Society

Detours

A selfie at the Brandenburg Gate, a tour of Neuschwanstein Castle – all great. But which cities, landscapes and special places in Germany are also worth seeing? Once a month, we take you to a place in Germany that you absolutely must discover!

Detours © Goethe-Institut e. V., Tobias Schrank

Projects

Dreamland Deutschland

Dreamland Deutschland? is a unique storytelling project that captures the real-life experiences of South-Asian students navigating life in Germany. Through the lens of an international panel of talented graphic artists, these stories are brought to life in both online and print formats as a graphic novel anthology.

© Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan | Pritish Bali & Anupam Arunachalam
Typical Germany!
Oh so German!

Do bratwurst, beer gardens, and Lederhosen truly encapsulate Germany? Are fairy tales the country's secret obsession, and is every corner adorned with castles? Oh So German! offers glimpses of the many facets that compose the essence of Deutschland.

© Adobe Firefly | Edit: Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan
Portraits of Indians in Germany
Home Away From Home

Indian presence can be felt throughout Germany — be it the tantalizing scent of Indian cuisine permeating the air or the sight of Indian students making their way to universities. But what draws Indians to Germany, and what keeps them there? In this dossier, we explore personal stories and experiences of Indians living in Germany, including navigating cultural differences and finding success in their careers, revealing the unique challenges and rewards of living as an Indian in Germany.

© Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan | Anupam Arunachalam
German City Portraits

German cities are as diverse as the landscape that surrounds them. In a series of city portraits, we embark on a journey through Goethe's homeland. Our authors have taken a close look at things small and large which make their cities so unique and lovable.

© Tobias Schrank
European Football Championship

It's finally happening: after over 30 years, the European Football Championship returns to Germany! From June 14 to July 14, 2024, 24 teams will vie for the coveted trophy. Discover everything about the tournament in our special, and take a nostalgic look back at quirky soccer songs, iconic fashion moments, and the historic East vs. West Germany match. Enjoy and happy kicking!

© Goethe-Institut e. V./Illustration: Tobias Schrank
Simurgh Centre

The Simurgh Centre is a cultural space for collaborations and conversations between Afghan, German, and Indian artists. We seek to support, explore and share the work of Afghans, mostly those living in Delhi, and create connections with audiences and discourse across the world.

Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan
Being Queer
Queer Identities

What does it mean to be queer today? Where is queer seen? Who is queer? A brief journey through queer everyday life in India and Germany.

Illustration © Rosa Kammermeier
Magazine
Lockdown Lessons: Proximity and Distance

In ways we never imagined a virus now compels the world to keep its distance and regulates the closeness we are allowed to have with others. What happens with us when cultural practices of proximity are so fundamentally questioned?

Photo (detail): © Nadine Shaabana
Freedom

Commemorating 75 years of India's independence with 75 contributions, Freedom brings together artists, authors and thinkers from India and Germany to explore what freedom means to individuals and societies in a modern democracy.

© Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan
Fehler

How do we innovate and make progress? Our answer: often by mistake. We’re celebrating mistakes and their innovative power in this magazine: a collection of both big and little mistakes in art, language, technology, and society.
M.A.P // A.M.P

The project captures, documents, explores and invites music, poetry, research and discourse on the intersections of music and activism in South Asia.

© Goethe-Institut / Max Mueller Bhavan
M3: MAN, MALE, MASCULINE

The project aims to discuss current visions of masculinity across the gender spectrum in India and Bangladesh through various cultural and educational activities.
Feminism

What are the vital issues that women and feminists in South Asia and Germany today consider to be of burning importance, what are they concerned about? And what else is there still to do? This is a showcase of people who are involved in the field of culture and who are dealing with the hottest feminist issues and debates of the moment.

Photo (detail): Jordi Boixareu © ZUMAPRESS.com
Standstill

The earth rotates, everything is in constant motion, change is a necessity. It’s high time for a magazine dedicated to stillness: a collection of pieces from international artists and writers in homage to standstills and their poetic beauty.

Photo: Goethe-Institut
Inherited Memories

Three generations have passed since the Partition of Bengal. Inherited Memories focuses on memories of the third generation post-partition, how it affects millions of people still today, shapes their minds and views of "the other Bengal" and what role the culture of memory plays in coming to terms with the passed on traumata.

© Goethe-Institut

Articles

German-German history
Ein Ossi im perfekt wiedervereinigten Land

Author Valerie Schönian, who was born in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt is only familiar with walls dividing the country from films. Nevertheless, she consciously identifies as east German and, in her writing, explores how different perspectives in east and west Germany can be seen as an asset.

Photo (edited): © picture alliance | Jörg Carstensen
Video Games from Germany
Typical German?

Germans like to play games. 53 percent of people over the age of 16 regularly play video games. And with a turnover of almost six billion euros, the gaming industry is now a significant economic factor. But which games come from Germany? And what makes them “typically German”?

© Deck13 Interactive
Recyling and waste separation
Germany - a Recycling Star?

At first glance, Germans recycle their waste like world champions. But what is behind the “Recycling World Champion Germany”? On what we create every day: waste.

Photo (Detail): picture alliance / imageBROKER | klaus Rose
LGBTQ+ friendly cities in Germany
A queer journey through the cities

Many German cities are today proud of their vibrant queer community. There are bars, clubs, events and initiatives that offer queer people a safe space. The ways to get there were very different.

Photo (detail): © mauritius images / SOPA Images Limited / Alamy / Alamy Stock Photos
Five typical German habits
That's how it's done here

No sense of humour, always overly punctual, taciturn and a little reserved – one nationality immediately pops into your head when you hear these descriptions: the Germans. The list could go on and on – here we look at five habits that are seen as “typically German”.

Photo (detail): © picture alliance/dpa | Karl-Josef Hildenbrand
Five inventions from Germany
Milestones

Germany, the land of poets and thinkers – and inventors. Many groundbreaking ideas that still shape our everyday lives today come from Germany. Here are five pioneering inventions made in Germany.

Photo (detail): © mauritius images / Konstantin Yolshin / Alamy / Alamy Stock Photos
The Early Days of Radio
“Attention, Attention”

It is more than 100 years since the radio began to conquer the world. We have listened to the first sentences transmitted by wireless telegraphy: a journey back in time to the earliest beginnings of radio technology and radio entertainment.

Photo (detail): © picture alliance / ullstein bild
Berthold Franke
Legend, Heimat, Traffic Jam

From the darkest chapter of the 1930s and unlimited speeding across the German countryside to kilometre-long congestion – Berthold Franke looks back on almost one hundred years of (West) German autobahn history and deep into the German soul.

© Unsplash / Arkadiusz Radek
German-German history
Negotiations in the shadows

From the early 1960s to the end of the 1980s, thousands of GDR prisoners were ransomed by the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG). It was a deal that benefited both sides. But how did the process work? An article on a unique aspect of German-German history.

Photo (detail): © picture alliance/dpa | Hendrik Schmidt