#DeutschlandNoFilter: The Germany Magazine of the Goethe-Institut

Life is good under the Californian sun: The Kaulitz brothers

Brotherly love in LA Brotherly love in LA

The Kaulitz brothers have already worn many hats. The next chapter is “Kaulitz & Kaulitz”. In this Netflix production, it’s all about the Kaulitz brothers themselves, but it’s in the carefully crafted presentation that their true strength lies.

A collage of several illustrations from the book "Ready America" by Anna Haifisch. The illustrations include a jumping seal, comic figures and adverts.

Cherrypicker | Literature Californian Stew

Melancholic, comic, humorous: In “Ready America”, Anna Haifisch portrays a land of contrasts. Billboards meet lonely dogs, palm trees encounter comic figures. A picture book full of references and original juxtapositions.

Audience in front of the Duisburg Filmforum

48th Duisburg Film Week and the Goethe-Institut Documentary Film Award Imaging the reality of the world

Every year in November, the German-language documentary film scene meets in the heart of the Ruhr region for the Duisburg Film Week. Just as important as the viewing of current films is the discussion about them – and the audience joins in. Special addition 2024: The Goethe-Institut has awarded its documentary film prize.

Five German fairy tales And they lived happily ever after

Once upon a time – there was an ancient text form that can be found in all cultures. These fantastic stories were so important that they were even recognised as intangible cultural heritage in Germany in 2016. About five German fairy tales that still live on our bookshelves today.

Illustration mehrerer Zeichen: Windrad, Fahrrad, Müll, Erde und Thermometer — Nachhaltig erklärt

In unserem Klima- und Nachhaltigkeitsformat findet ihr Informationen rund um die Klimakrise und ihre Verbindungen zu Sprache, Kultur und Deutschland.

Language

Illustration: red speech bubble with the content “kochem schmusen”

Word! The Language Column Once a poor people’s dialect, now a cultural heritage

In the early 1990s, budding and established linguists flocked to the corner pubs and slums of some cities. There they interviewed the last surviving speakers of the Rotwelsche dialects. Today, everything is well documented - to the delight of UNESCO.

The picture shows an illustration. In the middle of the picture you can see a river with ducks and swans. On one side of the river you can see the city and cyclists, on the other side nature, trees, butterflies etc.

Environment & Language How we Talk About Our "Environment"

We own pets, slaughter meat breeds, pull weeds, and associate warmth with something pleasant. Lena Maurer discusses how language can change our perception of nature.

Illustration: A person, from his eyes leads a winding line towards a sign (jagged line – a “Zinken”) on a wall

Word! The Language Column The linguistic world of the outcast

What does Rotwelsch actually mean? How long has this particular vocabulary existed? Who speaks it and why? Klaus Siewert enlightens us. He looks back to the time of Martin Luther and draws a line to contemporary literature.

Culture

Cherrypicker | Literature Is the truth worth five million?

In Ursula Poznanski's new thriller, 100 people fight against a lie detector and for five million euros in prize money. The condition: Always tell the truth.

Bodo Wartke and Marti Fischer with their iconic dance move from their viral internet hit ‘Barbaras Rhabarberbar’

Sound Bites | Music Viral Tongue Twister

Tongue twisters and viral hits - not really a match. But then "Barbaras Rhabarberbar" came along. What did it take? The singer-songwriter Bodo Wartke, a few lucky coincidences and, of course, the internet.

Sasa Stanisic reads from ‘If the widow wants to be addressed, she places the watering can on the grave with the spout facing forwards’ at lit.Cologne 2024, 11 June 2024

Cherrypicker | Literature Log in to life

A hot summer day. Four young people are sitting in the vineyards, somewhat bored. Suddenly, one of them has a life-changing idea. Saša Stanišić turned it into an entire collection of stories.

Germany

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.

The iconic red twin pithead winding tower is also dubbed the “Eifel Tower of the Ruhr”.

Detours | Zollverein Coal Mine The Eifel Tower of Industrial Culture

Can a disused coal mine be beautiful? Zollverein coal mine in Essen can! The Zollverein industrial complex combines architecture and nature, culture and leisure activities, the past and the future. Anyone into ice skating or swimming will definitely have a great time here.

A scene from the game ‘Atlas Fallen’ with a figure in the foreground and a passing caravan in the background.

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”?

EIne Graphik mit verschiedenen Gebäuden und Richtungspfeilen, dazwischen der Schriftzug "Umwege" bzw. "Detours" — Detours

Once a month, we take you to a place in Germany that you absolutely must discover!