I doubt German changed after WWII. I've heard some pretty old people speaking German and their German doesn't sound any more harsh to me. I think the harshness of the language is just somewhat exaggerated.

So I went to visit the Harz Hochschule yesterday and I came away with the impression that even in another language, and on another continent college tours, and college presentations are pretty much the same everywhere. Oh yeah and extremely boring too.

Ah and on Tuesday I was in Magdeburg to see Werder Bremen crush FC Magdeburg 3:0 in a friendly opening game for the new Magdeburg football (soccer, Fußball) stadium. Anyone watch the game? It was on 2DF iirc. The middle of the field was covered in frost so the players had a bit of trouble keeping their feet sometimes, and it wasn't the most exciting game, but FCM held out well for the first half and it was a lot of fun.