The Local Germany

Leipzig marks Monday Demo anniversary

Thu, 09 Oct 2014 16:02:00 +0200

Thursday marks the 25th anniversary of the peaceful protests in Leipzig that paved the way to the demolition of the Berlin Wall. The city will celebrate with a recreation of the iconic candlelit march that marked the beginning of the end.

East happier than West with reunification

Thu, 25 Sep 2014 10:20:00 +0200

Three in four East Germans say life has improved since reuniting with the Federal Republic, but say their former state had greater gender equality and a better education system.

Bisky dies: East German defender in tough times

Wed, 14 Aug 2013 09:38:00 +0200

A politician who helped steer East Germany's communist party into democracy after the Berlin Wall fell, Lothar Bisky, died on Tuesday aged 71.

Did Springsteen's 1988 Berlin gig rock the Wall?

Tue, 09 Jul 2013 11:59:00 +0200

Bruce Springsteen played in Leipzig this weekend - a return to the former East Germany 25 years after what he said was one of his most important gigs - to people hungry for freedom just 16 months before the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Stasi victims share memories on stage

Mon, 27 May 2013 16:49:00 +0200

Former victims of East Germany's spying apparatus and a state informant recount their dark memories in a play that, more than two decades after the collapse of the communist regime, aims to exorcise the ghosts of the feared Stasi secret police. AFP's Eloi Rouyer reports.

Fascists claim 'We are the people' slogan

Fri, 03 May 2013 19:25:00 +0200

A new German far-right xenophobic party has taken as its name the slogan which helped bring down the Berlin wall, it was reported on Friday.

Deserting the wrong way: Why soldiers went East

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 13:43:00 +0200

Countless East Germans tried to flee communist oppression, but a new book documents the rare cases of western deserters going the other way. Matthew Luxmoore reports.

Post-Wall children more likely to be criminals

Tue, 09 Apr 2013 09:14:00 +0200

Children conceived in the chaos of collapsing East Germany just after the Berlin Wall fell are way more likely to be criminals than almost anyone else in the country, a new study shows.

The world-changing history of the Berlin Wall

Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:00:00 +0100

As people fight to keep the longest remaining stretch of the Berlin Wall intact, we look back at the key events surrounding the once-hated Cold War barrier in this week's Local List.

Tatters of Kohl family life return to public spotlight

Fri, 01 Mar 2013 09:06:00 +0100

What remains of Helmut Kohl's family life again staggered into the spotlight on Thursday evening, courtesy of his two estranged sons who publicly attacked the former chancellor's new wife while promoting a book about their mother.

Nostalgia stokes demand for East German brands

Wed, 27 Feb 2013 08:04:00 +0100

Products "Made in GDR" may be consigned to history, but many East German items are still flying off shelves, as the nostalgia for brands from the failed communist country remains strong.

Berlin Wall to get 'West Side Gallery'

Thu, 27 Dec 2012 13:16:00 +0100

One of the German capital's most famous tourist attractions could soon have a "b-side." A new gallery is being planned for the back of the East Side Gallery, the series of paintings daubed on one of the remaining stretches of the Berlin Wall.

East German propaganda art gathers dust

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 13:03:00 +0100

Piled-up, forgotten and gathering dust, 23,000 artworks from the former East Germany fill a vast warehouse 90 kilometres (56 miles) from Berlin, testimony to an oppressive past. AFP's Yannick Pasquet reports.

Secret files: Communist Honecker cheated on wife

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 14:40:00 +0100

East German communist leader Erich Honecker had a difficult marriage with his wife Margot, new intelligence reports reveal, with both partners having affairs.

Renowned East German author Christa Wolf dies

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:51:00 +0100

Christa Wolf, one of the best-known authors from former communist East Germany, died on Thursday aged 82 in Berlin following a long illness, her publisher said.

Village remembers Iron Curtain coming down

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 13:18:00 +0200

When the Berlin Wall went up overnight 50 years ago, the trapped East German enclave of Klein Glienicke became one of the most tightly guarded communities on the planet. AFP's Deborah Cole reports.

'I don’t think people expected the Wall would last 30 years'

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 10:25:00 +0200

As Germany prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall, Erin Huggins spoke with Russell Swenson, who witnessed the birth of the Iron Curtain while stationed in the city with the US Army in 1961.

Berlin tries to preserve remaining traces of the Wall

Tue, 09 Aug 2011 09:35:00 +0200

Fifty years after its loathed Wall went up, Berlin has been gripped by a desire to preserve the few remaining traces of its painful division in order to bring the dark chapter of its history to life for visitors. AFP's Laurent Geslin reports.

Unseen eastern side of the Berlin Wall revealed

Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:22:00 +0200

One week before Germany marks the 50th anniversary of the construction of the Berlin Wall, newly uncovered photos offer an unprecedented glimpse of the communist eastern side looking to the free west.

Refugees airing East Germany's dirty laundry

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 18:11:00 +0200

As Germany prepares to mark the 50th anniversary of the building of the Berlin Wall this month, a new exhibition explores the importance of refugee camps for those fleeing communism before the Iron Curtain came down. Erin Huggins reports.