#308: The Wall, the Ubers, the Berghain boycott

Rave like it's 1989 this weekend

“Nobody intends to build a wall,” said East German leader Walter Ulbricht. Photo © Berlin Wall Foundation

Dear 20 Percent,

Sixty-three years ago, Berliners woke up to find their city divided in half by that monstrosity, the Berlin Wall. From August 13, 1961 to November 9, 1989 barbed wire, concrete barriers, machineguns and trip wires separated friends, families and lovers. A hundred and forty East Germans were killed trying to escape. Memories of the tragedy of the Wall seem to be fading. I feel it’s important to occasionally read up on the raw facts about this barbarous structure.

More news below.

Maurice

PS. Thanks a million to today’s sponsor Feather — digital gurus for all things insurance. More from them at the end.

---

Knife crime up

Knife attacks are rising in Berlin and Germany, reports taz. There were 3,500 cases of knife violence last year, up by 40% over 2013. Ulrich Stöckle, Director of the Centre for Musculoskeletal Surgery at Charité hospital says as many knife wounds were treated in the first half of this year as in all of 2023. Federal interior minister Nancy Faeser is calling for knife-free zones, a maximum blade-length of 6cm and a ban on switchblades. Heiko Teggatz, head of the German Police Union, on the other hand, supports a general ban on carrying knives in public.

Bahn jam

I love night trains — and was hoping to take a Nightjet to Paris soon. But thanks to track work in France and Germany, the Austrian-run service to the French capital via Brussels is suspended from yesterday (August 12) through October 25. Meanwhile, train trips from Berlin to Hamburg will take an hour longer from Friday, thanks to track renewal. Only half the usual number of trains will be operating on the route. The construction will last until mid-December — followed by another round of closures in August 2025.

Upping Uber prices

In order to protect traditional taxis, Berlin’s transport czar Ute Bonde (CDU) wants to impose minimum fairs on car services like Uber, Bliq, Freenow and Bolt, according to Berliner Zeitung. The taxi sector accuses the “rental-car-with-driver” apps of offering “dumping prices”. Earlier this year the authorities cracked down on operators and sub-contractors who were avoiding taxes and social security payments, resulting in hundreds of vehicles being removed from the market. In June, the government allowed taxis to offer fixed prices at the beginning of rides, to make them more competitive. We shouldn’t expect minimum prices for the ride apps before 2025, says Bonde, because the legislation has to be legally watertight.

Berghain boycott

DJs and performers have been boycotting Berghain since January under the banner Ravers For Palestine because the club has remained silent on the war in Gaza. According to The Guardian, the DJ Arabian Panther says Berghain cancelled his gig because he shared pro-Palestinian content on social media. Electronic label Pan, in turn, cancelled their party at the club. Unsurprisingly, Berghain remains silent about the whole affair.

Germany-wide news

🚨 Another Ukrainian murdered in Germany?

🗳️ Germans rooting for Kamala

🍷 Germany’s new wine princes scandal

---

💡Handpicked Berlin: Career, tech, startup, and Berlin news, plus timeless inspiration. Mondays in your inbox.💡

---

Factoid

Sorted for E’s and Wizz. The parade in ‘96. Photo: Gerd Danigel, CC BY-SA 4.0

Thirty-five years ago, 150 partiers gathered on Ku’damm for the DJ Dr Motte’s birthday. The Love Parade was born. With the reunification of Berlin, the techno street party grew rapidly, and by 1997 it was attracting a million ravers. By 2007, Berlin no longer wanted the event, which had grown a little trashy. The brand was sold to a discount gym chain. When, in 2008, 21 people were crushed to death at the rave in Duisburg, the Love Parade was cancelled for good — only to be relaunched as Rave the Planet in 2022 with Dr. Motte at the helm once more. Three hundred thousand ravers are expected in Tiergarten this weekend. I guess techno never dies.

🪶Visit our sponsor!🪶

What insurance do you really need?

Germany has a particular love for insurance and so, as an expat, it can be overwhelming trying to understand what insurance products you really need versus what's simply 'nice to have'. 

Feather aims to simplify the whole process by offering everything from sign-up to claims processing online, and in English. Plus, with Feather's recommendation tool, you can get a quick assessment of which insurances are a necessity, which are worth considering, and which are not relevant to you based on your lifestyle. 

Try out Feather's recommendation tool here