>> hello and a very warm welcome to "european journal" on dw where we bring you stories from all over europe. sweden -- why testing cars can become a test of nerves. italy -- who is afraid of pepe grillo? and germany -- how a town is fighting to keep its world record. some people might find it hard to believe, but there are still countries that want to join the european union. despite the you's current problems. after years of negotiable 3 -- negotiation problems, croatia

hopes to become the 20th state, but it remains controversial. croatia is not doing enough to fight corruption according to some. others are critical because crimes committed decades ago remain unsolved. when croatia was part of yugoslavia, dozens of croats in exile were murdered. many believe the secret police were behind the killings. >> for 33 years, this woman and her eldest daughter have been making a trip to the main cemetery in frankfurt to visit the grave of their late husband and father. they say he was murdered in 1980 by the yugoslavian secret service, but the murderer has yet to be brought to justice. >> i do not wish them dead, but i wish them justice, that they may be punished. >> after the funeral in 1980,

she was left to raise five children alone. at that time, croatia was part of yugoslavia, and many were living in west germany as guest workers. a political struggle raged between right-wing nationalists and the yugoslavian authorities. many croatians abroad were demanding independence from yugoslavia, which responded by sending it into west germany to target dissidents. among them, this woman says, was her husband. at least 22 croatian exiles are said to have been liquidated during this time by the yugoslavian secret service, but only one such murder case was ever tried. in 2008, for the first time in a german ruling, the munich regional appeals court named the backers. bavarian criminal investigators obtained warrants for the arrest of former yugoslavian secret

service chiefs from the former socialist republic of croatian. among them, a member of the yugoslavian secret service, once in charge of surveillance of croatian exiles in west germany. croatia has yet to extradite him. the family has no doubt he shares responsibility for the murder. they want the courts to turn up pressure. >> who exactly was guilty? which persons work composite? that has to be exposed at long last. so much gets covered up in croatia. >> croatia is to become a member of the european union this summer, which gives the family hoped that the guilty ones will be arrested on eu warrants. for now, the former secret service boss is living and

moving quite openly in croatia's capital. he has even testified in another trial about the torture of croatian soldiers during the yugoslav wars of the 1990's. he was a witness here, not a defendant. for months, he rejected all requests for an interview. this croatian journalists as there's a reason why croatia has so little interest in suggesting former secret service agents to the scrutiny of the courts. >> this no political will because his people were later active in the party. >> the party came to power when

croatia broke away from yugoslavia. former agents stayed in the post but switched sides in the 1990's and work for the cause of croatian independence. instead of a socialist yugoslavia, they were now working for an independent croatia, but the job was the same, including the violence. at the zagreb train station, he meets a man who can give evidence, an officer of the yugoslavian army when fighting broke out in 1991. in 1992, he was imprisoned and interrogated, subjected to years of severe physical and mental abuse. >> it was right up here on the first floor. left-hand side, second door to the right, 1992. that is where he and his henchman broke eight of my ribs.

>> at the time, he did not know the identity of his interrogators. after his release, he moved to the european union and lived in the netherlands for 10 years. last year, he happened to spot his tormentor in a photo from the war. >> the same people stayed on and just change their clothes. >> the secret service heavies of the socialist 1970's and 1980's became the secret police thugs of the nationalist 1990's. they still have not been brought to justice. >> there's no justice in croatia, no truth. everything is corrupt. by any criteria in my view, this country is still far removed from e standards. >> on july 1, croatia is to join

the european union. in frankfurt, the hook that will get the investigation moving. 33 years after the murder. as an eu member, croatia is obligated to aid in the prosecution of war criminals. >> my hope is that the german justice system will make it possible to hold him accountable for what we all believe he initiated and for which he bears the primary responsibility. >> croatia has a long road ahead before the crimes of its secret service can be laid to rest. >> it is a big day for car lovers when they spot a development mule on the road. sightings of those vehicles used to test new cars are rare. designers -- car makers do not want to reveal their latest designs, but in sweden, new cars are a common sight in winter.

