NEWS FROM BERLIN
Berlin’s rent rebellion goes on
Almost every week, the media reports that rents in Berlin continue to rise. But where then are the protests of the rent rebels, who have been talked about this past decade? Matthias Coers coined the term “rent rebels” in 2014 for a documentary film. Even though such large street protests have become less frequent, the tenants’ movement is not dead, Coers says. “Due to the conflicts imposed by the real estate industry, tenants are active in many places.” There is, for instance, the initiative “Rent Madness Alliance,” where tenants and organisations can look for (and publish) planned actions. Source: nd-aktuell
The ban and dispersal were unlawful
The Berlin police’s dispersal and ban of the Palestine Congress last April was unlawful. This was the ruling of the Berlin Administrative Court on November 26. More specifically, the court found that the action was disproportionate because the police had “not seriously considered” alternatives to the ban and dispersal. This constituted an illegitimate restriction of freedom of expression and assembly. This marks another setback for the Berlin police in their handling of pro-Palestinian protests. Lawyer Michael Plöse told the “taz” that the court had made “the only possible decision regarding the Palestine Congress that could be made without fatal consequences for fundamental rights in Germany.” Source: taz
Berlin: record number of naturalization lawsuits
By the end of last October, the Berlin Administrative Court had already received almost 2,000 lawsuits due to excessively long naturalization procedures. This is almost 20% more than in 2024. The president of the Administrative Court, Erna Viktoria Xalter, has contacted Senator for Justice Felor Badenberg (CDU) considering the flood of lawsuits. According to her, naturalization lawsuits now account for approximately 10% of all cases at the Administrative Court. The situation is apparently exacerbated by the fact that some law firms are actively soliciting clients, promising that filing a lawsuit will accelerate the naturalization process. However, the Interior Ministry warns that the opposite often happens. Source: rbb
New Bürgeramt box installed in Berlin
A citizens’ office (Bürgeramt) in Berlin has installed a 24/7 box which allows residents to come by and collect their new passports, ID cards and residence permits without having to make an appointment. The first of such boxes has been installed in the Berlin district of Reinickendorf. Residents still need to visit the Bürgeramt in person to renew their German passport, ID card or residence permit. The document box functions much like a remote package pick-up station. The Bürgeramt box is the first of its kind in Berlin, but such boxes have previously been installed in Freiberg, Saxony, and Rheine, North Rhine-Westphalia. Source: iamexpat
NEWS FROM GERMANY
Housing shortage in western Germany is worse than expected
Research from the Pestel Institute has found that western German federal states are currently short of 1.2 million housing units, a considerably higher figure than previously predicted. The institute called on the German government to fund all areas of housing construction, including social housing, privately financed rental homes and owner-occupied housing. Between 2023 and 2024 housing construction in Germany dropped by 14.4%, to 251,900 units, considerably below the goal of 400,000 new units set by the then SPD-Greens-FDP government. In response to Pestel’s findings, the VdK, Germany’s social welfare association, said that social housing construction should be massively expanded and that newly constructed social housing should be accessible. Source: iamexpat
New AfD Youth: a far-right training ground?
On its path to power, the AfD expelled its former youth organization, “Junge Alternative” (Young Alternative), at the beginning of 2025: too extreme, too many scandals. This group openly maintained contact with anti-constitutional organizations like the Identitarian Movement. And because even those who weren’t members of the AfD could become members of the “Young Alternative,” the party had no way to sanction undesirable behavior. The AfD is therefore founding a new youth organization. The crucial question will be: how much right-wing extremism will have a place in the youth organization after its reorganization? Source: dw
Fridays for conscientious objection
Fridays are back! Students in Germany will be on December 5 on strike again. Now, it will not be primarily about the climate crisis – but rather about not being burned by the state for its wars. School strikes against compulsory military service have been registered in over 80 cities. In Berlin, the central rally begins at 8 a.m. at “Platz der Republik”. The original idea called attention to the environment. However, with escalating social crises such as Antifa groups being declared terrorists, the starting conditions for the new Fridays´ demonstrations are somewhat different: protesters want show that the militarization of society is not a defense of democracy, but a threat to it. Source: taz
