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Local Germany
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Local Germany
OPINION: Yes you can make local friends in northern Germany, here's how
Last month, we asked readers in Hamburg about their experiences of living there . While a solid majority of respondents said they would recommend Germany's second city, a common theme of criticism was its inhabitants' perceived unapproachability. But is Hamburg really, as one reader put it, 'a beautiful city with unfriendly people'? Our columnist Brian Melican disagrees – and explains how to make friends in his adoptive hometown. Yes, it's true, Hamburg can be a tough nut to crack. Even those born and bred in Germany's windswept northern port city wouldn't claim that we are known for bonhomie. Our informal anthem 'City Blues' , a hip-hop hymn to Hamburg by the legendary Beginner group, puts it like this: ' Wir müssen mit allem rechnen, weil man hier sonst erfriert. Deswegen wirken wir so komisch und so kompliziert. ' Translation: 'You've got to watch out here else you'll freeze to death. That's why we seem so strange and so complicated.' Even though climate change has taken the sting off of the cold since the track was released in 2003, winters here are still long, dark, and sometimes quite depressing – and Hamburgers are still guarded, reserved, and sometimes awkward. One thing we are not, however, is unfriendly. Quite the opposite. We just have trouble showing it sometimes. Hamburg is different to many other German cities As the song says: ' Da im Süden von der Elbe, da sind die Menschen nicht diesselben ' – 'South of the Elbe river, people aren't the same'. I've also lived in Düsseldorf, for instance, whose Rhineland inhabitants are known for their gregariousness. One of their local Schlager numbers calls the old town 'the world's longest bar', and in a classic Altstadt brewery, it isn't hard to get chatting with whoever is stood next to you. Further up the Rhine, wine festivals are big social events, with anyone welcome to plop themselves down with a glass and introduce themselves. Same goes for Bavaria's beer gardens, where I challenge anyone to get through a Maß without being talked to. READ ALSO: 'They avoid non-Germans': Is Munich really an unfriendly city for foreigners? But, as anyone who has ever been out for a drink in Hamburg will know, this is not the way things work here. Pubs and bars in northern Germany have set tables for small groups, and you're expected to keep yourself to yourself. There is one major exception, of course: the area around the Reeperbahn, to which Hamburgers will only go late at night and only after they've drunk enough to feel comfortable having conversations with strangers – or, potentially, for more… Advertisement 'Here today, gone tomorrow!' In that sense, we're a bit like Londoners. Which is probably one reason I feel at home here – and, in addition to the rain, one reason Hamburg is known as Germany's 'most British' city. Not that it is, statistically speaking: Brits aren't even in the top 20 of foreign minorities (in Berlin, we're in 14 th place). A few over Hamburg harbour during the spring Hafengeburtstag festival. Photo: picture alliance/dpa/Hamburg Messe und Congress GmbH | Hartmut Zielke Hamburg is, however, very international: almost 20 percent of the city's population has come from abroad and over 40 percent have roots outside of Germany. Many more have moved here from elsewhere in the country, too, as the population has risen by almost 10 percent in two decades to 1.85 million – even as tens of thousands move away every year. Advertisement This churn leaves people actually born in Hamburg now firmly in the minority (41.5 percent). And, in another parallel to London and other cosmopolitan cities, it leads to a certain blasé attitude to Quiddjes , (newcomers) – as well as to a certain degree of annoyance among long-term residents about how difficult it has become to find somewhere to live these days. It's not that Hamburgers don't welcome new arrivals: it's just that, in an increasingly crowded port city well-used to comings-and-goings, we want to know who's