Germany’s defence minister has called for the names of Nazi-era figures to be removed from military barracks. “The armed forces have to make it clear, both internally and to the outside world, that they are not a continuation of the Nazi Wehrmacht,” Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. Historians welcomed the initiative, but called for an exception to be made in the case of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox”, because of his part in an assassination plot against Hitler. While there are no modern German barracks named after major Nazi war criminals such as Hitler or Hermann Göring,...…Germany’s defence minister has called for the names of Nazi-era figures to be removed from military barracks. “The armed forces have to make it clear, both internally and to the outside world, that they are not a continuation of the Nazi Wehrmacht,” Ursula von der Leyen said on Sunday. Historians welcomed the initiative, but called for an exception to be made in the case of Field Marshal Erwin Rommel, the “Desert Fox”, because of his part in an assassination plot against Hitler. While there are no modern German barracks named after major Nazi war criminals such as Hitler or Hermann Göring,...WW…

Vienna was on lockdown on Monday evening as Austrian police and military attempted to secure the city against a terror attack which started at 8pm in front of the city’s main synagogue and was perpetrated by several attackers.Several people were killed in the attack, and at least one gunman remains on the run, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said.City authorities have warned the Viennese to stay at home as "heavily armed gunmen” were still at large. The chief of Vienna City's Hospitals confirmed 15 had been injured.Police have confirmed that shots were fired at six different locations,...…Vienna was on lockdown on Monday evening as Austrian police and military attempted to secure the city against a terror attack which started at 8pm in front of the city’s main synagogue and was perpetrated by several attackers.Several people were killed in the attack, and at least one gunman remains on the run, Interior Minister Karl Nehammer said.City authorities have warned the Viennese to stay at home as "heavily armed gunmen” were still at large. The chief of Vienna City's Hospitals confirmed 15 had been injured.Police have confirmed that shots were fired at six different locations,...WW…

At Friday prayers, the area around Berlin’s Sehitlik mosque can seem like a forgotten corner of Istanbul. It’s not just the traditional Ottoman mosque, complete with dome, twin minarets and pierced screens, or the fact that many of the older faithful greet each other in Turkish. Even the sermon, as it crackles over the loudspeakers, is in Turkish.But in recent months the new imam has also started to preach in German. It is the first time the Sehitlik, one of Berlin’s biggest mosques, has had an imam who speaks German. But he still comes from Turkey. He had to be recruited from another...…At Friday prayers, the area around Berlin’s Sehitlik mosque can seem like a forgotten corner of Istanbul. It’s not just the traditional Ottoman mosque, complete with dome, twin minarets and pierced screens, or the fact that many of the older faithful greet each other in Turkish. Even the sermon, as it crackles over the loudspeakers, is in Turkish.But in recent months the new imam has also started to preach in German. It is the first time the Sehitlik, one of Berlin’s biggest mosques, has had an imam who speaks German. But he still comes from Turkey. He had to be recruited from another...WW…

Prominent German scientists spoke out on Monday as a senior minister called on people not to go Christmas shopping.Peter Altmaier, the economy minister, urged Germans not to crowd city centres in what will be the final two days of shopping before full lockdown begins on Wednesday, warning: “The next two days could be decisive”. But senior German scientists condemned the decision to go into full lockdown and called instead for targeted measures to protect the elderly and most at risk. “The most important thing is that we need a sustainable strategy. A sequence of lockdowns is not a...…Prominent German scientists spoke out on Monday as a senior minister called on people not to go Christmas shopping.Peter Altmaier, the economy minister, urged Germans not to crowd city centres in what will be the final two days of shopping before full lockdown begins on Wednesday, warning: “The next two days could be decisive”. But senior German scientists condemned the decision to go into full lockdown and called instead for targeted measures to protect the elderly and most at risk. “The most important thing is that we need a sustainable strategy. A sequence of lockdowns is not a...WW…

