prior to visiting the Michelin plant in Bad Kreuznach I witnessed the partial demolition of what until recently was one of the country’s most modern and efficient power plants Capable of satisfying almost the entire electricity requirements of neighbouring Hamburg yet decommissioned after less than seven years in what the local Environment Minster called a “symbolic” gesture the blasting of the 3-billion-euro plant’s chimneys delivered a depressing reminder of the challenges that tyre makers and other manufacturers face in Western Europe Perhaps the Michelin team could restore some lost optimism Tyrepress and Tyres & Accessories subscribers can log in below to read the full article If you are not yet a Tyrepress or Tyres & Accessories subscriber Subscribe now If you would like the latest news from the Chinese tyre industry in Chinese, visit our partner site TyrepressChina.com “chamber music intensity and emotionality” (FAZ) – shortly after its founding these characteristics were attributed to the Trio Orelon the Trio Orelon has won numerous national and international awards including the first prize and the audience award at the International Music Competition of the ARD in Munich owes its name to the universal language Esperanto in which “Orelon” simply means “ear,” thus symbolizing the many aspects of listening in music that the piano trio format offers them the greatest possible musical and also human harmony Concert tours take the Trio Orelon through Europe to renowned concert halls tickets can be obtained at the Tourist Information Bad Kreuznach or at www.ticket-regional.de/events_info.php As much as I dream of conquering the snow-capped mountain peaks of Bavaria I've also come to appreciate the joys of hiking the state of Rhineland-Pfalz where vistas of castle ruins and sun-drenched vineyards alternate with landscapes blanketed by thick forest when the evergreens stand out among their bare-branched neighbors But if you’ve just moved to the area and you enjoy a warmer nature outing here’s something to look forward to come spring One of my favorite regions for hiking is in the valley formed by the Nahe River a tidy spa town located at a bend in the river anachronistic saline walls promising relief to those with respiratory ailments and a towering cliff as its backdrop evokes a sense of times long past and a feeling of security While hikers making their first visit to the region might opt to hike up the Rotenfels a modest mountain whose claim to fame is its sheer rock face said to be the highest north of the Alps we opted instead for a hike marked as the Vitaltour Rheingrafenstein a 9-mile loop deemed of medium difficulty by one source and difficult by another it was only the trail's first couple of miles that proved particularly challenging After crossing the Nahe via a footbridge and ascending into thick foliage the path rose sharply on the way to Rheingrafenstein the remains of an 11th-century castle destroyed by the notorious French general Ezechiel Melac in 1688 we enjoyed an airplane-view perspective of the town and its surrounding villages all overlooked by the wonderfully intact Ebernburg Castle which nowadays operates as a Protestant conference and educational center the trail winds roughly parallel along to the next vista a view over neighboring Bad Kreuznach and toward the Rhine either of which would make for a marvelous post-hike option trees bearing ripe cherries and meadows bursting with purple foxglove we encountered a Waldorf School and a pasture in which horses grazed our dismay that the first restaurant we passed by that day was closed was replaced with delight upon discovery of Das Neu Waldheim The rustic establishment formerly attached to a local walking club offered garden seating under spacious umbrellas wines of the Nahe and plenty of choices in regards to the regionally brewed Kirner beer would have tempted if we hadn’t packed a picnic Highlights along the next stretch of the path included a burrow-pocked sandy bank and remnants of the 100 million-year-old sea that once blanketed the region along with some ancient human graves we regrettably passed by without noticing Although we’d been looking forward to beers with a view the restaurant housed in the Altenbaumburg castle ruins was closed that day tree-lined serpentine trail that gradually brought us back down to earth In terms of all that makes a good hike great — history reasonably priced food and drink — the Vitaltour Rheingrafenstein provided in plenty Address: The walk can be started from anywhere in Bad Muenster am Stein-Ebernburg cross the pedestrian bridge over the Nahe River pass by the Lidl to the right and turn left on Speckerbruecke It can be walked in either direction; we chose to walk it clockwise An alternate starting point for those with a car is the Freizeitpark Kuhberg located at Rheingrafenstrasse 159 in Bad Kreuznach How did Germany become the only modern state to implement a plan to eradicate cognitive impairment from the entire body politic – sterilizing and murdering hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens diagnosed with mental and emotional disabilities Dagmar Herzog traces how eugenics emerged from the flawed premise that intellectual deficiency was biologically hereditary how this crude explanatory framework diverted attention from the actual causes of disability and how church leaders became complicit in amplifying Nazi policies she shows how recovering this history – and its complex aftermath – helps us understand the intricate interconnections between antisemitism and antidisability hostility in wholly new ways Dagmar Herzog is Distinguished Professor of History at the Graduate Center where she writes and teaches on the histories of sexuality and gender including Sex after Fascism (Princeton 2005), Sexuality in Europe (Cambridge 2011), Cold War Freud (Cambridge and The Question of Unworthy Life (Princeton Please note that the Department of History phone line is not monitored at all times. Please leave a voicemail or email hist.undergrad@queensu.ca and we will contact you as soon as we can Queen's University is situated on traditional Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe territory Metrics details When I work the early shift (7.30 am-2.30 pm) I rise at 6 am and make myself coffee and a light breakfast Bad Kreuznach is a picturesque spa town situated on the river Nahe in the winelands During busy periods I am fortunate to be always going against the main flow of traffic heading towards Mainz and Frankfurt When I am tired my journey to or from work is a frustration but most of the time I relish the solitude I usually have coffee and listen to the news on the radio then go for a jog in parkland by the river or through the woods before a leisurely breakfast The rest of the morning is reserved for errands then a light lunch before I drive to the practice We are a large practice and truly 'international' The practice owner and two of my female dentist colleagues are Romanian; there is one German doctor and I am the sole 'Englander' Our full-time orthodontist is of Polish origin and we have another part-time oral surgeon/orthodontist who flies in from Greece every month and stays throughout the working week we have a visiting professor from Rome who comes frequently to give courses and perform implant surgery – a childhood friend of the owner The practice has an extensive support staff – about 30 women in total of various ethnicities including a large contingent with a Russian background (the Hunsrück region has a large population of second and third generation Russian immigrants) There is a formalised career structure in Germany with a day release programme for apprentices A chairside assistant studies for three years before qualifying and then can go further to become what would be comparable to a hygienist Dealing with the health insurance system/cost estimates and submitting treatment plans generates an enormous amount of administration Some of the office staff with young families work from home interfacing with the practice electronically over the Internet We also have an in-house dental laboratory (which is headed by the boss's wife) generating paperwork too My workload consists mainly of routine check-ups and periodontal status reviews interspersed with routine cons Our team system means there will be overlapping crown and bridge/denture/implant cases in progress simultaneously that require my attention There is a rapid flow of patients most days including emergency cases We have a general anaesthetic session once a fortnight A fair proportion of my time is spent explaining treatment options and costs by means of photos Often patients are given printed treatment options and their alternative costs to take home A further appointment is then arranged to make a decision on the final treatment plan which will then be submitted to the medical insurance scheme patients with poor oral hygiene and advanced caries It is quite a challenge to break the cycle of destruction with many teenagers who seem impervious to motivation This can pose problems for physical access The often sequential medical consequences of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease mean that many patients are on a cocktail of daily drugs This can result in oral disease problems and general patient management complications The vast majority of patients speak German with a few exceptions These are a few Americans from the Cold War days who have stayed on and the staff from Ryanair (many whose first language is Portuguese but they speak English) Ryanair operate from Frankfurt Hahn airport which is close to Sohren – and nowhere near Frankfurt itself I am no linguist and German grammar is difficult to master Plus there are regional dialects to encounter To think in a foreign language and to communicate is a source of immense satisfaction My South African practice was totally private and operated at a more sedate pace The biggest difference here in Germany is that I do not have an