The Berlin I once knew was not the kind of place you raved about. There was no fine dining but plenty of heavy drinking. The beautiful people ran London and Munich and Milan. In Berlin, the punks were in charge.
World War II
How Putin Has Turned the Paris Attacks to His Advantage
Grabbing on to Hollande’s coattails, Putin has rediscovered Russia’s struggle against ISIS.
Germany: Reunited for 25 Years and It Doesn’t Always Feel So Good
Today’s dividing lines are between Germans who have accepted the reality of globalization and those who deny it by shrouding themselves in nationalism.
Why It’s So Hard for Germany to Lead on the Migrant Crisis – or Anything Else
In Germany, even the semantics of the word “to lead” — fuehren — are loaded because of associations with Adolf Hitler.
Germany’s Assumptions About Peace and Power Are Out of Sync With Reality
Before the fighting broke out in Ukraine, Germany behaved like a big Switzerland, with no obvious interests abroad apart from developing new markets for its exports.
Moscow Uses Tanks, Berlin Words in World War II Commemorations
In an irony of history, Germany is now the one country that has the moral authority to bridge the contradictions in remembering World War II.
How Vladimir Putin’s Skewed View of World War II Threatens his Neighbors and the West
Remembering the Great Victory is more than an instrument to consolidate Russians. It has also become a way to prepare people for war.
Ukraine’s Ceasefire Has Become a Farce, with Vladimir Putin the Author
Russia isn’t formally a party to the conflict but a concerned neighbor. The de facto double role of warmonger and peacemaker puts all the cards in Putin’s hands.
25 Years After Its Fall, Vladimir Putin Puts Berlin Wall’s Lessons Front and Center
Putin punished Ukrainians by dismembering their country not only because he saw a threat to his power. It was late revenge for the world he lost in 1989.
Ukraine’s Zombie Revolution
“We had advanced socialism,” said Boris Dekhteryenko. “It was a happy childhood. Ice cream cost 20 kopeks, and a miner could earn enough in a month to buy a Lada.”