sticking around before opening up (and granting forgiveness for nabbing that nice three-bed flat over the road). Another barrier to overcome is that northern Germans, although by no means as taciturn as they seem, do not always feel comfortable just chatting: sticklers for punctuality and with a keen sense of civic duty, they're usually on their way somewhere – to meet existing friends, for instance, or to take part in an organised activity. READ ALSO: New homes and an Olympics bid - What the SPD-Green coalition has in store for Hamburg How to meet people and make friends in Hamburg The key to actually meeting Hamburg locals and overcoming their initial reserve is to show that you, too, are planning to stick around – and to meet them in contexts in which they are prepared to socialise. Here are my three personal top tips. Advertisement Sports: Hamburgers love nothing more than joining a sports club: almost one in three residents has a membership (as against one in six in Berlin), so if you're wondering where everyone is, this is part of the answer! Football, of course, is big, but if you want to meet real Hamburgers, one guaranteed place to find them is on our emblematic canals and rivers: from long-established rowing clubs to new paddleboarding groups, there are organisations for all conceivable forms of water sport. ( Kayak polo , anyone?) Other recherché options include air sports (we have not just one , but two gliding clubs with their own airfields) and, er, basketball on inline roller-skates … Hamburg is also the city which gave the world a new way to sweat: Hyrox . So if you're a gym-bunny, you're sure to find like-minded fitness fanatics at your local joint. (That's where I met one of my best friends here.) People in Hamburg enjoy summer in the city. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Thomas Müller Volunteering: Northern Germans are not known for being boastful, so many people here keep their voluntary activities rather quiet. Once you start asking, though, you'll realise that one reason your neighbour is always in a rush on Saturdays is because he's visiting the local old persons' home. Your colleague, too, might be taking a couple of hours off on Tuesday afternoons to read to schoolkids (and you thought she was sneaking out to get a massage and facial). Over the years, I've met some very close friends through volunteering: in a local residents' association, for instance, and all manner of other clubs and groups. Whatever your interest, there'll be something for you. If I had any time left, for instance, I'd sign up to help Gans Hamburg count, track, and generally take care of the city's geese. (Firstly, because I think geese are great; secondly, because I just love the association's punning name!) Advertisement Work: This is a tricky one – socialising with workmates comes with attendant risks – but in my experience, people in Hamburg often meet each other through their jobs. That's because we all spend a lot of time working (and then retire to the coast) and because, once we are working together, we have a reason to talk to each other. So if a colleague or business contact suggests getting lunch together sometime, my advice would be to take the plunge. It might, however, take them a few months to ask. Whatever it is you do to meet people in Hamburg, don't expect too much, too soon. As 'City Blues' puts it: ' Wir brauchen halt 'ne kleine Wele bis wir auftau'n' – 'It takes us a while to thaw'. You can take heart in the next line, though: ' Man glaubt's kaum, aber dann sind wir echt kuschelig ' – 'Hard to believe, but then we're warm and cuddly.' READ ALSO: Five German cities ranked among the 'unfriendliest in the world' I wouldn't quite go that far, but we do make good, lasting friendships. And we're a happy bunch – Germany's happiest , actually. It's just that, like our friendliness, our happiness isn't always immediately apparent to new arrivals. Give us some time: once you get past our city blues, you'll be able to consider yourself at home!
Yahoo
05-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
When big business rolled over for fascism — and cashed in: A lesson, or a warning?