assigned surgery to myself We have eight treatment rooms which are assigned to patients and the treating staff navigate between rooms The support staff do a lot more than in SA and the UK the nurses will take radiographs and impressions with a multiple crown case I will shape and build up the cores as needed and then leave an assistant (sometimes two) to do the impressions etc while I see other patients – only returning to deal with problems or to check the impressions and temporaries The lab technician will also be involved to assess the patient check occlusal relationships and register tooth shades Further scheduling is done via the computer in the surgery which frees up the reception staff When things go as planned the system works very well but when it's 'one of those days' then the waiting room resembles Paddington station I am a BDA member and read the BDJ and BDA News I won't comment on the furore surrounding the GDC that is gaining momentum Here in Germany there are no such problems For example there is no concept of a private scale and polish The standard calculus removal for a normal insurance claim is just that and only applicable once a year But there is a 'professional cleaning' which some of the insurance schemes pay towards that takes at least an hour and is much more extensive We actively promote these treatments and the patients willingly pay: not a problem ethically or otherwise Wherever one lives it pays to be streetwise and without wishing to sound dramatic I had activated burglar alarms both at home and in my practice there complete with panic buttons etc the social life was very laid back and life was good Germany is more formal in its culture and more reserved historic part of town where there is no traffic and all the shops amenities and our favourite Italian restaurant are within a short walking distance There is a castle on the hill and the soothing sound of the river outside our bedroom Family commitments motivated our move back to Europe the ritual of the weekend braai (barbecue) and the Cape Town sunshine I also miss the cricket – don't ever try to explain cricket to a German After almost 30 years abroad I can't say that I miss British life I've been exposed to many cultures and I am very grateful for that experience I do try to visit my stepmother in Haslingden at least once a year She is well into her eighties but amazing for her years I still get sentimental when I visit my hometown and I love to go for long walks on the moors Back home in Bad Kreuznach after the morning shift at my practice I usually spend the evenings relaxing at home I spend the evening in the sauna: that's one of the advantages of living in a spa town After the evening session at work I don't usually get home until 10 pm or just after I catch up on the day with Heidi and eat a light supper before retiring to bed Reprints and permissions Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.bdj.2014.1020 Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article “As home of technology-leading automotive industry Germany remains an important location...” Clermont Ferrand, France – Michelin will continue to manufacture tires in Germany, the group emphasised while announcing (ERJ report) the closure of three major production facilities in the country “As the home of the technology-leading automotive industry Germany remains an important location for the Michelin group,” the French-based tire maker said in the 28 Nov announcement its passenger car tire plant in Bad-Kreuznach plant will be a “success factor” in the future penetration of markets for tire sizes 18” and above The Bad-Kreuznach location is also an important centre for the manufacture of “strategic high-tech tires” The French group will also maintain what it said is European largest truck tire retreading facility: its site in Homburg which is also to continue processing RFID chips Michelin said it would continue to modernise both production sites to make them ‘even more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly for the future.’ After the cutbacks involving over 1,500 job losses Michelin said it will have 2,780 employees in Germany – across industry Michelin’s current tire production plants in Germany A subscription to European Rubber Journal includes: Already a subscriber? Log in here A climber was dramatically rescued by a Luxembourg Air Rescue (LAR) team on Friday after suffering a serious fall on the steep face of the Rotenfels cliff in Bad Kreuznach part of a couple scaling the 200-metre-high and 1,200-metre-long rock face according to a statement released by LAR on Saturday The rescue was carried out under "extremely difficult conditions," LAR reported The Trier emergency control centre immediately alerted Luxembourg Air Rescue which deployed a helicopter equipped with a winch and a specially trained rescue team where the crew conducted a reconnaissance flight to locate the injured climber rescuing the man by winch was deemed the only viable option After a detailed briefing with local rescue teams the LAR crew–comprised of an experienced winch operator and a rescuer from the Reconnaissance and Intervention Group in Hazardous Environments (GRIMP)–began the operation The rescuer abseiled approximately 100 metres from the summit to reach the victim who had already been secured by the mountain rescue team The injured climber was then safely lifted by the winch operator and handed over to an LAR emergency doctor for evaluation The climber was later transported to the hospital for further treatment nine-year-old Susan Warsinger’s life changed forever That night the Nazi regime orchestrated a wave of violence against Jews a deadly turning point in Holocaust history known as Kristallnacht betrayed her family—throwing rocks through her bedroom window and even ripping down a lamppost and ramming it through their front door while a police officer watched Her father was among 30,000 men arrested simply for being Jewish Join Holocaust survivor and Museum volunteer Susan Warsinger to learn about her experience and the moment her parents decided to send her away to try to save her Watch live at facebook.com/holocaustmuseum. You do not need a Facebook account to view our program. After the live broadcast, the recording will be available to watch on demand on the Museum's Facebook page. On November 9–10, 1938, Nazi leaders unleashed a series of pogroms against Jews in Germany. It became known as Kristallnacht (The Night of Broken Glass) because of the shattered glass that littered the streets after the vandalism and destruction of Jewish-owned businesses, synagogues, and homes. The November 9, 1938, pogroms sparked a wave of outrage among US religious leaders. In the weeks following, there were numerous editorials, radio broadcasts, and sermons. College student Robert Harlan describes his journey in the aftermath of Kristallnacht to help the parents of a Jewish friend whose house had been ransacked. Erika Vera Reed (Immig), 84, born in Bad Kreuznach, Germany and residing in Fayetteville, NC passed peacefully at home on January 20, 2020 surrounded by her family and friend/caregiver Emma Brewington. Mrs. Reed was born to the late Wilhelm and Anni “Deutschemann” Immig. She was preceded in death by her brothers, Horst Immig of Bad Kreuznach, Germany and Rolf Immig of Monchengladbach, Germany. Mrs. Reed is survived by her husband of 60 years, Harry A. Reed, Jr.; her children, Claudia (Terry) Reed of Salisbury, MD, Michael (Michelle) Reed of Shallotte, NC, and Cassie (Ronnie) Proctor of Fayetteville, NC; her grandchildren, Kodiak Reed of Shallotte, NC and Alex Chapman (Garrett) of Raleigh, NC; her sister, Waltraut Karau of Bad Kreuznach, Germany and her brothers, Willi Immig (Karen) of Friedrichskoog, Germany and Walter (Inge) Immig of Norheim, Germany. She spent 30 years traveling the world and supporting her husband as a devoted military spouse. Since their retirement, they continued to travel and once the first cruise was taken many more followed. Her passions were taking care of others including family, friends and all those she met. Her grandchildren gave her much joy with many smiles. Her travels of 60 years could tell countless stories of fun and laughter. Many thanks to our family and friends near and far who kept the vigil with us through these last weeks. A special thank you to her caregivers and The Community Homecare and Hospice team for their support and guidance. The family will receive friends from 6 to 8 pm on Sunday, January 26, at Rogers and Breece Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held at 12:30 pm on Monday, January 27, in Rogers and Breece Chapel. Burial will immediately follow at Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. Consumers got the chance to taste dozens of outstanding wines in Chicago, with upcoming … The owner of Stoller and Chehalem wineries was devoted to the future of Willamette Valley … Inside the first U.S. location of the French luxury retailer, guests can enjoy fine wine at … Phase one of the Viticulture and Winery Technology program’s new home, funded by a $10 … The Tuscan wine company has purchased a minority stake in Tenute delle Terre Nere; De … While the White House has paused tariffs on foreign wines at 10 percent for now, the trade … The preliminary findings of an investigation have cleared the Pond Security Service employee who fired on the soldier of wrongful use of her duty firearm, prosecutors in Bad Kreuznach told German public broadcaster SWR on Tuesday. “We’re supportive of the finding of the public prosecutor’s office,” Lena Ehrhardt, a spokeswoman for Pond Security in Erlensee, said Wednesday. “Our employees acted prudently. … Their professional actions in this difficult situation prevented a worse outcome and ensured the safety of all parties." The soldier’s girlfriend sought help from the security personnel at the base’s main entrance June 25 after a domestic dispute, according to a prosecutor’s office spokesman. The 23-year-old soldier, who is assigned