Germany

L to R: John Lennon, Paul McCartney and George Harrison perform at the Star-Club in Hamburg, Germany, in May 1962.

How a Stint in Hamburg Helped Catapult the Beatles to Superstardom

A trove of letters and photographs associated with the band's time in Germany is set to go up for auction next month

Albert Einstein arrived in New York on the SS Rotterdam IV; crowds of people awaited his arrival in the States.

One Hundred Years Ago, Einstein Was Given a Hero's Welcome by America's Jews

The German physicist toured the nation as a fundraiser for Zionist causes, even though he was personally torn on the topic of a Jewish nation

Occupying forces murdered all the inhabitants of 629 razed Belarusian villages, in addition to burning down another 5,454 villages and killing at least a portion of their residents. Pictured: A statue of Khatyn survivor Iosif Kaminsky in front of a Belarusian village destroyed in 1941

How the 1943 Khatyn Massacre Became a Symbol of Nazi Atrocities on the Eastern Front

Decades after the murder of 149 residents of a Belarusian village, the tragedy has taken on layers of meaning far removed from the attack itself

Researchers unearthed three Polish nuns' remains at a municipal cemetery in Orneta.

Researchers Uncover Remains of Polish Nuns Murdered by Soviets During WWII

As the Red Army pushed the Nazis out of Poland in 1945, soldiers engaged in brutal acts of repression against civilians

This mural—found on the east wall of the south transept in the Augsburg Cathedral—depicts the beheading of St. John the Baptist.

1,000-Year-Old Bavarian Frescoes Depict Life and Beheading of John the Baptist

The paintings, which adorn the Augsburg Cathedral in southern Germany, are among the oldest of their kind in northern Europe

Prisoner barracks at the Stutthof concentration camp, pictured here after liberation in May 1945

95-Year-Old Nazi Camp Secretary Charged as Accessory in 10,000 Murders

The woman, identified as Irmgard F., claims she didn't know about the mass murders taking place at Stutthof

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

Page 8 of 17