SPIEGEL ONLINE
- October 06, 2011
Pedestrian crossing figures vary, but the first ones in the world to wear hats originated in East Germany 50 years ago. Surviving a post-reunification attempt to have them removed, the jaunty figures have since gained cult status. SPIEGEL ONLINE looks back at their history and explores the competition. By Christian Gödecke more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- July 29, 2011
The photographer Roman Bezjak spent five years traveling around Eastern Europe taking pictures of communist-era buildings. His images show grand gestures in concrete and weird constructions that could be in a science-fiction movie. His intention was not to judge the structures, but to show them from a new perspective. By Benjamin Maack more... [ Forum ]
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- December 27, 2010
Lothar Bisky was an East German university professor who became involved in politics after the fall of the Berlin Wall and later became co-leader of the far-left Left Party. In a SPIEGEL interview, he explains why he opposed German reunification and his fear that a reunited Germany would swing to the far right. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- November 10, 2010
A new study finds that East German products -- from Rotkäppchen to Spee laundry detergent -- have filled their capacity for "retro" sales, and need to focus more on marketing to the West. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- September 27, 2010
Introspection and nostalgia are rife ahead of the 20th anniversary of German reunification -- and German Chancellor Angela Merkel has joined the trend. In an unusually candid magazine interview she explained how her habits still bear the hallmarks of growing up in communist East Germany. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- July 29, 2010
The beloved Trabant, a trademark of communist East Germany, is dying out fast. The number rattling around on German roads has dwindled to 35,000 from close to one million shortly after reunification. Last year's cash-for-clunkers program appears to have persuaded many owners to ditch their brand loyalty. By Eric Kelsey more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- July 03, 2009
Glorification of the German Democratic Republic is on the rise two decades after the Berlin Wall fell. Young people and the better off are among those rebuffing criticism of East Germany as an "illegitimate state." In a new poll, more than half of former eastern Germans defend the GDR. By Julia Bonstein more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- May 06, 2009
Mario Röllig is still struggling to get over his time in a Stasi prison while his jailers enjoy a peaceful retirement. Twenty years after the fall of the Wall, East Germany's former political prisoners want more recognition for their suffering -- and an end to "Ostalgie." By David Crossland more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- January 26, 2009
Time has stood still in an eastern German apartment which has only just been opened after evidently being abandoned in a hurry in early 1989. It gives an intriguing glimpse into everyday life in communist times. more...
SPIEGEL ONLINE
- May 22, 2008
In 1969, racing car driver Heinz Melkus started building what was to be East Germany's only sports cars. Nearly two decades after the fall of the Berlin Wall, two of his descendants are once again making the legendary car. By Mark Waffel in Berlin more...
