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 A ban on gendered language in schools in a German state has prevented an American graduate student from completing their degree programme. Speaking to The Local, they share how policy changes in Germany and the US threaten their life here. https://www.thelocal.de/20250911/laugh-to-keep-from-crying-how-german-gender-politics-threaten-an-americans-ability-to-stay Thu, 11 Sep 2025 19:05:40 +0200 laugh-to-keep-from-crying-how-german-gender-politics-threaten-an-americans-ability-to-stay Hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets of Cologne on Sunday for Christopher Street Day (CSD), the city's annual celebration of the LGBTQ+ community. https://www.thelocal.de/20250706/hundreds-of-thousands-at-christopher-street-day-pride-parade-in-cologne Sun, 06 Jul 2025 19:08:57 +0200 hundreds-of-thousands-at-christopher-street-day-pride-parade-in-cologne At the beginning of Pride Month, Germany's Christopher Street Day association warns about an increase in the number of hate crimes and calls for better reporting. https://www.thelocal.de/20250606/germanys-pride-parades-exposed-to-increasing-extremist-threats Fri, 06 Jun 2025 12:39:35 +0200 germanys-pride-parades-exposed-to-increasing-extremist-threats Germans will be able to change their legal gender more easily from Friday thanks to a new law hailed as a "historic" step for the LGBTQ community. https://www.thelocal.de/20241101/german-law-easing-legal-gender-change-comes-into-force Fri, 01 Nov 2024 09:09:11 +0100 german-law-easing-legal-gender-change-comes-into-force Bright colours, rainbow flags and glitter: around 250,000 people demonstrated for tolerance and gender diversity at Christopher Street Day in Berlin on Saturday. https://www.thelocal.de/20240729/in-pictures-berlins-csd-pride-parade-brings-colour-to-a-rainy-day Mon, 29 Jul 2024 12:51:54 +0200 in-pictures-berlins-csd-pride-parade-brings-colour-to-a-rainy-day Hundreds of thousands of people are expected in Cologne again this year for Christopher Street Day (CSD) on Sunday. https://www.thelocal.de/20240721/hundreds-of-thousands-expected-for-christopher-street-day-in-cologne Sun, 21 Jul 2024 09:16:34 +0200 hundreds-of-thousands-expected-for-christopher-street-day-in-cologne LGBTQ+ celebrations are taking place across Germany this summer. Here's a guide to pride events you won't want to miss in some of Germany's large cities. https://www.thelocal.de/20240701/csd-in-germany-the-pride-events-you-wont-want-to-miss-this-summer Mon, 01 Jul 2024 15:09:12 +0200 csd-in-germany-the-pride-events-you-wont-want-to-miss-this-summer To change their gender in Germany's registry offices, people navigate high hurdles. The government has changed this with a new law on self-determination, which the Bundestag passed on Friday.  https://www.thelocal.de/20240412/how-germanys-self-determination-law-will-make-it-easier-for-people-to-change-their-gender Fri, 12 Apr 2024 12:49:05 +0200 how-germanys-self-determination-law-will-make-it-easier-for-people-to-change-their-gender An unidentified vandal defaced a memorial to the LGBT victims of the Nazis in central Berlin with homophobic flyers and attempted to set fire to it, police said Tuesday. https://www.thelocal.de/20230815/monument-to-gay-victims-of-nazis-vandalised-in-berlin Tue, 15 Aug 2023 16:18:52 +0200 monument-to-gay-victims-of-nazis-vandalised-in-berlin With celebrations of Gay Pride taking place across Germany this July, we look at the past and the future of rights for the LGBTQ+ community in Germany. https://www.thelocal.de/20190708/from-persecution-to-pride-the-history-of-lgbtq-rights-in-germany Mon, 08 Jul 2019 19:04:35 +0200 from-persecution-to-pride-the-history-of-lgbtq-rights-in-germany