was called the Lion of Judah by New York City parks commissioner Henry Stern The sexologist’s giggly roar was redolent of accents from her own life trajectory: German, Hebrew, Swiss, French, and finally American. Her eventual life and career triumphs were examples of what the French Jewish neuropsychiatrist Boris Cyrulnik analyzed as resilience like Westheimer’s German Jewish mishpocheh Part of Westheimer’s survival strategy was to not dwell on the profound tragedies in her life as a German Jewish woman. A 1987 coauthored memoir offered surprisingly little of a personal nature and only for the 2019 documentary film Ask Dr. Ruth did she visit Yad Vashem Israel’s memorial to Holocaust victims to find out precise information about when and where her parents were killed Born Karola Ruth Siegel in Karlstadt am Main Westheimer found fortitude in a maxim from her Orthodox Jewish grandmother “Trust in God,” even if this approach did not work for Bubbe during the Holocaust Westheimer only survived because she was shipped to a Swiss orphanage just before the war with a few dozen other German Jewish children and grew up there like a Jewish Jane Eyre who may have empathized with her because of her diminutive stature and effervescent personality and Westheimer always saw being small as a positive attraction when she received an honorary doctorate from Ben-Gurion University of the Negev and in related interviews she implied that she had the hots for former Israeli prime minister David Ben Gurion: “He was short!” eventually gravitating to an apartment on 190th Street in Washington Heights near two synagogues where she was a member: the Reform Hebrew Tabernacle Congregation and the Conservative Synagogue Adath Israel of Riverdale She was also a member of the Orthodox synagogue Ohav Shalom until it closed in 2006 and served as president of the YMHA of Washington Heights and Inwood Part of this intense socializing may have been due to family tragedy as Westheimer stated in an American Jewish Committee advertisement printed in 1997 in the New York Times: including my beloved parents and grandparents but they couldn’t eradicate my will to live and pass on to my children and grandchildren my love for Judaism the phrase ‘Am Yisrael chai’ — ‘The Jewish people lives’ — holds special meaning.” Although she co-wrote a book about sex in Jewish tradition for New York University Press, Westheimer was no Talmudic scholar. In interviews she would airily attribute to the Talmud a paraphrased Yiddish proverb, “Ven der Putz shtayt, der saychel gayt,” that was cited in Philip Roth’s novel Portnoy’s Complaint as “Ven der putz shteht ligt der sechel in drerd,” to convey that intellectual capacity diminishes in a state of erotic arousal Westheimer’s book on Eros in the Bible managed to convey that God is a mensch Westheimer was helped in difficult times with comparable benevolence. As a single mother in New York with no high school diploma, she was offered childcare by Jewish Family Services while she obtained master’s and doctoral degrees in education, working with Shirley Zussman, a Jewish specialist in family life studies and Helen Singer Kaplan A brief stint at Planned Parenthood in Harlem was followed by some adjunct teaching at where she was fired for reasons she never publicly divulged But unemployment allowed her time to begin radio broadcasting Yet her immediate precedent as self-appointed mass media pop Jewish sex counselor was the psychiatrist David Reuben Reuben’s Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sex (*But Were Afraid to Ask) was derided for its claims that lesbianism is supposedly “immature” and that “food seems to have a mysterious fascination for homosexuals Many of the world’s greatest chefs have been homosexuals.” Another Reuben observation: “Some of the fattest people are homosexuals.” While appearing on the same TV chat shows as Reuben, unlike him, Westheimer maintained the seriousness of a therapist amidst the expected audience guffaws at her subject matter To prevent Reuben-style mishegas on the subject of gender minorities, Westheimer studied with the American Jewish therapist and LGBT rights advocate Charles Silverstein at New York’s Institute for Human Identity turning down an offer to host Saturday Night Live when it would have taken too much time from her busy professional schedule Her encounters on camera with Jewish comedians ranged from Richard Lewis, who apparently saw the occasion as a free public therapy session, to Jerry Seinfeld who, although seated right next to her, screamed at her, or Jackie Mason who made curiously bitter allusions to her earnings Her closest rapport with any Jew on TV was likely with Joan Rivers although Rivers complained that Westheimer’s latest book contained no revelations about the author’s intimate life Westheimer and Israeli TV host Arad Nir hosted a talk show in Hebrew which may be freely translated as “A Sort of Program on Sex” for Israel’s Channel 2 Her fascination with Israel and its people continued into old age Possibly as a way of better understanding her own complex trajectory studying Ethiopian Jews and Druze Israelis She filmed the 2007 PBS documentary The Olive and the Tree: The Secret Strength of the Druze (2007) and produced an accompanying book coauthored with journalist Gil Sedan she remembered her origins and how narrowly she had escaped annihilation she paid her respects at that city’s commemorative statue honoring the Jewish children who had escaped wartime Fascist Europe on the so-called Kindertransport The London statue was created by the Israeli architect and sculptor Frank Meisler himself a Polish Jew saved by being evacuated to the UK Westheimer liked to remind interviewers of the Eshet Chayil (woman of valor) from the Book of Proverbs the valorous woman’s children rise to celebrate her and her husband offers this praise: “Many daughters have attained valor this would be paraphrased to journalists with a dazzling grin to show that she meant the allusion half-humorously yet her evident intelligence always showed seriousness of intent Ruth Westheimer was indeed a woman of valor Eshet Chayil was a victorious conjugal dialogue referring to a husband’s personal life in which his spouse had excelled beyond all others Benjamin Ivry is a frequent Forward contributor I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward American Jews need independent news they can trust At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S rising antisemitism and polarized discourse This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up Copyright © 2025 The Forward Association The Divinity School is pleased to announce a public lecture by Alyssa Lehr Evans: "Luther in Cross-Cultural Translation: Exploring the International Contexts of the Reformations" Martin Luther’s writings were translated into no less than ten languages These translations have received surprisingly little scholarly attention given that they highlight international networks in the sixteenth century and the reception and cross-cultural translation of reformation ideas A thorough analysis of the English translations of Luther offers new insights into the international context of the English Reformation and illuminates points of contact between centers of reform a figure who tied together various branches of reform Investigations of the Karlstadt Critical