someone else.

Answer: Diane Kruger

Diane Kruger was born in Germany as Diana Heidkruger in 1976. She studied ballet, but had to quit because of an injury. In 1992 she took up modelling, but stopped this part of her career when she turned to acting in 2002.
Diane Kruger speaks fluent French and English, and she has a triple nationality: German (by birth), French and American.
Her first main role was Helen in Wolfgang Petersen's epic "Troy" (2004). In 2005 and 2007 she played the museum curator Abigail Chase in "National Treasure" and "National Treasure 2: Book of Secrets".
One of her most remarkable roles was Bridget von Hammersmarck in "Inglourious Basterds" (2009).
In the French production "Les adieux à la reine" (2012, "Farewell , My Queen") Kruger played queen Marie-Antoinette, but it was Léa Seydoux who played the main role: a servant to the queen, specialized in reading to her.
Kirsten Dunst (born 1982) is American-German. She played Marie-Antoinette in the eponymous 2006 movie by Sophia Coppola.
Michèle Morgan (1920-2016) was a French actress. She played Marie-Antoinette in "Marie-Antoinette, reine de France" (1956).
Norma Shearer (1902-1983) played the role of Marie-Antoinette in 1938 ("Marie Antoinette").

Answer: Johann Sebastian Bach

"Das Wohltemperierte Klavier" ("The Well-Tempered Clavier") is a set of two books, both containing 24 preludes and fugues for organ - one in each key. Bach published a first book in 1722 and a second one in 1742. His influence on later musicians through these books is undeniable.
JS Bach was born in 1685 and died in 1750. He created over 1,000 compositions, many of them for keyboard (harpsichord, clavichord or organ).
Telemann (1681-1767) was another prolific German composer. He is best known for his table music: chamber music designed to play while a banquet is served.
Pachelbel (1653-1706) intended to leave a collection of music spanning all keys. His Canon in D is still well known.
Händel (1685-1759) was a prolific composer born in Germany. He settled in England in 1712, where he created most of his compositions. The best known of his works are compositions for full orchestra, choir and solo vocalists: oratorios, cantatas and operas.

Answer: Konrad Adenauer

In 1949, West Germany adopted the form of a federal state with a President (mostly for ceremonial functions) and a Chancellor (the real head of the government). The first Chancellor was Konrad Adenauer.
Born in 1876, Adenauer had already held several political functions (including the position of Mayor of Cologne from 1917 until 1933). In 1949, Adenauer's party the CDU ("Christlich-Demokratischer Union") became the largest party in the first post-war elections in West Germany. The Bundestag (federal parliament) chose Adenauer as the first chancellor. He remained in function until 1963.
Ludwig Erhard (1897-1977) succeeded Adenauer for one term, until 1966. The third Chancellor was Kurt Kiesinger (1904-1988), again for one term only. Willy Brandt (1913-1992) was Chancellor from 1969 until 1974. He was followed by Helmut Schmidt (1918-2015), who stayed in office from 1974 until 1982.

Answer: Saint Boniface

Saint Boniface (675-754) was born in England as Winfrid. He became a priest and started missionary work in Friesland (Frisia) and the northern parts of Germany around 716.
Boniface is best known for his courage to chop down the oak dedicated to Donar, the father of the Germanic gods (similar to Odin in Norse mythology and Jupiter in Roman myth). The Germanic tribes were convinced that this oak was protected by their supreme god himself, and anyone who dared touch it would die instantaneously. But Boniface took up his axe, started chopping at the tree, and (according to the hagiography dedicated to Boniface) a strong gust of wind did the rest: the tree fell down, split in four parts that formed a cross.
In 754 Boniface and his companions were attacked by a wandering gang, and he gladly welcomed death at their hands. Saint Boniface is remembered on June 5, the day he died.
Other patron saints of Germany include Saint George (who also patronizes England), Saint Nicholas (also the patron saint of Greece and Russia) and Saint Michael (also the patron saint of Belarus and Vatican City).
Saint Casimir is one of the patron saints of Poland. Saint Joseph is one of the patron saints of Belgium. And Saint Florian is one of the patron saints of Austria.

Answer: Equestrianism

Werth was born in 1969. She started a sports career in equestrianism, especially dressage. Her first appearance at the Olympics was in 1992 in Barcelona, where she won her first two medals. She further won two medals each in 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016. At each of the aforesaid games she claimed a medal in the individual competition and gold in the team competition. No wonder she is nicknamed the dressage queen.
The first German athlete to win twelve Olympic medals was Birgit Fischer. She competed in canoeing.
Claudia Pechstein won nine Olympic medals in speed skating between 1992 and 2006.
Kornelia Ender was the most successful swimmer of East Germany. She won a total of eight medals in the Olympic Games of 1972 and 1976.

Answer: Tatort

Because of the many broadcast companies that develop "Tatort" together, its stories are not confined to one single city as are most Krimis. Various investigators in various cities solve complicated murder cases. Each episode is filmed in the respective city, with attention to the local dialect. Episodes have been shot for instance in Berlin, Cologne, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich, but also in Bern (Switzerland) and in Vienna (Austria). "Tatort" was the first German Krimi to start a fiftieth season, a quite unusual feat for crime series.
The title of the TV series is the German word for "crime scene".
"Derrick" and "Der Alte" were two Krimis situated in Munich. "Derrick" ran from 1974 until 1988, "Der ALte" started in 1977. "Ein Fall fur Zwei" (started in 1981) had Frankfurt am Main as backdrop to the stories.