US President Richard Nixon announces that he will shortly travel to the People’s Republic of China. The announcement has been preceded by long secret negotiations between the two world powers on the establishment of diplomatic ties.
24 July
1971
After training for two years, the Rostock urologist Peter Dobler swims across the Baltic Sea from Kühlungsborn to Fehmarn; he manages the 48-kilometre-long crossing in 24 hours.