Edition revealed how sixteenth-century international printings were often not incorporated into major Reformation editions like the Weimar Edition (WA) After an overview of more recent scholarship focusing on the connections between England and Wittenberg such as one of the first full translations of Luther into English, The Revelation of Antichrist (Antwerp to demonstrate the complexity and promise of this project Alyssa Lehr Evans is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Chair of Church History at the University of Göttingen Germany.She earned her PhD in the History of Christianity at Princeton Theological Seminary As a member of the Karlstadt Critical Edition Team in Göttingen (2015-2017) she worked on Karlstadt’s letters and writings from 1507-1520 “Karlstadt’s Reading of Augustine and the Process of Becoming a Reformer” (Mohr Siebeck) “The English Luther,” explores sixteenth-century translations of Luther’s works into English You may not be able to find the page you were after because of: You might find one of the following links useful: Gain insights on a modern flash point test method that enhances safety and reduces sample volume requirements AFM can provide new insights into 2D materials to better understand their potential applications Kyocera's Fine Ceramics enable next-gen renewable energy solutions offering exceptional stability and performance in hydrogen and nuclear fusion applications Micro-XRF is the key method used for the highly sensitive and non-destructive elemental analysis of a number of samples including in-homogenous and irregular samples Optimize compounding and masterbatch processes to boost efficiency while maintaining top material quality AirBreather is the solution the gas monitoring challenges across applications The global semiconductor market has entered an exciting period Demand for chip technology is both driving the industry as well as hindering it with current chip shortages predicted to last for some time Current trends will likely shape the future of the industry The primary distinction between graphene-based batteries and solid-state batteries lies in the composition of either electrode carbon allotropes can also be employed in fabricating anodes the IoT is rapidly being introduced into almost all sectors but it has particular importance in the EV industry you can trust me to find commercial scientific answers from AZoNetwork.com please log into your AZoProfile account first Registered members can chat with Azthena, request quotations, download pdf's, brochures and subscribe to our related newsletter content A few things you need to know before we start Read the full Terms & Conditions Kate Connolly reports from the village where Trump’s grandfather was born but finds more affection for its other famous family Germany: on the trail of 'the Donald' in the Trump ancestral homeThis article is more than 9 years oldKate Connolly reports from the village where Trump’s grandfather was born in KallstadtFri 29 Jan 2016 17.43 CETLast modified on Fri 9 Feb 2018 20.18 CETShareDrumb Dromb … the Trump family name has had various permutations over the past five hundred years Yet nowadays there are few traces of a clan that once had a stronghold in the village of Kallstadt in south-west Germany There is no plaque outside the house where Friedrich Trump the grandfather of US presidential hopeful Donald Photograph: WikipediaThe only hint is in the few gravestones overgrown with shrubs bearing the name in the local cemetery and the faint outline where once “Trump” was set in wrought iron above a bunch of silver grapes at a winery that went bankrupt several years ago “I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” said Hans-Joachim Bender, a retired vintner, sitting at his dining room table looking out onto the vineyards he used to farm. “If you’re here to talk about Donald Trump I don’t have an opinion about him one way or another except sometimes he’d be wiser to hold his tongue.” Like everyone here Bender pronounces the name in the local Palatinate dialect as “Droomp” However long one looks at 73-year-old Bender it is hard to see any likeness with the New York property tycoon There is none of the blonde double combover hair and unlike Trump – a teetotaller – Bender enjoys a drop or two of his own homemade Riesling wine like several people in this village of 1,200 inhabitants “My great great grandma was Friedrich’s mother,” he says “But I don’t know what that makes me to Donald.” His grandmother was one of the last Trumps his grandfather was a Heinz – as in ketchup Bernd Weissenborn Photograph: Martin Leissl“Both the Trumps and the Heinzes came from the village,” explains Simone Wendel who pulls out a family tree to explain her own Trump connection “My mother’s cousin was married to the grandson of Donald Trump’s great uncle a 54-year-old vintner who says he is a second cousin once removed to Donald surrounded by bottles of some of the 180,000 litres of Rieslings and Merlots he produces every year left a note for his mother on the kitchen table saying he had gone to America.” So local legend has it he had not wanted to work in the family vineyard “His motivation to do so was that as the sixth child of a poor family he had little to keep him in Kallstadt,” Weisenborn said Donald Trump’s second cousin takes up the story in Wendel’s 2014 film documentary Kings of Kallstadt “He went to the Yukon gold mines in Alaska Being a man of weak constitution he didn’t want to break his fingernails himself .. so he opened up a restaurant and provided vast amounts of food and drink for the gold miners Trailer for Kings of Kallstadt.Some also say prostitutes were among the services he provided But the Kallstadters are hesitant to go into that preferring instead to focus on the nuggets that Friedrich sent back to his sisters in New York The sisters had already emigrated to the United States and used the nuggets to buy up real estate Trump is discussed in the village a lot these days though it is mainly a subject brought up by visitors on the trail of “The Donald” who readily admit to finding it all a little trying They would prefer to talk instead about the ice wine from Kallstadt that was served at the coronation celebrations of Queen Elizabeth or how former German chancellor Helmut Kohl used to dispatch his driver Ecki to the Saumagen Paradies (Pig Stomach Paradise) butchers to pick up his favourite dish of the same name Local records document how Friedrich returned to the village several years after his initial departure The popular Saumagen Paradies (pig stomach paradise) butchers in Kallstadt Photograph: Martin Leissl“She was desperate to settle down in Kallstadt the authorities governing at that time didn’t allow him to stay on account of his having skipped military service and so he was deported,” Wendel explains “So you know to blame the Germans if you want to hold someone responsible if Donald Trump becomes the next US president,” says Uli Meyer stopping for a chat as he cycles through the village I’ll stick to talking about our forefathersBernd WeisenbornThe couple went to the US with their daughter and Donald Trump’s father Friedrich died in the flu epidemic of 1918 the base upon which the family went on to build and buy up New York real estate “it should really be Elizabeth.” Elizabeth is still remembered with affection not least