"Nazis with a Bouncy Castle"

Right-wing extremists: Following the success of the NPD and DVU in regional elections, people generally seem at a loss as to how to deal with the right-wingers; because in the east they have long established themselves among the middle-classes. The right-wing extremists have left their backrooms, treading very softly. They have learnt from the established parties, especially from their political opponents. Like the left-wing PDS, the right-wing party members display an interest in the concerns of local citizens instead of marching through the streets in Doc Martens.

"Then We'll Change the Constitution"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with the German minister of the interior, Otto Schily, 72, about the success of the NPD at the local elections, a third package of laws against terrorism, and the weaknesses of federalism:

"A party that is clearly anti-Semitic and that fights against the constitution should not be allowed to take part in elections. But the decision has been made, and we now have to deal politically with right-wing extremism. ... Nowadays, if the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) receives a clue from abroad, it is not allowed to carry out a surveillance operation itself, but has to involve a regional criminal police office, or even all 16. That makes no sense. ... The [Federal Office] must have the authority to issue directives, so that we achieve a uniform approach. This would make the individual states subject to Federal directives to some degree. ... The FBI is constructed a little differently. But it's true, the BKA would then be very different in character from what it is today."

"Huge Waste?"

Defence: Following the Kosovo affair, German defence minister Peter Struck is in difficulties once again. The opposition is considering setting up a fact-finding committee to investigate the privatisation activities in the German armed forces. Although the head of the CDU parliamentary group does not question the Kosovo operation in principle, it views this as a chance of finally dismantling the popular defence minister once and for all.

"Power without Control"

Deutsche Bank: In his battle over the future strategy of Deutsche Bank - and over his job - the head of the corporation Josef Ackermann appears to be winning through. He can rely on the backing of Rolf Breuer, the chairman of the supervisory council. Both depend on each other. It was Breuer who rigorously advanced the expansion of investment banking at the expense of German core business. And his successor is simply continuing the strategy that he himself once pursued. In the meantime, the bank has been bled white, the numerous shareholdings have been sold. Criminal proceedings have been launched against Breuer - among other things on suspicion of "qualified credit libel" and the betrayal of business secrets in a particularly severe instance - which could cost the bank dear. In this situation, the chairman of the supervisory council depends on the goodwill and help of the managing board and its chairman Ackermann. Breuer, in turn, backed Ackermann when the latter had to defend himself before the Düsseldorf District Court on charges of embezzlement during the hostile take-over of Mannesmann.

"It's a Matter of Survival"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with top manager Thomas Middelhoff, 51, about the strategic revolution facing KarstadtQuelle, his job as head of the supervisory board of the severely ailing department store and mail order group, and the importance of foreign investors for the German economy:

"In order to save the company and to make it viable for the future, we need a real solidarity pact between the staff and the management, shareholders and banks. If we want to be back in the black by 2007, no one has any other choice. To this end, the board will submit a merciless and painful stocktaking, which will be unique in the company's history. ... The trick that the board has to pull off is to restructure while at the same time motivating. To do this, every single individual has to be awarded greater responsibility, right down to the performance-dependent payment of sales staff. ... The managing board acts, the supervisory board monitors and suggests. Together they develop models for the future - exactly as required by the good rules of corporate governance."

"The Club of the Fat"

United Nations: The Security Council can be sluggish and toothless, but like the entire United Nations Organisation it is now to become fast and powerful. Who is to give, who is to receive, and will Germany be given a permanent seat? The battle for reforms is a struggle over money and power.

"Delicious Air"

Reconstruction: For Germans, the eastern states are a bleak wasteland full of poverty and misery; for tourists from the Far East, East Germany is a flourishing country full of great culture and the home of the true German.

"Thicker than Fondue"

Cinema: Bernd Eichinger's Hitler film "The Downfall" is a box-office hit in Germany and selling well world-wide too - but the foreign press is divided over it. The film about Hitler's final days in the Führer bunker opened in Germany last week with over 400 copies, and was seen by almost half a million viewers over the first weekend, with an excellent average of almost 1200 viewers per copy. Distributors in twenty different countries have already purchased the rights or are negotiating for them. Among other countries, "The Downfall" will be shown in Italy, France, Spain, and even in Poland and Japan.

"Music against Violence"

Middle East: Palestinian musicians from all over the world have started up a symphony orchestra while in exile in Jordan. They play their instruments for a different Palestine - notwithstanding the stark realities. Can there be a better sign of the willingness to achieve peace than music? Hasn't a man on the other side, the Israeli conductor Daniel Barenboim, been preaching just that for countless years?

"Between Woods and Valhalla"

SPIEGEL in-depth interview with art historian Volker Gebhardt about Germanness in German art over the centuries:

"First of all, after the Wall came down in 1989 and reunification in 1990 the cultural heritage of the two German states was brought together once again. ...In that context, the question as to the common language of German art in these regions presents itself all over again. ... In a development that began in around 1800 and picked up more and more speed from then on, Germans sought Germanness in art - and along the way they went up many dead ends, suffered many flops. ... It's a remarkable thing that the statement that the 20th century was an expressionist one is taken from an early novel by Goebbels. The founding manifesto of the Bauhaus school is not that far from it. ... The important question is, when and why something was declared to be German in content. A medieval sculpture like the Bamberg Horseman was abused as a symbol of patriotism during the Nazi regime. ... Instead of looking into the problem critically - in other words including the history of this subject - people usually act as if it didn't even exist. We shouldn't hesitate to ask: What is actually high-quality German art that can support a certain degree of pride, pride without arrogance?"

"The Goethe File"

Famous personalities: Goethe's coffin barely missed being blown up and destroyed during World War II. Subsequently, curious anthropologists often eyed the princely poet's remains - until, finally, they peeled the rotting flesh completely from his bones.

"Vegetables in a Tank"

Energy: A visionary from Saxony has developed a process for converting wood into diesel fuel. Meanwhile, Shell is producing alcohol from straw, as a replacement for petrol. The new ecological fuel offensive is opening up a new scenario for post-fossil mobility: might the hydrogen-fuelled car be superfluous? The clear liquid that is produced in the Saxon town of Freiberg is called "SunDiesel". It is extracted not from petroleum but from plant remains. From 2010 onwards, five large-scale plants in Germany are to produce a total of one million tonnes of diesel a year from biomass. Volkswagen and Mercedes are already fuelling experimental vehicles with the ecological brew - the results are impressive: their engines perform almost as well as ones running on conventional diesel oil, but their exhaust is far cleaner.

"Robin on a Spit"

Italy: The hunting season is beginning, spelling doom for millions of songbirds and migratory birds. Conservationists argue that every year hundreds of millions of euros of tax-payers' money are spent on the protection of birds in Central and Northern Europe. As a result, the numbers of some species have been increasing again slightly; but many others are becoming rarer and rarer, despite all the efforts. And these are precisely the species that are unscrupulously hunted in Southern Europe.

"Advantage Perestroika"

Tennis: Three grand slam victories in succession, six players among the top 13 - Russia's women are conquering the tennis world. Their competitors suspect this is a campaign by hungry post-communists. The Russians themselves believe in talent, diligence and the fruits of liberty.