to the 16th Sustainment Brigade, is believed to have attacked her in their shared apartment and followed her to the gate, prosecutors told SWR. He ignored the guards’ instructions and acted aggressively toward them, local police reported June 26. His name has not been released in accordance with German privacy laws. The guards drew their batons and fired a warning shot, but when the soldier reached for one of their weapons, she shot the soldier in the thigh. On Tuesday, prosecutors said the bullet went cleanly through the soldier’s leg, indicating that the injury is not expected to cause lasting damage. The soldier was transferred by ambulance to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center and left the following day, according to German and U.S. officials. "According to the provisions of the supplementary agreement to the NATO Status of Forces Agreement, the soldier is likely to be primarily subject to the U.S. military jurisdiction, so that the local proceedings will probably be handed over to them in due course," Gerd Deutschler, Bad Kreuznach chief public prosecutor, said June 26. The military inquiry into the soldier’s actions is being conducted by the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division, which has declined to comment on the investigation while it remains open. The German investigation into the shooting is still considered active, and state prosecutors have not yet reached an official conclusion, Deutschler said Wednesday. Baumholder is located 45 minutes north of Kaiserslautern and is home to approximately 6,000 U.S. soldiers and civilian personnel of the 16th Sustainment Brigade, the 421st Medical Battalion-Multifunctional and supporting units. Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. support for the Chancellor and her party is slipping I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our Privacy notice Her Christian Democrat campaign team spokesman greeted her as “the most powerful woman in the world”, and as a black-trouser-suited Angela Merkel bestrode the ornate Kaiser Wilhelm-era hall in Bad Kreuznach’s premier spa hotel, the more than 800 party faithful present seemed to be falling over themselves to applaud this verbal accolade. Loudspeakers pumped out a rhythmic “welcome” rock tune as the mostly elderly Merkel fans stood up in unison, hauled out their smartphones and snapped hundreds of “I saw Angie in the flesh” photos of the Chancellor. “She’s wonderful. It’s such a pleasure to see her here,” former maths teacher Gisela Hahn-Schmidt, 66, told The Independent. “Frau Merkel is having a tough time at the moment, so she needs our support more than ever.” Germany’s first female leader was in the well-to-do health resort town to campaign for her ruling Christian Democrats. The party faces a crucial test in just over a week’s time in three state elections which may well determine how long Ms Merkel can survive in power. All three polls in the western states of Baden Württemberg, Rhineland Palatinate and eastern Saxony Ahhalt have, for weeks, been dominated by Ms Merkel’s eternally controversial “open door” refugee policy which allowed more than a million migrants to enter Germany last year and shows little sign of slowing. Despite the continuing respect Ms Merkel receives as a proven “world leader” and her “We can do it” mantra concerning the refugee crisis, voters including many in her own party seem poised to punish her for apparently thinking too much about the world and not enough about Germany. The elections are certain to benefit the recently formed, xenophobic and populist Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. which is on course to secure the biggest political gains by a far-right organisation since 1945. It recently advocated shooting illegal refugees at Germany’s borders and could win up to 20 per cent of the vote in the east. Current opinion polls show that more than 80 per cent of Germans think Ms Merkel’s government has “lost control” of the refugee crisis. And, as neighbouring Austria and the Balkan countries close their borders to refugees, there is a growing chorus of German conservatives who want to do the same. Yet Ms Merkel went on national television last week to insist that she was not for turning. Anti-Merkel sentiment was palpable in Bad Kreuznach as soon as the Chancellor broached the subject of refugees. “We want to tangibly reduce the numbers entering. The question is, how are we going to do this on a sustainable basis?” she asked her supporters. “We have to deal with the cause of what makes refugees flee!” was her answer, to feeble applause. The Christian Democrats are said to be losing up to 3,200 members a month because of dissatisfaction over the refugee issue. Dozens of local party officials, whose towns and villages have had to cope with a large migrant influx, have deluged Ms Merkel with protest letters. In the Rhineland Palatinate and Baden-Wurttemberg, the party’s state branches were reportedly reluctant for Ms Merkel to campaign because her stance might deter voters. At several rallies, angry opponents have chanted “Merkel must go”. In eastern Germany, where the xenophobic AfD is strongest, she has only one appearance booked. More embarrassing was Ms Merkel’s encounter with Julia Klöckner, her party’s leader in Rhineland Pfalz - a protégé of the Chancellor who has been tipped as a possible Merkel successor. Only 10 days ago she directly challenged Ms Merkel by insisting that German border closures should not be ruled out. This week, with Ms Merkel standing beside her, she carefully avoided the issue. One key to Ms Merkel’s future is held by her staunch critic, Horst Seehofer, who is both Prime Minister of Bavaria and head of the state’s conservative Christian Social Union party, a key member of Germany’s ruling coalition in Berlin. Mr Seehofer sees conservative support evaporating and wants Germany to close its border if necessary. If Ms Merkel fails to secure a refugee deal with Turkey on Monday, and severe conservative losses follow next weekend, Mr Seehofer may carry out his threat to take the government to the country’s constitutional court for failing to protect national borders. Such a move might torpedo Germany’s coalition government and topple Ms Merkel as Chancellor with it, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies The 74-year-old Newark native who has been charged in the 1970s cold-case murders of Stanford University graduate Leslie Marie Perlov and Palo-Alto-area resident Janet Ann Taylor the "exalted ruler" of the Fremont (California) Elks Lodge Some who have known John Arthur Getreu have seen a seemingly normal person a kindly man who left presents for neighbor kids at Christmas a medical technician who worked for Stanford and Mills hospitals Getreu lived in the Midtown neighborhood of Palo Alto More: The life of an accused killer: here are key dates in John Getreu's life But others have harbored deep suspicions that Getreu -- who now sits in a cell in the Santa Clara County Main Jail in California -- was a violent predator who could be getting away with rape or murder There was the brother of the teenage girl whom Getreu There was the Palo Alto teenager whom Getreu was convicted of raping in 1975 And then there was the sister of Leslie Perlov who -- even as the murder remained unsolved for more than four decades -- always suspected her sister had been the victim of a serial killer.  now a pastor at the Sunnyland Christian Church in Washington was 7 1/2 years old when Getreu raped and murdered his middle sister after a dance at a church chapel in Bad Kreuznach was a freshman at Bad Kreuznach American High School and the daughter of a U.S then 18 and the child of a military member Margaret attended the evening dance and later left for a walk where she encountered Getreu on the street She was found strangled and raped in a field behind the chapel early the next morning Getreu was almost immediately identified as a suspect and an arrest soon followed Getreu claimed she went with him willingly But it did not occur to me that I could have killed her I just wanted to knock her out," he testified according to a 1964 article in The (Newark) Advocate Getreu was sentenced in juvenile court to 10 years in German prison It is unclear how many years of that sentence he served.  Margaret's murder affected her brother profoundly Williams said that fears about Getreu have haunted him.  "I always had this feeling I might be made aware of him committing crimes later in life," Williams said Williams' fears resurfaced when the FBI renewed its efforts three years ago to catch the so-called Golden State Killer a man who had murdered at least 13 people and raped more than 50 women throughout California from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s.  "When there was a push to find the Golden State Killer .. I was concerned that the California authorities would not have known about (the murder) in Germany," he said by phone "I let them know that this man who took my sister's life was living in California." even after authorities in April 2018 charged Joseph James DeAngelo "The search for the Golden State Killer had served me notice My feeling about (Getreu) was on the rise," Williams said While Williams had Getreu in his sights ever since his sister's murder has lived for decades not knowing who killed her sister she said she has always thought the person responsible could be committing additional murders I knew about Arlis Perry (who was slain in Stanford University's Memorial Church) and Janet Taylor and my sister They were all killed around the same time at Stanford I had always considered this to be a serial killing and I was very concerned he continued to assault other women," she said by phone earlier this month Media reports at the time had also portrayed the crimes as a rash of killings There was a tremendous amount of fear on the Stanford campus Students felt a serial killer was on the loose She said she has kept in touch with investigators for the past 45 years.  "They were constantly chasing down leads and chasing this case," she said It wasn't until DNA technology was used in a pioneering way to solve the Golden State Killer case that her sister's case began to break open.  The lab that analyzed DNA samples gathered from the crime scene in the Stanford foothills where Leslie's strangled body was discovered unrelated individual could be included as a possible contributor to this deduced profile was approximately 1 (in) 65 septillion "I'm just so glad they caught this guy," she said.  Another person who has held deep concerns about Getreu knew him as a Palo Alto Scouts leader.  "Ellen Doe," whose name has been changed to protect her identity was 17 years old when Getreu was charged with raping her at her parents' Palo Alto home in 1975 -- one year after Taylor and two years after Perlov had been murdered She was a member of the Boy Scouts Explorer troop at Covenant Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto It wasn't unusual for youth groups to need parents and other adults to drive youth to events Getreu and his first wife -- who married in 1970 -- became involved in the troop even though they did not have any children he took the children to dances and other events and acted as a guardian and the guys were all friends with me," she said of Getreu whom she'd known for about six months at that point "Sometimes in high school you have a teacher who you can relate to Doe picked up Getreu and three boys from the troop and went to a pizza dinner and a late movie they returned to her home and talked until about 4:30 a.m He said that one of the boys had called him to say they were coming back to her house though he didn't say how the boys planned to get there They talked about the troop and people and He said they were not getting along and continued to kiss her put his hand around her throat and began to rape her she told him she would call out to her brother if he didn't stop Getreu instead began to squeeze her throat I have my hand at your throat and I could hurt you," she testified he said Doe said she submitted because she was afraid "I'm sorry; it will never happen again," she said during the court hearing saying that doing so "would probably ruin my reputation," she testified She told him that she wouldn't because she didn't want to ruin the reputation of the troop where she became very upset and told her friend and her friend's mother about the rape He pleaded not guilty to two charges: sexual perversion and rape by threat of great bodily harm His defense attorney asked the court to dismiss the case during the preliminary hearing claiming that Doe had been "drawing him forward." The court instead granted an added statutory rape charge requested by prosecutors according to preliminary hearing documents a trial-court judge dismissed the sexual perversion charge after a defense motion argued that Doe could not recall sex acts sufficient for that charge Getreu agreed to a plea deal and admitted to the statutory rape He received a six-month sentence in county jail The court suspended five months of his sentence and allowed him to serve the remaining 30 days in jail on weekends The case file does not elaborate on why the judge reduced his jail time and Doe also said she didn't know why he received reduced time Despite all she went through with the court case I was afraid he would do this to others."  He told the troop members things about her that made them blame her He still had access to them -- and they believed him," she said she didn't sense that Getreu would have killed her Recently learning of the murder charges against Getreu -- and of his prior conviction -- was "very unexpected," she said "I was very surprised that he was a convicted murderer." the sheriff in her small Pacific Northwest town knocked on the door to let her know San Mateo County She agreed to talk to the arresting officer She also received a heartfelt letter from Diane Perlov asking her to make a statement to Santa Clara County prosecutors Reading the letter brought back the trauma of the assault and also made her think about how Perlov and Taylor died -- and how she had survived It took me a couple of hours to read it," she said "I try very hard not to watch the news about him As news of Getreu's arrest last November and again in May for the murders of Perlov and Taylor has spread some people who knew him in daily life said they are shocked by the charges His military family visited Newark throughout his youth He and his second wife moved there in the late 1970s or early 1980s.  recalled knowing Getreu and his second wife when they moved to his neighborhood He wasn't aware of Getreu's criminal past and had no knowledge of the current charges against him They never yelled at us -- and we were bad," said Mathy who was 8 to 12 years old when the Getreus lived next door at 550 Mount Vernon Ave The couple rented the home for about three years "John and (his wife) did not have children so they would give us gifts (at Christmas) and they would come over and they would just sit I remember there was a couple New Years' they came over and just hung out with us," he said Getreu was also friends with Mathy's father and may have built cabinets for a local Boy Scouts camp calm person who was intelligent and did not cause people to see any red flags "I think it goes to the fact that you really don't know people And some people are incredibly clever at concealing their past -- you know The '70s were a very different time and you've got to remember this is almost the same time when Ted Bundy started his killing rampage (It) was right in the middle of the '70s when you didn't have the internet and you didn't have huge amounts of communications between police departments of various communities," he said Getreu and his wife joined a Scouts troop while in Ohio an Explorers Post open to all youth ages 14 and older and adults which was dedicated to teaching Native American traditions Getreu lived a seemingly unremarkable life in the East Bay from the 1980s to the present raising a family and joining civic organizations such as the Elks Lodge in Fremont Members of the Fremont Elks Lodge said he was still a member last November Getreu was the lodge's leader -- known as the "exalted ruler" -- in 2007-2008 Lodge officials declined to comment on Getreu's tenure as exalted ruler explained that an exalted ruler is elected by all the members after serving in all of the elected-chair positions The process to become exalted ruler takes four years A few lodge members who were willing to be interviewed had mixed reactions to his arrest They had been close friends for a time.  the third wife said she never knew about her husband's past She said she was not granting interviews regarding their time together Other members of Getreu's family did not return multiple phone calls and messages requesting interviews or comment said he was unable to find much information about his sister's convicted killer over the years He sought contact with some of Getreu's former high school classmates even purchasing a copy of the Bad Kreuznach high school yearbook for 1963 There's a photograph in it of Getreu as a junior clean-shaven and with closely cropped hair Like the Palo Alto teen in 1975 and the two women Getreu is accused of murdering Williams recalled his sister with great fondness My experience of my sister had a lot of impact on me," he said "Margaret was really good at playing the piano and she was always glad for me to sit next to her while she practiced "She was good at helping me when my parents upset me in the way that parents sometimes do," he continued "She soothed and explained in a way that was calm While he lost his sister in a terrible way and had to shoulder the grief that followed his sister's life and the connection they shared was a great blessing in his life that has helped him carry the tragedy of her violent death He stressed that his life has been far more blessed than burdened.  Williams feels a mixture of sadness and relief that Getreu has been arrested His suspicion that Getreu would one day be charged with other crimes has come to fruition but that validation doesn't bring Williams closure.  He expressed empathy for Taylor's and Perlov's families I think (of) the madness of not knowing who (committed the murders) for so many years We knew quickly who had committed the crime It did not feel like this terrible loose end," he said "My prayers continue for the Perlov family and Taylor family and the rape victim in 1975 and my family and the Getreu family and all others badly touched by the disturbed mind and evil hands of John Getreu," he said in a follow-up email Williams said he has often thought about Getreu's family and the impact of his actions on their lives It's not good to be a family member of someone who was murdered but it's got to be horrible to deal with your feelings about a family member who has murdered someone my family cared about what the Getreu family went through," he said.  and San Mateo County prosecutors charged him on May 16 for the murder of Taylor Perlov's body was found under an oak tree in the Stanford foothills while Taylor's body was found in a roadside ditch less than five miles away in Woodside Investigators said both crimes were sexually motivated although they did not conclude the women had been raped Getreu pleaded not guilty in Taylor's murder on June 14 in San Mateo County Superior Court He is scheduled to enter a plea in the Perlov case on July 15 Detectives are working to piece together where he has lived to investigate if he could be a suspect in other cold-case murders Palo Alto Weekly Associate Editor Linda Taaffe Palo Alto Weekly Interns Maya Homan and Christian Trujano and Newark Advocate (Ohio) Reporter Michaela Sumner contributed to this story It is republished in The Advocate with permission astride the River Nahe in the rolling farmland of southwestern Germany was until a few years ago best known for its American army base