Dresden, Chemnitz, Bautzen, Claußnitz, Freital, Heidenau – only a short time ago these villages and cities in Saxony – apart from Dresden – have been unknown to the wider public. Now they have in only a few weeks gained quite a recognition and media coverage – in a negative sense. In all of them … Continue reading
Bonfires lighten up the sky. Dark clouds of smoke hang over the city. Soldiers fire canons and jets thunder trough the air. The sun glows mercilessly and burns the faces of hundreds of soldiers and thousands of spectators. It is the middle of February in Port Elizabeth: the South African military is celebrating itself. … Continue reading
The New Year’s Eve attacks on women in Cologne not only broke loose a discussion about harassment and sexual abuse in Germany but also a new wave of racism and deep-rooted fear. Many especially right-wing politicians and commentators were head over heels, asking for harsher rules on immigration and faster deportation. While doing so they … Continue reading
What did it take 76 years ago to drive a continent into despair and destruction? Tanks, guns and fascism. What does it take to drive a country into despair in 2015? A rhombus – Angela Merkel’s signature gesture –, a man in a wheelchair and financial fascism otherwise known as neoliberalism. July 13th 2015 could … Continue reading
Title picture: Civilian members, officers and a foreigner (called Sonderführer) of a Hamburg radio station. Source: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2005-0154 / CC-BY-SA I had the idea for this essay during the conference „Geheimdienste: Netzwerke, Seilschaften und Patronage in nachrichtendienstlichen Institutionen“ in September 2014 in Erfurt. One of the moderators, Gerhard Sälter, a member of the … Continue reading
The (ab)use of animals was and still is by all means quite common in military history. But German historiography only slowly comes to terms with this topic. Therefore it was rather unexpected that the Museum of Military History in Dresden – opening its doors in 2011 – as a department of the German Bundeswehr exhibits … Continue reading
I did it. For three and a half months I lived completely vegan. Never being an excessive meat eater I decided to do an experiment by living vegan from the beginning of the year 2014 until Easter. After reporting a few times about vegan lifestyle for radio and internet in 2013 I was inspired to … Continue reading
