Communist East Germany closed its border in Berlin on Aug. 13, 1961, when it erected a wall that eventually turned into an increasingly elaborate fortification snaking through the city and around ...

Camping was popular in East Germany when travel options were limited. Families spent summers at lakes, in forests, or at ...

Photos held in a German archive reveal how barriers were tested to prevent East German citizens attempting to flee to freedom, even by killing them. 1 A vehicle smashes into a steel barrier at a ...

Even after almost 35 years when the so-called German Reunification which was, in reality, a bit more like an Anschluss wherein West-Germany simply took over East-Germany occurred, a divided Germany ...

The Big Ideas: What Is History? After moments of great upheaval, scars can last for generations. By Jenny Erpenbeck Jenny Erpenbeck is a writer. This personal reflection is part of a series called The ...

Among casual observers of Eastern Europe’s people’s republics, East Germany retains a mistaken reputation for being an economic sad sack. Yet almost unnoticed, the country has risen to tenth place ...

THE LATE summer sun is beating down on a merry crowd assembled in Neustadt an der Orla, a small town in the east German state of Thuringia. As children slurp ice cream and Thuringian Bratwürste warm ...

The core differences between the East German “National People’s Army” (NVA) and the Nazi German Wehrmacht that came before it were doctrinal in nature. Despite having a handful of outward similarities ...

Though spared from actual warfare, the tank’s role in deterrence and crisis response was crucial, influencing global military dynamics and leaving an indelible mark on armored history. During the Cold ...