#214: Paint on the Gate, refugee housing, Hammerskins raid, female founders
Students protest "Russian War Crimes" show at HU
Dear 20 Percent,
A group of students have protested against a photography exhibition titled “Russian War Crimes” at Humboldt University’s main building on Unter den Linden.
On display is “photographic evidence” of atrocities committed by Putin’s troops in Ukraine. It was put together with help from Amnesty International.
In a statement, student protesters belonging to “International Youth and Students for Social Equality” (IYSSE) said: “The exhibition has no scientific value, but serves to demonise the Russian side and to fuel the horrific proxy war in Ukraine with further arms deliveries.”
Um, okay.
No mention of the suffering of the Ukrainian people. No condemnation of the Russian atrocities documented in the show. No mention of Putin’s brutal imperialist mindset. And, besides, the Russians haven’t exactly acted in a way that discourages “demonisation”.
According to IYSSE — which is linked to the Trotskyite “World Socialist Web Site” — “German militarism” wants to bring Ukraine back under its control.
Again, no mention of the Ukrainians’ right to self-determination and the fact that Ukraine is begging the West for more military suppport.
Apparently, the fact that a wealthy Ukrainian businessman sponsored the exhibition is proof that it’s “propaganda”. Whatever.
A surprising number of Germans subscribe this line of thinking: Russia good, West bad. And the magical idea that Russia is somehow still on the anti-capitalist side of a worldwide class struggle.
As the war drags on into autumn and winter, perhaps without a decisve victory for Ukraine, expect more and more Germans across the political spectrum to begin relativizing the Russian invasion. The AfD, absurdly positioning themselves as a force for peace, will continue to profit.
We’re living through some messed up times.
More Berlin news below.
Thanks for reading,
Maurice
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Autumn of discontent
Climate activists belonging to Letze Generation kicked off their autumn campaign on Sunday when they sprayed the six columns of the Brandenburg Gate with orange and yellow paint, reports RBB. Berliners were, for the most part, not amused. Berliner Immobilienmanagement GmbH, the state-owned firm reponsible for maintaining the iconic landmark, said cleaning up the gate will cost at least €35,000. Meanwhile, Monday and Tuesday saw street blockades across the city. Tuesday morning 500 police officers were tasked with removing protesters at 10 locations across the city. Honestly, it amazes me that so many drivers continue to take non-essential trips when everyone knows LG could strike at any time.
Refugee housing crisis?
The Landesamt für Flüchtlingsangelegenheiten (LAF), Berlin’s refugee agency, says availability in city refugee shelters is “virtually zero”, according to Tagesspiegel. A mere “274 places are available in shared accommodation.” As of September 15, 31,889 beds were occupied in shelters. From January to August, around 21,000 refugees and asylum seekers arrived in Berlin, including 11,000 from Ukraine. The rest came mostly from Syria, Afghanistan, Turkey, Georgia and Moldova. Berlin’s social affairs minister Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD) said immigration showed no signs of decreasing: “We still need large-scale accommodation because our clear message still applies: Every person who comes to Berlin looking for help gets a bed and a roof over their head.”
Neo-Nazi crackdown
Early Tuesday morning, police raided locations across the country linked to the neo-Nazi group “Hammerskins Deutschland”, including two apartments in the Berlin neighbourhood of Lichtenberg, reports RBB. Interior minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) has banned the Hammerskins, which originated as a white supremacist organisation in Texas in the 1980s and spread to Germany in the 1990s. Germany’s internal security agency, the Verfassungsschutz, has pegged the group as “violence-oriented”. Faeser said the ban was a “hard blow against organised right-wing extremism”.
Cash for female-led start-ups
Just one in three new businesses in Berlin are founded by women. For tech start-ups, that figure sinks to one-in-five. To encourage more women to launch ventures, Berlin has announced a Gründerinnenbonus (“female-founder bonus”) to the tune of up to €60,000, says Tagesspiegel (paywall). Applications for the programme will be accepted from September 25, right here and applicants need to meet certain criteria. Entrepreneurs with “technological, digital, creative, non-profit or particularly sustainable business models” can qualify — and they should already be recipients of the Gründungsbonus available to all genders. So, yes, if you’re interested, brace yourself for a bunch of paperwork.
Factoid
With Letzte Generation back on the streets, I was reminded of this factoid: Drivers in Berlin spend an average of 71 hours per year stuck in traffic. And Berlin has the worst traffic jams in Germany after Munich. I may be wrong, but I don’t think extending the A100 autobahn a few kilometres into Friedrichshain is going to help. And about those bike lanes, Mayor Wegner …