Skip to main content

Subscribe to Smithsonian magazine and get a FREE tote.

Germany

Will a New Law Forever Change the German Language?

When a language is strongly gendered, it can raise all sorts of challenges to a society that’s increasingly accepting of a wide spectrum of identities

The Nazi atomic effort relied on work done in this remote lab.

How a Sneak Attack By Norway’s Skiing Soldiers Deprived the Nazis of the Atomic Bomb

Seventy-five years ago, in Operation Gunnerside, a stealthy group of commandos took out a crucial Nazi chemical plant

Markus Brunetti, Wells Cathedral Church of St. Andrews, 2015-2016 Archival Pigment Print

Thousands of Photographs Created These Hyper-Real Portraits of Historic Buildings

German artist Markus Brunetti brings a high-tech approach to capturing centuries-old cathedrals

Amateur Historian Reveals Forgotten Stretch of the Berlin Wall

The dilapidated structure appears to be an early iteration of the infamous Cold War partition

Why Winter Is the Perfect Time to Visit Bavaria

This corner of Germany is the ultimate cold-weather playground, a place where sledding down a mountain, or knocking back beers are equally worthy pursuits

Hitler used shameless self-promotion and alternative facts to cast himself as a national hero.

Hitler Created a Fictional Persona To Recast Himself as Germany’s Savior

In 1923, Adolf Hitler wrote an embellished autobiography to convince Germans he was their natural leader

None

Dazzle Your Senses in Thuringia

Situated in the heart of Germany, the state of Thuringia is home to more than one thousand years of history.

None

Photos: The Incredible Legacy of the Bauhaus School of Design

Though open for just 14 years, the Bauhaus marked the beginning of Modernism and its impact is still felt today

The True Story of the German-Jewish High Jumper Who Was Barred From the Berlin Olympics

A new Olympic Channel documentary explores Margaret Lambert’s stunted path to Olympic glory—and her resilience in the face of persecution

Hjalmar Schacht, former president of the Reichsbank, at a meeting in the Reichsbank transfer commission in 1934.

Germany’s Central Bank Funds Investigation Into Its Nazi Ties

Researchers have already uncovered a damning letter from one of the bank’s former presidents

44 Reasons Why You Should Visit Thuringia, Germany

The central German state of Thuringia is the ideal place to discover Germany’s history and culture.

FIU Blackboards by Joseph Beuys,1977-1979, now on view at the Hirshhorn.

What a Pair of Empty Blackboards Can Teach Us About Art and Social Change

Can art alter the course of history? Should artists even try? Joseph Beuys said yes and yes

The Messburghof in Hamburg, Germany

Inside the House of Zyklon B

An iconic Hamburg building, built by Jews and now a chocolate museum, once housed the distributors of one of Nazi Germany’s most gruesome inventions

Bodo Mende (left) and Karl Kreile (right) are the first couple in Germany to celebrate a same-sex wedding.

Germany Celebrates Its First Same-Sex Marriages

The country’s marriage equality law, which was passed in June, went into effect on Sunday

Tim Renner, undersecretary of state for cultural affairs, at a 2016 press conference for the Urban National Museum for Urban Contemporary Art.

Museum Devoted to Street Art Opens in Berlin

The façade of the five-story building is covered in large murals

A European bison, also referred to as a wisent

A Wild Bison Was Spotted in Germany for the First Time in Two Centuries. Then It Was Shot

As conservationists work to restore the once mighty European bison, they must face misunderstandings from concerned citizens

The "Blockbuster" bomb after it was defused

Trending Today

Discovery of Unexploded WWII Bomb Forces Massive Evacuation in Frankfurt

On Sunday, residents living within a mile of the site left their homes while the 4,000-pound “Blockbuster” was defused

K.O. Gotz, 1968

Trending Today

German Abstract Art Pioneer K.O. Götz Dies at 103

His broad strokes and large-scale paintings helped re-establish Germany as post-war cultural hub

Artists like Paula Modersohn-Becker sought to incorporate exotic elements into their art in Germany's colonial era, such as the bananas shown in this 1905 painting

German Art Museum Tackles Legacy of Colonialism

Looking hard at its own collection, Kunsthalle Bremen aims to challenge the racism of colonialism that persists today

Chinese laborers comprised the largest non-European workforce during World War I, and were tasked with everything from digging trenches to manning factories.

World War I: 100 Years Later

The Surprisingly Important Role China Played in WWI

In turn, the peace talks that ended the war had an enormous impact on China’s future

Page 16 of 20