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The lastest from the world of German Culture
Snippets

Germany’s cultural landscape is vibrant and diverse, with exciting developments across the arts, film, music, and literature. From literary festivals and prices to groundbreaking exhibitions in galleries across the nation to the latest releases from acclaimed filmmakers and authors, there’s a wealth of creativity to explore.

In good form: In 2025, the German women's national soccer team had not lost a game by the start of the European Championships

11 Facts About the UEFA Women’s European Championship
Caught Up in Cup Fever

From July 2 to 27, Switzerland will host the 14th UEFA Women’s European Championship. How to still get tickets, what’s inside the ball, and who might win the title — we’ve got all the answers right here.

Jonas Grimm

Bundesarchiv Bild 175-14676, Leipzig, Reichsgericht, russischer Panzer

East German Uprising 1953
Revolt of June 17th

Street names can tell us a lot about how a society views itself. The Straße des 17. Juni (Street of June 17th) stretches out imposingly in Germany's capital Berlin. How did this important east-west axis of Berlin get its name – what happened on June 17?

Lisa Olbering

We feel our anger and our sorrow, as well as jubilance and bliss – and the calm within. We march. We smile. We kiss and we hug. We will probably be back again.

Alan Young during the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, 1979

World Pride DC bus

WorldPride in D.C. It's More Than Pride

At Pride parades around the world, queer people celebrate diverse gender identities and sexual orientations and demand equal rights for everyone, especially big in Washington, D.C. this year. But where does this tradition come from?

Lisa Olbering

Thomas Hitzlsperger sitting in a green chair next to a white table

An interview Thomas Hitzlsperger in DC

Thomas Hitzlsperger is a soccer legend, a popular TV presenter, and the author of Mutproben (Tests of Courage), a candid memoir shaped in large part by his coming out after his retirement as a professional player.

VE-Day Celebrations in Toronto on May 8, 1945

80th Anniversary of May 8, 1945
Liberation Without the End of War

Many European countries celebrate the end of the Second World War at the beginning of May. The event is also commemorated in North America, but without an official holiday. A transatlantic view on the 80th anniversary of the armistice in Europe.

Lisa Olbering

The image shows an old slide. It shows the garbage collection in Dortmund. In the foreground, a person dressed in orange is sweeping a street. In the background a garbage truck turns the corner.

Recyling and waste separation Germany - a Recycling Star?

At first glance, Germans recycle their waste like world champions. But what is behind the “Recycling World Champion Germany”? On what we create every day: waste.

Lena Maurer

Surprise: these toy-filled chocolate eggs have been fascinating people almost everywhere in the world for over 50 years.

Kinder Surprise The Big Shake-Up

They’ve been a permanent fixture in the confectionery aisle at supermarkets, gas stations and kiosks all over the world ... except the USA: Kinder Surprise eggs. These toy-filled chocolate eggs fascinate people almost everywhere in the world and they celebrated their 50s birthday in 2024!

Sarah Klein

Prize of the Leipzig Book Fair 2025, the three winners: Irina Rastorgueva, Thomas Weiler, Kristine Bilkau (from left to right)

Kristine Bilkau wins Leipzig Book Fair Prize A Mother’s Restlessness, Putin’s Language, German Atrocities

Kristine Bilkau receives the Leipzig Book Fair Prize for Halbinsel, the non-fiction prize goes to Irina Rastorgueva and Thomas Weiler wins the translation prize.

Elle Fanning and Timothée Chalamet in „A Complete Unknown“ (Like a Complete Unknown). Director James Mangold

75th Berlinale 2025 Film Art, Debate Culture and a New Female Boss

For the 75th anniversary of the Berlinale, Tricia Tuttle is relying on a tried-and-tested mix of arthouse cinema and international stars. But it's not just films – political debates are also part of the festival's DNA.

Ula Brunner

Alter Leipziger Bahnhof memorial site

International Holocaust Remembrance Day
The blind spot in the heart of Dresden

Hundreds of Jews were sent to their deaths from Dresden’s railway station Alter Leipziger Bahnhof. Now it is to become a meeting center where people can connect with Jewish life. A contribution to the International Day in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.

Holger Knaak

André Lang

Wolfgang Becker during the Berlinale 2009, looking into the camera, his face resting on his hand.

Obituary for Wolfgang Becker
A Touch of Lubitsch

Wolfgang Becker knew that punchlines work best when they target collective emotions. The director of “Good Bye, Lenin!” has now died at the age of 70.

Christian Schröder

Filmstill Ellbogen

Interview with director Aslı Özarslan and author Fatma Aydemir
What Now?

Curator and critic Deniz Sertkol speaks with director Aslı Özarslan and author Fatma Aydemir about the process of adapting Aydemir’s novel "Elbow" into a drama.

The Spanish dish Olla Podrida in a bowl with a handle

Global cultural exchange
“I want to foster the spirit of generosity”

How can we save traditional local dishes in the face of climate change? In this interview, Bettina Wodianka spoke to the experimental philosopher and artist Jonathon Keats about his projects and ideas.

Jonathon Keats

Bettina Wodianka

Martina Hefter, winner of the German Book Prize 2024, before the award ceremony at the Römer in Frankfurt

German Book Prize 2024
Martina Hefter wins the German Book Prize

There was a festive atmosphere in the Kaisersaal of Frankfurt's Römer when the six finalists were presented. The tension grew until it was finally announced that Martina Hefter would receive the German Book Prize 2024.

Well-attended courtyard at the exhibition centre in Frankfurt am Main during the book fair

Frankfurt Book Fair 2024
Defying the reports of losses

Less is not more here: a profound structural change in the publishing sector is becoming apparent ahead of the 2024 Frankfurt Book Fair. Some outstanding new publications also deal with the current crises in society.

Carsten Otte

1989 Heidi und Doris in Budapest

35 Years Since the Fall of the Wall
Heidi’s Dream

On the night the Berlin Wall fell, 18-year-old Heidi didn’t hesitate—she crossed from East to West. This is her story.

Heidi Krebs Baier

Dumped by the Bastei publishing house, fans still celebrate the old comics: issues of Bastei Friends.

Comics From “Filthy Rags” to Iconic

Beyond the comics of Marvel and DC, in 1970s Germany, there was an illustrated world that still transports the boomer generation in particular into nostalgic fits of rapture today. Even kids from the decades that followed still fondly look back on the comic book series of their childhood.

Matthias Bischoff

Jeans at home, a suit in the office: that’s code switching too.

Code Switching “What’s Up, Amigo”

We switch between slang, dialect and technical jargon throughout our day – depending on the situation we find ourselves in. It sounds banal, but there’s even a specialist term for this phenomenon: code switching. But ultimately it’s about far more than language.

Petra Schönhöfer