New Dictionary Helps Germans Steer Clear of 'Nazi Words'

Yep, really. A jury of German language experts picked it

(NEWSER) - Germans are better off because of America's pottymouth, at least according to a group of language experts who have named the biggest English contribution to the German language in 2011: "shitstorm." Yep, the "Anglicism of the Year" is a word that the experts say "fills a gap in the German vocabulary that has become apparent through changes in the culture of public debate." After all, Germans would previously have had to turn to more toothless terms like kritik (criticism) to express their emotions. More»

Heinrich Boere killed 3 people as SS member in 1944

(NEWSER) - A 90-year-old former member of the Nazi SS is heading to prison for murder—67 years later. An ambulance picked up the wheelchair-bound Heinrich Boere at his nursing home in Germany and carried him to a prison hospital, the BBC reports. A medical expert ruled him fit to serve his term for the killing of three Dutch people in 1944. He has admitted to the killings, saying he was following orders and would otherwise have faced a concentration camp. An appeal of his sentence was rejected. More»

It's official: 'Jeggings' is a word

(NEWSER) - Language purists, avert your eyes: The Oxford English Dictionary has added some new words. Here they are, along with the Daily Mirror 's helpful definitions:

• Mankini: "The revealing male bathing costume made famous by Sacha Baron Cohen in his Borat film."
• Retweet: "Sharing a Twitter message."

Secret numbers, letters express movement support: Expert

(NEWSER) - Swastikas may be outlawed in Germany, but that doesn't mean that neo-Nazi signs have disappeared. Coded letters, numbers, and other symbols communicate support of the extremist philosophy among those "in the know" in German society, reports Der Spiegel. The numbers 14 and 88, for example, which can be seen on placards waved at soccer games, indicate neo-Nazi support, according to a brochure on the complex code that's revealing a growing political movement. More»

Klaas Carel Faber can continue to live in freedom in Germany

(AP) - An 89-year-old German man considered one of the most prominent Nazi war crimes suspects alive won't be extradited to the Netherlands and can continue to live in freedom, according to German officials. Klaas Carel Faber was convicted in 1947 of complicity in 22 murders and for aiding the Netherlands' Nazi occupiers during World War II. He was handed a death sentence that was later commuted to life in prison, at least until he escaped in 1952, and fled to Germany where he has lived in freedom ever since. More»