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Germany's Ultimate Mother-Daughter Brawl

DW staff (win)May 24, 2006

Conservative values have been making a comeback among Germany's youth in recent years. But parents punished with obstreperous offspring cannot always relay on the help of authorities, as one mother had to find out.

"But mom, I'm really just hanging out with the girls when I'm not home!"Image: AP

Hildesheim in northern Germany isn't exactly known as hedonist central. The city of about 100,000 people takes pride in its architectural gems, such as "one of the world's prettiest" market squares and two religious buildings that have been included in the UNESCO's list of World Cultural Heritage sites: St. Michaelis' Church and the city's cathedral, where Hildesheimers flock each year to admire the blossoming rose tree, which allegedly was planted more than 1,000 years ago.

The city has come up with cute little cartoons to gently remind people that they'll have to pay 50 euros ($64) for dropping a chewing gum on the street or that not cleaning up after their dogs will set them back double that amount. Germany's snoring museum is actually not located in Hildesheim proper, but in a little town nearby.

Appearances deceive: Despite the serenity of St. Michaelis, not all is well in HildesheimImage: dpa

But all this cannot deter from the fact that not all is well in Hildesheim as far as morals are concerned: Some of the city's young ladies appear to engage in absolutely inappropriate behavior when it comes to their relationships with men.

One virtuous Hildesheimer mother now recently decided to put a stop to her daughter's indecent philandering. She called the city's youth services department and complained to officials about her child's nnergeschichten, which literally translates to "men tales."

Given the nature of the complaint, asking about the daughter's age probably seemed like a reasonable thing to do.

"She's 68," the 92-year-old mother told youth service officials, who responded that the daughter was about half a century too old to fall under their jurisdiction. Instead, they dispatched a team of police officers to the mother's home. Law enforcement officials apparently managed to end the fight between the couple.

Reports that the daughter's been grounded for the next four weeks could not be confirmed.

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