https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Germany in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed In the early hours of Sunday, August 13th, 1961, communist East Germany's authorities began building the Berlin Wall, cutting the city in two and plugging the last remaining gap in the Iron Curtain. https://www.thelocal.de/20210813/wall-of-shame-how-the-berlin-wall-went-up-60-years-ago Fri, 13 Aug 2021 11:50:03 +0200 wall-of-shame-how-the-berlin-wall-went-up-60-years-ago Wednesday January 27th marks the 25th anniversary of Holocaust Memorial Day. The Local spoke with one survivor about her experiences and why she ultimately returned to the place she once fled. https://www.thelocal.de/20191129/i-decided-to-stay-why-a-holocaust-survivor-chose-to-return-to-east-berlin Fri, 29 Nov 2019 11:59:56 +0100 i-decided-to-stay-why-a-holocaust-survivor-chose-to-return-to-east-berlin The Berlin Wall fell 31 years ago on November 9th 1989. We looked back at the moment the unbelievable happened – and how it changed the world. https://www.thelocal.de/20191106/berlin-wall-fall-the-unbelievable-moment-that-changed-the-world-forever Wed, 06 Nov 2019 09:50:32 +0100 berlin-wall-fall-the-unbelievable-moment-that-changed-the-world-forever The Beatles famously sang "All you need is love." For Hans and Uschi Kriz, living on opposite sides of the Berlin Wall, both love and grit were necessary for starting their lives together. https://www.thelocal.de/20201109/beatmusic-over-berlin-a-cold-war-love-story Mon, 09 Nov 2020 12:55:49 +0100 beatmusic-over-berlin-a-cold-war-love-story Three decades ago this week, demonstrations against the GDR reached fever pitch, signalling the beginning of the end for the East German communist regime - and it all began with meetings held in a Leipzig church. https://www.thelocal.de/20191010/how-a-leipzig-church-led-to-peaceful-revolution-and-the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall Thu, 10 Oct 2019 13:39:44 +0200 how-a-leipzig-church-led-to-peaceful-revolution-and-the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall Giant photos of the Allied soldiers who once patrolled Berlin that have been displayed at Checkpoint Charlie for years are being sold off by a German auction house next week. https://www.thelocal.de/20191121/checkpoint-charlie-soldier-photos-to-be-auctioned-in-germany Thu, 21 Nov 2019 12:54:22 +0100 checkpoint-charlie-soldier-photos-to-be-auctioned-in-germany German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged the United States to be a "mutually respectful partner" and reject nationalism, in a clear salvo aimed at US leader Donald Trump. https://www.thelocal.de/20191109/us-must-be-mutually-respectful-partner-german-president Sat, 09 Nov 2019 21:37:57 +0100 us-must-be-mutually-respectful-partner-german-president A replica of the Berlin Wall separated the teams before Hertha Berlin's home Bundesliga tie against RB Leipzig at the city's Olympic Stadium, part of Saturday's celebrations making the 30th anniversary of the fall of the original wall. https://www.thelocal.de/20191109/berlin-football-team-knocks-over-mock-up-wall-before-match Sat, 09 Nov 2019 18:05:13 +0100 berlin-football-team-knocks-over-mock-up-wall-before-match These photographs of Berlin show how the city has changed over the years. https://www.thelocal.de/20191108/berlin-wall-30th-anniversary-then-and-now-photos-reveal-citys-transformation Fri, 08 Nov 2019 17:54:25 +0100 berlin-wall-30th-anniversary-then-and-now-photos-reveal-citys-transformation A German journalist reflects on the joy she felt when the Berlin Wall fell - even from across the Atlantic Ocean. https://www.thelocal.de/20191108/and-the-wall-came-tumbling-down Fri, 08 Nov 2019 15:10:07 +0100 and-the-wall-came-tumbling-down