At the beginning of 1933, the National Socialist German Workers Party, better known as the Nazis, found themselves on the brink of financial ruin. The party had spent down its reserves on a now-historic election campaign earlier that year in which it won a plurality, though not a majority, of seats in the Reichstag, Germany's parliament. Adolf Hitler, who now held executive power as chancellor — with the backing of mainstream conservatives who hoped to control him — parlayed his gains to call for new elections that spring, in hopes of riding his momentum, along with a heavy dose of political thuggery, to an absolute majority. This was a major gamble. To feed its propaganda apparatus and pay for the "brownshirts," Nazi militias who stalked Germany's streets "discouraging" opposition, the party needed money it didn't have. "We are all very discouraged, particularly in the face of the present danger that the entire party may collapse," complained Joseph Goebbels, a party leader who later led the Reich's propaganda ministry and "total war" economy. "The financial situation of the Berlin organization is hopeless. Nothing but debts and obligations.' The aid that Goebbels and other Nazi leaders needed soon arrived, along with 20 or so bankers and industrialists who arrived in chauffeured cars at the official residence of Reichstag president Hermann Göring on the night of Feb. 20. The agenda for the meeting was set: Hitler would assure this group of Germany's richest men that their fortunes would be preserved, or more likely multiplied, under Nazi rule. In return, they would offer Hitler the money he needed to destroy the political opposition — forever. After more than a decade of Nazi ascendance, the party and the barons who would bail them out still distrusted one another. One can debate how seriously the Nazis took themselves as a "socialist" party, but it was right there in the name — they were aggressively nationalistic and racist but also, at least rhetorically, a working man's party. In addition to demanding land and territory to "settle our surplus population," barring Jews from German citizenship and deporting any non-Germans who had entered the country after 1914, the 25-point NSDAP program published in 1920, before Hitler took control of the party, also called for "the nationalization of all businesses which have been formed into corporations." The key word in that clause is "all," because it was entirely deceptive. In his own words, and as manifested later in actual Reich policy, Hitler believed in nationalizing only some businesses, or some parts of businesses — those owned by people he deemed undesirable and/or subhuman — and dividing their assets between the Nazi state and loyal businessmen. Empowering the workers? Not so much. "We have to bring a process of selection into the matter in some way, if we want to come to a natural, healthy and also satisfying solution of the problem, a process of selection for those who should be entitled — and be at all permitted — to have a claim and the right to property and the ownership of companies," he told Otto Wagener, his economic policy advisor, in 1930. At his core, Hitler despised Marxism, viewing it as an insidious Jewish conspiracy. The international class struggle predicted by Karl Marx directly contradicted the Nazis' racial-nationalist and decidedly anti-egalitarian weltanschauung, which championed welfare only for healthy, virtuous and "useful" members of the master race. The feeling was mutual; in 1932, Leon Trotsky rebuked the NSDAP as a socialist party in name only that "conducts terrorism against all socialist organizations ... in its ranks one finds all classes except the proletariat." Hitler's avowed opposition to left-wing politics would later endear him to Germany's capitalists, though that moment had to wait for many years after he explained his beliefs in "Mein Kampf." Throughout the 1920s, most of Germany's wealthy industrialists preferred to support explicitly business-friendly conservative parties, who offered a less overtly destabilizing vision for the nation's future. At first, most wealthy Nazi supporters were a mixed bag of aimless socialites, heirs and heiresses who wanted to feel special (in this case, racially and culturally special; see Nordic Circle) and those who held antisemitic beliefs or were attracted to Hitler's call for national revanchism and perhaps to Hitler himself. But as the Weimar Republic's economy collapsed, so did the ruling coalition led by the center-left Social Democratic Party. Popular discontent emboldened both the Nazis and the Communists, and increasingly, industrial and banking leaders came to see Hitler as the weapon they could wield to crush the radical left. "Not all capitalists were particularly enthusiastic about the Nazis, but their skepticism was relative and ended as soon as it became clear that Hitler was the only person capable of destroying the labor movement," recalled Albert Krebs, a Nazi Party official. That, of course, was not universally true; Gustav Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach, a heavy industry magnate whose famous firm produced the bulk of German war materiél during World War I, was an enthusiastic Hitler backer well before the 1933 breakthrough, making large financial contributions to the party and distributing copies of "Mein Kampf" among his workers. After the Nazis won a plurality of Reichstag seats in July 1932, a group of conservative elder statesmen from the Weimar government, largely representing business and aristocratic interests, collaborated to have Hitler appointed as chancellor the following January. In elevating Hitler as nominal government leader, while retaining 85-year-old military hero Paul von Hindenburg as president and Franz von Papen as vice chancellor (and presumed puppetmaster), the group hoped that Hitler would crush their opponents on the left and cede effective authority to them. He did the first, but not the second. A month later, Göring convened another group of leaders from Germany's capitalist class for an election fundraiser of sorts in his official residence. Among those who accepted the invitation were banker Hjalmar Schacht, who would later become the Third Reich's chief finance minister; Georg von Schnitzler, head of the chemical and pharmaceutical giant