Die Rede — The Speech

Speeches and Neighborhood Celebrations

Neighborhood centers, clubs and associations in Germany mark their anniversaries with celebrations, often outdoors in summer, with food, music, activities for children and a few short speeches. Local politicians such as a district mayor may give a greeting, a Grußwort, and volunteers and long-time members are thanked publicly. German audiences tend to appreciate speeches that are short, concrete and personal. Classical rhetorical devices are taught in German schools and remain common in political and festive speeches: the rhetorical question, the list of three, anaphora, and antithesis. Used sparingly, they give a short speech structure and memorability. Neighborhood centers, Nachbarschaftshäuser or Stadtteilzentren, have a long tradition in Berlin, going back in part to the settlement movement of the early twentieth century. Today many are run by associations with public funding and rely heavily on volunteers, and anniversaries are an occasion to thank them.