#DeutschlandNoFilter: The Germany Magazine of the Goethe-Institut

A collage with pictures of excursion elements. A hiking rucksack next to hiking boots; a couple riding bicycles; an excursion bus.

Graphic: Jennifer Engl | Illustrations: Canva.com | Photos: On left: mauritius images / Alexander Raths; Middle: picture alliance / Westend61 | Andreas Strauß; On right: mauritius images / Torsten Krüger

Everyday Life in Germany: Day Trip Edition Two Cultures of Being on the Move

From a packed family bus winding through the Syrian streets to a meticulously planned bike tour in Germany – our author invites us on a journey between two cultures of being on the move.

Foto (Detail): © picture-alliance/ imageBROKER | Benjamin Egerland

Berit Glanz on how libraries are making waves on social media Laughs at the Library

Social media thrives on exaggeration and big emotions – hardly the terrain of libraries and other public institutions. But Berit Glanz has spotted a new trend: humorous book videos presented by fun-loving library staff. A format that’s proving hugely popular.

Berit Glanz
Photo (detail): © Thomas Meyer/OSTKREUZ/Stiftung Bauhaus Dessau

Detours | Dessau Form Follows Function: Tracing the History of the Bauhaus

Nowhere else in Germany is as inextricably linked to the Bauhaus as Dessau. Over a century ago, the architect Walter Gropius moved here with his visionary art school. Its influence can still be felt to this day.

Tim Pohl

Detours

Once a month, we take you to a place in Germany that you absolutely must discover!

Language

Photo (detail): © picture-alliance/ Evan Agostini/Invision/AP | Evan Agostini

Berit Glanz on Rosalía’s Berghain
Pop Icon Sparks Curiosity

It’s been a long time since a music video caused a stir on social media quite like Berghain by Spanish singer-songwriter Rosalía. Writer Berit Glanz is equally captivated – not just by the performance itself, but also by the online frenzy as fans join forces to decode its meaning.

Berit Glanz
© picture alliance / Robin Utrecht / Robin Utrecht

Berit Glanz on Lip-Syncing
Singing With Other People’s Voices

What do silent films and TikTok clips have in common? Why are lip-synced videos mini documents of practiced multilingualism? Berit Glanz knows the answers – and delights in the playful playback memes appearing in her feed.

Berit Glanz
© picture alliance / Westend61 | RODOBOT

Berit Glanz on Internet Confession Memes
Unfortunately, I Do Love

Guilty pleasures – we all have them. Once they were secrets no one was supposed to know about. Today, the opposite is true. Berit Glanz explores how personal and embarrassing moments are shared online – boldly and globally – often revealing something profoundly human.

Berit Glanz

Culture

Portrait photo of Ozan Zakariya Keskinkılıç

Interview with Ozan Zakariya Keskinkılıç "Metamorphosis Offers the Chance to Break Free"

Ozan Zakariya Keskinkılıç has written a highly acclaimed debut novel, “Hundesohn”, which has won several awards. In this interview, he talks about how writing became a process of exploration, where faith and desire intersect, and why transformation sometimes has to be monstrous.

A girl holding two flags is walking through a field.

Award-Winning Cannes Film “Sound of Falling” Where Memories Dwell

Mascha Schilinski’s award-winning Cannes entry “Sound of Falling” tells the stories of four girls who live on a farm in Germany’s Altmark region in different timeframes. It is a poetic masterpiece about remembering, physical memory and transgenerational trauma.

Anna Seghers – a portrait photograph, around 1975.

125th birthday – Anna Seghers A strong voice in exile literature

Anna Seghers: a distinctive figure; a biography marked by the dramas of the 20th century; novels that brought her international fame. The writer, who was committed to her work throughout her life, was born in Mainz 125 years ago.

Germany

Cherrypicker

The literature blog Cherrypicker presents selected novels and non-fiction, graphic novels and stories, audio books and literature for children and teenagers.

Photo (Detail) © mauritius images / Stocktrek / Mark Stevenson

Contemporary novels about climate change
Between Reality, Dystopia and Fiction

Climate fiction, eco-thrillers, docufiction – the climate crisis is reflected in contemporary German novels and reveals what concerns and affects us as a society. An interview with the literary and cultural scholar Gabriele Dürbeck.

Leonie Fößel
Photo (detail): © picture-alliance/ Panama Pictures | Christoph Hardt

The five oldest German universities
Studying in a historical setting

The world’s first universities were founded in Italy and England, admittedly. But Germany is shaped by a long academic history too. The five oldest universities were already up and running by the 15th century.

Monika Rathmann
Graphic: Jennifer Engl | Illustrations: Canva.com | Photos: On the left: picture alliance / dpa | Matthias Balk; On the right: mauritius images / Mint Images

Everyday Life in Germany: Wedding Edition
The Art of Celebrating Connection Between Cultures

Two weddings, two cultures – and one shared feeling: what happens when you experience a German wedding for the first time – and memories of a Syrian family celebration come flooding back?

Ahmad Kalaji