NEWS FROM BERLIN

Tempelhofer Feld: “development ideas competition” launched

In 2014, Berlin held a referendum which ruled out any building on the airport turned public park Tempelhofer Feld. However, with a CDU-led government backed by powerful real estate developers and a housing crisis, one of the biggest and most-visited urban parks in Europe looks to be in danger yet again. The CDU and SPD have recently announced they would like to “explore the possibilities of cautious peripheral development in limited parts of the area with an international urban planning competition.” Architects will be invited to pitch building plans at the edges of the Field. Due to the last referendum, it is expected that the Berlin people would have to be consulted somehow if any plans were to go ahead. Source: exberliner

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Hundreds at right-wing demo in a small town in Saxony

Hundreds of people met in Sebnitz last Monday for a right-wing demonstration promoted by the micro-party “Freie Sachsen” (Free Saxony). Around 450 people protested with posters with Islamaphobic messages as well as demands to stop asylum seekers and anti-Green party messages. At the same time, at a local church (Peter-Pauls-Kirche) a prayer for peace was held. Just a few weeks earlier, there was quite a brutal attack at a refugee home. Four masked strangers entered the house, shouting xenophobic slogans. An 18-year-old Afghani man was injured after violent attacks and objects being thrown at him and another younger person. The attackers fled when other residents had arrived. Source: t-online

A right-wing country

The quantity of right-wing extremist demonstrations has tripled this year compared to the same period in 2022. This comes out from the response of the Federal Ministry of the Interior to inquiries made from the party die Linke in the Bundestag. In the first half of last year, 35 right-wing marches were held nationwide. For the same time period in 2023, there were already 110. The majority of the demonstrations happened against the admission of refugees, said the Bundestag Vice President Petra Pau (die Linke), when considering about the figures. Source: nd-aktuell

Germany’s climate effort is not enough

A body of experts on Tuesday has said in its policy review that Germany’s proposals seem to be insufficient for the mitigation of climate change. The council said that even if the program was to be fully implemented, there would still be a larger gap than the one claimed by the German government. The group added that the 130 measures did not amount to a cohesive overall plan. Germany has pledged to reduce its greenhouse emissions to 65% of those registered in 1990 by the year 2030, which would amount to total emissions of 440 million tons. Last year, greenhouse gas emissions were at 746 million tons. Source: dw

Update: Germany’s €49 ticket

As of August 15, 2023, new rules for the Deutschlandticket have come into effect. Specifically, those rules which affect what one is entitled to in case a regional train is delayed. It is only now possible to switch to a high-speed train under very specific circumstances. The rule change also exempts Deutsche Bahn from refunding its clients whenever there are delays due to extreme weather conditions, a more and more frequent phenomenon. In previous months, the German train company has had a far from less than perfect track record when it comes to punctuality. It therefore seems like these new rules could represent an `escape clause’. The German Consumer Association is challenging the changes. Source: Exberliner

Court rejects an injunction against Shelby Lynn

In May, Lynn made her experiences at a Rammstein concert public. Lindemann took legal action against it – but his case was rejected on August 15. Previously, Lindemann’s lawyers had obtained several successful preliminary injunctions from the Hamburg Regional Court, which, according to experience, applies strict standards to the reporting of suspicions. Most recently, these included injunctions against the influencer Kayla Shyx and against the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” and the “NDR”. It was only last week that it emerged that the law firm failed to attain a full injunction. An attempt had been made to have certain formulations in a petition against Berlin concerts by the band “Rammstein” banned, but without success. Source: tagesspiel

Germany plans for migration agreements with 6 more countries

The German government has announced its plans to immigration agreements with six new countries (Georgia, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kenya and Morocco), in order to plug the nationwide worker shortage. The agreements would be introduced in addition to Germany’s new immigration laws, which will see a points-based immigration system that intend to make it easier for non-EU nationals to look for long-term employment. Economist Monika Schnitzer claims the country should consider welcoming 1,5 million new migrants each year so that public services and businesses have enough staff to meet the needs of the population. Source: iamexpat

