Dirk Kämper

On operated by Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck the German Empire is finally founded in 1871 on the floors of Versailles castle, ancestral seat of the French monarchy.

Portrait of the German-German singer-songwriter and intellectual Wolf Biermann, whose famous Cologne concert in 1976 made German history.

The story of former Bayern Munich president Kurt Landauer, a Bavarian jew ousted by the National Socialists and brought to the concentration camp of Dachau, where he survived to come back and start to rebuild his old club after World War II.

200 years of Cologne Carnival! The most colourful and loudest festival in Cologne celebrates a big birthday. In February 1823, a few men from Cologne's upper class founded the so-called 'Festordnende Komitee' - the forerunner of today's 'Festkomitee Kölner Karneval'. This 'big bang' was a reaction to the old festival getting out of hand in orgies and violence. Carnival was in danger. A ban by the Prussian rulers was imminent. The new committee wanted to control the wild goings-on, establish rules and organise the celebrations.

Wernher von Braun has been given many superlatives: "Columbus of space", "most important rocket scientist", "father of the moon flight". But fame as a space pioneer is only one side of his biography. Wernher von Braun (born in 1912) made a pact with the Nazi regime. During Hitler's war of annihilation, he built the V2 rocket for the dictator. Just 33 years old at the end of the war in 1945, he was able to continue his career seamlessly in the USA.

Erik(a) Schinegger – the ski star who became a media sensation. Erika was hailed as a champion skier, until a sex test determined that she was a he – and Erik was rejected and accused of fraud. A story based on real life, a tale about nature and the taboo subjects of 1970s society.

On operated by Prussian prime minister Otto von Bismarck the German Empire is finally founded in 1871 on the floors of Versailles castle, ancestral seat of the French monarchy.

Portrait of the German-German singer-songwriter and intellectual Wolf Biermann, whose famous Cologne concert in 1976 made German history.

The story of former Bayern Munich president Kurt Landauer, a Bavarian jew ousted by the National Socialists and brought to the concentration camp of Dachau, where he survived to come back and start to rebuild his old club after World War II.

200 years of Cologne Carnival! The most colourful and loudest festival in Cologne celebrates a big birthday. In February 1823, a few men from Cologne's upper class founded the so-called 'Festordnende Komitee' - the forerunner of today's 'Festkomitee Kölner Karneval'. This 'big bang' was a reaction to the old festival getting out of hand in orgies and violence. Carnival was in danger. A ban by the Prussian rulers was imminent. The new committee wanted to control the wild goings-on, establish rules and organise the celebrations.

Wernher von Braun has been given many superlatives: "Columbus of space", "most important rocket scientist", "father of the moon flight". But fame as a space pioneer is only one side of his biography. Wernher von Braun (born in 1912) made a pact with the Nazi regime. During Hitler's war of annihilation, he built the V2 rocket for the dictator. Just 33 years old at the end of the war in 1945, he was able to continue his career seamlessly in the USA.

Erik(a) Schinegger – the ski star who became a media sensation. Erika was hailed as a champion skier, until a sex test determined that she was a he – and Erik was rejected and accused of fraud. A story based on real life, a tale about nature and the taboo subjects of 1970s society.

While World War One is coming to an end, the Social Democrat Friedrich Ebert is trying to maintain political stability in Berlin. In the haughty Prince Max of Baden he finds an ally who offers him government participation under his chancellorship. In the meantime, discontent with the monarchy is steadily increasing in the last days of the war, but Emperor Wilhelm II remains steadfast in his throne.