You are here: Homepage Tag Central Europe Articles Katarína Kucbelová worked on her novel “The Bonnet” for more than two years Photo: Dirk Skiba Literature l Slovakia The seamstress’s story Slovakian author Katarína Kucbelová spent two years visiting the seamstress Iľka in a remote village. Her episodic novel “The Bonnet” talks about tradition and village life, hidden racism and the social exclusion of Roma people Interview with Katarína Kucbelová 08/29/2024 Photo: Dario Lehner Pop culture | Turkey Protest songs from the car radio When screenwriter Cem Kaya reflects on his childhood, he remembers the long car journeys from Germany to Turkey - and the music of the “Aşiks”. On the travelling singers of Anatolia and their links to pop music by immigrant workers in Germany By Cem Kaya 12/15/2023 Writer and journalist Mohamed Amjahid Photo: Antoine Midant Media | Germany Beyond the European bubble German media outlets are often indifferent when it comes to reporting from outside Europe. German journalist Mohamed Amjahid has realised that writing about sex helps break down barriers By Mohamed Amjahid 06/01/2023 Die Künstlerin Alicja Kwade in ihrem Atelier Foto: Oliver Mark Flashback | Poland The smell of tar In Katowice, rain evaporated above heated tar, filling the air with caramel sweetness, a mixture of freshness and dirt By Alicja Kwade 07/01/2022 The magnificent Carpenter Theater in Richmond, Virginia. Photo: Unsplash Theatre | Opinion I think that we need to relearn how to treasure theatre Our society considers culture and theatre to be a luxury. Yet theatre is a great school of empathy and needs to be valued. By Necati Öziri 04/14/2022 Author Lubi Barre Photo: Cécile Ash Personal history | Somalia Having a voice From a Somalian childhood to reading books in Paris and writing in Germany: On why I had to learn a foreign language to express myself freely By Lubi Barre 04/14/2022 The professional soccer player and author Lilian Thuram Photo: Basso Cannarsa / opale photo / Raif Black and white thinking White thinking The basis of white supremacy is a way of thinking, one that says the colour of one's skin makes one human being better or worse than other human beings. Even as a successful professional, the author was unable to escape it. By Lilian Thuram 04/14/2022 The red garden ants make interesting noises with their upper jaw - it sounds like a squeak Photo: agefotostock / IMAGO Life underground Messages from beneath our feet Hums, buzzes, squeaks: It’s surprisingly loud underground. What do these noises tell us? By Marcus Maeder 01/07/2022 In 2020, Bjeen Alhassan received the German Integration Award for her work Photo: Guido Bergmann Personal history | Syria Coming up for air after the war Bjeen Alhassan, born in Qamishli, Syria, now lives in Germany. In her Facebook group “Learning with Bijin” she helps refugee women, earning her the German Integration Award By Bjeen Alhassan 07/01/2021 Illustration: Gosia Herba The new Poland The tightrope walk Since the annexation of Crimea, increasing numbers of Ukrainians are moving to Poland. For the government this means it has to deal with immigration issues for the first time. By Olena Babakova 07/01/2021 Judge Igor Tuleya Photo: Jakub Kaminski / Eastnews / imago Justice | Poland “I don’t feel like a hero” A judge accuses the Polish government of undermining the rule of law - and has been under investigation by prosecutors since 2016. An interview Interview with Michał Sutowski, Igor Tuleya 07/01/2021 43 million tons of lignite are burned in Poland's largest power plant every year Photo: Getty Images The new Poland White smoke on the horizon The world’s biggest brown-coal power station is in Poland. That’s not the only reason the Warsaw government is finding it hard to kick-start an energy transition By Mateusz Kowalik 07/01/2021 A boy poses at a military weekend camp near Gdansk Photo: Natalia Kepesz, from the Niewybuch series Notes and observations | Poland “When photographing, I had to wear protective goggles” Polish photographer Natalia Kepesz travelled to her hometown of Złotoryja in southwestern Poland for her latest works. She also documented a new Polish trend, military summer camps for local children Interview with Natalia Kepesz 07/01/2021 The entrance portal of the Linden Museum in Stuttgart Photo: Harald Voelkl/Linden-Museum