1.  Retrospect

Have the two towns changed during the length of the exchange? Yes, of course they have. Redditch itself has changed greatly - just buy a postcard of the town and you will get quite a surprise when you see how much Redditch has changed since the last set of postcard photographs was taken. Cologne, the town which lost 80 per cent of its buildings during the war, has changed even more.

What has the exchange given to those who take part in it? It has given them, at a reasonable cost, a holiday either in a Youth Hostel or in the homes of a foreign country, where they enjoy the very best in food, accommodation and personal attention. It has also given them excursions into some of the most picturesque country in the world; indeed the Rhine Valley and the Cotswolds would make worthy rivals in a beauty contest. They have also seen factories, football, motor racing, Roman remains and other interesting items too numerous to mention.

Finally comes the all-important question. "Is it right of us to make friendly relations with a nation which, in our parents' lifetime, was threatening our very existence?" In my opinion, though we do not wish by any means to "conveniently forget" the war, we must face realities. Some people seem to expect each Easter to see twenty German boys arriving in Redditch, each christened Adolf in memory of "The Great Might-have-been". Nothing could be further from the truth. Most parents of
those who come over here have lost some dear relation through their nation's foolishness in 1933, and all are determined never to let such a disastrous course of events happen again.

1. 
   / Words
   retrospect     Rückblick
   to change     s. ändern, s. verändern
   the length     die Länge
   to get a surprise     überrascht werden
   the set     der Satz
   to take a photograph     eine Aufnahme machen
   even more     noch mehr
   visible     sichtbar
   complete     vollendet
   every where     überall
   to take part in     teilnehmen an
   at a reasonable cost     zu einem annehmbaren Preis
   a holiday = holidays     Ferien (a holiday) frei, ein freier Tag)
   to enjoy     genießen
   the food     die Nahrung, das Essen
   the accommodation     die Unterbringung
   personal attention     persönliche Beachtung
   worthy     würdig
   the rival     der Nebenbuhler, der Rivale
   beauty contest     Schönheitskonkurrenz
   motor racing     Autorennen
   other interesting items     andere interessante Dinge, Sehenswürdigkeiten
   numerous     zahlreich
   to mention     erwähnen
   finally     schließlich
   all-important     allgemein wichtig, allumfassend
   to make friendly relations     freundliche Beziehungen, Verbindungen anknüpfen
   to threaten     bedrohen
   our very existence     sogar, selbst unsere Existenz
   In my opinion     meiner Meinung nach
   though     obgleich
   by any means     keineswegs
   to conveniently forget     leicht vergessen, leicht übergehen
   to face realities     Wirklichkeiten ins Auge sehen
   to expect     erwarten
   to Christen     taufen
   In memory of     in Erinnerung an
   the Great-Might-Have-Been     der große Hätte-sein-können
   further from     weiter von
   the truth     die Wahrheit
   relation     der Verwandte
   foolishness     Dummheit, Torheit
   determined     entschlossen
   disastrous     unheilvoll, verhängnisvoll
   the course     der Lauf
   event     das Ereignis

Retrospect / Questions
1. What does a postcard of Redditch show?
2. Why has Cologne changed more than Redditch?
3. Have the exchange pupils* holidays been expensive?
4. What countryside have they seen?
5. What Sports have they watched?
6. Does this writer wish to forget the war?
7. What, in this writer's opinion, do many people expect?
8. And are they right?
9. What does "to face realities" mean?
10. How had the War affected many parents of the pupils who took part in the exchange?

1. 
   / Discussion and essay topics
   1. Towns change. Do people also change?
   2. How would you describe a "typical Englishman"?

Notes

1. Redditch ist eine Stadt von 34 000 Einwohnern und war in der ganzen Welt als die Nadelstadt bekannt. Die Herstellung von Nadeln aller Art bildet das Hauptgewerbe der Stadt. In neuerer Zeit haben andere Fabriken sich dort niedergelassen, so dass sich die Einwohnerzahl verdoppeln wird. Überall entstehen neue Häuserblocks, neue moderne Geschäfte.
Redditch hat in letzter Zeit eine ungeheuer schnelle Entwicklung durchgemacht und ist durch seine günstige Lage geeignet, eine führende Rolle in der Industrie einzunehmen.

2. Cotswold Hills sind in der Nähe von Redditch und ziehen durch ihre Schönheit viele Touristen an. Die kleinen Dörfer ringsherum werden von vielen Ausländern besucht. Berühmt ist auch der Stein, aus dem die Häuser hier gebaut werden.

3. Es gibt viele Jugendherbergen in England, wo junge Menschen, die noch wandern, übernachten können. Die Pfadfinderbewegung ist hier entstanden (boy scouts) ebenso die "girl guides".