Latest East Germany News

Frieder Reimold, journalist who wrote AP’s iconic ‘East Germany opens borders’ bulletin, dies at 80

Dec. 10, 2024 03:40 AM EST

BERLIN (AP) — Frieder Reimold, a former Berlin bureau chief of The Associated Press German-language service who wrote the iconic 1989 bulletin that East Germany had opened its borders, has died. He was 80. Reimold died Thursday in Berlin of complications related to cancer, his...

Germany's Merkel recalls Putin's 'power games' and contrasting US presidents in her memoirs

Nov. 27, 2024 07:38 AM EST

BERLIN (AP) — Former German Chancellor Angela Merkel recalls Vladimir Putin's “power games” over the years, remembers contrasting meetings with Barack Obama and Donald Trump and says she asked herself whether she could have done more to prevent Brexit, in her memoirs published Tuesday. ...

Tens of thousands celebrate fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago with concerts and art installations

Nov. 09, 2024 17:43 PM EST

BERLIN (AP) — Tens of thousands of people celebrated the fall of the Berlin Wall 35 years ago in Germany's capital on Saturday with open-air concerts, art installations and official events commemorating one of the country's most historic days on Nov. 9, 1989. It was “a lucky day...

Today in History: November 9, Berlin Wall falls after 28 years

Nov. 09, 2024 00:01 AM EST

Today is Saturday, Nov. 9, the 314th day of 2024. There are 52 days left in the year. Today in history: On Nov. 9, 1989, communist East Germany threw open its borders, allowing citizens to travel freely to the West for the first time in decades. Also...

The Berlin Wall: A divide that once shaped German women's lives still echoes today

Nov. 08, 2024 02:58 AM EST

BERLIN (AP) — Like many other young women living in communist East Germany, Solveig Leo thought nothing about juggling work and motherhood. The mother of two was able to preside over a large state-owned farm in the northeastern village of Banzkow because childcare was widely available. ...

AP Photos: 35 years after the Berlin Wall opened, fragments of East Germany's border remain

Nov. 08, 2024 00:24 AM EST

BERLIN (AP) — Most of communist East Germany's heavily fortified border was torn down quickly after it was opened in 1989, but there are still places where visitors can see the remains of the Berlin Wall and other sections of the frontier. East Germany closed the border in Berlin...

Today in History: November 1, Seabiscuit wins “Race of the Century”

Nov. 01, 2024 00:08 AM EDT

Today is Friday, Nov. 1, the 306th day of 2024. There are 60 days left in the year. Today in history: On Nov. 1, 1938, in a two-horse match race, Seabiscuit defeated the favored Triple Crown winner War Admiral by four lengths in what was dubbed the “Race of the...

Former officer with East Germany’s secret police sentenced to prison for a border killing in 1974

Oct. 14, 2024 08:53 AM EDT

BERLIN (AP) — An 80-year-old former officer with communist East Germany’s secret police, the Stasi, was sentenced Monday to 10 years in prison for the murder of a Polish man at a border crossing in divided Berlin 50 years ago. The Berlin state court said in its ruling that there...