by those who recall how she returned to Kallstadt twice including to celebrate her 80th birthday in 1950 Wendel has spent years searching for what she calls the “Kallstadt gene” something that would explain the village’s disproportionate amount of success stories relative to its size ‘can it be a coincidence that two such giants have their roots in my own little village’,” she says Simone Wendel in Kallstadt Photograph: Martin Leissl“We’re very down-to-earth,” says Thomas Weick over a meal of the speciality stuffed pig’s stomach dish And every housewife here is capable of producing ketchup It is said to be a bit thinner than Heinz’s but also comes in a wide range of varieties Most people in the village would prefer not to be drawn on Trump’s politics though they acknowledge the irony in the success of a man who has garnered support for criticising migrants being founded on the success of his grandfather So you know to blame the Germans if you want to hold someone responsibleUli Meyer“As a well-known Kallstadt phrase goes: ‘Before you put your mouth into gear be sure to turn your brain on’,” says Weisenborn “But just as everyone in Kallstadt appreciates good performance you have to hand it to him that he’s clearly touched a nerve with the people I’ll stick to talking about our forefathers.” There was a time when Trump was embarrassed to admit his German connection His repeated references to himself as Swedish even prompted the Swedish town of Karlstad to begin planning a museum in his honour In Kings of Kallstadt he made perhaps his frankest admission on the subject yet A Trump family grave in Kallstadt Photograph: Martin LeisslThe family’s reluctance to acknowledge their Germanness had much to do with hostility levelled at German-Americans during the first world war while after the second world war the Trumps’ qualms continued as many of their customers were Jewish Holocaust survivors The Kallstadters take it on the chin that Donald was cautious about revealing his origins but their reluctance to heap praise nevertheless suggests more than just a little reserve towards him “It was the Heinz family who donated the money for the organ restoration fund,” says Peter Grieger the senior village caretaker recalling how 15 years ago they gave the village a donation of €40,000 The Heinzes have also endeared themselves by returning to the village for occasional holidays although they are careful to remain incognito Kallstadt vineyards Photograph: Martin LeisslThe house where Friedrich Trump was born is very much still standing – a solid unadorned stone structure with a sign on its blue backyard gate revealing the Kallstadters’ dry humour: “God sees everything my neighbour even more.” Wendel said she showed Trump a photograph of it when she met him What the man who has said he would return all refugees back to Syria and who has vociferously opposed Merkel’s open door policy would also no doubt notice about Kallstadt “It’s certainly not that we’re not open to them,” the mayor either for refugees or for Donald Trump’.” The village’s economic success – driven by its booming wine industry – means there is no spare room so refugees have been placed in neighbouring towns “Property prices have been going through the roof,” Jaworek adds just in case the property tycoon was considering buying his ancestral home back No one will admit that they have any interest in watching what happens to Trump as the US presidential primary season “But God help us if he wins,” said the mayor “Then everyone will want to come to Kallstadt.” When Martin Luther wrestled with God and His justice there was one man who understood him: Johann von Staupitz His name appears in all books about Luther that he tried to reform the Catholic Church from within Luther never intended a break with the Church nor did he think his 'new' theology was his invention his confessor Johann von Staupitz had handed him “all my things” ('all mein ding') It was Staupitz who had instigated the new doctrine Staupitz had been of enormous importance to Luther personally this important theologian –for Luther the forerunner of his Reformation– has remained somewhat obscure What do we know about his theology and spirituality And was Luther right when he honoured him as the man who was the first to discover the Reformed doctrine of the justification of the impious We discuss these questions with Professor Markus Wriedt (1958) who recently retired as a professor of Church History at Goethe University in Frankfurt He wrote his PhD about Staupitz in 1991 (Gnade und Erwählung: Eine Untersuchung zu Johann von Staupitz und Martin Luther [Grace and Election: A Study into Johann von Staupitz and Martin Luther]) and has been studying Staupitz's life and works ever since Luther was going through a critical period in his spiritual life plagued by persistent thoughts about his sinfulness he entrusted Luther with the chair in biblical theology Augustinian and Biblical strains of thought He guided Luther into Scripture and taught him to focus on God's grace He pointed Luther to salvation through the blood of Christ.” Wriedt tells that Staupitz pointed Luther to the crucifix “He blamed Luther for not surrendering to the merits of Christ's suffering and death actually said to Christ: "It is very impressive what you did This advice from his confessor eventually convinced Luther and contributed to his "Turmerlebnis" his discovery of justification by faith alone.” It is virtually impossible to give an exact date of Luther's Reformation breakthrough as it is with the circumstances of his posting the 95 Theses “We must not forget that within the community of the University of Wittenberg there was an atmosphere of discussion and dispute Luther's colleagues Andreas Karlstad and Johann Lang also published theses Luther wrote about his sudden and unexpected discoveries he may have compressed his memories and centred rather long developments into one particular moment.” Do Luther's confessions of his dependence on Staupitz mean that Luther was right in naming Staupitz as the man to whom he owed his theological discoveries “It is difficult to assess Staupitz' theology” “We know Staupitz was a very pious man –though not a mystic– a sensitive preacher who excelled in pastoral care his publications landed on the Index of Forbidden Books We have sermons written down by a secretary and printed afterwards results from a series of sermons he preached in Nürnberg that were later entrusted to paper after they had been translated into Latin there are only very few references to the sources he used there are only two references to Augustine He wanted to interpret the Bible's text and confront his listeners and readers with the Biblical message so it is very difficult to label his theology.” we can say that Staupitz sent Luther on track “He showed him the way to his Reformation breakthrough without that intention but by insisting on the importance of Christ's sacrifice He understood what Luther was going through although he believed Luther exaggerated his sense of sin and guilt recommended the reading of the Theologia Deutsch to Luther – a late medieval mystical text which strengthened Luther in his conviction that theology is a matter of the heart and should be expressed in the vernacular Staupitz influenced Luther's lectures on Romans in 1515/1516 The instigations are found hidden