Stuttgart Museum | Germany A difficult legacy One of the biggest ethnography museums in Europe is facing up to its colonial past. How exactly is it going about it? By Karl-Heinz Meier-Braun 07/01/2021 Illustration: Gosia Herba Democracy | Poland The Polish lesson The government is remodelling the country. Many people in Poland are protesting against the changes. But why does the opposition remain so weak? By Piotr Pacewicz 07/01/2021 The new Poland Complex consonant clusters An alphabet with 32 letters, tongue twisters and infinitely long words: a crash course on the pitfalls of the Polish language By Jess Smee, Natalia Mętrak-Ruda 07/01/2021 Photo: Magda Hueckel Literature | Poland “Our trauma has a million faces” The writer Joanna Bator is one of the most important voices of contemporary Polish literature. Her new novel is about angry women and women and deep psychological wounds. Is that coincidence or a statement? Interview with Joanna Bator 07/01/2021 US President Joe Biden (left) and Poland's President Andrzej Duda (2nd from left) together with other heads of states and governments at the NATO summit in Brussels, 2021 Photo: Kevin Lamarque / POOL / AFP via Getty Images International relations | Poland Poland goes West Poland’s foreign policy is steadily turning towards the West. Its relationship with its eastern neighbours is complicated - especially with Russia By Agnieszka Lichnerowicz 07/01/2021 The poet and author Jacek Dehnel Photo: Cezary Rucki Stereotypes | Poland German stereotypes vs. Polish reality Nationalists in government, fanatics on the streets: the German explanation for the situation in Poland is often quite simple. But it is not so clear cut By Jacek Dehnel 07/01/2021 Freedom of press | Poland Press under fire Poland’s government ramps up its attacks on media and journalists By Agata Szczęśniak 07/01/2021 Illustration: Gosia Herba Cuisine | Poland Fruit soup Some Polish dishes leave foreigners perplexed. A defence! By Natalia Mętrak-Ruda 07/01/2021 World War II Museum in Gdansk Photo: Getty Images The new Poland At the crossroads How history contributes to the consolidation of a nation - and its division. By Paweł Machcewicz 07/01/2021
Katarína Kucbelová worked on her novel “The Bonnet” for more than two years Photo: Dirk Skiba Literature l Slovakia The seamstress’s story Slovakian author Katarína Kucbelová spent two years visiting the seamstress Iľka in a remote village. Her episodic novel “The Bonnet” talks about tradition and village life, hidden racism and the social exclusion of Roma people Interview with Katarína Kucbelová 08/29/2024
Photo: Dario Lehner Pop culture | Turkey Protest songs from the car radio When screenwriter Cem Kaya reflects on his childhood, he remembers the long car journeys from Germany to Turkey - and the music of the “Aşiks”. On the travelling singers of Anatolia and their links to pop music by immigrant workers in Germany By Cem Kaya 12/15/2023
Writer and journalist Mohamed Amjahid Photo: Antoine Midant Media | Germany Beyond the European bubble German media outlets are often indifferent when it comes to reporting from outside Europe. German journalist Mohamed Amjahid has realised that writing about sex helps break down barriers By Mohamed Amjahid 06/01/2023
Die Künstlerin Alicja Kwade in ihrem Atelier Foto: Oliver Mark Flashback | Poland The smell of tar In Katowice, rain evaporated above heated tar, filling the air with caramel sweetness, a mixture of freshness and dirt By Alicja Kwade 07/01/2022
The magnificent Carpenter Theater in Richmond, Virginia. Photo: Unsplash Theatre | Opinion I think that we need to relearn how to treasure theatre Our society considers culture and theatre to be a luxury. Yet theatre is a great school of empathy and needs to be valued. By Necati Öziri 04/14/2022
Author Lubi Barre Photo: Cécile Ash Personal history | Somalia Having a voice From a Somalian childhood to reading books in Paris and writing in Germany: On why I had to learn a foreign language to express myself freely By Lubi Barre 04/14/2022
The professional soccer player and author Lilian Thuram Photo: Basso Cannarsa / opale photo / Raif Black and white thinking White thinking The basis of white supremacy is a way of thinking, one that says the colour of one's skin makes one human being better or worse than other human beings. Even as a successful professional, the author was unable to escape it. By Lilian Thuram 04/14/2022
