Meticulous coroner Dr Martin Gansewein leads a quiet life. That is, until the day the spirit of Pascha, a small-time criminal who dealt in stolen cars and whose body is now lying on the slab in front of him, insists on striking up a conversation. Pascha is in one hell of a bad mood - his ...

The only existing document of its kind

Former Hitlerjugend (Hitler Youth Movement) member Franz Albrecht Schall's early diaries show how he became caught up in the maelstrom of National Socialism as a young man. Rallies, parades, political lectures and publicity tours are ...

Jochen, Oliver, Bill - almost half of the human race is composed of men. They still set the tone for many issues, even though their facade started to crack a long time ago. Enough of a reason to look more closely. What facets characterize the other gender? With a woman's eyes, Johanna Adorján ...

What is freedom, are we born free or is freedom conveyed to us by others? Can it be taken away? Is freedom only an absence of fear and constraint or does it not rather imply the need to take part in the political and social discourse? Th is essay by Hannah Arendt was fi rst published in German by ...

It's autumn and the landlord of number 13, the only unrenovated house left on Hebelstrasse, has been vacating the building of its tenants for the past two years. 55-year-old janitor Karl Kramer, 72-year-old Elisabeth Buttkies, a retired German teacher, and Marina, a 28-year-old part-time student ...

Anne Liebert fled to the West as a child just before the Wall came down. Later on she returned to East Berlin, eking out a living for herself and her daughter Marie as a geriatric nurse. One of her charges is quietly waiting for the end of his life-but when Anne coerces pensioner Karl Fritzsche ...

There are new adventures in store for the likeable gang of senior squatters. Rosa (71), Konrad (72) and Leo (73) live in a dilapidated old villa, along with the money they have acquired by underhand means - money they intend to launder through a variety of fanciful ventures. When granddaughter ...

Where dreams are at home

"There it was again - that inner trembling, the flickering anticipation, the burgeoning pride. This was where the heart of Berlin's fashion world beat."

1913. In the heart of Berlin, Lichtenstein's offers a wide assortment of items, ...

People don't kiss amateur cooks...

Against her better judgment, Miriam decides to do a favor for her ex-boyfriend Felix. She agrees to take over a shabby, chaotic bistro for a few days. Fortunately for her, Selim (a chatty Turkish bus driver and dreamy amateur cook), Joannis (an ...

"My today consists of three simple words: I. Am. Alone."

After being forced to flee her Syrian homeland, Madiha lands in a German refugee home. The physically disabled woman has survived the grueling flight, but only as a result of the help she received from a stranger, Harun. One ...

The Boysen family celebrates life
During a major celebration at Tide House - Inge Boysen is turning 80, while her granddaughter Inka is turning 18 - Fortune's Comet soars over the North Sea island. Inge, her children, and her grandchildren become Fortune's travellers. Enno is ...

One really quirky group!

Everything would have worked out just fine if they had simply bought the old villa on the Rhine and been able to turn it into a legally acceptable residence. But, of course, that plan came apart, and the colorful, multi-generational flatshare is now faced ...