between the lines In his latest writings on the grace of God Staupitz stressed the gratuity of God's grace and protested against the scholastic doctrine of merit.” The Reformation was a church renewal movement in the 16th century The aim was to bring the church back to the authority of the Bible The main leaders were Martin Luther and John Calvin Staupitz did not follow Luther when he got into conflict with the Church and was expelled Wierdt: “He never took a clear position in this conflict Staupitz was convinced that Luther himself did not force this breach so it caused much pain that he was expelled he refused to publicly condemn his friend and former student So a lot remains hidden in the fog of history.” not to label Staupitz as a forerunner of the Reformation but as a front-runner of the Catholic Reformation – which is the title of a compelling book by my colleague Franz Posset The concept of "forerunner" is anachronistic Luther was convinced that Staupitz had lit the candle of the Gospel in his heart and that he had shot an arrow that was to remain in his innermost self for the rest of his life.” Johann von Staupitz (1465-1524) was born in Motterwitz (near Leipzig) in a family of old Saxon nobility It is interesting to know that his sister Magdalena belonged to the group of nine nuns that fled the monastery they lived in after the Reformation – Luther's future wife Katharina von Bora was also one of them Staupitz studied in Cologne (bachelor in 1484) and Leipzig (master of arts he was accepted into the Augustinian order of friars in Munich before being transferred to Tübingen where he was eventually promoted to the rank of prior Staupitz was made a Doctor of Theology and three years later he was elected to the post of Vicar General of the German Congregation of Augustinians When Frederic the Wise founded the new University of Wittenberg in 1502 Staupitz was made dean of the theological faculty eventually joining the order of the Benedictines We were granted exclusive access to the "sacred production halls" of the Croatian manufacturer HS Produkt which first came to our attention at the turn of the millennium with the HS 2000 polymer-framed service pistol the product portfolio has expanded massively as well as the tests of the new models and the relationship with Springfield Armory in the USA the previous production capacities became too small so that the company relocated from Ozalj to Karlovac in 2001 the company was renamed from IM Metal to HS Produkt the company was able to export over 5 million guns to the USA by 2016 If you add up all the caliber/barrel length and equipment configurations over 200 model variants were built based on the successful model the HS Produkt company is growing at an impressive rate the red brick building in which HS Produkt is now located catches the eye We received a friendly welcome and were allowed to enter the company premises as the first EU journalists we pass an impressive gallery of awards for the company which is as commercially successful as it is innovative Managing Director Zeljko Pavlin introduces us to the company history and HS Produkt's road to success Like almost everyone who works in the development department today he is also a veteran and knows first-hand what matters in a gun in an emergency This is where personal experience and technical know-how come together making it the largest employer in the region the Croatian manufacturer ranks second in U.S over 6 million pistols have been sold and annual sales exceed $130 million the entire profit flowed back into the company to generate the capacity to invest in the latest technologies This also involved building its own tooling manufacturing facility These efforts culminate in 2019 with the establishment of the "Center of Competence" where more efficient and ecological production methods are being researched in collaboration with other producers The list of accomplishments is absolutely impressive XDE models and the Hellcat the best pistols in the U.S as well as the ISO 9001-2015 and ISO 14001-2015 the military bullpup assault rifle VHS (Višenamjenska Hrvatska Strojnica = Croatian Multi-Purpose Assault Rifle) in 5.56x45 mm NATO appeared on the market Thanks to its design with the cartridge chamber and magazine placed behind the trigger a bullpup rifle is far more compact than a conventional assault rifle with identical barrel length and ballistic performance Available with both a 410 mm and 500 mm barrel the VHS uses a short-stroke gas operating system with an adjustable gas block the improved successor model VHS-2 appeared the most interesting feature is the tool-free conversion of the case ejection from right to left and vice versa in a matter of seconds But also the now extendable stock and the hand guard have been redesigned and the upper carrying handle has been replaced by an optics mounting rail for a telescopic sight The former FAMAS-style fire selector switch in the trigger guard has been relocated with a double-sided control directly above the pistol grip leaving the trigger guard area clear for more comfortable operation even when wearing gloves The VHS-1/2 assault rifle also shows the practical experience of its developers The short 370 mm barrel of the standard M4 carbine used by the U.S armed forces means that the 5.56x45 mm NATO has poor ballistic performance at longer ranges the company opted for a modular bullpup system with compact dimensions a 500 mm barrel and an operational range of up to 800 meters to change shoulder and shoot with the "weak" hand then the stock can be moved back by 10 cm to eject the cases in front of the head which is not a matter of course for bullpup rifles The basic version for police duties is equipped with a 410-mm barrel The barrel length is sufficient for the usual operational distances and the compact semi-automatic rifle shows its advantages in confined spaces and emergency vehicles This has achieved the goal of providing police officers with a weapon with which they can respond to any situation without letting unnecessary time pass until special forces arrive on the scene.The modular system includes various sight setups from simple iron sights to red dot sights with 1.5x magnification The VHS-2 comes with translucent plastic magazines that strongly resemble those of the HK G36 They can be coupled to each other on the side to ensure quick magazine changes Optional equipment also includes a 40 mm grenade launcher Such "Less Lethal" projectiles are primarily intended for riot control also showed us early AK-based bullpup prototypes that never went into serial production Briefly on the US civilian Hellion: based on this HS Produkt VHS-2 Springfield Armory now offers the brand new Hellion semi-automatic civilian version The compact rifle with 16"/406-mm barrel weighs around 3,630 grams empty and reaches an overall length of 71.7 to 75.5 cm depending on the position of the length-adjustable five-position stock The Hellion is offered in the USA for $1,999 Test stations integrated into the manufacturing process are part of every production step and every single manufacturing station "When a gun leaves the premises in a case today everything is made here except for the foam insert." Even the tools for machining the individual gun components are made in-house we didn't miss the opportunity to test the SF19 – one of the newest