Waxed Hitler
The German section of Madame Tussauds in Berlin opened the new exhibition of Adolf Hitler on Saturday, after heavy discussions had been going on about the value of such a sample. Several voices claimed before that the main purpose of the exhibition is causing sensation and making people paying the high entrance fee of around 15 to 18 EUR per person. While Madame Tussauds’ officials argue that Hitler cannot be left out of German history, the opponents see the new exhibit as »tacky«. Addressing potential criticizing, the owners of the exhibition have taken some extraordinary rules for the Hitler figure: He is shown as a »broken man«, sitting behind his desk in the »Führerbunker« during the last days of his life. A tablet shall explain his role in the WWII and the Shoah. Unlike the rest of the exhibition, it may not be touched or photographed.
But sometimes action speaks louder than words. Ten minutes after the new exhibition started on Saturday morning, the second visitor jumped over the table and tore off the »Führers« head. Madame Tussauds wants to repair the figure, more info to come. But one question remains unexplained: What is going to happen to the Hitlers in the London Madame Tussauds and in the Panoptikum in Hamburg?
10 gute Gründe gegen die Legalisierung von Prostitution
Prostitution ist sicherlich eines der umstrittensten Themen zwischen verschiedenen feministischen Organisationen und Menschen. Legalisierung wird häufig auch als Konzept gegen die konservative “Verdammung” eines alltäglichen Lebensbereiches verstanden, mit der insbesondere die involvierten Frauen als Opfer einen größeren Schutz genießen. Aber schützt die Legalisierung die Opfer oder die Täter?
Die israelische feministische Organisation Isha l’Isha (Frau zu Frau) setzt sich seit langem für Opfer von Menschenhandel und Prostitution ein. Sie haben im vergangenen Jahr unzähligen betroffenen Frauen geholfen. Ihre Arbeit basiert auf den 10 Gründen gegen eine Legalisierung von Prostitution der Coalition Against Trafficking in Women International (CATW). Hier wird insbesondere basierend auf Beispielen aus Deutschland und den Niederlanden argumentiert.
Die israelische Hotline for Migrant Workers hat eine umfassende Publikation zur Legalisierung von Prostitution entwickelt und die Auswirkungen der sehr unterschiedlichen Gesetze in Nevada/USA, Niederlande, Deutschland und Australien verglichen.
50 years of some equality
In 1957 the world was different. Gender stereotypes were – at least in the so called »Western European Countries« – at a stage we would tear our hair today. »When men were god« a German newspaper describes that time. But despite this situation, one step towards more equality was made in Germany in 1957. The civil law was changed in two important places: Coming into effect on the 1st July 1958, the »equal rights law« enabled married women to own property (in the past it became part of the husband’s property) and allowed a married women to take up a work without the admission of her husband.
Well, for us today this seems to be far away from what we can believe. But the basic duties of a wife remained in the Civil Code: »A women has to take care of the household, she can take up a job, only if it is arranged with her private duties.« The change of this legal requirement only happened in the late 1970s. But also, if we think this sounds like a story from the middle ages, we shall open our eyes and watch beyond our barriers. There are a couple of places and countries, where a woman is even not allowed to travel alone….
