#428: Gaza demo, neo-Nazi youth, unemployment down

35 years ago, artists began painting the East Side of the Wall.

Sep 30, 2025

**Festival der RIESENDRACHEN (giant kites) at Tempelhofer Feld on Saturday.**

Dear 20 Percent,

According to a poll conducted for Tagesspiegel (paywall), 60% of Germans are “satisfied with their personal life situation”; 23% are dissatisfied. The remaining 17% are neither here nor there. The newspaper is calling this good news. Go figure.

As temperatures drop, it feels as if that 23% is becoming more vocal about its dissatisfaction. On my trip to the supermarket this morning I encountered three different middle-aged men with no audience mumbling strange unhappy things into the world.

Inside the supermarket, a short guy with a face tatoo, dressed in all-black military gear and with a German flag on his backpack, shouted unrepeatable, rude things at me after we almost bumped into each other. Definitely part of that 23%. It’s pretty easy to guess who he’ll be voting for next time around. Maybe he needs to go fly a kite.

I know it’s a subjective perception, but the number of visibly disgruntled, or outright angry and/or desperate people out on the streets appears to be growing. It’s not encouraging and makes me feel like social polarisation is accelerating.

Then again, maybe I should just be glad that nearly two-thirds of Germans are happy about their lives — it could be a lot worse. What do you think?

News below.

Maurice

Thanks to today’s sponsors Xylophone and Feather!

Huge Gaza demo

On Saturday between 60,000 (police estimate) and 100,000 (organiser estimate) people marched from Alexanderplatz to Tiergarten, calling for an end to Israel’s war in Gaza. It’s believed to be the largest Gaza-related demo in Germany to date. Police said the protest was largely peaceful. There does finally seem to be a change occuring in how Germany views the war. Even mainstream German media, such as conservative tabloid Bild, refrained from calling the protesters “Israel haters” as they have in the past. However, the German government continues to block EU plans to impose sanctions on Israel over Gaza.

Cops raid homes of neo-Nazi youths

Cops raided various locations in Berlin and Brandenburg with suspected links to extreme right-wing groups Deutsche Jugend voran and Letzte Verteidigungswelle. Suspects as young as 14 face accusations of planning and carrying violent attacks, including arson on refugee accommodations and assaults on journalists. Authorities seized weapons, explosives, and evidence.

Tiny drop in unemployment

In September, the ranks of registered unemployed people in Berlin fell by 3,274 to 220,187, according to new official stats. The jobless rate stands at 10.3%. Nationwide, the unemployment rate fell by 0.1% to 6.3%. September usually sees a small drop, thanks to people finding jobs after the summer or starting new training or education programmes.

Translation software waste of money?

Every year, non-profit group, the Federation of Taxpayers (BdSt), combs through Germany’s federal and state budgets for ways that it feels taxpayer money is being wasted and came across some overly expensive translation software being used to translate the official Berlin website into English, Ukrainian, Arabic and other common languages. The BdSt argues that modern browsers have a built-in translation function that makes the software obsolete. Berlin is spending €65,000 per year on the tech.

🍺 🥨 Germany-wide news 🥨 🍺

🗳️ AfD loses three mayoral runoff elections in NRW

🏦 Merz: Use frozen Russian assets for Ukraine defense loan

🛰️ Is Russia shadowing German satellites?

📉 Bosch cuts 13,000 jobs

🕵️ Wirecard suspect found in Moscow

📈 Birkenstock’s enduring success

Events this week, curated by The Next Day Berlin

🎻 One Year of Späti Stories – Evening at Pierre Boulez Saal
Tuesday, 30.09, 6 pm – 10 pm. Pierre Boulez Saal, Französische Str. 33D, 10117 Berlin. Tickets: €20 (registration required - limited to 30 participants)
Celebrating one year of Späti Stories with a guided tour of the Barenboim-Said Akademie, Levantine food, and a concert by HK Gruber & Kirill Gerstein performing Eisler and Weill.

⚽ Spätschicht x Outreach Berlin
Thursday, 02.10, 7 pm – 11 pm. Gropius Bau, Niederkirchnerstr. 7, 10963 Berlin. Free admission
The fourth edition of Spätschicht moves into the atrium for a football-themed night: Karl Holmqvist’s reading, Aysun Bademsoy’s After the Game screening, a youth cageball match, live cooking with Giuseppe Moi, plus music from Eunice Beckmann, Candeece, DJ ADG, and Nana Kreuzberg.

🌲 Overflow – Teufelsberg Somatic Experience
Saturday, 04.10, 1:30 pm – 5 pm. Teufelsberg, Teufelseechaussee 10, 14193 Berlin. Tickets: €30 (incl. entry, walk, workshop, sound bath). Part of TAGDERCLUBKULTUR
From surveillance site to somatic presence: a forest walk with storytelling and mindful listening, a movement workshop with tamypro, and a resonant sound bath inside Teufelsberg’s dome. Phone-free, limited capacity.

🎃 Schöneberger Kürbisfest – Schöneberg Pumpkin Festival
Sat-Sun, 04–05.10, Sat 11 am – 8 pm, Sun 10 am – 8 pm. Akazienstr., 10823 Berlin. Free entry.
Nearly 10,000 pumpkins line Akazienstraße for this autumn market with food, crafts, spices, and gifts. Local shops join in, and there’s a children’s corner too.

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Factoid

Thirty-five years ago, on September 28, 1990, 118 artists from 21 countries began painting the eastern side of a 1.3km stretch of the Berlin Wall between Ostbahnof and Oberbaumbrücke, creating what is now known as the East Side Gallery. Many of the artworks were restored in 2009.

Your smile deserves better than public health insurance

Let’s start with the bad news: Germany’s public health insurance barely covers dental care. Sure, it’ll help with emergency tooth extractions and those unmistakable silver amalgam fillings. But if you want professional cleanings, natural-looking fillings, or long-term dental care, be prepared to pay out of pocket.

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