Klaus Iohannis was an underdog who was the surprise winner of Romania's presidential runoff election last month. He was sworn into office on Dec. 21 with a promise to crackdown on corruption, a chronic problem in Romania. Gabriel Amza for NPR hide caption
Romanians burn a portrait of Nicolae Ceausescu in Denta on Dec. 22, 1989, as residents take to the streets to celebrate the downfall of the dictator. Joel Robine/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Alfons R. of Hamburg, Germany (shown in this undated photo), converted to Islam at age 17. Later, he went to Turkey, then Syria, to join ISIS. He was killed this past summer. Courtesy of Manfred Karg hide caption
German Chancellor Angela Merkel uses a mobile phone during a meeting of the German federal parliament in Berlin, on Nov. 28, 2013. The country's labor minister supports a call that would prohibit employers from sending emails to employees after normal business hours. Michael Sohn/AP hide caption
What do you get when three Israelis, two Iranians and a German walk into a room? A Berlin-based world music ensemble known as Sistanagila, named after an Iranian province — Sistan and Baluchestan — and the popular Jewish folk song "Hava Nagila." Courtesy of Sistanagila hide caption
People wait in line to cross the border from East to West Berlin one day after the collapse of the Berlin Wall at Friedriechstrasse railway station in Berlin, Germany, on Nov. 10, 1989. The station, known as the Palace of Tears, is now a museum. Michael Richter/DPA/Corbis hide caption
The Berlin Wall fell on Nov. 9, 1989, 25 years ago this weekend. East Germans flooded into West Berlin after border guard Harald Jaeger ignored orders and opened the gate for the huge, unruly crowd. Alain Nogues/Sygma/Corbis hide caption
The entrance to the former concentration camp in Dachau, Germany, bears the Nazi slogan "Work Makes You Free." The gate was stolen over the weekend. Johannes Simon/Bongarts/Getty Images hide caption
The broadcast tower at Alexanderplatz looms over the city center. A crossing point of tourists, commuters, shoppers, lovers, artists and bums, Alexanderplatz was rebuilt by the communist authorities of former East Germany in the 1960s. Today, it's a popular gathering place in the reunified city. Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption