Stealing a Living
Theft in East Germany was so common as to be nicknamed ‘the people’s sport’. Why were citizens of the GDR so light-fingered?
Germany
The ‘Jena Set’
The quiet German town that formed the backdrop for the first German Romantic movement.
‘Because they were German’
The continuity and contextualisation of German military history across five centuries.
A Shared Culture
How a German colony laid the groundwork for the alliance between Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan.
Germany United
The first German constitution was ratified in April 1871. Designed by Otto von Bismarck to preserve the old regime, it would eventually help bring about its downfall.
Execution of the Tailor-King
The bodies of Jan Bockelson, and two other leaders of the Anabaptist sect, were hung outside the church of St Lambert on 22 January 1536.
Was German Unification Inevitable?
In January 1871 Bismarck declared the German nation united. Following a tragic 20th century, Germany reunified once more in 1990. Four historians offer their perspectives on both events.
Who’s Afraid of the Stasi?
The sinister reach of East Germany’s Ministry for State Security did not end in 1989. According to the British press, the Stasi is still with us.
Berlin’s Other Anniversary
The fall of the Berlin Wall was as much about beginnings as it was about endings. Out of the rubble came a new hope: techno music.
Day of Dissent in the DDR
The East German Uprising of 1953 was the first major revolt to take place in the Soviet Bloc.