The I.G. Farben Building – also known as the Poelzig Building and the Abrams Building, formerly informally called The Pentagon of Europe – is a building complex in Frankfurt, Germany, which currently serves as the main structure of the Westend Campus of the University of Frankfurt. Construction began in 1928 and was complete in 1930 as the corporate headquarters of the I.G. Farben conglomerate, then the world's largest chemical company and the world's fourth-largest company overall.

The building's original design in the modernist New Objectivity style was the subject of a competition which was eventually won by the architect Hans Poelzig. On its completion, the complex was the largest office building in Europe and remained so until the 1950s. The I.G. Farben Building's six square wings retain a modern, spare elegance, despite its mammoth size. It is also notable for its paternoster elevators.

The building was the headquarters for production administration of dyes, pharmaceutical drugs, magnesium, lubricating oil, explosives, and methanol, and for research projects relating to the development of synthetic oil and rubber during World War II. Notably I.G. Farben scientists discovered the first antibiotic,^{[dubious – discuss]} fundamentally reformed medical research and "opened a new era in medicine." After World War II, the IG Farben Building served as the headquarters for the Supreme Allied Command and from 1949 to 1952 the High Commissioner for Germany (HICOG). William L. Shirer called it the "building from where the Americans ruled the western part of Germany" in the aftermath of World War II. Notably Dwight D. Eisenhower had his office in the building. It became the principal location for implementing the Marshall Plan, which supported the post-war reconstruction of Europe. The 1948 Frankfurt Documents, which led to the creation of a West German state allied with the western powers, were signed in the building. The I.G. Farben Building served as the headquarters for the US Army's V Corps and the Northern Area Command (NACOM) until 1995. It was also the headquarters of the CIA in Germany. During the early Cold War, it was referred to by US authorities as the Headquarters Building, United States Army Europe (USAREUR); the US Army renamed the building the General Creighton W. Abrams Building in 1975. It was informally referred to as "The Pentagon of Europe."

In 1995, the US Army transferred the IG Farben Building to the German government, and it was purchased by the state of Hesse on behalf of the University of Frankfurt. Renamed the Poelzig Building in honour of its architect, the building underwent a restoration and was opened as part of the university in 2001. It is the central building of the Westend Campus of the university, which also includes over a dozen other buildings built after 2001. (Full article...)

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• 1855 – Birth of writer Ludwig Ganghofer
• 1880 – The first edition of the Duden is published
• 1956 – Death of Gottfried Benn
• 1974 – Germany wins the 1974 FIFA World Cup
• 1985 – Boris Becker wins at Wimbledon for the first time

• ... that Johann Sigismund Weiss played the lute before the Holy Roman emperor and the assembled German princes at the 1711 imperial election?
• ... that Beethoven's "Tremate, empi, tremate" was not performed for ten years after it was written?
• ... that the 1935 Free City of Danzig parliamentary election was seen as a setback for the Nazi Party, even though it won an absolute majority of seats?
• ... that every year in July, a whole German town is taken over by the Rudolstadt Festival and swept up in "folk fever"?
• ... that the pianist Alide Topp (pictured) once responded to claims that women lacked the "biceps of a man" for great music by stating she broke her pianos as well as any man?
• ... that Bernhard Waldenfels discussed "black holes of everyday life" in a book subtitled Challenges of Phenomenology?
• ... that Agostino Steffani missed the 1709 premiere of his opera Amor vien dal destino because he was in Rome mediating between the pope and the emperor?
• ... that Ruth Wagner, the minister of culture in Hesse from 1999 to 2003, was nicknamed Mother Courage of Hesse?
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30 June 2026 – 2026 FIFA World Cup

Paraguayan president Santiago Peña declares a national holiday after Paraguay defeated Germany 4–3 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw, in the FIFA World Cup round of 32. (Tanzania Insight)

29 June 2026 – 2026 Stade shooting

Six people are killed and several more injured in a mass shooting at a mother-child group home facility in Stade, Lower Saxony, Germany. Two people are arrested, including the alleged gunman. (CBS News) (DW)

29 June 2026 – 2026 FIFA World Cup

In association football, Paraguay defeats Germany in penalty shoot-outs during the round of 32, the largest upset since 2018 and the fourth-largest in World Cup history. (The Athletic via The New York Times)

27 June 2026 – 2026 European heatwaves

Germany records its highest ever temperature of 41.5°C (106.7 F) in Saxony-Anhalt, according to Deutscher Wetterdienst, as an Autobahn highway is closed near Berlin due to the concrete bursting. The Czech Republic records its hottest day on record, with 40.6°C (105 F) recorded in Doksany, and Denmark records a record high temperature of 37.0°C (98.6 F) in Aarhus Municipality, according to the Danish Meteorological Institute. (AP)

22 June 2026 – 2026 FIFA World Cup

In association football, Argentine forward and captain Lionel Messi overtakes Germany's Miroslav Klose as the FIFA World Cup's all-time top-goalscorer with 18 goals after scoring a brace in a 2–0 win over Austria in the group stage. (AFP via RFI) (NBC News)

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Berliner Weisse (German: Berliner Weiße, pronounced [bɛʁˌliːnɐ ˈvaɪsə] ^ⓘ; "Berlin White") is a cloudy, sour wheat beer of around 3.5% alcohol by volume. It is a regional variation of a style from Northern Germany dating back to at least the 16th century and can be made from combinations of malted barley and wheat, with the stipulation that the malts are kilned at very low temperatures or even air-dried to minimise colour formation. The fermentation takes place with a mixture of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Brettanomyces) and lactic acid bacteria, a prerequisite that creates the lactic acid taste, a distinguishing feature of Berliner Weisse. By the late 19th century, Berliner Weisse was the most popular alcoholic drink in Berlin, with up to fifty breweries producing it. By the late 20th century, there were only two breweries left in Berlin producing the beer. (Full article...)