Thomas Kemmerich of the FDP is congratulated by Bjoern Hoecke of the AfD (right) after his election as regional prime minister. Source: Reuters
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Weekly Poll
Is Angela Merkel losing control of the CDU?
YES NO NOT SURE
Last week, we asked if Germany mourn the departure of the UK from the EU?
88% of you answered 'yes'.
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Arts & Culture
Timothy Garton Ash’s talk in Oxford: the lessons of 1989
Charlemagne Prize winner Timothy Garton Ash gave a rousing talk for History Society at Oxford University in which he provided an insight into the events of the revolution from his own ring-side seat.
Garton Ash had befriended several dissidents by the end of the Cold War and rushed to the scene when the wall came down, witnessing first-hand the unravelling of a regime which is often deemed as having been inevitable in post-Wende narratives.
Calling on Henri Bergson’s theory of retrospective determinism: the temptation of thinking what happened under certain circumstances indeed had to happen due to those circumstances; Garton Ash emphasized the importance of inspecting the other paths history might have taken, and string of accidental occurrences which led to the Mauerfall.
For example, Politburo official Schabowski’s blunder, the consequent ‘fake news’ in Western media about borders opening, and a border guard’s split decision to open a gate.
Continue reading the full article here.
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Sport
- Leverkusen take the spoils in breathless encounter
In the Bundesliga game of the season so far, Bayer Leverkusen grabbed all three points from Borussia Dortmund’s grasp. The lead changed hands frequently at BayArena, with Dortmund poised to join pacesetters Bayern Munich on 42 points with only 9 minutes remaining. But two goals in two minutes gave Leverkusen a 4-3 lead which they were able to hold onto. Lars Bender nodded in the decisive winner from a corner. See the full report here.
Two goals from Marius Bülter helped Union Berlin to an away victory at Werder Bremen, as they continue their impressive season after promotion. 9th-placed Eintracht Frankfurt gave a warning to the sides above them with a thumping 5-0 win over Ausburg, leapfrogging them in the table in the process. Schalke could only draw with basement club Paderborn, Hertha BSC lost at the Olympiastadion to Mainz and Freiburg were victorious over Hoffenheim in a tight matchup.
Bayern Munich welcome the Timo Werner-inspired RB Leipzig to Bavaria in a mouth-watering top of the table clash. Bayern come into the game in red-hot form, whilst Leipzig have stuttered slightly in recent weeks, and will look to reclaim top spot with a successful trip to the Allianz Arena.
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Game of the Week
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Bundesliga Standings
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Germany in the UK
The LSE's German Symposium took place last week and featured a number of high profile guests, including Germany's ambassador to the UK Peter Wittig and a number of talks on a range of economic, political and social issues. See the programme here.
'Voices of the German resistance' is a recital of German Lieder interspersed with readings from the White Rose members’ pamphlets, letters, and diaries in English. It takes place in Oxford on March 17th .
The Ace Cafe in London plays host to several 'German nights' during the next few months.
Henning Wehn performs his new comedy show ‘Get on with it’ at Lincoln University on March 7th.
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Music
Song of the week is: Wenn Sie Kommen by Namika (2015)
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Word of the Week
etwas durch die Blume sagen
Phrasal verb: to say something in a roundabout way
The phrase etw. durch die Blume sagen is a colloquial idiomatic expression which is used to refer to situations where someone says something in an indirect way.
The literal translation would be to say something through the flower. If you notice someone is talking to you in a roundabout way, you could respond with Vielen Dank für die Blumen which means I understood the hidden criticism.
Synonymous expressions: etwas verblümt sagen; (similar) um den heißen Brei herumreden [to beat around the bush]
- Was man von den anderen hält, sagt man oft durch die Blume. = What one thinks of the others is often said in an indirect way.
- Wer Missverständnisse vermeiden möchte, sollte nichts durch die Blume sagen, sondern offen ansprechen, was er meint und will. = If you wish to avoid misunderstandings, do not say anything in a veiled way, but speak openly about what you mean and want.
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