I.G. Farben; and industrialist Günther Quandt, who was also, oddly enough, the former husband of Goebbels' wife Magda. Krupp, the arms king, was also present. Despite holding political power, the Nazis badly needed those men. The party's financial situation remained perilous, and they needed to assure the invited audience that their alliance would remain useful even after the Communists had been defeated or destroyed. Clad in a civilian suit and tie rather than his Nazi stormtrooper's uniform, Hitler outlined plans to purge the government of leftists and eliminate trade unions, arguing that the moneyed assemblage's economic interests were best served by assertive militarism and the outright destruction of Germany's parliamentary system. "Private enterprise cannot be maintained in the age of democracy," he declared. After Hitler departed, Schacht asked the other attendees to deposit as much money as they could into his private trust, which the Nazis could use however they liked heading into the March 5 election. Göring added that the election "will surely be the last one for the next 10 years, probably even for the next 100 years," a situation that would ease the "financial sacrifices" asked of them. In the end, the fundraiser generated 3 million reichsmarks, about $30 million in today's money. Even if Göring was technically incorrect — the Nazis continued to stage elections, for a while — effective political opposition ceased to exist, and by July of 1933, all non-Nazi parties were banned. Two years later, the Nuremberg Race Laws, which designated Jews, Roma and Black people as "enemies of the race-based state," allowed the government to officially expropriate Jewish property and businesses and distribute the spoils to non-Jewish Germans. Adolf Rosenberger, the Jewish co-founder of Porsche, was convicted of "racial crimes" because of his relationship with a Gentile and stripped of his stake in the company. (Rosenberger was luckier than most other German Jews; he fled to the U.S. and spent the rest of his life in California under the name Alan Robert.)Hitler, honoring the promises made at this "Secret Meeting," disbanded and outlawed all independent trade unions, then imposed a centralized, party-governed "union" called the German Labour Front, which was effectively an instrument for the Nazis to exert control over workers' lives. Strikes and collective bargaining were not permitted, and the union's primary purpose was to fuel the Nazi war economy, which was largely contracted out to private industry. Indeed, it was these major capitalists who reaped the greatest rewards from Germany's early wartime victories. The conquest of Poland and several other territories in Eastern Europe brought to Germany an influx of slave laborers — drafted civilians, prisoners of war and concentration camp inmates — who were forced to work dangerous machinery without protective clothing, denied medical attention and adequate food, and summarily executed for minor infractions. The life expectancy of slave laborers at the I.G. Farben facility at Auschwitz was less than four months; more than 25,000 died at the construction site alone. That, of course, was the point — if someone was useful enough to work but not worthy of normal life, they were worked to death. Replacements were almost endlessly available; an estimated 12 to 20 million people were deported to Germany as laborers during the war, and at least 2.5 million died. Under Nazi patronage, German corporations offered generous, bloody tribute, and were well compensated. Krupp supplied heavy armaments, including tanks, artillery and U-boats; Allianz provided insurance for the concentration camps; Hugo Boss furnished (but did not always design) the uniforms of the SS, SA, Wehrmacht and Hitler Youth; and Degussa, a subsidiary of I.G. Farben, produced and delivered more than 56 tons of the pesticide known as Zyklon B to Nazi extermination facilities from 1942 to 1944. Its only use was to fulfill the "Final Solution" as far as possible — that being the extermination of Europe's Jewish population — as well as to murder millions of other camp inmates. After the war, 24 I.G. Farben executives were put on trial for their role in the Holocaust. In his opening statement, prosecutor Telford Taylor declared that "they were the magicians who made the fantasies of 'Mein Kampf' come true ... They were the guardians of the military and state secrets.' In this case, the stereotypical German penchant for record-keeping doomed the defendants; 6,384 documents submitted as evidence — purchase orders, meeting notes, inventories, internal letters and memos — indicated beyond doubt that they knew exactly how many Zyklon B canisters were sent to Auschwitz and what they were being used for. The defense argument that they were just bureaucrats punching the clock didn't fly, and 13 of them were convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Some of them got off lightly. Schnitzler, one of the convicted I.G. Farben executives, was released after four years and returned to the business world. Quandt, the ex-husband of Goebbels' wife, was judged to be a Mitläufer, meaning someone who accepted Nazi ideology but did not directly partake in its crimes. Schacht, tried with other leading Nazis like Göring, Albert Speer and Joachim von Ribbentrop, was acquitted on charges of conspiracy and crimes against peace, largely because he'd been imprisoned by the Nazis after the July 1944 assassination attempt against Hitler (although Schacht was not involved). The 75-year old Krupp was supposed to be tried alongside Schacht, but had become senile and was deemed medically unfit. His son Alfried and 11 other corporate directors faced charges in a later trial for participating in 'the murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, imprisonment, torture, and use for slave labor of civilians.' The younger Krupp was sentenced to 12 years in prison, but reportedly never expressed remorse during or after his detainment. When a Daily Mail journalist asked him in 1959 if he felt any guilt for his role, he responded: "What guilt? For what happened under Hitler? No. But it is regrettable that the German people themselves allowed themselves to be so deceived by him." It was unclear from that phrasing whether Krupp considered himself to be among the deceived.