and its fine local Riesling the economic blow only partly softened by the expansion of a local Michelin plant This year's grape harvest has been threatened by downpours of near-biblical proportions Bad Kreuznach finds itself at the centre of one of the most bizarre high-profile murder mysteries in the country's history - the search for an apparent serial killer whom police and prosecutors call now stretching back 15 years and across three countries - as well as a grisly new reason to put a face to her double helix A case that had for years been gnawingly disturbing has leapt on to the front pages of German newspapers For it appears now that the mystery woman may not only be a killer a 22-year-old policewoman from an elite drugs squad was taking a lunch break with a colleague in their BMW patrol car in Heilbronn Two people climbed into the back seat and shot the officers from behind killing the woman and seriously injuring her 25-year-old partner The assailants struck so quickly their victims had not even drawn their weapons carrying a smiling portrait of their murdered colleague It also sparked one of the largest criminal investigations in German history - with results that at first puzzled The only clue was microscopic traces of DNA found on the centre console and the rear passenger seat of the BMW And when the samples were finally fully secured tested and compared with Germany's central crime database nearly three months later there was an extraordinary match - from two quite different murder scenes stretching back a decade and a half the frenzy of media coverage that followed did at least give the mystery woman a name magazines and documentary-makers chronicled the police efforts to hunt down their elusive suspect not only with a string of further crimes across southern Germany but with nearly a dozen break-ins and vehicle thefts across the border in Austria and France her DNA signature has continued to turn up at new crime sites since Heilbronn - most bizarrely a few months ago when the corpses of three Georgian car dealers were trawled from a river near Heppenheim forensic officers found traces of the same DNA found in the police car in Heilbronn Who is the woman whose genetic calling card has been found at more than 20 scenes of theft assault and murder hundreds of miles and more than a dozen years apart More than 100 police and prosecutors in three separate teams across Germany backed by DNA analysis from the BKA in Wiesbaden (Germany's equivalent of the FBI) and by officers in Austria and France are now involved in an increasingly frantic effort to answer those questions But nowhere is the sense of determination - and growing frustration - felt more keenly than in a large pale-yellow building in the centre of Bad Kreuznach cavernous hallways and quiet cubbyhole offices it has the feel of a Fifties insurance office it is the headquarters of the prosecutors' office of the state of Rheinland-Pfalz that the search for the Woman Without a Face began - with a DNA sample on the rim of a brightly painted teacup The cup belonged to a 62-year-old woman in the nearby town of Idar-Oberstein favoured by tourists for the Church of the Rock perched on the hills outside and by businessmen as one of the leading gem-cutting centres in Europe a neighbour who had knocked on her door and got no answer phoned the police strangled by a strand of wire taken from a bouquet of flowers in her sitting room 'The only clue was the DNA,' recalls Günter Horn the boyish-looking 44-year-old prosecutor in charge of unravelling a mystery that has since reached far beyond that first killing Dozens of potential witnesses were interviewed at the time but no one had seen or heard anything suspicious set aside in the increasingly vain hope that fresh evidence might one day turn up the woman might at some point be arrested for another Horn says as he thumbs through two now-bulging pink cardboard files on the case a 61-year-old antiques dealer was found dead - again The DNA at the scene was identical to that at the Idar-Oberstein murder The soiled needle was turned in to police by a distraught woman whose seven-year-old son had unsuspectingly stepped on it in a playground in the town of Gerolstein And in the increasingly fraught police efforts to unravel the mystery since the policewoman was killed in Heilbronn checking the evidence against nearly half a million records held at the BKA in Wiesbaden a dizzying mosaic of other DNA matches has emerged - and with it the beginning of a portrait of their quarry a caravan was burgled on the outskirts of Mainz DNA taken from an abandoned biscuit outside matched the Woman Without a Face there was a break-in at an office in Dietzenbach Her DNA was found on two beer bottles and an empty wine glass it turned up again - on a toy pistol used in a robbery in nearly a dozen break-ins at shops and offices the genetic print of presumed accomplices was also found though according to Horn 'it was never the same ones' At least three men have been arrested - from Slovakia if they know anything about the Phantom of Heilbronn she - or traces of her - reappeared much closer to Bad Kreuznach at an attempted murder in the cathedral city of Worms A member of the local gypsy community turned a 7.65-calibre pistol on his brother and police promptly arrested the gunman - only to find that the mystery woman's DNA was on one of the bullets 'All of us on the various teams talk to each other two or three times a month but mostly we wait for another report saying the same DNA has turned up.' came 'just a few months ago - from a fishing lodge in a little town called Saarhölzbach Someone came in at night and sneaked up behind the woman who was in charge of the cleaning staff 'Our suspect's DNA was found in the room - not on the woman who was robbed we're still no nearer to knowing who she is.' from hundreds of women in southern Germany The testing strategy has been based on the hints - guesses Horn acknowledges - from which the investigators have been struggling to build a coherent picture of the woman whose trail began on the rim of a teacup 15 years ago point to targets of opportunity and a desperate need for cash The fact that many of the crime scenes have been in or around Horn's patch suggest that the Woman Without a Face is 'still in southern Germany Yet the geographical range of some of the crimes the bizarre links with the murdered Georgians and the bullet used in the gypsy feud in Worms have convinced the police that she may have ties with one of the loosely linked groups and communities who move back and forth across Europe's increasingly porous frontiers pointing to the evidence from the Austrian burglary sites speculates that she may be part of an 'organised group of burglars from Eastern Europe' But a colleague quickly interrupts: 'Even in jail The DNA testers have taken samples from nearly 3,000 'homeless women women who have a record of a serious crime' He adds that he is not at all surprised by the growing gruesome fascination of the case for the media what Horn calls the allure of 'the modern equivalent of fingerprints - DNA.' which carries the genetic instructions from which all human beings are made and it earned the scientists James Watson and Francis Crick a Nobel Prize for their work in identifying how it was structured the Leicester University geneticist Sir Alec Jeffreys who paved the way for the marriage between genetic science and crime-solving Jeffreys pioneered 'DNA profiling' - based on generating a digital code with a shrinkingly small probability of being found in another person from the individual pattern in which brief portions of our DNA repeat themselves The technique was first used to crack a major crime in 1988 when Jeffreys was called in to help solve a pair of shocking cases Two teenage girls in the Leicestershire village of Narborough A young man was already in custody and had reportedly confessed to one of the killings But DNA profiling soon established that a local baker has transformed the way crime is investigated DNA 'evidence' has dominated media coverage of countless high-profile crimes most dramatically the murder of a number of prostitutes in Ipswich in 2006 and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann last year Even crime fiction has changed beyond recognition Sherlock Holmes has given way to the likes of Kay Scarpetta the DNA-savvy forensic scientist created by the best-selling American crime writer Patricia Cornwell the one thing that DNA evidence has unequivocally revealed about the presumed murderer Günter Horn has spent years hoping to find is that she is a woman Some of the limitations of what else can be gleaned from the rim of a teacup a toy gun or a real bullet are peculiarly German In the shadow of a Holocaust in which genetic pseudo-science became a handmaiden to genocide there are strict limitations on DNA records held in Wiesbaden Only the full details of individuals convicted of serious crime can be added to the database the Woman Without a Face is also a woman without a criminal record in the aftermath of Hitler's glorification of his blue-eyed on what kind of scientific questions can be asked of the DNA samples that have linked the Woman Without a Face to the far-flung crime scenes Horn is particularly quick to bat away suggestions raised in the wake of the Heilbronn killing that the mystery woman may have ties to the gypsy 'There are lots of people and communities who move around,' he says before adding that the real problem - his real frustration - is that there are other more serious limitations to the almost magical power now sometimes attributed to DNA where limits on DNA testing are less stringent suggesting that she may have blonde hair and blue eyes 'But the fact is that there would be a significant percentage of error in any such conclusion .. that error would be measured in hundreds of thousands of people.' It is a message of caution echoed at Europe's leading DNA crime laboratory the Forensic Science Service (FSS) in