German meat production on a sustained decline

The figures are in for the first half of 2023: compared to the same period of 2022, production in Germany has dropped by more than 5 percent. Meat production has been on the decline across the country since 2017. The report published by the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) has shown that the amount of meat that commercial slaughterhouses in Germany produced in the first half of 2023 dropped to 3,3 million tons (5,9 percent). In this context “produced” means when the animals were both raised and slaughtered within Germany. Despite the decline, animals bred in the German meat production industry are still slaughtered on a very large scale in 2023. Source: iamexpat

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Private security service tries to clear residential buildings in Berlin-Mitte

Last Wednesday, security guards allegedly commissioned by the real estate agency Arcadia Estates pushed residents of a building in Berlin-Mitte out of their apartments. They then prevented some of the residents from re-entering the house on Habersaathstrasse. Around 20 left-wing activists gathered in front of the building, in which formerly homeless people also live free of charge. The incident was preceded by a legal dispute between the apartment owner and residents. According to resident Daniel Diekmann, a letter was placed in front of the apartment doors around 9 a.m., signed by “Arcadia Estates Habersaathstraße 40-48 GmbH”, but without the sender’s address and signature. Source: tagesspiegel

Arson attack on commemorative book box in Grunewald

An unknown person torched the memorial book box not far from the Holocaust memorial in Grunewald. The hundreds of books in it were thematically related to the nearby “Gleis 17” memorial, which remembers the deportation of tens of thousands of Jewish people to concentration and labor camps by the National Socialists. According to two witnesses, a man set the box on fire at around 5 a.m. last Saturday morning. The State Protection police force took over the investigation. The fire brigade was only able to extinguish the fire, but not save the valuable memorabilia in the box. Source: taz

Attack on memorial to homosexual victims of the Nazi

The memorial to homosexuals persecuted by the Nazis in Berlin was attacked. The crime was committed on Saturday in the early hours of the morning, a spokesman for the police situation center said. State Protection took over the investigation. The Lesbian and Gay Federation Berlin-Brandenburg had previously reported an arson attack on the monument. According to police information, the perpetrator attached two slips of paper with a modified quotation from the Bible denigrating homosexuals to the memorial near the corner of Ebert-/Hannah-Arendt-Straße. In addition, the perpetrator tried to throw a burning object at the monument but failed. Source: jW

Wolt: migrants in precarious employment

Couriers from the Wolt delivery service in Berlin have been rebelling against exploitative working conditions since last spring. The “ReWolt” campaign reached its climax at the end of July: the lawsuit of three couriers who accused the company of withholding their wages was heard before a Berlin court. They also demand more safety at work, insurance against accidents at work, an end to the subcontractor system, and continued payment of wages in the event of illness. Riders from other companies such as Gorillas demonstrate solidarity in the joint struggle with the unions from the same industry (Food-Genuss-Gaststätten – NGG, ver.di, and others). Source: qantara

2,550 euros gross: strike in the Berlin-Brandenburg wholesale trade

Around 200 pharmaceutical wholesalers in Berlin and Brandenburg went on strike on Monday. This was announced by ver.di’s negotiator, Franziska Foullong. The union is demanding 13 percent higher wages, but at least 400 euros more, and an increase in training pay. The union had called on the employees of Phoenix-Pharmahandel Berlin, Sanacrop Potsdam and two Alliance Healthcare Berlin locations to go on strike. According to Foullong, around half of the approximately 450 employees of the four companies took part. In view of the inflation, ver.di demands an adjustment to the expired collective agreement in order to compensate for the loss in real wages. Source: nd-aktuell

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Dachau: how concentration camp survivors look at the AfD

Ernst Grube, 90, is dismayed. “It’s incomprehensible to me,” says the Shoah survivor and president of the Dachau camp community. According to a survey by Infratest Dimap, AfD would currently get 21 percent in a federal election, being then the second strongest party after the CDU/CSU (27 percent) in parliament. The Comité International de Dachau (CID) is also concerned about the situation. CID President, Domenique Boueilh, warns that it targets the spirit of Europe. The political and civil forces that have invested for 80 years in building a free world, respecting the values they would have inherited from the victory over Nazism, must mobilize and unite. Source: sueddeutsche

