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 Chancellor Angela Merkel said Friday that the drastic limits placed on people's freedoms to curb the coronavirus earlier this year had weighed heavily on her, bringing back memories of life in surveillance-riddled East Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20201002/coronavirus-curbs-evoked-east-germany-memories-merkel Fri, 02 Oct 2020 18:00:58 +0200 coronavirus-curbs-evoked-east-germany-memories-merkel While a global row rages over the controversial background of historical figures immortalised as statues, on Saturday a divisive new monument to Soviet leader Lenin will be unveiled in Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20200620/lenin-statue-to-be-unveiled-in-west-germany-after-legal-battle Sat, 20 Jun 2020 10:22:18 +0200 lenin-statue-to-be-unveiled-in-west-germany-after-legal-battle To mark German Reunification Day on Thursday The Local spoke to two eastern Germans from different generations to find out what unity means to them and what they think the country can learn from its past. https://www.thelocal.de/20181003/talkin-bout-my-generation Wed, 03 Oct 2018 07:00:00 +0200 talkin-bout-my-generation The little known tragedy of the 1969 rumoured Rolling Stones concert captures both the East Germans’ determination for freedom of expression, and the horrors of life under the Stasi. https://www.thelocal.de/20190912/rolling-stones-concert-east-germany Thu, 12 Sep 2019 12:41:59 +0200 rolling-stones-concert-east-germany The number of people living in eastern Germany has fallen back to a level last seen in 1905, while more people now live in the regions that used to make up West Germany than ever before in history. https://www.thelocal.de/20190612/eastern-german-population-dips-to-lowest-level-in-114-years Wed, 12 Jun 2019 15:57:38 +0200 eastern-german-population-dips-to-lowest-level-in-114-years More than 30 years after the Lockerbie bombing, German prosecutors confirmed Thursday they have interviewed ex-East German secret police agents, at the request of Scottish investigators, over the attack. https://www.thelocal.de/20190321/former-east-german-stasi-agents-questioned-over-lockerbie-bombing Thu, 21 Mar 2019 15:00:58 +0100 former-east-german-stasi-agents-questioned-over-lockerbie-bombing Exactly 69 years ago, on February 8th, 1950, the fledgling German Democratic Republic(GDR) officially debuted its security service, dedicated to monitoring and preventing outside influences - particularly from the West. https://www.thelocal.de/20190208/what-the-stasi-show-about-an-unforgotten-era-of-mass-surveillance Fri, 08 Feb 2019 12:29:41 +0100 what-the-stasi-show-about-an-unforgotten-era-of-mass-surveillance The Czech Republic has compensated a man for wounds suffered during his 1982 attempt to cross the Iron Curtain, a spokesman has said. But the former East German citizen reportedly said the amount was "not satisfactory". https://www.thelocal.de/20190208/german1982bordershooting Fri, 08 Feb 2019 10:01:44 +0100 german1982bordershooting As head of the GDR, Erich Honecker dictated the lives of millions of Germans. The Local met East Germany-born filmmaker Thomas Grimm, who has been researching the Honecker family for nearly 20 years to find out who they really were and what happened to them. https://www.thelocal.de/20181002/the-honeckers-were-once-the-most-powerful-family-in-communist-east-germany-what-happened-to-them Tue, 02 Oct 2018 17:30:18 +0200 the-honeckers-were-once-the-most-powerful-family-in-communist-east-germany-what-happened-to-them “Now what belongs together grows together” was the message of German reunification in 1989, but differences between East and West still persist today. https://www.thelocal.de/20181002/the-east-west-divide-is-diminishing-but-differences-still-remain Tue, 02 Oct 2018 16:38:30 +0200 the-east-west-divide-is-diminishing-but-differences-still-remain From rich history with musical roots to sweet treats, revolution and a diverse alternative scene, Leipzig, in the former East Germany, has a place in our hearts. https://www.thelocal.de/20180928/weekend-wanderlust-a-love-letter-to-leipzig Fri, 28 Sep 2018 18:46:18 +0200 weekend-wanderlust-a-love-letter-to-leipzig Angela Merkel is known for tightly guarding her private life. But she made an exception for a group of young people when she confessed she had smuggled money from the West while on holiday in the Eastern Bloc, German media reports. https://www.thelocal.de/20180925/merkel-i-smuggled-west Tue, 25 Sep 2018 18:11:43 +0200 merkel-i-smuggled-west German authorities said Friday they were blocking a proposal to rebuild part of the Berlin Wall for a massive film-art project in the German capital. https://www.thelocal.de/20180921/berlin-wall Fri, 21 Sep 2018 14:09:46 +0200 berlin-wall It is widely known that the Berlin Wall came down on November 9th, 1989. But the "Day of Fate" is a date on which several momentous events in German history have happened. https://www.thelocal.de/20161109/schicksalstag-the-strange-significance-of-november-9-in-german-history-berlin-wall-kristallnacht Wed, 09 Nov 2016 13:07:55 +0100 schicksalstag-the-strange-significance-of-november-9-in-german-history-berlin-wall-kristallnacht While the Trabant is a car made in East Germany that’s known for being noisy, slow and extremely polluting, the Simson Schwalbe - a moped from the GDR - is a wondrous vehicle that comes with lots of advantages. https://www.thelocal.de/20171013/heres-a-little-known-east-german-vehicle-thats-amazing-in-more-ways-than-one Fri, 13 Oct 2017 17:50:54 +0200 heres-a-little-known-east-german-vehicle-thats-amazing-in-more-ways-than-one October 7th is the anniversary of the GDR's formation. Here are 10 fascinating nuggets of trivia to impress your friends! https://www.thelocal.de/20161007/10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-gdr-east-germany-list Fri, 07 Oct 2016 16:22:54 +0200 10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-gdr-east-germany-list In an escalating war of words between Ankara and Berlin, Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble compared Erdogan's Turkey with the former communist German Democratic Republic (GDR). https://www.thelocal.de/20170721/germany-freezes-arms-shipments-to-turkey-report Fri, 21 Jul 2017 12:34:42 +0200 germany-freezes-arms-shipments-to-turkey-report Nearly three decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany, a new study sheds light on the long-unknown number of people who died at the strict border controls of the communist East German regime. https://www.thelocal.de/20170608/study-gives-first-verifiable-tally-for-deaths-at-cold-war-east-german-borders-327 Thu, 08 Jun 2017 16:37:35 +0200 study-gives-first-verifiable-tally-for-deaths-at-cold-war-east-german-borders-327 Tucked behind 10-storey tower blocks in the heart of Berlin stands an imposing metal gate marked "Border zone, restricted area", guarded by a stern-looking Stasi officer. https://www.thelocal.de/20170503/berlin-good-bye-lenin-showing-brings-gdr-back-to-life Wed, 03 May 2017 11:17:56 +0200 berlin-good-bye-lenin-showing-brings-gdr-back-to-life By law, parts of the German government must still be based in the former West German capital of Bonn. But this divide involves additional effort and money, while sacrificing efficiency, according to a report presented on Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20161011/govt-split-between-berlin-and-bonn-still-causes-headaches-25-yrs-later Tue, 11 Oct 2016 18:25:25 +0200 govt-split-between-berlin-and-bonn-still-causes-headaches-25-yrs-later