Birmingham After Portuguese police first talked up their later discredited 'DNA evidence' suggesting Madeleine McCann's parents might have been involved in her disappearance Jeffreys was quoted as saying that even the FSS relies on a genetic database with insufficient 'markers' fully to rule out the possibility of error A spokesperson at the FSS adds that Horn is right to be especially sceptical of the value of reports suggesting that Germany's mystery killer might be blonde and blue-eyed 'that there is a test for identifying redheads but only because so few of the population have red hair.' But even a test like that can't 'identify' a criminal And in cases where there is 'nothing else to go on' genetic profiling - particularly since the technique works by using repetitive 'junk' DNA rather than the genetically encoding sequences - can provide 'only intelligence DNA can be an enormously powerful tool in crime investigations especially in matching a culprit to a series of crimes But in the end it is only 'one tool' alongside many others - not least what Günter Horn describes as good emails and reports in the days ahead from the other teams at work on what has become the most intractable case he and his colleagues have ever handled The pressure for a solution is steadily building stoked by a stream of breathlessly worded reports in the media and by a growing array of speculation and conspiracy theories in a town that still awaits a solution to the murder that started the mystery 15 years ago 'Of course I'm following the case of The Phantom there's a story that this DNA has been found at a crime scene somewhere else and some other criminal is leaving traces of her DNA to fool the police!' suspects the solution to the string of murders and other crimes will begin with the addition of a remarkably ordinary face to the still-unfocused picture assembled from the genetic traces she has left so widely and for so long some 'criminal genius' who is cleverly outwitting the police and prosecutors of Germany and much of Europe 'She leaves no fingerprints because she wears gloves,' he says 'That is pretty standard.' There are no witnesses Horn and his colleagues also recognise that even if they do finally match the DNA that has turned up at crime scenes around Europe with its owner They will have to establish definitively how and why the DNA - and its owner - got there; what role she played particularly at crime scenes where the DNA tests suggest other intruders were with her; and of course build a case that will stand up in a court of law And if he and his colleagues remain confident that they will eventually get their woman Horn is frank when asked how long that might take So is he waiting for the Woman Without a Face to slip up - to leave a clue more useful This is the archive of The Observer up until 21/04/2025 The Observer is now owned and operated by Tortoise Media This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Bitterroot Star Bitterroot Valley's best source for local news April 5, 2016 by Filed Under: Obituaries Alcoholics Anonymous is open to all who have a desire to stop drinking The Stevensville Al-Anon Family Group meets weekly at 7 p.m Monday at the Stevensville United Methodist Church Enter the church through the Fellowship Hall door next to […] Please update our weekly listing to the following: The Stevensville Al-Anon Family Group meets weekly at 7 p.m Join Summit Independent Living for Art Expressions -- our all-abilities art club -- every Tuesday in Hamilton Just show up and enjoy an afternoon of […] The Ravalli Democrats invite you to join them at the Backyard Taphouse in Florence every other Tuesday afternoon at 4:30 for what they call Burgers and Beers ------------------------------------------- The Wonders of Hot Water A Weekly Lecture Series on the Origins and Uses of the World’s Hot Springs Tuesday Evenings July 23 through August 20 7:00pm to […] Ionic Lodge #38 of Hamilton would like to announce that we have ongoing Masonic education every Tuesday night starting at 7:00 pm and we are open to the public every […] Jordan Walker paints landscapes with precision breaking them down to expose their structure His work in From the Rockies to the Red Rock records the forces shaping […] or brand-new pattern and enjoy the company of like-minded crafters during this informal Fiber […] 1st Thursday each month Health and Wellness Series New presentation on important natural healing topics followed by Questions and Answers National Day of Prayer for the Bitterroot Valley Community Join us to prayer for our community and nation 6pm – 7pm Hosted by the Ravalli County Ministerial […] free country swing dance lessons every Thursday in May at 7:00 pm at the Rustic Hut in Florence- arrive early - all ages welcome- no partner needed  Country swing dance lessons at the Rustic Hut in Florence ~ free — The Bureau of Land Management Montana/Dakotas is excited to launch its 2025 Wild Horse and Burro Adoption Event series with the Montana Kick-Off Adoption Event Discover and discuss new books — in audiobook and other formats — with us and other bookworms from the community I am one of the organizers for the 4th Grade Farm Fair and am reaching out to let you know that we will be hosting the event again […] Join us every Friday from 12-5PM The purpose of the GUILD is to contribute to the growth and knowledge of hand knitting and history; to sponsor and support […] Thank Goodness It’s Art Friday (TGIAF) is an arts and crafts social group where all are welcome Welcome to the Stevensville Harvest Valley Farmers Market This little market is growing and has so much to offer We have a variety to offer from Jams/Jellies at Corvallis Firehall on the Woodside Cutoff road The Bitterroot Blizzard Doll Club meets monthly on the 2nd Thursday James Jonkel is a Wildlife Management Specialist with Montana Fish Jamie serves on several committees and nonprofit organizations […] What won't perish in your garden from an inevitable spring cold snap With a little paint we'll turn rocks into quirky creatures Wings Youth Volunteer Program The Wings Programs Equine Rescue & Sanctuary is starting a youth volunteer program that will run through the summer Do you love horses and donkeys and […] Please join us for the Daly Mansion’s Annual Tea on May 10 Teatime at Riverside will have 2 seating times 11am & 1pm – 100 tickets available per seating […] The Ravalli County Democrats have scheduled their annual convention for May 10 in Victor Park The election of officers is the focus of the gathering Join us on the lawn at the Daly Mansion for the best dang community gathering in the Bitterroot Join us every 3rd Thursday at 6pm at BJ's restaurant The Bitterroot Celtic Society are a passionate group of volunteers Bitter Root Back Country Horsemen is a volunteer organization that works to keep trails open for the public The group meets every third Thursday of the month at the Corvallis […] Key Attributes of Self-Defense Training Practical Techniques: Easy-to-learn moves tailored for real-world situations Situational Awareness: Learn to identify risks and make safe choices Adaptability: Techniques designed for all ages The Corvallis Civic Club will meet on Monday at 7:00 pm in the Corvallis High School Library All are welcome to attend and help the club continue its […] WOMEN & GUNS: Women Only - Introduction to Defensive Handguns The first day is designed to assist […] will be offered three times at the Whittecar Range in Hamilton Every 4th Tuesday of the month for the monthly Guild meeting The purpose of the GUILD is to contribute to the growth and knowledge of hand knitting Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Photo Gallery: Remembering the Chernobyl Disaster Who would voluntarily breathe in radioactive gas They swear by the notorious noble gas radon created by the decay of uranium: They inhale it deeply Most believers in the healing qualities of radiation are suffering from a chronic inflammatory disease: arthritis which is why they lay in bubbling radon water offered by some healing spas in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate brave spa guests even trek into the tunnels of an abandoned mercury mine attracted by the radon-filled air in the mountain these people are right: Radioactivity is good for them These are the initial findings of an ongoing large-scale trial conducted by researchers from four German institutes The leader is radiobiologist Claudia Fournier from the Helmholtz Center for Heavy Ion Research in Darmstadt Hundreds of patients in the spa resort of Bad Steven allowed themselves to be thoroughly examined for the study The researchers found that after a series of radon baths the blood of the test subjects had fewer signs of inflammation which is often in overdrive due to their illnesses Accompanying experiments on arthritic mice delivered a further surprise which typically goes along with joint inflammation radon is in no way harmless and may cause lung cancer in higher doses How can this same gas have beneficial effects mitigate inflammation and strengthen bones Its advantages for humans and mice have not yet been confirmed beyond all doubt But biologist Fournier is reasonably sure that her results point in a new direction: "In low doses radiation works differently than we had expected," she says half of Western Europe was contaminated with weakly radioactive precipitation The public at large was taught to view the ubiquitous radioactivity as particularly insidious apparently not everything that gives off radiation is bad after all The body seems to be able to cope with low doses of radon "We are continuing to search for damage to the genome," says Fournier Radon baths had previously been considered curiosities of empirical medicine Yet they've been around for quite some time the first such spa retreats advertised their supposedly healing rays But after two atomic bombs were dropped on Japan and several reactor disasters it was the heat of the tunnels that had given the patients