technicians from all over the world come to test them in the icy weather. for some, it is also a time to test their nerves. >> it is a chill wind of -15 degrees celsius in northern sweden near the arctic circle. this engineer raises the south korean flag. this town of 3000 straddles placer lakes -- glacial lakes. for several weeks every winter, the silence of the tundra is broken by the wine of engines. carmakers come from all over the world to see how their newest designs stand up to extreme conditions. this 35-year-old knows all about brakes. a korean company said in thousands of miles from home to turn doughnuts on the ice, not for fun, but for

experimentation. >> there's a lot of room for testing, but best of all, it is cold all the time here. >> he and co-workers are paid good money to spend 10 weeks here in the sub-arctic winter. between test runs, they have time to contemplate their unfamiliar surroundings. >> the people look so different, and they act even more curiously than any of the europeans i've gotten to know so far. >> the local inhabitants eat some rather curious things, things entirely unknown to the korean palate, said the delegation brought two chefs, whose job is to keep the technicians well fed and fully functional. they have set up a korean restaurant right next to the testing lab. >> once i cook something without meat, but nobody could stand the smell, so i had to cook

something else. >> twice a day come to the kitchen crew provides meals for more than one dozen technicians. full bellies make for satisfied workers and good morale. compared to the rest of the year, this counts as a traffic jam, but the locals do not mind the increase in winter traffic. the a rival of automotive specialists from across the globe means an annual infusion of more than 50 million euros into the local economy. card testing has proven lucrative. a beauty salon called harmony provides beauty consulting, massage, and manicures. there's even a local car rental office. once she has done your nails, the manicurist can become your real estate agent. >> our clients come from all

over -- correa, france. many come from germany. the work for porsche, bmw, or bosch, but they are unique. for example, they've cooked fish right on the stove without using a pen. the house almost burned down, and of course, the stove was ruined. >> one can always expect some friction when two cultures meet. mostly, though, local residents are glad to vent their houses to the visitors from abroad. -- to rent their houses to the visitors from abroad. the addisons, for instance, vented their single-family home to four korean engineers to the end of march for 10,000 euros a month. in the meantime, the adamsons make do in a camper. >> when we move back into our house, it smells funny for a

while, like korean food. the renters always leave a lot of the provisions behind. we tried to cookery and dishes once -- to cook korean dishes once. >> cooking is a matter of taste and cultural differences, but engineers speak the same language. the brakes past the driving test. they will soon be installed in of the company models. days are long. in the end, the car company is a substantial investments have to pay off. >> i have to call headquarters early in the morning because of the time difference. then i head out onto the ice. >> much of what goes on in the testing halls is top secret. the competition could be anywhere. the korean technicians work long hours, partly to make their costly state as productive as possible and partly because

there is little else to do. even in this remote place, the so-called car paparazzi are on the prowl. the hunt for prototypes of the next models to appear on market. the new mini will be running up and down roads for the next few weeks. at the local martial arts center, townspeople tried to get the koreans interested in local folklore. their interpreter is offering courses in a brazilian variation of jujitsu. a few brave souls show up and give it a go. it is a unique way to get better acquainted with their landlady. it is an open choice which rules are followed.

kavabut choi -- but choi prefers to spend his precious free hours at home with his housemates. they have plenty of canned beer and plenty of korean television available over the internet. >> i would give every bit of money i earn for a chance to go back home. i feel this way especially on weekends. >> his wife is pregnant with their second child, and he would like to be at her side, but these 10 weeks belong to the company, so the korean flag flies proudly in the polo wind, and he will have to hold out until the end of march. in this strange, lonely place, he might as well have flown to the moon. and a two weeks after italians went to the polls, forming a government there remains difficult. if the people in the rest of the eurozone have been able to cast

their votes, incumbent mario monti would have won, but italians have said no to district path of austerity. three parties came out of the election was roughly the same number of votes, but they refuse to join forces. one of the winners is a rebel who is protesting against the political and the, and wants to get rid of the year of -- protesting against the political elite and wants to get rid of >> beppe grillo is proud. but the 65-year-old is nowhere near retirement. after his five-star movement's overwhelming success in the election, the ex-comedian has big plans. >> my dream has become that of millions of people -- to be able to imagine a different kind of political scene, a different

kind of energy. >> beppe grillo has plenty of energy. before the elections, he pushed from one piozzi to the next, trying to get close to the people. he documented his road to success on the web. the internet is beppe grillo's most important means of communication. his blog is one of the most successful in italy. >> i have been writing here for seven years every single day. >> after the election, it is all down to his five-star movement. they could remain in opposition or form a coalition with the very politicians beppe grillo has been attacking force along. >> they are parasites. only out to make money and get rich.