CSD in Weißenfels disrupted by suspected neo-Nazis

Suspected right-wing extremists disrupted the Christopher Street Day (CSD) in the town of Weißenfels (Saxony-Anhalt). According to the police in Halle, officers identified 23 participants causing a disruption during the event last Saturday and therefore filed charges. According to the organizers and police, the neo-Nazi and right-wing extremist party Der Dritte Weg (The Third Way) had already made threats against the demonstration in the run-up to the CSD. Prior to the event, there had been hate messages on the internet. The Left Party referred to “problems” and criticized the police for lack of preparation in dealing with the “right-wing extremist threat situation.” Source: dw

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Potsdam: new builds alone cannot alleviate the housing shortage

Potsdam city administrator Gregor Jekel has said that constructing new apartments will not suffice to ease the shortage of affordable living space. Potsdam is too, like Berlin, suffering from a housing crisis. Jekel said that new builds will form part of a solution, suggesting that there should be better control over who moves into the new apartments. Regarding the news that the number of social housing in Berlin has recently fallen again, Jekel, the Potsdam department head, criticised the plans by the Federal Minister for Building, Klara Geywitz (SPD). He believes that if construction takes place, subsidized housing must be also used. Source: rbb

Fewer people from the EU countries moving to Berlin

Berlin is seeing significantly less immigration from the EU countries compared to five years ago, according to data from the Office for Statistics. In 2022, Berlin saw 5,200 immigrants from the EU arrive, much less than the over 15,000 in 2017. Due to the war in Ukraine, Belrin has seen a large number of Ukranian residents arrive as refugees : over 43,000 last year. There has also been a rise in the number of Russians arriving,at around 5,200. Source: rbb

University of Rostock examines doctoral thesis by Berlin Senator for Transport

The University of Rostock wants to examine the doctoral thesis submitted by Berlin Transport Senator Manja Schreiner (CDU) for allegations of plagiarism. The Senate Department for Transport, Environment and Climate Protection announced on Monday that they had been informed by the rector and dean of the law faculty that the thesis was to be examined. Schreiner had already informed rbb on Sunday that she wanted to have her thesis checked due to previous allegations. The thesis was titled “Employee Consideration in Takeover Law” and was first submitted in 2007. As a result, volunteers analysed the work on the “VroniPlag Wiki” portal and, according to their own statements, found several dozen text passages which were considered objectionable. Source: rbb

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Majority of Germans support a move to green economy

A recent study, carried out every year by the German Federal Environmental Agency (UBA), concluded that most Germans support an ecological transformation of the economy. An impressive total of 91% of respondents said that they were very or generally in favor of making Germany’s economy greener. However, as in previous years, the data shows a gap between how climate problems are perceived and how people really act against this. The Government agency study takes a critical look at the individuals actions: “Many people take climate change problems seriously and are emotionally affected by them. But their actions don’t always reflect this”. Source: dw

Factory output in Germany plunges amid economic gloom

Germany’s industrial output fell for a second consecutive month in June, as figures published last Monday show, with a drop of 1.5% far wider than the previous month’s slip of 0.1%. The German Economy Ministry warned that high energy prices and interest rates had taken their toll, despite rising demand. The traditional strong automobile sector showed a significant fall of 3.5%. The German Federal Bank predicts the country’s economy will contract by 0.3% in 2023. This is also including the boost given by the 7.9% growth in the pharmaceutical sector. Source: dw

Limited childcare options: parents in Germany ‘facing burnout’

With German Kitas unable to find the staff they need, many are closing their doors at short notice. According to a survey published last Friday by the trade union-affiliated Hans Böckler Foundation, almost six out of ten working parents were confronted with such scenario last spring. The shortfall seems to be most prominent in western Germany, where 362,400 additional childcare places are required to bridge the gap. In eastern Germany, in contrast, just 21,200 extra places are needed at this moment. The Federal Parents’ Council chairperson Christiane Gotte reminds the eastern states have a structural advantage because of how work and care was organised in the GDR. Source: the local