temporary respite Patients here lie in Germany's only radon bath in the town of Bad Kreuznach The official message remains unyielding: The iron-clad rule is that radioactivity can be dangerous Even a single damaged cell could eventually become a tumor That standard measure of risk largely comes from a study launched in 1950 after the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki It demonstrated that the risk of cancer rises along with the radiation dosage the effect of radiation only becomes apparent at a relatively high dosage -- at about 100 millisieverts as the unit biologists use to measure the effects of radiation on the body is called That is 50 times as much as a person receives each year in Germany from natural background radiation the danger becomes fairly easy to predict: If 100 people are irradiated with that dosage a heightened risk of cancer or leukemia is to be expected "We simply don't know how the body responds to weaker radiation," says Werner Rühm director of the Institute of Radiation Protection near Munich It's possible that as little as 10 millisieverts lead to increased rates of cancer But that wouldn't show up in the statistics "Cancer from other causes is simply too common," says Rühm "Over 40 percent of people get it at some point." And the risk varies dramatically there is one hidden case that can be traced to cell mutation caused by radiation we pretend to be able to calculate the danger down to the smallest dosage." good enough to extrapolate the rules and limits that are broadly seen as necessary "In any case we have nothing better," says Rühm But it makes no sense to project these kinds of abstract figures onto an entire population in the wake of nuclear disasters horrific victim projections made the rounds resulted in hundreds of thousands additional cancer cases -- a completely fictitious number It could be that there wasn't even a single case Graphic: When does radiation become dangerous Some researchers believe that even the fundamental assumptions behind the calculations are wrong He leads the Institute of Molecular Cell Biology at the University of Jena "The traditional risk model cannot be upheld," he says "It doesn't take into account that the cells can deal very well with low dosages of radiation." The scariest consequence is damage to the genome even that kind of damage is not necessarily a dramatic event in the near term Every single cell experiences it thousands of times every day the attack comes from inside: Cell metabolism creates aggressive molecules there are tiny maintenance machines in operation around the clock: Special proteins correct defective portions of the genome molecular guards initiate programmed cell death It has been widely proven how well these repair mechanisms function as long as the radiation does not become too strong cells that have been repaired once appear to be better equipped for later attacks Darmstadt biologist Fournier believes the question is misguided "Something that strengthens the cells doesn't necessarily help a person," she says this cell can later be the source of cancer." that the grim victim scenarios of the nuclear age have not been fulfilled its biggest catastrophes have caused surprisingly few victims Those who travel to Chernobyl today will feel like they are entering a nature paradise In the area surrounding the reactor that was the epicenter of the disaster there are once again wolves and Przewalski horses -- and even European bison and lynx have now infiltrated the uninhabited forests There are probably more animals living in the area than before the disaster The still-elevated radiation seems to be less damaging to nature than humans are The catastrophe began with the explosion of Unit 4 on April 26 Firefighters tried to extinguish the flames and to cover the open reactor core Many of the helpers were exposed to extremely high doses of radiation and Whether there was an increase in cancer cases in the area after the accident is an open question The statistics have not proven such a thing: Higher cancer rates in the population have thus far not been determined That's the conclusion drawn by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) in 2011 There is however one exception: Over 6,000 children contracted thyroid cancer after the accident and 15 of them died A large number of the cases can be tied to the radioactive iodine that the wind carried into the region in the first days An increase in thyroid cancer has also been observed in the area surrounding Fukushima's destroyed nuclear reactor Last year around 300,000 people who were 18 or younger at the time of the disaster were examined Yet no one knows how many of these tumors were detected because this was the first time a thorough screening had been undertaken The most conservative assessments assume there were at least 150 fatalities A study conducted by the University of Stanford concluded that there were 600 victims of the evacuation compared to the maybe 30 that would have died of radiation poisoning had they not been rescued The radioactivity in the region of Fukushima remained relatively low According to the World Health Organization (WHO) no more than 50 millisieverts were to be expected in the first year and up to 10 millisieverts in the other surrounding areas Should people have simply been left at home These questions are easy to ask in hindsight But for one querulous group of researchers They believe that weak radiation doesn't hurt the body They say the minor radioactive bombardment can be beneficial: Cells power up their repair systems and enter a state of increased vigilance and vitality This theory is called hormesis (the word comes from ancient Greek and means "stimulate") by its proponents The scientists who adhere to this approach meet at special conferences and even have their own journal Their leading authority is the American toxicologist Edward Calabrese of the University of Massachusetts in Amherst or "hormeticians," find the prevailing risk model to be too pessimistic where the natural background radiation emanating from the planet is far higher than normal doses including the Guarapari resort in Brazil and the radioactive thermal springs in Ramsar there are no indications of an increased risk of cancer the skeptical majority of researchers is not convinced They point out that cancer statistics are notoriously unreliable at low doses of radiation but they cannot be identified due to the numerous cases resulting from other causes The Bavarian radioactivity researcher Rühm fears that the debate will never be settled with statistics alone "We need additional biological experiments in order to understand what the effects are of radiation in small doses," he says The research project on radon therapy in Darmstadt shows how this might work The researchers are not only examining spa guests but have also placed mice in a specially constructed radon chamber and are monitoring the cell cultures in an artificial blood stream specific cells emerge that reduce the immune system's overzealousness preventing the body from becoming its own enemy Is this then evidence in favor of hormesis "This theory about positive radiation is too general for me," says project leader Fournier "The damaging effects are still there." As such she would not recommend radon therapy to a healthy person the benefits seem to clearly outweigh the negatives." The hormeticians are still in the minority But the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) in the US is currently looking to answer the question of whether their risk model should incorporate hormetics in the future the commission invited experts to share their views and the process is still ongoing A subcommittee has already expressed its view however: It believes the commission should stick to its current model for the moment even if it does appear increasingly plausible It is the same plausibility of an old piece of folk wisdom put forward in the 16th century by the healer Paracelsus It is true that many things are good for the body in moderation or the stimulant caffeine -- substances that are deadly in higher doses The Greifswald pharmacist Hugo Schulz observed in 1888 that yeast thrives after being treated with a significantly diluted disinfectant Schulz saw his findings confirmed after tests with other poisons the usual effects are reversed and toxins become useful Schulz was a pioneer of the hormesis theory Later on he tried to use his discoveries to explain homeopathy Today's hormeticians find the field's founding father's confusion to be embarrassing He and his team of two dozen researchers are investigating how the body's cells react to stress these are completely normal challenges for the body," says Wetzker The cells respond in the same way to all forms of stress Invariably this process produces oxygen radicals "Previously these were thought of as a bad thing," Wetzker says Their attacks stimulate the cell's repair processes." This molecular skirmish appears to invigorate the organism Various findings point towards the conclusion that moderate stress of any kind is advantageous Roundworms fed small amount of arsenic live longer People who indulge in moderate levels of alcohol have reduced risks of heart attacks diabetes and Alzheimer's according to epidemiological studies Yet these blessings do seem to be coupled with notable damage to genomes But this is as true of exercise as it is for other sources of stress "the genomes in your cells come under attack." In this instance the impact leads to muscles being strengthened Wetzker hypothesizes that there is a universal principle when it comes to stress response namely that the body can acclimatize to -- or even requires -- any kind of moderate challenge your muscles are withered." The body needs to be regularly pushed admits that caution is required when it comes to nuclear radiation It is too difficult to calculate doses and effects Experiments on people to gain better insights are out of the question that there are ill