Local Germany
31-03-2025
- Local Germany
TELL US: Is Hamburg a good place for foreigners to live in Germany?
Alongside international hubs like Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich, Hamburg is one of the most popular cities among foreigners moving to Germany. According to recent figures, almost a quarter of Hamburg's 1.8 million residents have an international background, with around 400,000 non-Germans currently living in the city. With the northern port city recently being crowned the happiest in the country , it's no wonder that many people from abroad want to make Hamburg their home. But recent surveys carried out by expat community InterNations have found that the Hansastadt can be one of the hardest places for foreigners to settle in Germany . If you live in Hamburg - or have lived there in the past - we'd love to hear your thoughts for a future article. Does Hamburg offer a good quality of life for its foreign residents, or are internationals better off looking elsewhere? Advertisement Please let us know by filling in the survey below. If the survey doesn't load, click here instead .
Euronews
25-02-2025
- Politics
- Euronews
What's at stake for Europe after the German election?
The dust is now settling after Sunday's federal election in Germany — but whatever new government is formed will be facing an uphill battle. Germany's top three concerns for this election were peace and security in Europe, the economy, and social issues. However, centre-right Christian Democratic Party (CDU) leader and presumptive chancellor Friedrich Merz also placed migration policy at the top of his agenda after a series of deadly attacks by non-Germans that dominated German media over the past couple of months. Merz is under pressure to form a stable government as quickly as possible to begin tackling these issues, and has already begun coalition talks with the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD). So what exactly is at stake? Tricky transatlantic relationship Since the collapse of the so-called "traffic light" government just hours after US President Donald Trump was re-elected last year, the exact prospects of Germany's strong support for Ukraine has been unclear — this as the US and Russia edge closer to a deal concerning Ukraine's future. With tensions between Europe and Russia running high, Rafael Loss of the European Council on Foreign Relations says geopolitical issues will be among the government's top priorities. Merz has recently made "numerous statements about transatlantic relations and the problems that Donald Trump will create for Germany and Europe", Loss told Euronews. "This goes hand in hand with Germany's defence capabilities, questions of the debt brake, conscription, and so on." Europe and Germany in particular are increasingly worried that the US under Trump will be less concerned about defending Europe, even as the continent grapples with the prospect of an increasingly hostile Russia and higher energy costs. Stronger EU relationships Relations with France and Poland have been frosty during the past couple of years, with Chancellor Olaf Scholz several times finding himself at odds with key French and Polish policies. Yet despite this, the countries have managed to work together amicably. "The potential outcome of this election is that, with a Chancellor Friedrich Merz — if he manages to form a governing majority — there could be a reset in these crucial relationships," Loss explains. "This could also bring new momentum to European policy from Berlin." "However, this wouldn't necessarily be a strongly EU-centric policy. In many cases, Merz will likely attempt to build 'coalitions of the willing'. Nonetheless, given the geopolitical challenges posed by Moscow, Washington, and Beijing, we must do much more on all fronts." Increased defence spending Whilst Merz is promising a stronger and more stable government, questions surrounding financing increased defence spending, especially relating to the threat of Russia, are emerging. "That is the big question that broke the traffic light coalition apart, and it will be the major question that the new government coalition in Berlin will have to answer sooner rather than later," Loss explains. "Ultimately, the sums involved are so enormous that one cannot rely solely on budget prioritisation, new debt, or tax measures alone. A compromise between all these elements will certainly be necessary in order to generate several hundred billion euros for both defence and infrastructure investments at the same time." Whilst a potential CDU and SPD coalition could bring more stability to Germany, which has also been trying to revive a flagging economy, the question