Germany’s memory battle over ‘Nie Wieder’: never again
Once the cornerstone of the country’s remembrance culture, the slogan’s meaning has become increasingly blurred
Berlin
Dahomey director Mati Diop: ‘I felt I had the responsibility to make sure a new wave of African cinema exists’
The French-Senegalese film-maker won this year’s Golden Bear in Berlin for her breathtakingly imaginative new release
An Irishman in Berlin: ‘Gentrification was creeping in but since the pandemic it’s really pronounced’
What’s Next For?: Liam Cagney, a musicologist based in the German capital, is writing a book about Berghain, the city’s fabled nightclub
German mayor resigns over homophobic abuse
Neubrandenburg’s town council has voted to ban the LGBT+ rainbow flag from its train station
Ex-Stasi officer sentenced over Berlin Wall killing in 1974
Polish man Czeslaw Kukuczka was shot in the back as he tried to escape to West Germany
Life imitates art as populists collapse Thuringia parliament
Far-right AfD’s collapse of inaugural sitting of Thuringia state parliament provides timely backdrop to new play in which populist governor sparks constitutional crisis
German Green resignations increase speculation of snap election
Green leadership steps down in Germany three days after party ejected from new Brandenburg state parliament in Potsdam after polling just 4%
Germany’s SPD benefits from keeping Olaf Scholz in background
Chancellor has lost his three-year-old hero factor in recent elections. He has even been dropped from SPD posters
Election time in Germany: Why is the far right so popular in the east?
The far-right Alternative for Germany party’s Björn Höcke wants a ‘180-degree shift’ in the country’s view of its past and condemns the postwar ‘guilt cult’
Myth of German efficiency exposed by Berlin’s long-running Museum Island saga
After years of costly on-off renovations, Berlin's Pergamon Museum closed its doors entirely last October, will reopen partially in 2027 and fully in 2037
Paintings of Caspar David Friedrich offer calming balm for Germans
German fans insist the best way to tap into the Friedrich feeling is to follow the gaze of figures in his paintings, often with their back to the viewer as they take in wonders of nature
Plan to remove Sinti-Roma memorial causes outrage
A new train tunnel running under the memorial has been described as ‘macabre’ given how many Sinti and Roma were deported by rail to their deaths
German holidaymakers rise with the sun and set off for Italy
The refusal of two federal states to rotate their school holidays, effectively claiming the sunniest weeks each year with a metaphorical bath towel, is causing tension
European Election: Far-right advances in Germany as coalition parties lose out
Alternative für Deutschland set to finish in second place with 17 seats in parliament
Translated fiction: coming of age in Trieste, tales from 19th century Brittany, and life in a post-Soviet world
Reviewing works by Diego Marani, François-Marie Luzel, María Bastarós, Sasha Salzmann and Anna Stern
Hyrox: The new fitness craze that is ‘an experience’
Hyrox, a sporting event founded in Germany, has exploded in popularity since the end of the pandemic
Germany denounces rising political violence as MEP hospitalised
Minister accuses populists of fomenting hatred following attack on politician
Unwords by Andrew Gallix and No Judgement by Lauren Oyler: What do you want, encouragement or confrontation?
Gallix is a gentle melancholy guide, more analogue, older, European; Oyler is nervily digital, younger, very American in sensibility. They are equally clever
German police manhunt veers into Keystone Cops territory
Case of mistaken identity as police snatch man from bus in Berlin wrongly believing him a member of Red Army Faction
Gig for Gaza’s Julie Fogarty: ‘You feel good you’re doing something, but it’s like a drop in the ocean’
Inspired by events in Ireland, the Berlin-based artist has been helping to organise benefit concerts. Germany’s Gaza response has been shocking, she says
Nostalgia for Red Army Faction in final act of German terrorist drama
A German television report and podcast appears to have produce more decisive leads than three decades of police work
‘We had a golden decade before the pandemic where everything seemed financeable thanks to low interest rates’
German finance minister Christina Lindner on the challenges facing Germany from the Ukraine war, to inflation, and low growth and productivity
Cillian Murphy’s Magdalene laundries film grips audience at Berlin festival
Small Things Like These, based on Claire Keegan’s novella, is dedicated ‘to more than 10,000 young women sent to Magdalene institutions for penance and rehabilitation’
Berlin zoo-goers mourn passing of Ingo the flamingo
Zoo’s most senior resident, and possibly the oldest flamingo in the world, dies aged 75
How do you raise Irish children abroad? Bringing ‘the púca and children who were turned into swans’ to Belgium
Elaine McGoldrick writes how nursing in Ireland drove her to Scotland; and amid rainy summer days Laura Kennedy observes how Australians are tougher than the Irish
Berlin arts squat completes journey from cultural collective to tourist trap
Revamped Tacheles is a textbook example of city’s nakedly capitalist direction
‘It’s an easy place to live’: Meet the growing band of Irish artists at the top of their game in Berlin
Many Irish artists have moved to Germany. A new culture programme, Zeitgeist Irland 24, aims to promote their work over the next year
‘How much more of a housing crisis can we be in before we innovate too?’
Architectural solutions to Ireland’s housing shortage have already been road-tested in towns and cities across Europe. The best are going on show in Dublin
Germany recalibrates backing for Israel as Palestinian death toll spirals
Foreign minister Annalena Baerbock reframes October 7th attack by Hamas as double-edged tragedy and the ‘start of a nightmare without end for the people in Israel and Gaza’
Edvard Munch’s artistic outlook: ‘There should be pictures of real people who breathed, who suffered, felt, loved’
Berlin’s state gallery has pulled out all the stops for the city’s first Munch exhibition in 30 years
A snapshot of house prices in five cities around the world and how they compare to Ireland
Tight supply and a shortage of affordable housing are common themes despite recent cooling of prices in several markets
Best of five: A glimpse at rental prices in cities around the world
Five Irish Times foreign correspondents looked at rental prices and issues in their city, to get a snapshot of whether the rental crisis in Dublin is also experienced in other parts of the world
German Jews shocked by lack of empathy after Israel attacks
Atmosphere is increasingly heated on German streets and on social media
Berlin church tower left as ragged reminder of war to be transformed by Irish architectural firm
Architect Róisín Heneghan hopes design will help ‘future generations understand and experience this space’
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