Heimatangst: What Does 'Home' Mean to Germans Today?
Caught between shame and longing – the search for a German identity
There's the longing for home and then there's the shame of fully committing to Germany. Jule Lobo gives this inner conflict a name – Heimatangst, or ‘home anxiety’. Speaking to her compatriots, she tries to get to the bottom of this feeling – what is home, and what is typically German? Does the perception of home still ring true, or has it long since been outdated? She explores how heavily National Socialism still weighs on the country today; how the stereotypes about East and West didn’t fall with the Berlin Wall in 1989; how German rappers feel in the land of poets and philosophers; whether kebabs are the new national dish; and which holiday destination is most German – the genteel northern island of Sylt, the Harz Mountains, or Mallorca. The search culminates in the emergence of a new image of home that may have left clichés behind – and a Germany that is looking ahead to new things.
- Profound, sensitive, funny
- Both an emotional check-in and a reality check for Germany
- A strong, young, female voice