The future chancellor of Germany was indulging in a favourite German winter pastime on the night that led to German reunification. https://www.thelocal.de/20191108/sauna-and-oysters-merkel-recalls-berlin-wall-fall Fri, 08 Nov 2019 12:08:02 +0100 sauna-and-oysters-merkel-recalls-berlin-wall-fall Three citizens of former East Germany recount how they experienced the fall of the Berlin Wall, from the joy of November 9th 1989 when the barriers opened, to the three decades of economic hardship and rebuilding that followed. https://www.thelocal.de/20191108/freedom-is-the-most-precious-possession-how-berlin-walls-fall-sparked-joy-and-upended-lives Fri, 08 Nov 2019 09:40:01 +0100 freedom-is-the-most-precious-possession-how-berlin-walls-fall-sparked-joy-and-upended-lives US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo retraced his steps Thursday in the eastern German village of Mödlareuth, once a divided "Little Berlin" where he served as a young army officer. https://www.thelocal.de/20191107/pompeo-retraces-army-service-past-at-little-berlin Thu, 07 Nov 2019 15:57:39 +0100 pompeo-retraces-army-service-past-at-little-berlin November 9th is 30 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall. Here's how one of the first Berliners to cross the East German border remembers the historic time. https://www.thelocal.de/20191107/there-was-a-human-tide-moving-berliner-remembers-crossing-the-wall Thu, 07 Nov 2019 10:47:48 +0100 there-was-a-human-tide-moving-berliner-remembers-crossing-the-wall Artist Margaret Hunter's life changed forever when she moved to Berlin in 1985. Now her experiences of German reunification are being shown as part of events to mark 30 years of the fall of the Berlin Wall. https://www.thelocal.de/20191106/zeitzeugen-meet-the-scottish-artist-who-left-her-mark-on-the-berlin-wall Wed, 06 Nov 2019 18:26:04 +0100 zeitzeugen-meet-the-scottish-artist-who-left-her-mark-on-the-berlin-wall This November marks three decades since the Peaceful Revolution and the fall of the Berlin Wall. From art installations to dance parties, this is what's planned. https://www.thelocal.de/20191104/how-berlin-will-mark-30th-anniversary-of-the-fall-of-the-wall Mon, 04 Nov 2019 17:35:52 +0100 how-berlin-will-mark-30th-anniversary-of-the-fall-of-the-wall If the Berlin Wall hadn't come down, German Chancellor Angela Merkel would have become a pensioner five years back and embarked on her dream US road trip listening to Bruce Springsteen. https://www.thelocal.de/20191105/behind-berlin-wall-merkel-dreamt-of-us-road-trip-listening-to-springsteen Tue, 05 Nov 2019 18:34:36 +0100 behind-berlin-wall-merkel-dreamt-of-us-road-trip-listening-to-springsteen Barbara Pönisch spends most of her days at work doing puzzles -- piecing together a mountain of documents torn up by the hated East German Stasi secret police. https://www.thelocal.de/20191105/german-puzzlers-reconstruct-stasi-files-from-millions-of-fragments Tue, 05 Nov 2019 09:57:58 +0100 german-puzzlers-reconstruct-stasi-files-from-millions-of-fragments The classic souvenir photo with two "American soldiers" at Checkpoint Charlie, once the border crossing from West Berlin to the East, may be off tourist checklists for good. https://www.thelocal.de/20191104/berlin-bans-soldiers-at-checkpoint-charlie Mon, 04 Nov 2019 13:04:39 +0100 berlin-bans-soldiers-at-checkpoint-charlie Germany marks three decades since the fall of the Berlin Wall this week, but a hint of a return of the Cold War and the rise of nationalism is dampening the mood. https://www.thelocal.de/20191104/spirit-of-optimism-is-gone-sombre-mood-as-germany-marks-30-years-of-berlin-wall-fall Mon, 04 Nov 2019 09:43:24 +0100 spirit-of-optimism-is-gone-sombre-mood-as-germany-marks-30-years-of-berlin-wall-fall