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Tag Archives: Second World War

Berlin: One-Time Holiday for VE-Day Posted by on May 8, 2020

Today is VE-Day, or Victory in Europe Day. May 8, 1945 marks the day that the Nazis capitulated. With the Nazi regime gone, it was Stunde Null (Zero Hour), as it was called, for Germany: The opportunity for a new Germany, starting over. In Berlin, its 75. Jahrestag (anniversary), the day is a einmaliger (one-time) Feiertag (holiday). What happens today? Kapitulation am 8…

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Die Stunde Null: Zero Hour Posted by 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…

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German Wiedergutmachung (Reparations) Posted by 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…

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Bombenentschärfung in Dresden Posted by on May 25, 2018

Yesterday, something remarkable happened in Dresden, a city in Sachsen (Saxony), close to the Polish border. A Blindgänger (dud bomb) from the Zweite Weltkrieg (Second World War) was found close to the Altstadt (old city center) during Bauarbeiten (construction work). A bomb that was intended to destroy and kill and did not detonate 75 years ago. What did they do with it? Find out here! Gesprengt!…

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German Words Associated With Nazism Posted by on Mar 1, 2016

Guten Tag! Have you ever said a word or phrase in all innocence, only to receive shocked gasps from those around you, and be told ‘You can’t say that!’? Or be laughed at because the word you’ve used doesn’t mean what you think it does? Language is ever-changing, and words’ meanings can change over time…

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German Nationalparks – Part 2: Berchtesgaden Posted by on Feb 12, 2016

This is part 2 of the new series here on the German Blog, the German Nationalparks, a series on the 16 National Parks of Germany. Last week, I discussed the beautiful Schwarzwald, one of the most recently established Nationalparks. This week, we travel a bit further south to Nationalpark Berchtesgaden. Der Nationalpark Berchtesgaden Berchtesgaden is the southernmost Nationalpark of Germany, and most of…

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