This work, 78th Infantry Division breaks through German defenses, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright police and tax inspectors in Germany have raided the offices of dozens of banks financial advisers and wealthy individuals as part of a criminal probe into Germans suspected of tax evasion According to the Frankfurt Public Prosecutor authorities searched the homes of eight people in the towns of Bad Tölz and the offices of four tax consultants and six asset management companies Wealthy Germans allegedly used tax havens to hide capital gains from the Germany treasury and evade taxes, according to the prosecutor’s press release “The purpose of the search warrants is to gather evidence about untaxed income and to learn about the economic activity of the companies in tax havens,” the Public Prosecutor stated in a press release Prosecutors stated that the “trigger” for the investigation were findings from Offshore Leaks, a 2013 investigation called Secrecy for Sale by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists While the press release did not name individuals or companies under investigation officials did allege that the subjects of the raids were helped by “the former subsidiary in the British Virgin Islands of a major German bank.” The bank is understood to be Deutsche Bank and the former subsidiary is Regula Ltd, according to ICIJ partners Norddeutscher Rundfunk and Sueddeutsche Zeitung. a “nominee” shareholder of shell companies was reportedly used to obscure the identities of taxpayers who owned or otherwise benefited from offshore companies ICIJ first wrote about Regula Ltd. in a 2013 investigation into how Deutsche Bank helped clients maintain hundreds of offshore companies The subsidiary also appeared in ICIJ’s Swiss Leaks, Panama Papers and Paradise Papers investigations Deutsche Bank told ICIJ that today’s raids did not involve a search of the bank’s premises Bank spokesman Christian Streckert said: “The investigations are not directed against Deutsche Bank “The public prosecutor’s office is investigating private individuals Deutsche Bank cooperates with the public prosecutor’s office and voluntarily submits all requested documents.” the country-wide searches are related to a raid last year on Deutsche Bank’s headquarters in Frankfurt In November, almost 200 German police raided Deutsche Bank’s headquarters as part of a money laundering investigation helped up to 900 clients hide transactions worth about $350 million Read our 2013 story about Deutsche Bank’s use of offshore entities were on holiday at the Eiserbachsee in Simmerath German police say they are investigating the death of two British boys who drowned in a lake in western Germany on Thursday evening were pulled from the Eiserbachsee near Aachen after their parents reported them missing Doctors fought overnight to save their lives but they were pronounced dead in hospital in the early hours of Friday morning The boys are believed to have been brothers who were holidaying in the region with their parents close to the borders with the Netherlands and Belgium is a popular destination for local people and tourists and is a designated swimming area On the day of the boys’ disappearance bathers were enjoying the water resort as an escape from the 31C (87F) heat Witnesses reported seeing a group of bathers panic shortly after 6pm on Thursday when it was discovered that the boys were missing The police were called at 6.59pm and arrived on the scene with several emergency vehicles The German emergency technical relief agency along with qualified life savers from the German association of life savers The teams searched the lakeside and the water for signs of the missing boys The boys were discovered by a first aider who discovered their lifeless bodies in the water They were pulled out and attempts were made to resuscitate them by medics before they were flown to clinics in nearby Cologne and Aachen Initially the boys’ conditions were described as critical On Friday morning it was announced that despite doctors working to revive them The boys are reported to have been holidaying with their parents in the Netherlands before travelling to Germany Officials said the lake where they had been swimming had life-saving staff at the weekends when it was at its busiest told media that the deaths had shocked the town and that the rescue workers had been deeply affected by the tragedy He described the lake as “harmless” for swimmers There was no information as to whether the boys had been able to swim A month ago a 16-year-old Belgian boy is reported to have drowned in the same lake after jumping from a landing stage and never reemerging His body was recovered after a two-hour search State prosecutors in Aachen said they have begun an investigation into whether negligence was involved in the boys’ drownings Free daily newsletterOur morning email breaks down the key stories of the day telling you what’s happening and why it matters The British Foreign Office said it was on hand to offer help to the family of the boys .st1{fill-rule:evenodd;clip-rule:evenodd;fill:#2a2a2a}By Garret Ellison | gellison@mlive.comWilliam Vogelzang purple heart WW2.JPG World War II veteran William Vogelzang of