they see politics as their private little business. our movement proclaimed a revolution. >> revolution -- that is what beppe grillo has been calling for for decades. in 1986, when he made fun of the socialist when his corruption scandal was on public television, he reconstructed a conversation with the politician's secretary. >> more than 1 billion people live in china, all of the socialists, so who are the ceiling from? >> beppe grillo is no longer allowed to appear on television as a comedian. he never minced words. his target is always the political class. no one is baird. his performances filled halls and stadiums. >> anyone who thinks things are getting better is wrong. we are caught between a rock and

a hard place. >> a journalist and blogger has been keeping a close a critical watch on beppe grillo for years. >> he has to give up his ambiguity he used as a comedian. as a leader of a political party with a seat in parliament, which has to take responsibility for italy, he will have to take a clear position. >> in his book "the dark side of the stars," he describes the authoritarian style with which beppe grillo leads his movement. anyone who disagrees with him is kicked out. >> it just takes one line in his blog saying "this person will no longer speak for our movement," and that is it. the party statutes even state that the five-down movement and

its symbols are the intellectual property of beppe grillo. it does not mention democratic discourse. >> 163 senators and representatives will take their seats in parliament for the five-down movement. beppe grillo is very clear on their future -- there's no room for career politicians. >> they will have to put their original jobs on hold for now, and they will not be allowed to stay in parliament for more than to be will legislation periods. salaries will not be higher than 30,000 euros. everything else goes to the party. >> although he runs a tight ship with others, he even it's uncomfortable questions about himself. will he join with the government or not? his answers are vague, and with irony, he says the italians should just vote again and he

liked him as head of state, but he cannot hold office due to a manslaughter conviction for a 1981 traffic accident that left three dead. beppe grillo is in the spotlight. even his pretty will not shield him from the public eye. he will have to live up to the people's expectations now. >> italy has always been a popular travel destination. the leading tower of pisa, for example, is a major tourist magnet, but did you know that other towers in the world have a much steeper tilt? that record is held by a tower in northern germany. europe holds a number of world records. the tallest man in the world lives in turkey. the record holder in the cell phone throwing competition lives in finland. it is all in the guinness book of world record, but italian germany could soon be losing its title, and that would mean a blow for tourism there.

>> the city's long tradition of medieval guilds hold pride of place. >> before the restrictions were loosened in 1864, there were 12 killed. there was the bigger skilled -- beakers guild, the cougars, the grocers, shot makers, the grocer's. >> there are only a few visible reminders of the city's rich history. it is an affluent city, but there's not much here to appeal to sightseers. the city's main attraction is hidden in a side street. actually, it is a side street. >> let's squeeze through here. >> the city used to boast that this was the narrowest street in all of germany, but in 2007, it

was named the narrowest in the world -- just 1 foot across. tourists come from far and wide to squeeze through it. it is their claim to fame, but there is a problem -- the beams of #nine are riveting, but i of the building is torn down, the street will no longer be the narrowest in the world. >> the property developers wanted to tear the whole thing down and put up a new building, but it has become so famous as the world's narrowest alley that they cannot do that anymore. there's a tug of war between the city and the developers, and no one wants to make the first move. than any the renters nor the owners of the building want to appear on camera. -- neither the renters nor the owners want to appear on camera. the rental agency is looking for

a solution. meanwhile, the city is growing impatient. >> the higher i go, the narrower it gets, some of here, the street is even narrower than 31 centimeters. it would be a shame if it all went away. >> but the city cannot let it get any narrower, and it has no priority to buy the decrepit house or remodel it. there are three options. first, the owner could fix the building, but they say they do not want to and would rather sell. that is the second option. someone buys the building and renovates it. finally, the city to buy it. but i would rather see people living in the house than having it turned into a museum. >> many locals are frustrated at the inn has, especially because

a new city hall just opened. >> something needs to be done. we cannot just build a new city hall for 42 million euros and let everything else go to ruin. >> a lot of people visit to see the world's smallest tree, but no one bothers to go to city hall. >> they have to do something. >> the street also has historic value. it is a reminder of the rebuilding after a major fire in 1728. >> you can see the plots of land are very tiny here. the properties are very small, and that is why you see these very small and narrow buildings. that also explains why they were built so close together. >> the region is known for its down-to-earth style, so the world's narrowest street is a fitting honor for an

unpretentious town. san francisco has the world's curtis street, -- crookedest street, buenos aires the widest, paris the most elegant. but if it should lose the record, it still has an ace up its sleeve, hidden in the kitchen of this bakery. it is where a very special secret is being guarded -- the recipe for the best black forest cake in germany. it still just a national honor, not a world record, but after all, that is also how the world's narrowest street got its start. >> speaking of records, i will be doing my personal shortest goodbye ever now. here goes -- thanks for watching.

auf wiedersehen and