NEWS FROM BERLIN

“I’ll never shut up”

Shelby Lynn spoke in Berlin at a meeting of “Women 100” and made it clear she would not remain silent. “I don’t understand how this is so ingrained in our society. It’s accepted, it’s no longer news when someone is sexually assaulted or raped,” she said, teary-eyed, as seen in videos shared on social media. She does not seem to be impressed by the restraining order the band’s lawyers are trying to obtain against her. “I’ll never shut up. Never.” Source: t-online

Tesla’s Gigafactory raises environmental concerns

Tesla’s plan to expand its Gigafactory in Grünheide is being overshadowed by environmental concerns. The regional water association has expressed concern that such activity might disrupt groundwater formation, including a potential impact on the public drinking water supply. The company, however, claims rainwater on the site will contribute to new groundwater formation, with the aid of built-in filtration systems. It is argued, too, that the factory’s presence will result in more water being filtered into the groundwater system, compared to the coniferous forest used to grow there. Tesla has submitted applications for environmental approval to the state of Brandenburg. Source: exberliner

Almost a billion euros in culture fund announced for Berlin

Joe Chialo (CDU), Berlin’s Senator for Culture, has announced a new culture fund for 2024 of almost a billion euros (€947 million). The fund will go toward creating 500 cultural spaces. The funding increase comes as part of an ongoing commitment by Chialo to revitalize youth interest in culture after the pandemic. Among projects which will benefit from the funding there is the renovation of the Komische Oper, as well as new cultural venues, and drama schools. The Berlin senate has recently implemented the ‘Jungendkulturkarte’, a new cultural programme, where young Berliners can receive €50 to cover entrance fees for participating nightclubs and other cultural activities. Source: djmag

NEWS FROM GERMANY

DGB boss wants corporate profits to be skimmed off

Considering inflation rates, Germany’s trade unions demand a skimming off from profits, and the dampening of energy prices. DGB’s boss, Yasmin Fahimi, points out that “corporate profits are rising to an extreme in some sectors, which is further driving inflation. Prices will be significantly increased there, beyond the cost increase.” Fahimi warned, too, about the industries that are energy-intensive and suffer from “today’s non-competitive energy prices in this country.” She therefore called for Robert Habeck’s (Greens) proposal for an industrial electricity price to be implemented. “In return, companies should be obliged to remain loyal to their location, to work under collective agreements and to invest in climate-neutral transformation,” she concluded. Source: n-tv

AfD: definitely right-wing extremist

After the AfD party conference in Magdeburg, one thing is clear: the right-wing party is moving a little further to the right-wing edge – and openly admits to it. Since the party leadership has practically only consisted of members of the right wing, the far-right members can preach their nationalist ideology without anyone really making any attempt to distance themselves from them – as was still the case in Jörg Meuthen’s time. It is necessary to repeat it: anyone who still votes for this party after Magdeburg can no longer justify it as a protest against the established parties. Source: nd-aktuell

Germany wants more women in the military

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s (SPD) Cabinet adopted a series of measures last week to boost equal opportunity in the military. Such actions aim to align procedures in the “Bundeswehr” with a recent strengthening of equal opportunity laws that apply to the government overall. Representation in this case, going by the government definition, is when the share of women exceeds 20%. Excluding supporting civilian roles, the Bundeswehr has around 180,000 troops in all fields, of which almost 24,000 are women. The Bundeswehr needs people to fill its ranks, as part of Germany’s efforts to bolster its military capabilities in response to Russia’s war in Ukraine. Source: dw

Less social housing again

The number of social housing units in Germany fell again last year. At the end of 2022, there were around 1.088 million apartments for people on low incomes nationwide, around 14,000 fewer than a year earlier. The “traffic light” coalition has set the goal of building 100,000 social housing units per year. But last year it was significantly less: 22,545 social housing units were newly built. Despite the new buildings, there is a negative balance, because around 36,500 fixed prices expired in 2022, as the Left Party’s housing policy expert, Caren Lay, who made the information request, has found. Source: taz

NEWS FROM BERLIN

Berlin: repeating Bundestag elections?