people who would be willing to accept a small amount of risk around 56,000 people in Germany die as a result of septicemia This usually devastating blood poisoning is most often contracted in hospitals -- already weakened patients are especially susceptible death usually comes long after the pathogens have been removed from the bloodstream with antibiotics Usually their illness comes to a close as multiple organs fail it has long been suspected that the immune system itself is to blame It could be overreacting to the original infection Wetzker hopes he can use mild radiation to calm the out of control defense mechanisms The idea first occurred to his colleague Luis Moita at the University of Lisbon Moita had already proven in several tests on mice that he was on the right track The majority of the animals subjected to radiation survived the septicemia "Maybe we can save humans this way too." Moira had previously infected several mice with a cytotoxin which damages the genome and simulates exposure to radiation to some extent This method has already been approved and is used to fight blood cancer by attacking leukemia cells do not have long to live are being considered as the subject group The plan is to offer these terminally ill patients the radiation simulant then researchers will be facing a new debate -- about the curing power of destroyed genomes The Chernobyl nuclear power plant in March 1999: Even after the accident at Reactor 4 the remaining three reactors continued operating for years was the last one to be taken offline in December 2000 A March 1999 photo of the still-intact Chernobyl power plant The reactors at Chernobyl were graphite rather than water moderated The moderator slows the fast neutrons created during the nuclear fission in order to stop further fission staff working inside Reactor 4 lost control of the reactor Output increased to one-hundred times the normal level the fuel rods overheated and the reactor building was destroyed in an explosion The graphite also caught on fire and it took days before it could be put out The detonation also unleashed radioactive particles into the air -- predominantly cesium 137 A radioactive cloud formed over large parts of Europe The destroyed control room of Reactor 4: More than 30 people died in the immediate aftermath of the accident with estimates running at between 10,000 and more than 100,000 for the number who would later die as a consequence of it Fears of radiation were pervasive across Europe following the catastrophe East German fire fighters wash a Dutch truck arriving at the East German-West German border at Herleshausen in order to decontaminate it The meltdown at Chernobyl changed the world Some countries ceased using nuclear power altogether Workers measure radiation inside the 30-kilometers exclusion zone in May 1986 there was no information," reports one witness "Everything was classified as a secret at the time." A view of the destroyed reactor at Chernobyl: Reactor 1 of the Chernobyl nuclear reactor resumed operations on Sept construction continued on a concrete sarcophagus that was used to seal the reactor where the disaster took place The 65-meter (213-foot) high structure had only been intended as a temporary measure several hundred cracks were discovered and the load bearing walls were threatened with collapse Some 200 tons of uranium are still located inside the destroyed reactor today nature continued to take over Pripyat (in the foreground) Construction of a new protective shell made of steel recently began It is expected to be sturdy enough to stand for 100 years and will be positioned on top of the old reactor building Exclusion zone: The zone within a 30-kilometer radius of the nuclear power plant remains closed to inhabitants today It will still take decades before radiation has falled to levels deemed to be safe for habitation Radiation levels currently fluctuate massively from one location inside the exclusion zone to the next The brightness and warmth of the summer is a chance for us to recharge our batteries But when the sunny days get shorter and the colder seasons beckon then we start to need a bit of comfort and calm There are plenty of ways to top up your energy levels in harmony with nature in Rhineland‑Palatinate: being close to the water breathing in fresh air and feeling the earth under your feet Our journey through the state tracks down the elements and even discovers a fifth one that is typical of Rhineland‑Palatinate There are an impressive 15 mineral springs The spa resort of Bad Ems sits in an idyllic spot in the lower Lahn valley near Koblenz and is an ideal spot to regain strength from the element of water Bad Ems was one of the most popular spa resorts in Germany Many European monarchs and artists had summer residences built in this ‘global spa’ in the 19th century And the tradition lives on. People still flock to Bad Ems to relax and enjoy the beauty of nature. The thermal spa featuring the first river sauna in Germany is especially popular Visitors can swim in 6,600 square metres of thermal waters leave everyday stresses behind them in the sauna park enjoy a massage to relieve their tensions and exercise in the fitness area Or simply daydream while enjoying the view over the Lahn Heraclitus famously declared ‘panta rhei’ (everything flows) View of the outdoor pool at the Emser Therme thermal baths in Bad Ems Relaxing at FlussSauna on the Lahn at the Emser Therme: in Bad Ems Fire: Bad Bertrich volcanic Eifel thermal spa The volcanic spa is an idyllic spot and the perfect place to get closer to the force of fire. There is fire blazing under the ground here, and the Vulkaneifel Therme in Bad Bertrich captures its energy The swimming pools are filled with healing waters straight from the volcanic depths Pleasant naturally warm temperatures of 32 degrees Celsius and valuable natural minerals are good for the body The Vulkaneifel Therme is wonderfully relaxing and the only Glauber salt thermal spa in the whole of Germany The saunas also lean heavily on volcanic activity Five saunas from different volcanic springs and a steam bath bring warmth into the depths of your body and increase your feeling of well-being There are luxurious relaxation rooms where you can enjoy the lasting effects of the heat and let relaxation flow through your body Relax in the mineral waters of the Vulkaneifel Therme Bad Bertrich Outside area at the Vulkaneifel Therme in Bad Bertrich Air: Salinental health park in Bad Kreuznach just in the middle of Rhineland‑Palatinate Take a deep breath – the fresh breeze is good for the lungs and the bronchial tubes Relaxing walk along the graduation works in Salinental Wine is the core product that shapes the environment from picture-perfect sloping vineyards to cosy wine bars But WellVinEss is not just about wandering through the vineyards before enjoying a glass or two; wine and grapes also play a central role in the treatments These include bathing in Riesling or Pinot Noir (the former stimulates a grapeseed oil massage or a grapeseed peel A Rhineland‑Palatinate journey for the senses In its idyllic setting between the Moselle and the volcanic Eifel the spa resort of Bad Bertrich in the GesundLand Vulkaneifel is home to the only Glauber’s salt thermal spring in Germany The spa resort of Bad Ems offers a range of preventative wellness and restorative treatments to escape the stress of everyday life the state-accredited spa resort of Bad Kreuznach is the largest open-air inhalatorium in Europe Enjoy your time in the Felke town of Bad Sobernheim on the barefoot trail or with a treatment in one of the leading medical wellness hotels in Rhineland Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland have healing baths climatic health resorts and spas where you can nurture your vital spirits in relaxing… The German town of Bad Kreuznach reports Michelin’s acquisition of a 70,000 square metre land plot alongside its facility there an area that will be used to expand the plant The land is part of the ‘Marshall Kaserne’ site a former US Army barracks in the Rhineland-Palatinate that closed in 2001 “We are delighted that we’ve succeeded in prompting a global company like Michelin to invest millions in the site and significantly enlarge its premises,” stated Udo Bausch head of business development for Bad Kreuznach Bausch added that the town is hoping the expansion will have a positive effect on the regional job market Michelin currently employs 1,500 people at what is already its largest plant in Germany The ‘Green Compound’ used in the Pilot Sport 3 is also exclusively produced in Bad Kreuznach he boasted to a cellmate about the death of Nicola Stiel Advances in DNA technology also helped bolster the case against him is accused of attacking the 19-year-old woman in August 1984 The District Court of Bad Homburg issued an international arrest warrant against Brown for rape and murder in January 2006 He was arrested at a Baltimore apartment complex where he works as a maintenance man said she did not know whether he had a lawyer Brown was detained pending a hearing on whether he should be surrendered to authorities in Germany wrote in her diary that she had gone on a date with Brown and was going to meet him again then strangled her to prevent her from reporting the rape A passerby found Stiel's body the next day in the woods Tire tracks nearby matched the treads from a car rented by Brown Brown left Germany "to escape from the German criminal authorities," according to the German arrest warrant A trace of sperm was found on Stiel's slacks but DNA technology in 1984 was not as advanced as it is today Brown was honorably discharged from the Army but was jailed in the mid-1980s in Graterford Prison in Pennsylvania he bragged to a cellmate that he had raped and killed a woman Murphy said she did not know why he was jailed at the time The cellmate told German investigators in 1988 about Brown's comments Brown was interviewed that year by German authorities but would not give a statement