Giving beer a home in the Rhineland

Giving beer a home in the Rhineland - The Local

Lonely Star State- Texas Germans Dwindling

http://www.thelocal.de/lifestyle/20110704-36063.html

Poland: WWII death toll and current population

Fact: The population of Poland is around 38 million. The World War II toll on Poland was a staggering 6 million-including 3 million Jews slaughtered in the Nazi death camps. At present, more than 98 percent of the people are Poles, with small groups of Ukrainians, Belorussians, Germans, Slovaks and Lithuanians.- courtesy of Polandforvisitors.com

Bruderszaft...a Polish toasting tradition

Did you know? In Poland, "Bruderszaft" is a fraternal toast, a sealing of comradeship and declining it can be seen as an insult. Relationships become more cordial after this ceremony and people graduate to using first name of each other. ...Bruderszaft is two people raising toasts simultaneously with arms interlocked and downing their drinks together. Then the ceremonial kisses on the cheek follow. Would love to hear if any of you have any memories of your grandparents or great grandparents doing this. Please post your stories.

What is "Slavic" or to be a "Slav" anyway?

The Slavic (Slav) people are a race that descends from Indo-European roots that once shared a common language as well as area of descent. Today, the majority of Slavic people or Slavs live in Central and Eastern Europe. Slavic populations are particularly concentrated in Russia, the Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Croatia, Bosnia, Slovenia, the Republic of Macedonia, and Montenegro.

Today their language roots and geographical locations are divided into West, East and South Slavic, further dividing the Slavic people. Those from a particular group tend to speak the language accorded to that area. Of course, with modern immigration, there are many of Slavic descent living throughout the world, so it becomes more difficult to specifically define a “Slavic” people, according to language.

The Slavic people are thought to possibly have inhabited parts of Germany at one point, before migrating eastward, southward and northward in the sixth century. The first Slavic state was recognized in the seventh century and was ruled by Samo, who was not in fact, of Slavic origin. However, he supported the Slavic people in fighting oppression by the Avar rulers. This state was located in Moravia, a region now within the borders of the Czech Republic.