Being German
About Sabrina Ibe
Sabrina Ibe is a very hard-working mom with three children. She enjoys hiking, skiing, and swimming in the lake. She is a loving, caring, and an amazing mother. Primarily dressed in jeans and nice blouses. She is from Berlin, Germany. Being German has shaped her whole life.
How important to you is being German?
"Being German shaped me, but I wouldn't say this is one of the most important characteristics. I also think Germans have certain traits like being on time, working hard, and adhering to rules, and I think that shaped me my whole life."
Have you ever felt proud or embarrassed to be German?
"Yes, actually, I have. I sometimes feel very proud of being a German when I look, for example, at the unification in 1989 when East Germany and West Germany united. And the Wall came down that this was a peaceful Revolution and no one got hard I'm surprised that this was able to happen so yes I'm proud and proud of a beautiful country and also very proud what the Germans have achieved looking at all the time because we've built are the left a lot to be proud of. Still, there's also a downside with being embarrassed to know, too ashamed to reach you a man. This mainly related to the Germans, who were responsible for initiating the second world war. The Holocaust was also done by the Germans. Hence, I'm embarrassed if I hear people in Germany thinking that this hasn't been true. And we all have a very similar situation again, and when the neo-Nazis are walking through the street, I'm super embarrassed. It was not in my generation, but still, if you have people talking about the Holocaust who lost relatives. I'm super embarrassed to be German. "
Did your education play a significant role in where you are?
"I think it played a huge role in where I am today, so after high school, I studied biology at the university in Berlin and then did my Ph.D. in a medical facility and basic research, so I think this really shaped me, and it also opens up a lot of opportunities for me so if I look what I do today it has nothing to do what I studied but kind of see how I was taught to think and maybe also to do certain aspects open up the fields of that I could go into. Very Different from what I studied years ago."
Have you ever noticed that being a white woman puts you into a position of privilege or in a position of drawbacks?
"Privileged no I don't think, so I think still in the German Society it is easier for men to find a workplace than for women and also if you have children, it's much harder to go back into work, so there are some drawbacks a few women compared to men but other than that not really."
“We were able to do everything and have free speech as in comparison to the eastern part of Germany.”
-Sabrina Ibe
Have you ever felt like other people see you differently because you are a white woman with a doctorate?
"I think that sometimes people pay attention to the fact that you have a doctorate, and they feel it's important. However, I do not feel like it just makes me a very different person. Do you think that being German is part of how you see the world around you? Yes, definitely due to our history we have this impacts me seeing the world seeing other countries which have been separated has a huge impact. Also, few see what happens to certain people who make an impact on me as well."
Do you have any advice for your younger self?
"So I do think that education is key because it opens up all the possibilities so although sometimes it's hard to see that when you're young, it's something you should pursue and should put a lot of effort in."
“ I [do] sometimes feel very proud [of] being a German when I look [for example] at the unification which happened in 1989 when East Germany and West Germany united again, and the Wall came down. That it was a peaceful Revolution and no one got harmed”
-Sabrina Ibe
