Übung 5

Answer

As well as helping you to record important information, note-taking under specific headings as in this activity is a useful technique that will help you check your understanding of the main points.

1. Dyke-building over the centuries:

   • crucial activity throughout the centuries, was always a matter of life or death;

   • oldest dykes date from eleventh century;

   • those dykes provided protection only in summer;

   • in winter they could not contain the floods;

   • from thirteenth century onwards so-called winter dykes were built;

   • these protected larger areas all year round.

2. Heathen customs:

   • animals and humans were sacrificed to protect dykes;

   • example of baby that was sacrificed can be seen in museum.

3. Flood of 1962:

   • dyke gave way;

   • debris from dyke was slung against house walls, walls gave way;

   • whole row of houses had to be cleared to shore up dyke;

   • children were sent home from school;

   • situation was very threatening.

4. East Frisian character:

   • home-loving people (‘rooted in the soil’), don't like to be moved;

   • rather cold and distant but with dry sense of humour (rather like English sense of humour);

   • local communities very important to them, like to celebrate and keep local customs alive.

5. Interrelationship between landscape and the East Frisian character:

   • very distinct group of people with their own way of life, result of barren landscape;

   • large meadows, open landscape, causing solitary/isolated existence with little communication and some loss of social skills.