History

By Julian Mattocks • Photographs Courtesy Julian Mattocks One black-and-white sketch in particular captivates my attention as I fascinatedly look through the drawings. Its focal point—a single tree in full bloom—stands alone by some water, exuding a simple ... Read More...

“We have to remember the past so the bad things will not be repeated, but it is also a mistake to live in the past.” Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder By Robert A. Selig A century ago, on 28 June 1919, the fifth anniversary of the assassination of Archduke Fr... Read More...

Slip back into the 19th century when many Germans migrated to the U.S. By Don Heimburger Photographs Courtesy Don Heimburger There’s a place in Wisconsin where German history in America comes alive in a dramatic and eye-opening way. Three German immigr... Read More...

By James M. Beidler The phrase “the devil is in the details” has no better proof than when one tries to map the changing boundaries associated with the lands of the German-speaking people through the centuries. Whether it’s the movements of the Germanic ... Read More...

For 25 years, we at German Life have been hearing stories—via telephone, handwritten letter and email. Inevitably they stem from a story about a town in Germany that we may have just featured or a recipe that brings fond memories of loved ones and special occa... Read More...

In 2019, Germany honors its 19th century master of realism. By Jackie Guigui-Stolberg   We German-Americans today can so easily forget how different the Germany of our grandparents, great-grandparents, and great-great grandparents was from the Ge... Read More...

After over 200 years, the question still remains…were young German men kidnapped and forced to serve in the military of Great Britain? By Robert A. Selig   Did Friedrich Ludwig Reichsgraf zu Löwenstein-Wertheim-Virneburg (1745 -1799) kidnap young... Read More...

From its status as an important port of trade to its connection with Thomas Müntzer and the German Peasants’ War, this city in the heart of Germany is worth a visit. By Phyllis Meras   It’s a 1,000-year-old Thuringian city that, nowadays, tends t... Read More...

From the beauty of Sanssouci to the Cold War history of Glienicke Bridge, Potsdam offers an enticing side-trip option when in Berlin. By Wibke Carter   Potsdam, the fabled retreat of the Prussian kings, is for many travelers to Berlin a popular d... Read More...

Four years of suffering after WWI and tensions between the social classes set the scene for the end of Germany’s monarchy and the birth of the Weimar Republic. By Robert A. Selig Unrest of sailors in Wilhelmshaven during the night of 29 to 30 October 19... Read More...