#195: Pool rules, climate protest, upcycle-tech, Späti setback

Berlin's lost Jewish fashion industry

Shout out to Charlottenburg! Legendary jazz bar Quasimodo’s Sommerfest runs through the end of July. Live music most nights and FREE.

Dear 20% Berlin,

I used to love heading for a summer-time dip at Humboldthain outdoor pool in Wedding, at least until some kids stole my glasses from my towel while I was drying in the sun. I never got those glasses back. The experience extinguished my Freibadlust for years. The rowdiness has gotten worse every summer, with brawls involving large numbers of young men a regular occurence. Staff at Columbiabad in Neukölln even organised a sick-out on Monday in protest of violence, vandalism and disrespectful behaviour by bathers.

So it’s not really surprising that the city wants to implement new security measures at outdoor pools following repeated outbreaks of violence this summer, as Tagesspiegel writes.

Under discussion are ID checks at the gates and the installation of surveillance cameras at the especially problematic Columbiabad and Prinzenbad in Kreuzberg. Mayor Kai Wegner (CDU) also wants more security personnel and roving police patrols.

Will this stuff help? Beefing up security is surely necessary but won’t address root causes. It seems like large numbers of Berlin youths are just left to their own devices during summer break — no easy fixes here.

More news below.

Maurice

Corporate landlords hiking rent

Berlin’s major corporate landlords said they would bump up rents after the government released the latest Mietspiegel, or rent survey, that sets the legal limits for rents, according to Tagesspiegel. The average rent went up 5.4% in the latest survey and Deutsche Wohnen/Vonovia said it planned to increase what it charges for about 42,000 of its renters while Convivio said it had similar plans for 3,000 renters. Deutsche Wohnen said its increase would be about €20 per month and Vonovia €25.

No summer break for Last Generation

Climate activists belonging to Letzte Generation blocked traffic at the Siegessäule and several other nearby intersections Friday morning, reports RBB. At least four people glued themselves to the tarmac. The same group says a protest is planned for BER airport later in the day. On Thursday, activists at Hamburg and Düsseldorf airports caused delays after they cut through fences and glued themselves to runways.

Späti bar bust?

Pankow’s councillor for streets and parks, Manuela Anders-Granitzki (CDU), is working on a ban on outdoor seating in front of Spätis in the mega-district which includes the areas Prenzlauer Berg, Weißensee and the old area called Pankow. The impromptu beergardens don’t have official approval and represent an illegal usurping of public sidewalks, she says, but opponents say it will just shut down a cherished and unique Berlin Späti-Kultur. If they ever get the idea to do this in Kreuzberg-Friedrichshain, expect riots.

Upcycler re-ups

Re-Fresh, a firm based in Berlin and Tel Aviv that is developing new ways to recycle the vast quantities of textiles and clothes discarded by humanity every year has attracted €1.1m in “pre-seed” financing, according to Tech.eu. Materials that they’re working on could be used in new products like packaging, shoes and bikes, according to the company. Re-fresh received support from Berlin venture capitalist firm Earlybird.

Factoid

It had to be mirrors, right? The fashion center memorial at Hausvogteiplatz. Photo: Beek/Wikimedia

In the early 20th century Berlin grew into a world centre for ready-to-wear fashion. The thriving industry was pioneered and dominated by Jewish designers and labels, with around 2,700 firms operating in the city by the early 1930s. The industry was centred around Hausvogteiplatz in Mitte. Soon after Hitler assumed power Jewish businesses began to suffer under boycotts. In November 1938, Nazi thugs ransacked hundreds of Jewish-run offices and design studios. Across the country, fashion businesses were shut down, confiscated or sold cheaply to non-Jewish German entrepreneurs like Hugo Boss — who famously produced the Nazis’ “brown shirts”, as well as SS and Wehrmacht uniforms. Read more on DW.