Archive by Author
R.I.P. Udo Jürgens Posted by Sandra Rösner on Jan 9, 2015
Just before Christmas the Austrian entertainer Udo Jürgens died. The online edition of the Abendzeitung München reports that memorials will take place in Zurich, Berlin, and Vienna mid-January. 21 December 2014 was a sad day for many Austrian, Swiss, and Germans. Udo Jürgens, one of the most popular germanophone musicians, collapsed while taking a walk in this adopted homeland…
Forced adoption in the GDR Posted by Sandra Rösner on Nov 5, 2014
It is still an unscripted chapter in history books: Zwangsadoptionen (forced adoptions) in the GDR. Unofficially it is known – officially it is supposed – that children in the GDR were systematically alienated from their parents and, hence, fell victims to forced adoptions. None of the responsible masterminds and operators have ever confessed this practice…
Bernhard Schlink: Der Vorleser (The Reader) Posted by Sandra Rösner on Oct 18, 2014
Germany’s role in the Holocaust in World War II is still firmly fixed in the minds of many people around the world. For a long time, the occurrences had been placed under a taboo. Silence was considered to be an appropriate modality of Entnazifizierung (denazification) in both parts of divided Germany. Only gradually Opfer (victims)…
German music: Lyrics and English translation of “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten” by Tim Bendzko Posted by Sandra Rösner on Oct 9, 2014
Tim Bendzko is a young singer-songwriter from Berlin. The song “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten”, which was released in 2011, granted him popularity throughout Germany. This year, he won the World Music Award 2014 in Monaco as “Best German Act”. Tim Bedzko’s song “Nur noch kurz die Welt retten” is about the fast-moving nature…
Key: Forming sentences with the German verb “hören” (Video) Posted by Sandra Rösner on Oct 6, 2014
Here is the key for the exercise on conjugating the German verb “hören”. In case you would like to listen to the correct sentences: check out the video. Präteritum – Preterit (equals simple past) 3a. I listened to the radio. Ich hörte Radio. 3b. I listened to music. Ich hörte Musik. 3c. I…
11 foodstuffs of the GDR you can still find in German supermarkets Posted by Sandra Rösner on Oct 3, 2014
When the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the Bundesrepublik (Federal Republic) and Ostdeutschland (East Germany) finally reunited on 3rd October 1990 officially, the citizens and workers of the GDR hoped for an economic reorganization. However, transforming a Planwirtschaft (planned economy) into a Marktwirtschaft (market economy) soon proved to be illusionary. On the one hand…
German grammar in use: The conjugation of the verb “hören” Posted by Sandra Rösner on Oct 1, 2014
The German verb “hören” has got three major meanings: The ability to hear The conscious activity to listen (to) To do what an authority commands you: to obey Additionally, there are several compound verbs with the stem “-hören”, which specify HOW you hear or listen. zuhören – to listen to The verb “zuhören” is a…