Germany
Latest Stories

20120513-173337-pic-222733803.jpg
Social Democratic Party top candidate for the state elections of North Rhine-Wesphalia, Hannelore Kraft, celebrates Sunday after first results are made public in Duesseldorf, Germany. The nation's industrial and most populous state gave the center-left party 39 percent of the vote. (Associated Press)

Germany Election_Lea.jpg
** FILE ** German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Norbert Roettgen, a candidate of the conservative Christian Democratic Union party, wave during a campaign rally in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, on Wednesday, May 9, 2012, ahead of elections in the populous German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)

20120510-201837-pic-469416179.jpg
A party member wearing a pirate hat makes a phone call during a meeting of the German Pirate Party in Offenbach, Germany. The party is represented in three German statehouses and is poised to win entry to a fourth in an election on Sunday. (Associated Press)

20120508-200315-pic-326296619.jpg
An employee restocks a machine with lead at the Faber-Castell pencil factory in Stein, Germany. Treating workers well has paid dividends for the company, the firm's owner said. (Christian Burkert/Special to The Washington Times)

20120508-200315-pic-476812347.jpg
First-year apprentices Leonie Burgmaier (left) and Lisa Beckhold work at Deutsche WorkStation, a firm in Dresden, Germany, that produces custom interiors for yachts, offices and hotels. The firm recruits craftsmen out of apprenticeship programs. It has 25 apprentices on its total staff of 250. (Christian Burkert/Special to The Washington Times)

GERMANY_20120426_305
Employees havin a lunch break outside a hall of Noack, Thursday, April 26, 2012. Noack is arguably the most important bronze-casting foundry in Germany, based in Berlin. Daniel Pilar/Special to The Washington Times

GERMANY_20120426_302
Overview of the sandformerei and the oven range inside a hall of Noack. Thursday, April 26, 2012. Noack is arguably the most important bronze-casting foundry in Germany, based in Berlin. Daniel Pilar/Special to The Washington Times

GERMANY_20120426_299
Mrs. Ebel (left) and Mr. Aink, employees at Noack Bronze-casting foundry, are treating the surface of a branch sculpture. The sculpture was molded from the beech tree "Suntel Buche", which was located in Bochum, Germany. Thursday, April 26, 2012. Noack is arguably the most important bronze-casting foundry in Germany, based in Berlin. Daniel Pilar/Special to The Washington Times

GERMANY_20120426_296
Mr. Aink, employee at Noack Bronze-casting foundry, is treating the surface of a branch sculpture, which was molded from the beech tree "Suntel Buche", which was located in Bochum, Germany. Thursday, April 26, 2012. Noack is arguably the most important bronze-casting foundry in Germany, based in Berlin. Daniel Pilar/Special to The Washington Times

20120507-213502-pic-583827588.jpg
Count Graf von Faber-Castell, chairman of Faber-Castell, throws pencils from a window of the Faber-Castell Castle in Stein, Germany, to prove their durability. (Christian Burkert/Special to The Washington Times)

20120507-203119-pic-576233561.jpg
Count Graf von Faber-Castell, chairman of Faber-Castell, throws pencils from a window of the Faber-Castell Castle in Stein, Germany, to prove their durability. (Christian Burkert/Special to The Washington Times)

20120506-200906-pic-583664876.jpg
A demonstrator holds up a portrait to make fun of German Chancellor Angela Merkel, now-defeated French President Nicolas Sarkozy (center) and Spanish Employers Organization President Juan Rosell during a May Day protest Tuesday in Pamplona against the Spanish government's tough new labor reforms and cutbacks. (Associated Press)

20120506-200906-pic-594757772.jpg
German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao acknowledge a welcome during an April visit to the Volkswagen headquarters in Wolfsburg, Germany. The automaker will build a factory in China's far west. (Associated Press)