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 ...

Solomon, the legend goes, had a magic ring which enabled him to speak to the animals in their own language. Konrad Lorenz was gifted with a similar power of understanding the animal world. He was that rare beast, a brilliant scientist who could write (and indeed draw) beautifully. He did more than ...

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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 ...

How, why and when did man meet dog and cat? How much are they in fact guided by instinct, and what sort of intelligence have they? What is the nature of their affection or attachment to the human race? Professor Lorenz says that some dogs are descended from wolves and some from jackals, with ...

Kant and Nietzsche - everyone knows that they are two famous German philosophers. Some may perhaps remember Kant in connection with 'Enlightenment' or know that Nietzsche was insane at the end of his life, having propagated the super-human.

However, few people have read Kant or ...

Kant and Nietzsche - everyone knows that they are two famous German philosophers. Some may perhaps remember Kant in connection with 'Enlightenment' or know that Nietzsche was insane at the end of his life, having propagated the super-human.

However, few people have read Kant or ...

Interest, curiosity and enjoyment in learning are powerful motivators. If a child feels motivated when it's studying it will work with greater perseverance and concentration, achieving better results in the long run. Sometimes learning can become an experience in itself, particularly if the ...

Janek wakes up - and finds himself alone. All the people have disappeared and the animals and plants seem to be gradually repossessing the city. Vacillating between excitement and panic, Janek wanders the streets with his missing neighbour's dog, walking in circles around his school over and ...

Tim is in borstal - a twenty month sentence. Instead of the thrills of parties, mates and girls, his life consists of suspicion, loneliness, and monotony. On top of it all, he faces the daily struggle for acceptance by his fellow prisoners and continuous fear of violence and brutal assault. ...

"Hartmut lived with us. Yesterday he set himself on fire."

When it comes to soccer, ten-year-old Hanno Kelsterberg knows everything there is to know. This is also true when it comes to staging demonstrations. For the past two years, the ascetic protester Hartmut Gründler has been ...

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 ...