WWII Compensation: Ghetto Laborers Still Waiting for German Pensions
Germany passed a Ghetto Pension Law in 2002 that would give a small amount of money to Jews who held steady jobs in concentration camps, in order to “close a gap in the country’s Nazi-era compensation.” However, over 90 percent of applicants are being denied, and each day more and more Holocaust survivors are dying […]
Turkish culture club firebombed in Münster
A recent string of attacks on a Turkish consulate and a Turkish culture club in the city of Münster are believed to have been carried out by individuals of Kurdish background. This article mentions some of the tensions between Kurds and Turks living in Turkey which continues to be the subject of international concern from […]
Entschädigung: Im Zweifel gegen die Opfer
This article revolves around reparations paid to survivors of the Holocaust who had been forced to do labor during the second World War. Now they can receive a pension for the labor rendered. However, since the approval of this program there have been complaints of bureaucratic mishandling of the cases presented, that by reviewing cases […]
Traveling to Germany ‘breaks down prejudices’
This article states that vacationing in Germany has significantly increased recently, and with this, German stereotypes of “cold and impatient” people have been proven false. It attributes the recent influx of tourism to the cheap cost of hotels and the quick city tours. One thing this article fails to mention is that perhaps some of […]
Adults Only, Please.
In a nation with a very low birth rate, and many incentives given by the government to reproduce as many German babies as possible, one cafe in Germany stands alone, fighting against the ever-pervading sound of a child’s scream. As reported in Der Spiegel, March 5th, 2010, Cafe Niesen in Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin has established […]
Germany refuses to extradite German Citizen
Iran has called upon Germany to extradite a Kurdish leader they say is affiliated with an offshoot of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, considered by the EU to be terrorist group. Germany has rejected the extradition on the grounds that the man is a German citizen. This article highlights the importance of a resident’s legal tie […]
Left … out? One woman’s politics cloud citizenship chances
Feeling left out? Looks like just about anyone may experience exclusion and/or discrimination at least once in their life. In one woman’s case the boundaries of exclusion had nothing to do with her race or ethnicity, not even gender, but her political affiliation. Jannine Menger-Hamilton has resided in Germany for most of her life. Raised […]
German minister says headscarf ban could backfire
Thomas de Maiziere, Germany interior minister and member of the CDU, expressed to a newspaper his worry of a backlash against Christian symbols if Germany were to ban headscarves. Additionally, he said he would be fine if a woman were to wear a headscarf in his ministry if it as an expression of religious belief, […]
Banning of the Islamic Veil
This article addresses an increasingly sensitive subject about the repression of religious symbols, more specifically, of the Islamic head-to-toe veils. Many countries in Europe such as Germany, France, Denmark, and the Netherlands have called for various bans on the veil, but there is still debate over the legality of inhibiting one religion over another. I […]
Türken größter Anteil Etwas weniger Ausländer in Deutschland
The article “Türken größter Anteil: Etwas weniger Ausländer in Deutschland” talks about immigrants in Germany. According to the article, the number of immigrants in Germany decreased this past year compared to preceding years. However, the number of EU-citizens in Germany increased slightly, with the highest percentage increase coming from Bulgary and Romania. Nonetheless, Turks are […]