Tag Archives: history
Die Stunde Null: Zero Hour Posted by Constanze on Aug 28, 2019
Guten Tag! Today we continue on the theme of words that tell us a great deal about periods of German history. Today we are looking at four words, but the main one is this: die Stunde Null. Die Stunde Null translates to ‘the zero hour’, wherein die Stunde means hour, and null is the word…
German Wiedergutmachung (Reparations) Posted by Constanze on Aug 21, 2019
Guten Tag! Today we’re looking at the word die Wiedergutmachung. In 1953, the German government agreed to pay reparations to Holocaust survivors following World War II. This included anyone who was directly victimised by the Nazis in any way (it did not, however, include relatives/descendants of those people, for example). That is what the word…
3 Words About Former West Germany Posted by Constanze on Jul 24, 2019
Guten Tag! I recently read a book about the history of Germany. It contained many words I hadn’t heard of before, that gave insights into specific aspects of German history. The section on the post-war/Cold War period (1945-1991), in particular, used several German words when discussing the topic of East and West Germany. We all…
3 Words About Former East Germany Posted by Constanze on Jul 22, 2019
Guten Tag! I recently read a book about the history of Germany. It contained many words I hadn’t heard of before, that described specific aspects of eras in German history. The section on the post-war/Cold War period (1945-1991), in particular, mentioned several German words when discussing the topic of East and West Germany. We all…
The Curiosity of the German Word “Koffein” Posted by Sten on Jun 13, 2019
Do you drink Kaffee (coffee)? Whether you drink it because you like the Geschmack (taste), just out of Gewohnheit (habit) or for the Koffein (caffeine), it sure is a very popular Getränk (drink). But wait a second – Kaffee contains Koffein? What’s going on here? Click here for previous entries in the series on curious words in German A Curious History So even though Kaffee is written…
German Currency Over The Years Posted by Constanze on May 29, 2019
Guten Tag! Today we’re going to look at German Geld (money). Germany’s current currency is the Euro, but it’s only been that way since 2002. In this post we’ll look at German currency (die Währung) from over the years. We start in the period of the German Empire. Between 1873 and 1914, German currency was…
Interesting German Places: Olympiapark, Munich Posted by Constanze on May 15, 2019
Guten Tag! It can be fascinating to learn the history behind seemingly ordinary buildings and places. Today we’ll look at one such place, namely the Olympiapark in Munich. Olympiapark The Olympiapark München (Olympic Park, Munich) is a huge venue in Oberwiesenfeld. Originally created for die Olympische Sommerspiele 1972 (1972 Summer Olympic Games), it is used…