by HF | Apr 25, 2013
Holiday and Festivities Calendar for Austria, Germany, Switzerland Oktoberfest (which begins in September!) may be the most famous, but there are many other traditional celebrations in German-speaking Europe, ranging from the bizarre “Dinner for One” New Year’s custom...
by HF | Apr 19, 2013
Hitler’s Favorite Film Director “They kept asking me over and over again whether I was having a romance with Hitler. ‘Are you Hitler’s girlfriend?’ I laughed and answered the same way each time: ‘No, those are false rumors. I only made documentaries for...
by HF | Apr 16, 2013
Made in Germany: NSU, RAF, RZ Munich 1972 Following the horrible terrorist attack at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972 and the botched rescue attempt that left all of the hostages dead, Germany created a special federal anti-terrorism police unit known as GSG 9. The...
by HF | Apr 11, 2013
An Austrian Legend in Hollywood “People copy, people steal. Most of the pictures they make nowadays are loaded down with special effects. I couldn’t do that. I quit smoking because I couldn’t reload my Zippo.” – Billy Wilder, quoted in The New York Times He was born...
by HF | Apr 6, 2013
Maria Magdalene Dietrich (1901-1992) Film goddess and tarnished angel “The Germans and I no longer speak the same language.” — Marlene Dietrich in 1960 after a sometimes stormy reception in her native Germany. (Quoted in Blue Angel by Donald Spoto.) Starting with her...
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