of cooperation between political parties is also important, especially as German politics becomes ever more polarised. "A black-red coalition could certainly bring stability. However, many key questions will revolve around whether a two-thirds majority in the Bundestag can be secured — for example, to amend the constitution for a new special fund, reform the debt brake, or reintroduce conscription under a new model," Loss says. "Here, a black-red coalition will urgently need cooperation, especially from the Greens, which I see as less problematic, but also from The Left, which holds fundamentally different views on some foreign policy issues." The domestic front Inflated energy costs and the spiralling cost of living have fuelled many Germans' disillusionment with the traditional parties of government. That much was reflected in a record result for the far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD), which pulled in 20% of the national vote. Support for AfD was particularly pronounced in the former East Germany, which remains blighted by infrastructure issues increasingly visible across Germany; schools are deteriorating, and there are not enough kindergartens, for one. The next government will need to invest heavily in infrastructure, Loss says. "Political parties, both those in government and the opposition — especially the Greens and, to some extent, The Left — will have to take responsibility by addressing these issues programmatically."
Russia Today
09-02-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ukrainians increasingly refused asylum status Germany
Nearly one in five applicants rejected asylum status in Germany during the second half of last year was a Ukrainian citizen, RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland (RND) reported on Saturday, citing the federal government's response to a parliamentary inquiry from the Left Party. Ukrainians reportedly comprise nearly 20% of applicants rejected by the German federal government. They were only second to Syrians, who accounted for 20.6%. Migrants from Afghanistan and Turkey were also among those most commonly turned away, but the publication didn't disclose the figures. Currently, Ukrainians do not need to apply for asylum in order to obtain shelter in Germany or another EU state, RND noted, highlighting that despite this, entry into the country is not automatically permitted. Citing the federal government, the news outlet added that asylum is not granted to Ukrainians who had lived abroad for many years and aren't subject to the mortal risks associated with the conflict in their home country. According to government estimates, as quoted by RND, the number of illegal entries decreased from 127,549 in 2023 to 83,572 in 2024. Meanwhile, the share of people trying to apply for asylum without entry permits reportedly dropped significantly, from 44.7% to 23%. Germany has become the primary destination for Ukrainian refugees in the EU since the conflict between Moscow and Kiev escalated in February 2022. The bloc's economic powerhouse had accepted almost 1,153,000 of these displaced people as of the end of November 2024, accounting for 27.2% of the EU total, according to Eurostat. The country was followed by Poland and Czechia. Meanwhile, Russia has welcomed over 5.3 million Ukrainians, official statistics from early 2023 demonstrate. READ MORE: German MPs vote to tighten border controls In addition, Germany has continued to accept migrants from other countries amid ongoing crises in the Middle East and Africa. The total number of refugees with varying types of residency permits living in Germany as of the end of June 2024 amounted to some 3.48 million, according to the statistics provided in response to a request by the Left Party in September. The figure marks an increase of roughly 60,000 people compared to data provided at the end of 2023. Meanwhile, the nation has faced a dramatic rise in the number of violent crimes, with non-Germans disproportionately represented. In the crime statistics for 2023 provided by the Interior Ministry, they accounted for 34.4% of all offenses, excluding immigration violations, marking a notable increase from the previous year. Last week, the German Bundestag voted to tighten border controls, passing a motion that calls for increased checks at land borders amid growing immigration and security concerns. The step occurred in the wake of a fatal knife attack in Bavaria, in which a rejected Afghan asylum-seeker killed two people, including a two-year-old child, and injured several others. According to a recent survey conducted by Ipsos, over a third of Germans see immigration as a number one reason for personal concern.