sport pistols – on site You can read the results in the next part of the series.. Soon we will continue with part two of the series on HS Produkt including the test of the HS Produkt SF19 sport pistol Here you will find more information about HS Produkt company and the entire product range of the manufacturer Deutschlandinfo@vsmedien.de International contact to all4shooters.com:info@all4shooters.com The international editorial team General Terms and Conditions Terms of Use Colophon Contacts Privacy Policy Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Logout Gateway to the world of smart farming According to BayWa the use of drones in biological pest control BayWa AG says the use of drones in agriculture is increasing The company is experiencing a growing interest in biological pest control in corn in particular: this year alone the number of hectares treated in the sales area has doubled compared with the previous year Especially in the German region of Baden-Württemberg where drone operations are funded by the state The European corn borer is one of the main targets when it comes to biological pest control using drones. The corn borer can cause significant economic damage. It is estimated that 4 percent of the world’s corn harvest – around 41 million tonnes – is being destroyed by the European corn borer every year, says BayWa To combat it without the use of chemicals eggs of the parasitic wasp (Trichogramma) – a natural enemy of the European corn borer – are applied in the field A GPS-controlled drone acts as a means of transport: it flies over the field according to a predetermined route and automatically discards capsules with parasitic waspes at regular intervals The capsules consist mainly of cellulose or cornstarch and are naturally degraded the use of drones is a simple and efficient way to reduce the use of pesticides,” says Martin Scheiner the corn in his fields is often already 3 meters high Combating the pest with a sprayer automatically means damaging large parts of the corn field “The drone spares the plants and the environment it does the job really fast,” says Scheiner Also read: UAV-IQ offers drone-based aerial biocontrol Subscribe to our newsletter to stay updated about all the need-to-know content in the agricultural sector It's a good time to celebrate the life of the Serbian-American engineer and physicist: Without Tesla you might not be able to affordably power your home Tesla filed more than 300 patents during his 86 years of life and his inventions helped pave the way for alternating current (AC) Some of his ideas later in life, however, seem strange even now. He once described plans for a death ray, for example, and alluded to another idea for an impenetrable "wall of force" to block and destroy foreign invasions Here's a glimpse into the remarkable life of one of history's most important - and eccentric - geniuses 1856 in Smiljan in the Austo-Hungarian Empire (modern-day Croatia) was a Serbian Orthodox Priest and his mother Tesla was initially interested in studying physics and mathematics He took a job as an electrical engineer at a telephone company in Budapest in 1881 He developed the concept of an induction motor while walking in a park with a friend he built a prototype of the induction motor (an AC motor powered by electromagnetic induction) and tested it successfully Since he couldn't get anyone in Europe interested in it Tesla came to the United States to work for Thomas Edison in New York Tesla's childhood dream was to harness the power of Niagara Falls he designed the first hydroelectric power plant in the Falls A statue was later erected on Goat Island in Tesla's honor and made a potion from vegetables like artichokes and celery He claimed he never slept for more than two hours at a time Tesla did admit to dozing off sometimes to "recharge his batteries." he once worked for 84 hours without sleeping Tesla discovered the rotating magnetic field a principle of physics that forms the basis for nearly all devices that use AC power He used this principle to construct the AC induction motor and polyphase system for the generation While Tesla was working in Thomas Edison's lab in New Jersey the two fought a 'war' with over the best form of electrical current Edison favored direct current or DC (which flows in one direction) while Tesla favored alternating current or AC (which changes direction periodically) This led to the "war of the currents," which Tesla eventually won because of AC's greater efficiency Tesla also worked closely with industrialist and inventor George Westinghouse and their partnership helped establish electricity across America Tesla wrote a classic paper called "A New System of Alternating Current Motors and Transformers" in which he introduced the concept of his motors and electrical systems and they ended up partnering to work on bringing electricity to the rest of the country Tesla's AC-driven system remains the world standard for delivering electricity today a device that is widely used today in radios Tesla developed an induction coil that produced high-frequency alternating currents He used it in experiments to produce electric lighting the coils are mostly used in educational displays and entertainment Tesla patented the basic system of radio in 1896 The invention of radio is often credited to Guglielmo Marconi who made the first transatlantic radio transmission in 1901 But Tesla developed patents for the basic elements of a radio transmitter that were later used by Marconi - a point that led the two into a court battle Tesla also dreamed up two concepts that remained purely theoretical: the 'death ray' and an 'impenetrable wall of force' that would foreign invasions The FBI kept a dossier on Tesla throughout his life in the US, but kept it classified until 2011, when the bureau publicly released 250 pages In 1943, when Tesla died, electrical engineer and military technology researcher John G. Trump - who an April 2016 New Yorker article dubbed President Trump's "nuclear" uncle - examined Tesla's effects for the FBI and reported his findings John Trump reportedly told the Bureau: "Tesla's 'thoughts and efforts during at least the past 15 years were primarily of a speculative and somewhat promotional character,' but 'did not include new workable principles or methods for realising such results.'" Tesla used to take walks to the park to feed the pigeons He developed an unusual relationship with a white pigeon that used to visit him every day "I loved that pigeon as a man loves a woman there was a purpose to my life," Tesla reportedly said This article was originally published by Business Insider. The choices of time travel in Munich are vast. This list picks out ten museums in Munich that are guaranteed to satisfy your curiosity: View this post on Instagram A post shared by Pinakotheken (@pinakotheken) the Neue Pinakothek and the Pinakothek der Moderne combine the old From Albrecht Dürer’s dark gothic portraits to the five bright sunflowers of Vincent Van Gogh to Salvador Dali’s gloomy dreams: The three Pinakotheken are the best known museums in Munich They offer an art collection that can engage you for years the Alte Pinakothek has a collection of 700 paintings alone green lawns full of students in the summer and late-night tango dancers in the halls of the Pinakothek der Moderne they create a district of