#406: Trump tweet trial, sins of the church, BVG a tiny bit better
We make party!
Dear 20 Percent
“It’s lovely to have you on board this morning,” the train conductor said. This was on the way to the airport. Not Berlin airport but in Manchester, where I spent a few days last week.
I don’t expect quite that level of friendliness but Berlin service workers could learn something from their UK counterparts. Maybe a trip to Britain with courses in smiling and small talk should be mandatory for public-facing transport employees.
Germans might point out that smiling and small talk are superficial and ignore structural problems such as unfair wages. To which I’d say, being grumpy isn’t going to help those issues, either. In Manchester people seem to enjoy being nice. 😱 At least it’s summer (sort of) and Berliners are more likely to crack a smile than in January.
Speaking of summer, The Next 20% Summer Pod Party in cooperation with The Next Day Berlin is this Thursday at 7pm at Berliner Berg brewery. At 8pm we’ll be recording our first ever live podcast on stage with a smattering of interesting and funny guests. Get tickets here!
News below!
Maurice
🙏🙏🙏 A big thank you to our lovely sponsor Feather, the digital, expat-friendly insurance platform for Germany. 🙏🙏🙏
Catholic church still paying for sins
The Roman Catholic church doesn’t have a major presence in Berlin, traditionally Lutheran turf, but its staff have nonetheless managed to commit acts of sexualised violence in the city over the years. In its annual report on the issue, the church said it’s paid out €1 million in compensation to victims since 2002. Since then, the church has investigated 147 suspected cases of sexual abuse since 1947 in the Berlin archdiocese, which includes parts of Brandenburg, Saxon-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Of 12 cases reported in 2024, 9 were “current”.
In case you missed the last episode of our podast : )
Berlin Twitter guy due in court for Trump joke
While the clergy seldom face a judge for their crimes, local humourist and Twitter annoyance “El Hotzo” must appear in court on July 23 on the charge of “rewarding and condoning criminal offences”. Following the attempted assassination of Donald Trump last summer, he tweeted this, attracting the wrath of Elon Musk and rightwing influencers.
Tasteless joke, obviously but don’t tell me some of you didn’t have the same thought at the time. Although Germany has far stricter limits on freedom of speech than many countries, should he have lost his regular gig at local public radio station Fritz for this single tweet? You tell me!
More people!
Despite more deaths than births in the capital, our population is projected to reach 4 million by 2030, up from 3.8 million now. A study by the department of urban planning says the population would fall by 270,000 over the next 15 years without net immigration to the city. I predict that the percentage of Berliners without a German passport will reach 30% by 2030— up from 20% when we founded this newsletter four years ago — despite the thousands of you signing up for citizenship.
🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺
🤝 Germany and US discuss Patriot missile deal for Ukraine
🏳️🌈 Bundestag president tries to ban Pride flags from parliament
👨⚕️ Trial begins of doctor thought to have murdered 15 patients
Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin
💃🏽 DURCHLÜFTEN 2025 Opening Weekend
Thu–Sat, 17–19.07, 7 pm – 10 pm. Open air: Schlüterhof, Humboldt Forum, Mitte. Free admission.
DURCHLÜFTEN brings global rhythms to Berlin’s summer evenings. The highlights for this weekend are: (Thu) Minyo Crusaders blend Japanese folk with Latin, African and Caribbean grooves; (Fri) Florence Adooni’s joyful Ghanaian highlife; and (Sat) Kasiva Mutua’s powerful Kenyan percussion.
🎸 35 Jahre Schokoladen Hoffest
Fri-Sat, 18–19.07, from 6 pm. Schokoladen, Ackerstr. 169, 10115 Berlin. Free / donation
A two-day birthday bash for Schokoladen, Ackerstadtpalast & Club der Polnischen Versager: punk, post-punk, noiserock, indie, techno, and glitter-filled dancefloors. Bands and DJs — inside, outside, all night.
🎭 Kaleidoscope Saturday, 19.07, 7:30pm. Haus Zwingli, Rudolfstraße 14, 10245 Berlin. Tickets: €15 A full night of musical improv in English. Featuring Kaleidoscope, Berlin's hottest musical improv troupe. Laugh along with a full two-act Broadway-style musical, made up on the spot.
🎉 Kinder Rave: Endless Summer
Sunday, 20.07, from 12 - 4 pm. Klunkerkranich, Karl-Marx-Str. 66, 12043 Berlin. Tickets: €10-12 (kids are free - open to all ages, 0 and up)
A family-friendly daytime rave with groovy house and techno at kid-safe volumes, activities for little ones, and lots of space to dance and explore.
Factoid
Hooray, BVG’s punctuality stats are improving, reports Tagesspiegel (paywall). In the first half of 2025 93.6% of U-Bahn trains arrived on time, up from 92% of the time in the previous 6 months. For trams that number rose from 95.8% to 97.3% but according to the official numbers city buses absolutely nailed it, scoring 99% versus 98.4% — though this doesn’t reflect my own experience riding the bus lately. BVG boss Henrik Falk wants to reach 99% across the board in time for the BVG’s 100th anniversary in 2028. This is part of his new “stability before expansion” strategy which prioritises improving current service and maintaining existing infrastructure over building new lines. Makes sense for a transport system plagued by construction delays and serious staff shortages.
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There is no way those BVG stats reflect reality. They must have gamed it. My experience with the buses (and less so trams) does not match up. U-bahns maybe.
And yes, I will take superficial friendliness any day over intentional rudeness and Unhöflichkeit. It is one of the things I miss about being in the U.S.