The Rheinheitsgebot, or German Purity Law, is the oldest law pertaining to the safety of Bier. Originally placed in the lawbooks in 1516, there are still a few breweries around today that still follow the provisions set forth. However, my friends, as with all things pertaining to deutsche Gesetze (german laws) there is always more that lies beneath the bureaucracy. This weekend I discovered a little law called das Geheimnisbiergradausteilungsundschutzvonauslanderngesetz von April 1945. Ready for the English translation? Secret Beer Grade Distribution and Protection from Foreigners Law of April 1945. In the turmoil this little law pertaining to beer drew little notice from the public. There were, after all, larger problems at hand.

The locals do not talk about it. Nor do they respond in kind when you approach them in an academic fashion thanks to its horrible origins. My discovery of this secret came only through months of infiltration. I have spent months at a local Kneipe (pub). I believe my blonde hair, blue eyes, and improved grasp of the german language when drinking led the barkeep to believe I was one of them. When only regulars were sitting around the bar in the early morning hours, he offered me something unnexpected when I asked him what was good. He replied, “Möchtest du etwas anders probieren? Vielleicht *ein Ultrabier* diese Runde für dich?” The way he said *ein Ultrabier* made it irresistable. Little did I know, what I was truly in for.

One sip of the amber and I was removed from all inhibition. German unity and its implications were suddenly made completely clear. The cited works of Goethe, Schiller, Herder, and other great german authors flooded out of my previously uncultured mouth. Melodies composed by Mozart, Beethoven, and Haydn were played with ease through my fingers. The intricacies of the subjunctives, a stumbling block for many the german and german studying student alike, made perfect sense. This was Ultrabier. This was their great secret.

While the Ultraalkohol of Ultrabier worked its way through every corpuscle in my body, I was able to learn of another secret brew. It is called Omnibier, and it is only drunk by those who have tasted no other alcohol stemming from outside the borders of Germany. Omnibier is so potent that it is only legally allowed to be consumed as the last drink of those that are dying. Witnesses say that once consumed, the fate of all who they have come into contact with during their lifetime is made known, and is the last thing the person sees before they die. First-hand accounts state that the smile that comes to their face cannot be removed even post mortum.

My liver and kidneys did their job purging the Ultraalkohol from my system. In a yellow stream, all that I had sung, cited, and debated over had disappeared in a haze. My amazing ability to craft the most complex sentences in german disappeared. Forget Absinthe, Ultrabier is my new love.

Dieser Tag zeigt das Thermometer 32 Grad. Für die Amerikaner, dass bedeutet ungefähr 90 Grad Fahrenheit. Ich machte den Fehler, nach die Uni mit meinem Fahrrad zu fahren. Und jetzt bin ich mit Schwitze voll gesattigt. Ich brauche eine Düsche, aber ich glaube meinen Blützuckerwert niedrig ist.  Ich bin voll überzeugt, dass  Erdwärmung existiert. Ich erinnere mich nicht von einem Mai so warm. Diese ganze Woche will heiß sein. Hoffentlich ist dieses Wochenende auch schön, weil ich die Lust Köln zu sehen habe, aber ich hoffe nicht so heiß. Leider muss ich zuerst alle meine Hausaufgabe machen.

A few kilometers outside of Weimar, in the forest of the Ettersberg, is field of rubble and stone. Concrete spires with the remains of barbed-wire are visible on all sides but one. The far side of the field has been reclaimed by the surrounding flora. The main gate that overlooks this field of rubble has a clock on its tower eternally frozen at 3:15, the moment of liberation. KL-Buchenwald at that moment ceased its existence as an extermination camp and was entered into evidence for future generations of just how cruel humans can be. The main gate of KL-Buchenwald still bears the phrase “Jedem des Seine” (to each their own). The gate also used to have a sign that said “Recht oder Unrecht – Mein Vaterland” (right or wrong – my fatherland).

There were three things at the camp that struck an unnerving chord. The first is a measuring stick in a “clinic” where prisoners were told to stand. Believing that only their hight was being measured the prisoner would oblige. A shot would barrel through their skull a moment later. Behind the measuring bar was a slot, where an SS officer with a gun would stand, and shoot through the slot. The officer would never face his victim. The victim would never see it coming.

The second element was the zoo enclosure for bears placed directly next to the outside of the camp. It was installed to improve morale among the SS officers working in the camp. It also served as a reminder to the prisoners. The prisoners in the camp were treated worse than the bears who lived outside the camp. They were less than human. They were less than animals to the Nazi regime.

Being 60+ years removed from this event and only experiencing it in an academic way made it difficult to truly connect with this event. The last item on the guided tour is a steel memorial embedded into the ground. It bears the names of all the countries who had victims perish in the camp. It is a rather unassuming monument until it is touched. The monument is heated to 98.3 degrees Fahrenheit and kept constant. It is the temperature of the human body. All that transpired within the camp suddenly came to en epoch, a grim realization that though these people are dead, they live on in the hearts and memories of others. It was extremely difficult to stay composed.

As promised I have posted my full collection of Konzentrationslager-Buchenwald photos.