art and culture of their own The Neue Pinakothek is currently closed but selected works are shown at the Alte Pinakothek and if you still yearn for art after three separate exhibitions you can visit Museum Brandhorst Museum Brandhorst exhibits contemporary art from Warhol to Twombly to now Good to know: Tickets for the Pinakotheken are only 1€ on Sundays Die Pinakotheken Alte Pinakothek: Di./Mi.: 10:00-20:30; Do./So.:10:00-18:00; Tickets: 8,80€ Selection of the exhibition showed at “Alte Pinakothek” Pinakothek der Moderne: Di./Mi.: 10:00-18:00; Do.:10:00-20:00; Fri Museum Brandhorst: 10:00-18:00; Do.:10:00-20:00; Fri Museum Villa Stuck is known for surprising guests with modern concepts of art an exhibition of 李明維 (Lee Mingwei) makes art participative you create art which explores the principle of 禮 (Li) Confucianism’s thoughts on hospitality and ritual The theme of hospitality is incredibly suited for Museum Villa Stuck Not just because of its friendly Art Nouveau interior but also because it frequently hosts exhibitions of participatory art artists create settings or situations for interaction Museum Villa Stuck, Prinzregentenstraße 60 Opening Hours: Di.-So.: 11:00-18:00; Tickets: 9€ View this post on Instagram A post shared by Ägyptisches Museum (@smaek_muc) the “Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst” does not host Ikea furniture etched in obelisks and cracked sculptures tell you the history of Egypt from the Intermediary period to Ptolomaic Egypt much of this collection has been digitalised and descriptions models and highlighters were made to guide you through the story of ancient Egypt Staatliches Museum Ägyptischer Kunst, Gabelsbergerstraße 35 Opening Hours: Di.: 10:00-20:00; Mi-So.: 10:00-18:00; Tickets: 7€, Sunday 1€ View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lenbachhaus (@lenbachhaus) On the brink of World War One “Der Blaue Reiter” (The Blue Rider) was an art collective from Munich It was most prominently shaped by the Russian emigrant Wassily Kandinsky and the Munich artist Franz Marc their biggest collection resides in museums whose walls change colour: the Lenbachhaus The Lenbachhaus tries to act purposefully with its possession since many projects support disadvantaged groups or senior citizens It follows the Blaue Reiter credo: “The whole of a work Lenbachhaus, Luisenstraße 33 Opening Hours: Di.-So.:10:00-18:00; Do.: 10:00-20:00; Tickets: 10€ View this post on Instagram A post shared by Jüdisches Museum München (@juedischesmuseum) Jüdisches Museum, Sankt-Jakobs-Platz 16 Opening Hours: Di.-So.: 10:00–18:00 Uhr; Tickets: 6€ View this post on Instagram A post shared by MUCA (@mucamunich) The museum for graffiti artists and muralists The Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art celebrates artists who had started their career on the fringes of illegality waiting for someone else to paint it over or tear it down by giving it a stage rather than the blink of an eye Museum of Urban and Contemporary Art, Hotterstraße 12 Opening Hours: Mi.-Sa.: 10:00-20:00, So.:10:00-18:00; Tickets: 7,50€ View this post on Instagram A post shared by Valentin Karlstadt Musäum (@valentin.musaeum) Although German is therefore not required for a visit Valentin Karlstadt Musäum, Tal 50 Opening Hours: Mo./Di.: 11:00-18:00; Do.-Su.: 11:00-18:00; Tickets: 3€ View this post on Instagram A post shared by Deutsches Museum (@deutschesmuseum) An island of technology and German engineering Deutsches Museum is Munich’s scientific museum You can observe airplanes from the world wars The curiosity of Deutsches Museum requires an island of its own Deutsches Museum, Museumsinsel 1 View this post on Instagram A post shared by NS-Dokuzentrum München (@nsdoku) it’s headquarters which was called the “Brown House” stands the NS-Dokumentationszentrum München the culture of remembrance is a term for the nationwide documentation of and the confrontation with its National Socialist past The NS-Dokumentationszentrum was built in order to deal with this past The interiors of the squared white building document the dark rise of Nazism and the stories of its countless victims NS-Dokumentationszentrum München, Max-Mannheimer-Platz 1 Opening Hours: Di.-So.: 10:00-19:00; Tickets: Free Entry View this post on Instagram A post shared by AntikensammlungenGlyptothek (@antikensammlungenglyptothek) built the Glyptothek to store his collection of antiques Light floods the brick halls of the Glyptothek and is reflected off of famous sculptures the Glyptothek also hosts a variety of open air events such as reenactions of greek theater or readings within its sunny patio Glyptothek Opening Hours: Di.-Mi.: 10:00-17:00; Do.: 10:00-20:00; Fr.-So.: 10:00-17:00; Tickets: 6€; Sunday 1€ No matter how gray it is outside - you can also exercise indoors for example by swimming lanes in the Olympic swimming hall you've definitely earned a little relaxation in the sauna The Finnish log cabin on the open-air terrace of the Dantebad becomes even cozier when the rain is pelting down on it it's also worth visiting Schwabing's Nordbad or one of Munich's other swimming pools a visit to Munich's cinemas is always a good idea because with hot action or heartwarming romance the grim weather outside is quickly forgotten.  Munich offers a wide variety of cinemas: You can choose whether you want to see a movie in a large or whether you prefer the coziness of a smaller theater like the Museum Lichtspielhaus You can’t go to the Deutsches Museum often enough Although some areas are currently closed for renovation the museum is still large enough for several hours of wandering about the exciting Kinderreich (Children’s Kingdom) awaits.  Climbing is not only possible in the mountains but also indoors: At Munich's bouldering centers you don't have to miss out on the thrill of heights even in bad weather Just take a look at the DAV climbing centers in Thalkirchen or Freimann If you don't want to get active yourself in the Olympic swimming hall Because in Munich's largest aquarium there is an incredible variety of aquatic life - from fearsome sharks to cute turtles or relaxed octopuses BMW Welt isn’t just impressive from the outside: If elegant car design gets your heart pounding famous car manufacturer BMW exhibits its own vehicles and some from other companies while the neighboring BMW Museum continues to present exciting temporary exhibitions What's more relaxing than a hot tea in the warmth when raindrops are beading on the glass outside And when it comes to tea houses and tea stores From specialty stores like Tea 4 you in Schwabing Tee-Handels-Kontor Bremen in the Stachus Passagen to Teehaus Tushita in the Glockenbachviertel with its Japanese flair - here you will find the tea of your choice These and other bizarre exhibits from the lives of legendary Munich comedians Karl Valentin and Liesl Karlstadt can be seen in the Valentin Karlstadt Musäum within the Isartor you can then take a cup of coffee in the Turmstüberl at the very top of the historic city gate and feel sorry for the passersby that hurry through the rin outside Tram 19 is the perfect option for a sightseeing tour of the city center in bad weather - you don’t even need an umbrella for this Munich tour in the rain Line 19 passes through some of the most beautiful corners of Munich It then passes Maximilianstrasse with the impressive building of the government of Upper Bavaria and strolls through the Haidhausen district to the final stop of Berg am Laim The best part: This city tour isn’t even expensive - you'll only need a normal ticket Tram 21 has also been running most of this sightseeing route since 2018 and from here the path splits to Max-Weber-Platz with line 19 - then it continues through Haidhausen and Berg am Laim to the final stop at St.