Deeply ingrained in the German psyche is the belief that culture equals national culture. No surprise then that the German approach to immigration has been a bit schizophrenic - as an foreigner you have two options either keep to yourself with a view to going home or you integrate completely with a view to becoming a real German. Anything inbetween would open the specter of multiculturalism....

Reality check: 1 in 7 Berliners is a foreigner so the city is unavoidably multicultural. The Karneval der Kulturen is a celebration of the city´s ethnic diversity and its growth over the past 3 years indicates a welcome shift from the culture = nation mindset described above.

The Karneval is Berlin's most colourful and vivacious festival, taking place every year in June over the Whitsun weekend. Thousands of representatives from over 70 cultures don their glad rags and dance along the streets of Kreuzberg in a joyous celebration of Berlin's multi-ethnicity. Four purpose-built stages host all kinds of performances, the main stage is at Blücherplatz, the children's stage at Mariannenplatz.

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Organized by the conservative German League of Expellees, a controversial exhibition highlighting forced migration, displacement and genocide in Europe in the 20th century opens its doors in Berlin Thursday.

Called "Paths Unchosen," the exhibition in the stately Kronprinzenpalais, which served as a state palace under the Prussians, in downtown Berlin documents the fates of millions of war refugees in Europe in the 20th century. Exhibits range from memorabilia, photographs, books, maps, video footage, eye-witness accounts and historical texts.

The show stresses the unprepared nature of flights and arbitrary expulsions in the form of an array of battered suitcases, packed boxes and packages containing possessions hastily put together.

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