• torknorggren@lemm.ee
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    2 years ago

    “Stadtliche luft macht man frei” is an old German saying. City air makes you free. Life in a small town can be stifling. That close-knit family wants you to be just like them. God forbid you want to do or see anything new. The moving-to-a-big-city trope is as old as cinema, and has strong roots in reality.

    • jaanus20@lemm.ee
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      2 years ago

      In the middle-ages in at least in what is now Estonia, if you ecaped to the city and lived there for a year and a day you would be set free from your serfdom. “Linna õhk teeb vabaks” same frase was used for that.

    • Godric@lemmy.world
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      2 years ago

      I agree with the sentiment, but Germans have a horrible track record on what makes you free.