Holland displays his Purple Heart MI — Lifelong Hollander Willliam Vogelzang Sr. a World War II veteran who came home to start a successful and pioneering import business Army while a student at Michigan State University he was sent by the Army into specialized engineering and artillery training at Rhode Island State University Her was assigned to the 308th Battalion of the 78th infantry division as an artillery forward observer and radio team member during the war While in active combat service in France and Germany he was wounded at Simmerath two days before the commencement of the Battle of the Bulge Vogelzang was hospitalized for months and received the Purple Heart Vogelzang married Betty Jane Bergsma of Grand Rapids on Sept Bill entered the family Vogelzang Hardware business in Holland and enjoyed being a downtown merchant for nearly 40 years his business career led him to establish Vogelzang International an import company dealing in energy-related products from China Vogelzang was in China one week after the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989 The company expanded its customer base to rest of the United States and United Kingdom Bill was a long-term member and elder at Bethany Christian Reformed Church Evergreen Commons and was a 40-year member of the Holland Rotary club His civic service included leadership positions with Bethany Christian Services Holland Zoning Board of Appeals the city Planning Commission He was preceded in death by his wife of 52 years Elizabeth Maring; as well as 18 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren 28 at Bethany Christian Reformed Church in Holland 2013 at Langeland-Sterenberg Funeral Home in Holland Interment will be in Pilgrim Home Cemetery Use of and/or registration on any portion of this site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement, (updated 8/1/2024) and acknowledgement of our Privacy Policy, and Your Privacy Choices and Rights (updated 1/1/2025) © 2025 Advance Local Media LLC. All rights reserved (About Us) The material on this site may not be reproduced except with the prior written permission of Advance Local Community Rules apply to all content you upload or otherwise submit to this site YouTube's privacy policy is available here and YouTube's terms of service is available here Ad Choices the peaks of the volcanic mountains of the Eifel a region in the west of Rhineland-Palatinate don their white caps and the freshly fallen snow glitters in the sunlight in the forest the cross-country ski trails are marked out on the Ernstberg near Hinterweiler and the downhill slope on the Mäuseberg near Daun is lit up in the evenings There are toboggan hire stations at both sites The ‘Wolfsschlucht’ winter sports region near Prüm has no toboggan run but there is an area set up specially for sledging next to the ski hut A tobogganing slope has also been prepared on the ‘Mäuseberg’ near Daun All the regions share the current weather conditions on their websites and provide information on whether there is enough snow for tobogganing Winter landscapes are perfect for sledging At 816 metres, the Erbeskopf in the Hunsrück region is the highest skiing mountain in Rhineland-Palatinate There are snow cannons along the slopes to boost the snowfall if required when the temperatures are below zero and keep the three Alpine downhill slopes the toboggan run and the forest cross-country skiing trail in shape You can hire skis or snowboards and all the equipment and there is even a skiing and snowboarding school so you can hone your technique for turning and cruising into the valley You can also ski, snowboard and toboggan on the slopes of the Dollbergen near Neuhütten. Cross-country skiers can choose between two marked Dollberg trails, one of five and one of eight kilometres. Around the Hermeskeil ski region the local ski club at an altitude of 600 metres maintains the ‘Schöne Aussicht’ cross-country trail with a 10-kilometre red route and a six-kilometre green route plus the three-kilometre Adrian circuit and the seven-kilometre Adrian Forstelbach trail A skier in a dreamy winter landscape on Erbeskopf The nine-kilometre Kahlheid trail runs between the Erbeskopf and Idarkopf around the third-highest elevation in Rhineland-Palatinate, the 766-metre Kahlheid in the skiing region near Morbach The village and ski region of Kell am See sit at an altitude of 530 metres There are three circuits of between four and a half and eight kilometres from which cross-country skiers can enjoy the forest and the views over the reservoir Winter sports fans on a cross-country trail in Bad Marienberg In good snow conditions, there are four marked cross-country skiing routes in the spa resort of Bad Marienberg The three and a half-kilometre ‘Am Fernsehturm’ trail is of medium difficulty and mostly popular for its sweeping views over the Westerwald forest The ‘Wildpark-Loipe’ is 500 metres longer and excellent for families Loops 3 and 4 connect to the network of trails in neighbouring Nisterberg The Westerwald trail stretches some 35 kilometres from Bad Marienberg over the Fuchskaute the highest mountain in the Westerwald at 657 metres There is also a 200-metre toboggan run that starts just near the Wildpark Hotel.