The German parliament on Friday dedicated its annual Holocaust commemorations for the first time to people killed for their sexual or gender identity, and acknowledged decades of post-war persecution. https://www.thelocal.de/20230127/german-parliament-spotlights-nazis-lgbtq-victims-for-first-time Fri, 27 Jan 2023 10:28:32 +0100 german-parliament-spotlights-nazis-lgbtq-victims-for-first-time Germany is renowned for its social safety net and for welcoming refugees in 2015. But just how liberal or conservative are Germans about certain hot-button issues – from dual citizenship to cannabis legalisation, abortion and guns? https://www.thelocal.de/20230110/how-conservative-or-liberal-are-germans Tue, 10 Jan 2023 15:10:44 +0100 how-conservative-or-liberal-are-germans The German parliament will for the first time next year commemorate victims of the Nazi regime, who were persecuted and killed for their sexual or gender identity, the Bundestag president said Friday. https://www.thelocal.de/20220723/german-parliament-to-commemorate-lgbt-victims-of-nazis Sat, 23 Jul 2022 10:43:21 +0200 german-parliament-to-commemorate-lgbt-victims-of-nazis A mosque in Berlin on Friday became the first in Germany to fly a rainbow flag in support of the LGBT community, ahead of two major gay pride events in the city this month. https://www.thelocal.de/20220701/berlin-mosque-flies-rainbow-flag-for-pride-month Fri, 01 Jul 2022 17:27:53 +0200 berlin-mosque-flies-rainbow-flag-for-pride-month Justice Minister Marco Bushman says he wants to see Germany recognise both partners in a lesbian married couple as mothers. https://www.thelocal.de/20220204/german-minister-wants-equal-parenting-rights-for-married-lesbian-couples Fri, 04 Feb 2022 11:21:07 +0100 german-minister-wants-equal-parenting-rights-for-married-lesbian-couples More than 100 Catholic church officials in Germany came out as LGBT, queer or non-binary on Monday, adding to calls for reform within the crisis-hit church. https://www.thelocal.de/20220124/lgbt-catholic-officials-stage-mass-coming-out-in-germany Mon, 24 Jan 2022 14:22:02 +0100 lgbt-catholic-officials-stage-mass-coming-out-in-germany German Chancellor Angela Merkel criticised a new law in Hungary banning LGBTQ educational content for children as "wrong" as a European row on the measure hotted up. https://www.thelocal.de/20210623/merkel-condemns-hungarys-lgbtq-law-as-wrong Wed, 23 Jun 2021 18:12:01 +0200 merkel-condemns-hungarys-lgbtq-law-as-wrong Germany will stage a defiant display of rainbows on Wednesday after UEFA blocked plans to light Munich's stadium in rainbow colours in protest against Hungary's anti-LGBTQ law, with the Foreign Minister slamming the European football body's decision as "wrong". https://www.thelocal.de/20210623/germany-turns-rainbow-coloured-in-protest-at-uefa-stadium-ban Wed, 23 Jun 2021 15:24:14 +0200 germany-turns-rainbow-coloured-in-protest-at-uefa-stadium-ban Munich's mayor hit back at UEFA's refusal to allow the Allianz Arena to be lit in rainbow colours for Wednesday's Germany-Hungary Euro 2020 match, saying they will decorate other key landmarks instead. https://www.thelocal.de/20210622/uefa-refuses-to-light-munich-stadium-in-rainbow-colours-for-germany-hungary-match Tue, 22 Jun 2021 13:29:26 +0200 uefa-refuses-to-light-munich-stadium-in-rainbow-colours-for-germany-hungary-match Catholic churches around Germany were offering blessings for gay couples on Monday in a protest against the Vatican's refusal to approve same-sex partnerships. https://www.thelocal.de/20210510/sexuality-is-part-of-life-german-churches-bless-gay-couples-in-defiance-of-vatican Mon, 10 May 2021 14:09:04 +0200 sexuality-is-part-of-life-german-churches-bless-gay-couples-in-defiance-of-vatican