-Veit-Strasse yet another sightseeing tip by tram: Line 16 also passes numerous sights such as the large-scale sculpture Mae West at Effnerplatz the Bayerische Nationalmuseum (Bavarian National Museum) and the Maxmonument (Maximilian II Monument) © 2025 Portal München Betriebs GmbH & Co KG - Ein Service der Landeshauptstadt München und der Stadtwerke München GmbH Singapore – A homeless German man was spotted at Block 106 Hougang Avenue 1 He revealed that he was surviving on welfare and help from kindhearted strangers after his marriage ended and he left his job The story of a 49-year-old Thomas (translated from Mandarin) who came from Karlstadt, Germany, was featured in Chinese newspaper Shin Min Daily News on Mar 13 Mr Thomas arrived in Singapore 10 years ago He started a family and became a Singapore Permanent Resident He worked in the construction and renovation sector before starting a company and earning S$12,000 a month as its director Mr Thomas had a falling out with his partners and left the company It was reported that his marriage with his Singaporean wife also broke down Mr Thomas left their Hougang flat and moved in with a friend He moved out during the Covid-19 pandemic and has been sleeping rough on the streets since then He told the publication that he has been dependent on donations for almost a year and found shelter in parks and other places Mr Thomas would rely on kindhearted strangers and the nearby Man Fut Tong Lin Chee Cheng Sia Temple The Hougang Sheng Hong Family Service Centre is also assisting Mr Thomas A social worker from the centre told Shin Min that the former company director could not remember recent events clearly He has to undergo a health check-up before the centre could decide on a proper form of assistance Mr Thomas revealed that he did not have his passport nor could he remember his bank account PIN He was also too embarrassed to seek help from his relatives back home He has been job hunting and would even personally apply at construction companies He has not been successful in his search thus far Mr Thomas presumes that employers initially think he would require a high salary because he is Caucasian he claimed he did not mind taking up cleaning jobs Shin Min confirmed that the German Embassy in Singapore was aware of Mr Thomas’ situation./TISG Read related: Volunteers book hotel room for homeless man with their SingapoRediscovers Vouchers Volunteers book hotel room for homeless man with their SingapoRediscovers Vouchers Nach Unter­fran­ken sind laut Bayerischer Landesanstalt für Wald und Forstwirtschaft (LWF) nun auch Mittelfranken und Oberfranken betroffen Bei Menschen kann die Baum­krankheit Entzündungen in der Lunge auslösen und zu Reizhusten Das Gesundheitsamt des Landkreises Würzburg rät Spaziergängern, Verdachtsgebiete zu meiden. Hinweise auf betroffene Regionen erhielten Bürger in den Amtsblättern und auf den Internetseiten der Gemeinden. Bei Symptomen wie Atemnot und Fieber sollten Patienten den Arzt auf eventuelle Waldbesuche und Baumkontakte hinweisen. Grund für die Ausbreitung ist das warme Klima. Ob dabei die Dürre oder die Wärme ent­scheidend ist, ist laut LWF noch unbekannt. Ohnehin sei die aus Amerika eingeschleppte Krankheit kaum erforscht. In Bayern ist sie 2018 zum ersten Mal aufgetaucht, in Deutsch­land im Jahr 2005. Auch das Entsorgen der betroffenen Bäume stellt ein Risiko dar. Die Pilzsporen könnten sich beim Zersägen weiter ausbreiten. Schimmelpilze: Nicht nur im Essen eine Gefahr Der Name Rußrindenkrankheit rührt daher, dass die Sporen schwarz sind. Der Pilz wächst unter der Rinde bis jene aufreißt. Derzeit setzen auch Schädlinge wie Schwammspinner, Fichtenborkenkäfer und Eichenprozessionsspinner den Bäumen im Freistaat zu. Diskutieren Sie mitWerden Sie Teil der Community des Deutschen Ärzteblattes und tauschen Sie sich mit unseren Autoren und anderen Lesern aus Unser Kommentarbereich ist ausschließlich Ärztinnen und Ärzten vorbehalten Anmelden und Kommentar schreibenBitte beachten Sie unsere Richtlinien Der Kommentarbereich wird von uns moderiert Kommentare können nur von Abonnenten verfasst werden, die einen vollen Namen in ihrem Benutzerprofil hinterlegt haben dass Sie als Abonnent ausweist und hinterlegen Sie Ihren vollen Namen in Ihrem Profil Erhalten Sie Zugriff auf nicht öffentliche Inhalte Kommentieren Sie Inhalte und lesen Sie Kommentare anderer Benutzer Informieren Sie sich täglich (montags bis freitags) per E-Mail über das aktuelle Geschehen aus der Gesundheitspolitik und der Medizin Bestellen Sie den kostenfreien Newsletter des Deutschen Ärzteblattes Immer auf dem Laufenden sein ohne Informationen hinterher zu rennen: Der tagesaktuelle Newsletter Reinhardtstr. 34 · 10117 BerlinTelefon: +49 (0) 30 246267 - 0Telefax: +49 (0) 30 246267 - 20E-Mail: aerzteblatt@aerzteblatt.de This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page 1527 the bubonic plague returned to the German city of Wittenberg It had been nearly two centuries since the Black Death but that dreaded disease had continued to flare up killing 30% or more of the population in each of its periodic outbreaks Though the students and faculty of Wittenberg were told to leave the city that university’s most famous professor stayed put: teaching Just yesterday I saw three different Facebook friends share Luther’s words “there was an obligation to help those who contracted the plague it was a matter of conscience if one remained to aide [sic] in this great task… What is unique to Martin Luther is that all of these words were backed by his willingness to actually follow his own advice Not only did he and Katharina open their own home as a ward to the infected but he recognized the opportunity to preach Christ to those literally days away from death.” I’d recommend reading Luther’s letter itself plus the commentaries from writers like Yang and Gilbert But I’d like to offer some historical and theological context to help us understand why Luther was writing we should understand that plague was never far from most Europeans’ experience there was a significant outbreak on average of every nine years from the 1490s through the mid-17th century Luther himself was no stranger to the disease; it had struck the university town of Erfurt in 1505 in the middle of his famous transition from rising law student to troubled Augustinian monk as the nearness of death persuaded the humanist-educated Zwingli that “Erasmian-style exhortations to virtue seemed unavailing; seeking spiritual transformation Zwingli found redemption in the reborn Christ.” (Erasmus himself fled the plague several times before and during the Reformation.) That same year, 1519, plague also broke out in Paris, one of the intellectual centers of Europe. Among the university students who fled was Conrad Grebel who ended up returning to Zurich and coming under the influence of Zwingli Grebel and other Zwinglians broke with their mentor as their study of Scripture convinced them that infants