Halloween Activity 1 PRINT VERSION
Halloween Activities for German

From German Language at About.com - http://german.about.com/

Also see: Halloween in Germany + Halloween Glossary

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Aktivitäten/Aktivities

• Halloween Graveyard Tour (below)
• Halloween Tombstone Project
• German Halloween Song
• Goethe: 'Totentanz' ('Dance of Death')

   Halloween Graveyard Tour

No, it's not as gruesome as it sounds! This is a virtual graveyard tour to find the final resting place of some famous Germans, Austrians, and German Swiss—and to learn more about the cemeteries and the persons buried in them. We'll help you with some guidance and some Web tools.

Conrad Veidt, 1893-1943
Who is he and where
can you find this urn?
FOTO: Hyde Flippo

Our search for famous German-speakers will take us to graveyards all around the world. Karl Marx, for example, was born in Germany, but he's not buried there. Do you know where his remains rest in peace? Do you know much about his claim to fame? Where is the "Red Baron" (Manfred von Richthofen) of WWI fame buried? (Hint: He was buried three times!) That's the goal of this project: to not only learn about some famous and not-so-famous Germanic types but also where they're buried.

My own fascination with actual graveyard tours began in Berlin, when I happened to visit two cemeteries. (Berlin has literally hundreds of Friedhöfe; there's even a special Web site devoted to them.) In one Berlin Friedhof I found Marlene Dietrich's grave. In another I found my own great-grandfather's grave. Since then, my wife and I have enjoyed visiting the graveyards of the famous in Austria, California, England, Germany, and elsewhere.

This Halloween Graveyard Tour will introduce you to at least three cemeteries where three famous German-speakers have their graves. You will learn something about the cemetery as well as the person resting there.

See the instructions for this activity below.

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The Activity

Web version of this activity from About.com

Instructions - Unlike the similar tombstone activity, this project concentrates on the cemeteries where famous people have found their final resting place (die letzte Ruhe). You still need to find out something about the person, but the focus is more on the cemetery, the grave, and its location. Here are the steps required for Activity 1:

1. Find and select three different cemeteries where a famous person born in German Europe is buried. Use the Web and other resources to do this.

2. If available, print out a photo (or make a copy of a photo) of the grave/gravemarker for each of the three people you selected. Don't forget to give proper photo credits!

3. Draw out your own version of the person's tombstone or grave marker, including this information (in German): (a) full name, (b) date and location of birth and death, (c) burial place (not always where the person died!), (d) either a real epitaph or one you make up for that person (keep it short).

4. On a standard sheet of paper, provide historic and other interesting facts about each cemetery in German. Are any other famous people (German or not) buried there? (See our resource links!)

5. In German, list at least two things you learned that you find most interesting (for either the person or the cemetery).

NOTE: It does not matter in which country the cemetery is located, but the person must have been born in Austria, Germany, German Switzerland, or any other German-speaking country.

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How do you find the people and the graves? You can start with our list of resources and Web search engines (don't forget Google.de!), but you also should use your school or local library for reference materials in print (encyclopedias, periodicals, etc.) and other media resources (CD-ROM, microfiche, etc.).

For vocabulary help, see our special Graveyard Glossary!

NEXT > Graveyard Tour Resources (for Activity 1)

MORE > Halloween in Germany

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Related Pages

Famous Austrians, Germans, German-Swiss
A list of the famous and less-famous to give you some choices for your search.

Epitaphe - Grabinschriften
An introduction to German and other epitaphs.

German and Other Inventors/Discoverers
A list of many inventors and discoverers. Who invented the track shoe or the first programmable digital computer?

Graveyard Glossary
A special German-English dictionary of terms you may find in your graveyard search.

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More Customs and Traditions
A month-by-month guide to German celebrations.

NEXT > November (Martinstag, Thanksgiving)