Berlin is preparing itself for a complete repeat of the last federal election. As state officer Stephan Bröchler said in a video published last Monday, the theme is being discussed within the districts. Last week, there was a hearing of the Federal Constitutional Court where the case for repeating the election is being heard, attended by Bröchler. He said that there were no indications as to when a judgment would be announced and in which direction this could go. The only thing that is certain is that the election must take place within 60 days of the verdict. That is 30 days fewer than when the elections to the Berlin House of Representatives were repeated almost six months ago. Source: rbb

Hundreds of retail and wholesale workers demand better wages

Several hundred employees from Berlin and Brandenburg in the wholesale and retail trades have demanded better wages at a warning strike rally in Berlin. The ver.di union called for an all-day warning strike in both sectors. “Despite the holiday season, participation is high,” said ver.di negotiator Conny Weißbach last Friday. Branches and warehouses of Kaufland, Rewe, Edeka, Ikea, HM and Karstadt Galeria Kaufhof were affected by the warning strike. The workers demanded 2.50 euros more per hour and a minimum wage of 13.50 euros per hour in retail for around 230,000 employees in both federal states. Source: rbb

Ella’s grave desecrated again

In 2021, the Iranian trans woman Ella set herself on fire on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz. Since then, her grave has repeatedly been desecrated. The Berlin state security team were called out due to another incident last Sunday: the grave was wrapped with fire brigade barrier tape and a warning symbol. The items were removed and secured as evidence. Ella’s grave in the central cemetery in Berlin-Friedrichsfelde has been the target for several transphobic hate crimes. On April 26, the police reported that several items had been placed there as vandalism. Source: welt

Wegner and Redmann distance themselves from Merz’s statements on the AfD

CDU party leader Friedrich Merz has met fierce criticism from within his own party over his statements about a possible joint action with the AfD. Berlin’s Governing Mayor Kai Wegner wrote on Twitter: “The AfD only knows division. Where should there be COOPERATION?” Brandenburg’s CDU leader Jan Redmann also contradicted Merz, and the Berlin state chairman of the Junge Union Harald Burkart also made a statement rejecting any cooperation between the CDU and the AfD. After this backlash, CDU leader Friedrich Merz rowed back. “There will be no cooperation between the CDU and the AfD at the local level,” Merz tweeted. Source: rbb

NEWS FROM GERMANY

Germany plans 20 billion euros in subsidies for the microchip industry

The federal government is planning to distribute subsidies in a total of 20 billion euros to the semiconductor industry. This is intended to support the local technology sector and ensure the supply of critical components, the Bloomberg news agency reported. The subsidies are to be distributed to German and to international companies by 2027, and the money will come from the climate and transformation funds. The German federal government is currently discussing bundling up to 180 billion euros in the fund. According to the report, the details should be published in the coming week. Source: junge welt

Number of first-time asylum applications in Germany increases in 2023

According to a new report by the Federal Office for Migration, the number of asylum applications in Germany will increase sharply in 2023. Compared to the first half of 2022, there were 77.5 percent more initial applications. From January to June, 162,271 applications were made. Of these, 150,166 are initial applications. In the first half of 2022, there were 84,583. There has been the expected reaction to the report from the right focusing on and emphasising the numbers of migrants coming from racialised countires and other demographics. Police boss Heiko Teggatz described the situation as highly dramatic. Source: focus

Die Linke: a plan against a right-wing country

Martin Schirdewan, co-chairman of the Party die Linke, and Gregor Gysi, left-wing member of the Bundestag, call their new initiative a “plan for a fair country”. Higher taxes for millionaires and large companies “which had earned themselves a lot during the crisis” are intended to provide finance relief for low-income earners. This can be understood as the standard redistribution from top to bottom. The demands are not surprising but send a signal to all those who are now looking to the right because they feel left alone by the traffic light coalition governments’s failed crisis policy. Source: nd-aktuell