were not meant to be baptized the city council persecuted such early Anabaptists Grebel managed to escape jail in 1526 and flee to Maienfeld where another outbreak of the plague dealt a final blow to his weakened health A year later the same disease took the life of another Anabaptist leader, Hans Denck, who had taken refuge in Basel. In 1541, that same Swiss city became the final resting place of the radical theologian Andreas Karlstadt His estranged friend Martin Luther found the cause of death ironic since Karlstadt was “the plague himself of the Basle Church.” It wasn’t just Protestants who were affected In 1522 a Dutch scholar sympathetic to Erasmus was inaugurated as Pope Adrian VI in the middle of an outbreak of plague that was killing nearly three dozen Romans a day hoping to bring about a moral and intellectual reformation of the Church He died a year later (not from plague) at age 64 and was succeeded by Clement VII who was in Rome when plague returned in 1527 — while German soldiers sacked the city and the papal court sheltered in the Castel Sant’Angelo That was just a few months before the plague hit Wittenberg Luther’s response to the crisis was motivated by more than just pastoral concern a Dominican polemicist used such stories as ammunition in the war of words raging between Catholics and Protestants Luther acknowledged that how one responded to the plague could be viewed as a test of faith in God He could not “censure” those who stayed in a plague-stricken city which he sends upon us for our sins… They look upon running away as an outright wrong and as lack of belief in God.” Andreas Osiander gravely affirmed that “this horrible plague of pestilence cometh out of God’s wrath because of the despising and transgressing of his godly commandments.”  Luther did not doubt the reality of God’s judgments but refused to condemn those who tried to escape death no one should try to escape a burning house or save themselves from drowning “instead of letting yourself be punished until hunger and thirst stop of themselves?” Would such Christians no longer join Jesus in praying that God would “deliver us from evil” Even someone so highly educated as Martin Luther did not understand the causes of a disease like the bubonic plague But while Osiander warned against attributing epidemics to “natural” causes rather than God’s mysterious judgments Luther rebuked Christians who make “no use of intelligence or medicine,” those who do not avoid places and persons infected by the plague but lightheartedly make sport of it… They say that it is God’s punishment; if he wants to protect them he can do so without medicines or our carefulness God has created medicines and provided us with intelligence to guard and take good care of the body so that we can live in good health Our “intelligence or medicine” is far beyond that of Luther’s day yet some Christians continue to ignore the advice of doctors we should recognize in Luther’s response to the plague his doctrine of Christian vocation According to the Lutheran scholar Kathryn Kleinhans “Luther broadened the concept of vocation from a narrow ecclesiastical focus to describe the life and work of all Christians in response to God’s call.” As Luther helped Protestants extend their understanding of vocation from a special focus on monastic or clerical calling they learned to “reject the call to be ‘apart from’ the world in favor of a call to be ‘a part of’ the world It was not the nature of a work itself that was determinative for the Lutheran understanding of vocation either as affirmation of a special spiritual work or as rejection of a particularly secular work What was determinative was responding in faith to God’s call to be of service.” Being called “to be of service” runs through all of Luther’s 1527 letter on the plague While it was “natural… and not forbidden” to save one’s own life there was a higher calling to love God and one’s neighbor It was only “as long as he does not neglect his duty toward his neighbor” that one could choose to flee the plague Osiander’s 1537 sermon on plague criticized those who “out of inordinate fear of this plague and faithfulness which they (out of God’s commandment) are bound to show unto their neighbors….” And particular callings might require particular courage Luther expected healthcare workers to continue to care for the body and preachers and pastors to keep caring for souls that they could leave if enough others remained to care for the sick and dying.) But don’t skip past this paragraph from early in Luther’s letter: …all those in public office such as mayors and the like are under obligation to remain which institutes secular authority and commands that town and country be ruled “The governing authorities are God’s ministers for your own good.” Though his chief concern here was with maintaining social order Luther also dreamed of a government so efficient that it would “maintain municipal homes and hospitals staffed with people to take care of the sick… That would indeed be a fine and Christian arrangement to which everyone should offer generous help and contributions (The particular calling of political leaders in the midst of a public health crisis was also central to Theodore Beza’s Treatise on the Plague Geneva’s leading theologian held it the “duty of the Christian Magistrate to provide that those things which either breed or nourish the plague and that regard may be had of those that be visited with this sickness that all be not driven to be careful for all But how they that serve in any public Civil office may leave their charge in the time of plague In one of his table talks Luther hoped to see government placed in the hands of and who aim at the common good and prosperity but how few governors and rulers think thereon They make a trade and traffic of government; they cannot govern themselves: how should they govern great territories and multitudes of people… But even as I want to remind each of you of your calling as citizens of a democratic republic in which leaders are accountable to the people it’s also important to underscore that we all have multiple callings “The arenas of worldly activity identified by Luther,” Kleinhans continued “are not mutually exclusive: one can be a parent and a member of the Christian community simultaneously.” Christian vocation was both particular and plural But historian and teacher are but two of my callings Back when colleges were still holding face-to-face classes I had asked a friend who is an ordained Lutheran pastor to talk to some of my students She told the story of her midlife call to ministry but explained that her most important vocation She had taken a sabbatical from her job as pastor in order to have time to travel to and from her hometown As she talked about her multiple vocations I recognized the most problematic aspect of Luther’s response to the 1527 plague Was he being faithful to his calling when he continued to teach or when he wrote the letter Christians read to this day But what about his calling as a father and husband Luther’s decision to remain in Wittenberg was bold but also revealed a reckless disregard for his own safety and that of his family It may have been a residue of his wish for martyrdom another example of the remarkable courage that enabled him not to shirk what he felt to be his responsibility to his flock.