The red garden ants make interesting noises with their upper jaw - it sounds like a squeak Photo: agefotostock / IMAGO Life underground Messages from beneath our feet Hums, buzzes, squeaks: It’s surprisingly loud underground. What do these noises tell us? By Marcus Maeder 01/07/2022
In 2020, Bjeen Alhassan received the German Integration Award for her work Photo: Guido Bergmann Personal history | Syria Coming up for air after the war Bjeen Alhassan, born in Qamishli, Syria, now lives in Germany. In her Facebook group “Learning with Bijin” she helps refugee women, earning her the German Integration Award By Bjeen Alhassan 07/01/2021
Illustration: Gosia Herba The new Poland The tightrope walk Since the annexation of Crimea, increasing numbers of Ukrainians are moving to Poland. For the government this means it has to deal with immigration issues for the first time. By Olena Babakova 07/01/2021
Judge Igor Tuleya Photo: Jakub Kaminski / Eastnews / imago Justice | Poland “I don’t feel like a hero” A judge accuses the Polish government of undermining the rule of law - and has been under investigation by prosecutors since 2016. An interview Interview with Michał Sutowski, Igor Tuleya 07/01/2021
43 million tons of lignite are burned in Poland's largest power plant every year Photo: Getty Images The new Poland White smoke on the horizon The world’s biggest brown-coal power station is in Poland. That’s not the only reason the Warsaw government is finding it hard to kick-start an energy transition By Mateusz Kowalik 07/01/2021
A boy poses at a military weekend camp near Gdansk Photo: Natalia Kepesz, from the Niewybuch series Notes and observations | Poland “When photographing, I had to wear protective goggles” Polish photographer Natalia Kepesz travelled to her hometown of Złotoryja in southwestern Poland for her latest works. She also documented a new Polish trend, military summer camps for local children Interview with Natalia Kepesz 07/01/2021
The entrance portal of the Linden Museum in Stuttgart Photo: Harald Voelkl/Linden-Museum Stuttgart Museum | Germany A difficult legacy One of the biggest ethnography museums in Europe is facing up to its colonial past. How exactly is it going about it? By Karl-Heinz Meier-Braun 07/01/2021
Illustration: Gosia Herba Democracy | Poland The Polish lesson The government is remodelling the country. Many people in Poland are protesting against the changes. But why does the opposition remain so weak? By Piotr Pacewicz 07/01/2021
The new Poland Complex consonant clusters An alphabet with 32 letters, tongue twisters and infinitely long words: a crash course on the pitfalls of the Polish language By Jess Smee, Natalia Mętrak-Ruda 07/01/2021
Photo: Magda Hueckel Literature | Poland “Our trauma has a million faces” The writer Joanna Bator is one of the most important voices of contemporary Polish literature. Her new novel is about angry women and women and deep psychological wounds. Is that coincidence or a statement? Interview with Joanna Bator 07/01/2021
US President Joe Biden (left) and Poland's President Andrzej Duda (2nd from left) together with other heads of states and governments at the NATO summit in Brussels, 2021 Photo: Kevin Lamarque / POOL / AFP via Getty Images International relations | Poland Poland goes West Poland’s foreign policy is steadily turning towards the West. Its relationship with its eastern neighbours is complicated - especially with Russia By Agnieszka Lichnerowicz 07/01/2021
The poet and author Jacek Dehnel Photo: Cezary Rucki Stereotypes | Poland German stereotypes vs. Polish reality Nationalists in government, fanatics on the streets: the German explanation for the situation in Poland is often quite simple. But it is not so clear cut By Jacek Dehnel 07/01/2021
Freedom of press | Poland Press under fire Poland’s government ramps up its attacks on media and journalists By Agata Szczęśniak 07/01/2021
Illustration: Gosia Herba Cuisine | Poland Fruit soup Some Polish dishes leave foreigners perplexed. A defence! By Natalia Mętrak-Ruda 07/01/2021
World War II Museum in Gdansk Photo: Getty Images The new Poland At the crossroads How history contributes to the consolidation of a nation - and its division. By Paweł Machcewicz 07/01/2021