#407: What U1?, bribes for passports, Mohrenstraße again
It's supposedly easier to take an Einbürgerungstest
Hey 20 Percent,
Massive thanks to everyone who had faith in the weather and came to our joint summer party with The Next Day Berlin last night in Neukölln. It was really good to meet so many of you and get direct feedback on what works in our newsletter (and podcast) and what doesn’t.
As a shy person, I avoid events but last night changed my mind and we’ll start planning a fall get together as soon as the hangover wears off. It was really that good.
And also many thanks to our panelists on our first-ever live podcast recording, comedian Kat Nip, journalist Elizabeth Rushton and newsletterer Mateus Furlanetto. It’ll be out next week.
I can’t say thank you enough — and have a good weekend.
Andrew
Yes, there used to be a U1
Maybe we should just start a BVG ticker, though the woes at the public transport provider could probably be a newsletter of its own. This week it’s the U1, which apparently hasn’t been pinging between Warschauer Straße and Wittenbergplatz for 11 days. BVG says it’s because of attempts to stabilize service but Tagesspiegel says the reason is simpler (paywall): They don’t have enough subway drivers. The result: Every third train on the route has been cancelled, leading to fuller U3s and less frequent service. At night, every other train on the route is no more. The U4 between Nollendorfplatz and Innsbrucker Platz is also running less frequently because of the lack of drivers. When will the issue be resolved? BVG isn’t talking — just like it didn’t adjust timetables to reflect the changes or otherwise inform riders.
Buy your way in
Apparently there is an alternate way to get German citizenship: bribery. Cops Thursday searched apartments in Rudow and Marzahn after an Ausländerbehörde employee wrongly naturalized a family of four from North Macedonia, according to RBB24. The family had withdrawn their applications and he would not have been their caseworker anyway. He even forged a signature, created fake paperwork and cut off access to the files for other colleagues. Two members of the family are also under investigation for bribery. The motivation? The man was in a relationship with one of the family members.
Mohrenstraße no more
After years of legal battles and (pointless) online arguments, Mohrenstraße in Mitte will be re-named as the admittedly clunky Anton-Wilhelm-Amo-Straße on Aug. 23, according to T-Online. Mitte has been working to rename the street since 2021 because “Mohr” (Moor), which refers to north Africans, is often seen as a racist term connected with colonialism. Residents on the street had sued to halt the renaming, in part because it will cost them money (updating their addresses) and because they say the original intent wasn’t racism but to highlight a specific group’s contribution to Berlin. Anton Wilhelm Amo was the first African to study and teach (philosophy) at a German university, during the 18th century. BVG already wanted to rename the Mohrenstraße station to Glinkastraße until it was discovered that its namesake, Russian composer Mikhail Glinka, was an anti-semite.
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Factoid
Berlin has now centralized appointments for citizenship tests here and adds about 100 appointments a week. Berlin’s Volkshochschulen (adult education centers), who perform the tests, doubled the number of tests available in berlin to 15,900 in 2023 are working to increase that number to 19,000 — no current or 2024 figures are available, according to Tagesspiegel. Berlin hopes to naturalize 40,000 people this year, up from 20,000 last year.
Haha you should have lived in Berlin through the 90s. U-Bahn didn’t even go over the bridge to Warschauer St. many didn’t run or go anywhere at all. Try getting north and you simply ran out of track and walked the rest. Streets changed name every week in the East. 😃
How long you have to wait for the results these days: https://bsky.app/profile/did:plc:tz2mbeciygifilnnojl5j7im/post/3luatlooavk2d
(the three month waiting time to get an exam slot not shown)