Germany

Irmgard Keun’s disappearing act, amid the general chaos of Germany in the interwar and post-war periods, makes piecing together the author’s life a bit of a challenge.

The Extraordinary Disappearing Act of a Novelist Banned by the Nazis

Driven into exile because of her work’s “anti-German” themes, Irmgard Keun took her own life—or did she?

A newly described python species named Messelopython freyi. The 47-million-year-old specimen is the world’s oldest known fossil record of a python.

Oldest-Ever Python Fossil Found in Europe

The 47-million-year-old snake pushes the evolutionary origins of the group back some 20 million years

Bright lights and large crowds were ever-present at the Weihnachtsmarkt in Dresden, Germany, 2014.

A Taste of the German Christmas Market at Home

Normally. the German-speaking lands of Central Europe would be bustling filled with food, drink, good cheer, and other longstanding traditional activities

Often overshadowed by more famous jets in World War II, the Ar 234 B-2—known as the Blitz, or Lightning—had caught the Allies by surprise when the nine soared through the skies on December 24, 1944.

With Lightning Speed and Agility, Germany's Ar 234 Blitz Jet Bomber Was a Success That Ultimately Failed

Only one is known to survive today and it is in the collections of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum

German investigators found the 20th-century painting in a trash container at the Düsseldorf Airport.

$340,000 Surrealist Painting Found in Recycling Bin at German Airport

Authorities managed to recover the Yves Tanguy work—left behind by a businessman bound for Tel Aviv—before it was destroyed

The Einsatzstab Reichsleiter Rosenberg looted books across occupied Europe. Pictured here is a room full of stolen texts in Riga, Latvia.

New Digital Project Details 150 Belgian Libraries Looted by the Nazis

During WWII, a special ideological unit stole some 250,000 to 300,000 books for research and propaganda purposes

A team of divers found this rusted—but still recognizable—Enigma cipher machine at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. The Nazis used the device to encode secret military messages during WWII.

Divers Discover Nazi Enigma Machine Thrown Into the Baltic Sea During WWII

German forces used the device—likely cast into the water to avoid falling into Allied hands—to encode military messages

A police barrier tape hangs in front of Dresden's Royal Palace, which houses the Green Vault.

Authorities Arrest Three Suspects in $1 Billion Dresden Jewel Heist

Investigators linked the November 2019 burglary to an organized crime syndicate

Initial lockdowns successfully slowed the spread of Covid-19 and saved lives, studies showed in June. But as countries reopened and people let their guard down, cases—particularly in Western countries—began to rise again.

European Countries Enact New Lockdowns Amid Surge in Covid-19 Cases

Unlike the first round of indefinite lockdowns, most restrictions are planned to last about one month

This month's book picks include A Demon-Haunted Land, South to Freedom and The Light Ages.

The Heiress Who Stole a Vermeer, Witchcraft in Post-WWII Germany and Other New Books to Read

These five November releases may have been lost in the news cycle

Installation view of "Russian Avant-Garde at the Museum Ludwig: Original and Fake, Questions, Research, Explanations"

Why a German Museum Is Displaying Fake Paintings From Its Collections

A taboo-breaking exhibition at Cologne's Museum Ludwig spotlights misattributed Russian avant-garde works

Researchers say the sunken ship may hold panels from Russia's famed Amber Room, which went missing during World War II.

Shipwrecked Nazi Steamer May Hold Clues to the Amber Room's Fate

Divers have found sealed chests and military vehicles in the "Karlsruhe," which was sunk by Soviet planes in 1945

In 1943 the all-wing and jet-propelled Horten Ho 229 promised spectacular performance and the German air force (Luftwaffe) chief, Hermann Göring, allocated half-a-million Reichsmarks to brothers Reimar and Walter Horten to build and fly several prototypes.

Truth Is Stranger Than Fiction With Horten's All-Wing Aircraft Design

New research dispels some of the myths behind the world's first jet-powered flying wing

Ella Fitzgerald performs in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1961.

Listen to a Lost Ella Fitzgerald Recording

In 1962, the singer returned to Berlin to reprise a famous 1960 concert. The tapes were forgotten—until now

Towers of the Stadtkirsche rise above Wittenberg, Germany. Much of the church was demolished and replaced in 1522, but the “Judensau” has remained despite controversy.

Germany May Have Banished Nazism, but Its Medieval Anti-Semitism Is Still in Plain Sight

In the city where Martin Luther revolutionized Christianity, a vile, 700-year-old sculpture openly denigrates Jews. Why is it still there?

A new study suggests the Nebra Sky Disc is 1,000 years younger than previously assumed.

Is This Ancient Map of the Cosmos Younger Than Previously Thought?

A controversial new analysis of the Nebra Sky Disc suggests the artifact dates to the Iron Age, not the Bronze Age

Refugees established communities in displaced persons (DP) camps across Germany.

The Little-Known Story of World War II's 'Last Million' Displaced People

A new book by historian David Nasaw tells the story of refugees who could not—or would not—return home after the conflict

A sonar scan of the German warship Karlsruhe, which was recently discovered off the southern coast of Norway

Wreck of German Warship Sunk in 1940 Found Off Norwegian Coast

A British torpedo struck the "Karlsruhe" during the Nazis' invasion of the Scandinavian country

The Große Stammbuch contains 100 illustrations dated to between 1596 and 1647. This two-page spread depicts flowers, insects and shells.

Why 'Friendship Books' Were the 17th-Century Version of Facebook

Dozens of 17th-century dignitaries signed a 227-page manuscript recently acquired by a German library

After joining the Navy at age 17, Anthony D'Acquisto served aboard the U.S.S. Randolph, participating in the Battles of Okinawa and Iwo Jima.

See 12 Stunning Portraits of World War II Veterans

Photographer Zach Coco has spent the past five years documenting more than 100 men and women's stories

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