Germans could be facing Christmas under lockdown amid calls to tighten restrictions over the festive season.“We won’t get through winter with these measures,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a meeting of her Christian Democrat party (CDU) on Monday as infection rates remained steady. “We’re not going to get anywhere on hope alone.”Germany is currently planning to ease restrictions over Christmas and the New Year by allowing up to 10 people to meet instead of five so families can celebrate together. But the German Hospital Association and the Federation of Cities and...…Germans could be facing Christmas under lockdown amid calls to tighten restrictions over the festive season.“We won’t get through winter with these measures,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a meeting of her Christian Democrat party (CDU) on Monday as infection rates remained steady. “We’re not going to get anywhere on hope alone.”Germany is currently planning to ease restrictions over Christmas and the New Year by allowing up to 10 people to meet instead of five so families can celebrate together. But the German Hospital Association and the Federation of Cities and...WW…

Hospitals in Germany have been accused of exploiting the coronavirus crisis in order to secure extra funding.A senior MP told the Telegraph hospitals had chosen to keep intensive care beds empty rather than treating patients because it was “more lucrative”. And Germany's highest-selling newspaper accused hospitals of overstating the risk they could run out of intensive care beds in an attempt to play the system.Hospitals issued dire warnings in early November that Germany could run out of ICU beds by the end of the month and that the country would experience scenes like those...…Hospitals in Germany have been accused of exploiting the coronavirus crisis in order to secure extra funding.A senior MP told the Telegraph hospitals had chosen to keep intensive care beds empty rather than treating patients because it was “more lucrative”. And Germany's highest-selling newspaper accused hospitals of overstating the risk they could run out of intensive care beds in an attempt to play the system.Hospitals issued dire warnings in early November that Germany could run out of ICU beds by the end of the month and that the country would experience scenes like those...WW…

A 94-year-old former Nazi concentration camp who lived undiscovered in the US for decades is to be deported to Germany, where he could face prosecution, after his appeal against a deportation order was rejected this week.Friedrich Karl Berger succeeded in covering up his role as a concentration camp guard for more than 70 years and still receives a pension for his wartime service in the German navy.His past finally caught up with him when an SS index card of his service record was found among documents rescued from a German ship sunk by the RAF in 1945.The card revealed he had served...…A 94-year-old former Nazi concentration camp who lived undiscovered in the US for decades is to be deported to Germany, where he could face prosecution, after his appeal against a deportation order was rejected this week.Friedrich Karl Berger succeeded in covering up his role as a concentration camp guard for more than 70 years and still receives a pension for his wartime service in the German navy.His past finally caught up with him when an SS index card of his service record was found among documents rescued from a German ship sunk by the RAF in 1945.The card revealed he had served...WW…

Authorities in Austria are facing questions over how a known extremist previously jailed for attempting to join Islamic State was free to carry out a terror attack in Vienna.Isil on Tuesday claimed responsibility for Monday's attack in central Vienna in which four people were killed and 22 injured. The lone gunman who opened fire in streets crowded with revellers was named by Austrian authorities as Kujtim Fejzulai, a 20-year-old Austrian citizen of Albanian heritage.Fejzulai was jailed last year after he travelled to Turkey in an attempt to reach Syria and join Isil, but he...…Authorities in Austria are facing questions over how a known extremist previously jailed for attempting to join Islamic State was free to carry out a terror attack in Vienna.Isil on Tuesday claimed responsibility for Monday's attack in central Vienna in which four people were killed and 22 injured. The lone gunman who opened fire in streets crowded with revellers was named by Austrian authorities as Kujtim Fejzulai, a 20-year-old Austrian citizen of Albanian heritage.Fejzulai was jailed last year after he travelled to Turkey in an attempt to reach Syria and join Isil, but he...WW…

Read full articleSchools do not play a major role in spreading the coronavirus, according to the results of a German study released on Monday.The study, the largest carried out on schoolchildren and teachers in Germany, found traces of the virus in fewer than 1 per cent of teachers and children.Scientists from Dresden Technical University said they believe children may act as a “brake” on chains of infection.Prof Reinhard Berner, the head of pediatric medicine at Dresden University Hospital and leader of the study, said the results suggested the virus does not spread easily in schools.“It...…Read full articleSchools do not play a major role in spreading the coronavirus, according to the results of a German study released on Monday.The study, the largest carried out on schoolchildren and teachers in Germany, found traces of the virus in fewer than 1 per cent of teachers and children.Scientists from Dresden Technical University said they believe children may act as a “brake” on chains of infection.Prof Reinhard Berner, the head of pediatric medicine at Dresden University Hospital and leader of the study, said the results suggested the virus does not spread easily in schools.“It...WW…