Germany
Germany: Local elections in North Rhine-Westphalia express growing opposition to official politics
By Peter Schwarz, 18 September 2020
Half of all eligible voters stayed at home. Many saw no point in voting between parties that work together and pursue similar right-wing, anti-working-class policies.
Network of Action Committees for Safe Education holds first online meeting
Stop the dangerous “routine operation” of schools in Germany! Prepare a nationwide general strike!
By our reporters, 18 September 2020
In his report to the meeting, SGP deputy leader Christoph Vandreier noted that infections have already been reported at over 1,000 schools and 300 childcare facilities across Germany.
Military research at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
By Gregor Link, 18 September 2020
As Germany again takes up aggressive great power politics, German universities are once more serving the needs of war and dictatorship, just as they did before the First and Second World Wars. A major centre of German weapons research is the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Stop the dangerous “routine operation” of schools in Germany! Prepare a nationwide general strike!
Set up independent action committees for the safety of teachers, pupils and parents!
By the Action Committees for Safe Education, 14 September 2020
The completely unsafe routine operation of schools threatens the health and lives of millions of educators, parents, children, young people and their families.
German Left Party preparing to enter government and support war
By Johannes Stern, 14 September 2020
In August, the Left Party’s parliamentary leader Dietmar Bartsch backed the German Army’s foreign deployments. Now foreign affairs spokesperson Gregor Gysi is going further.
Revelation of US government conspiracy on COVID-19 exposes EU herd immunity policy
By Alex Lantier, 12 September 2020
Revelations that US officials conspired to lie to the public about the severity of the coronavirus pandemic also expose the politically criminal role of the EU.
Full classes, full buses—German schools are becoming a coronavirus trap
By Marianne Arens, 12 September 2020
With schools re-opening without social distancing and the wearing of masks, new infections are increasing. Throughout Germany, hundreds of facilities have been affected.
Lies in the Navalny case
By Peter Schwarz, 10 September 2020
The relationship between Germany and Russia has reached its lowest point since Berlin supported the pro-Western coup in Ukraine six years ago and Russia annexed Crimea.
Germany is reopening all schools despite rising coronavirus infections
By Marianne Arens, 5 September 2020
The lockdown in the spring saved millions of lives throughout Europe, but now schools and day care centres are being reopened, despite the rising spread of infections.
Germany’s trade unions and municipalities prepare to slash wages of public service workers
By Peter Schwarz, 5 September 2020
The same politicians who were gushing in their praise for nurses, teachers, bus drivers and other public service employees who worked through the pandemic are now going to cut their already miserable wages.
Coronavirus assistance for university students in Germany—a calculated fraud
By Lisa Lachlan, 4 September 2020
Since June, angry and indignant posts have been mounting on social media accusing the government of ignorance and inaction, disregarding the needs of roughly a million students in need of assistance.
German court sentences members of leftist Turkish party to prison
By Justus Leicht, 4 September 2020
The verdict sends the message that anyone who is left-wing and/or opposes a regime allied with Germany can be imprisoned for years.
Germany’s IG Metall union organizes job cuts at Thyssenkrupp-Stahl
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 3 September 2020
The IG Metall trade union is pushing ahead with the break-up of the company under an agreement reached with Thyssenkrupp AG management at the end of May.
The case of Alexei Navalny and the imperialist intervention in Russian politics
By Clara Weiss, 3 September 2020
While the circumstances of Navalny’s illness are still under investigation, his case has become a focal point for the intervention of the imperialist powers in Russian politics.
The far right’s storming of the German parliament
By Christoph Vandreier, 1 September 2020
Some 30,000 right-wing extremists, anti-Semites and their supporters protested in the German capital on Saturday against any effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus.
Students, teachers, parents and nursery staff in Germany oppose school reopenings
By Gregor Link, 29 August 2020
As the country’s various state governments rush ahead with the policy of opening schools, growing numbers are expressing their opposition to the move.
German federal and state governments protect profits instead of lives
By Christoph Vandreier, 29 August 2020
Chancellor Merkel and the German state premiers to continue their dangerous policies, despite increasing COVID-19 infection rates.
In the wake of George Floyd’s murder: Police violence on the rise in Germany
By Max Linhof and Jan Ritter, 28 August 2020
Three months after the police murder of George Floyd in America and the continuing police violence in the US, similar scenes are taking place on the streets of German cities.
German students establish action committee against school reopenings
By Philipp Frisch, 28 August 2020
Students at a vocational school center in Dortmund have formed an action committee to oppose the reopening of schools during the coronavirus pandemic, the dangerous results of which they confront every day.
German schools reopening without safety measures as coronavirus cases increase
By Marianne Arens and Gregor Link, 26 August 2020
The federal and state governments in Germany are setting the stage for a further explosion in the number of cases by reopening schools.
The CumEx fraud in Germany: Organised crime with government support
By Gustav Kemper and Peter Schwarz, 24 August 2020
The tax authorities, government and judiciary closed their eyes as banks and shareholders helped themselves to €31.8 billion in public funds between 2001 and 2016.
European countries force children back to school amid resurgence of COVID-19
By Alejandro López, 22 August 2020
The drive to reopen schools after the summer break continues unabated throughout Europe as the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic accelerates across the continent.
Russian oppositionist Alexei Navalny flown to German hospital after doctors dispute poisoning claims
By Andrea Peters, 22 August 2020
Russian doctors declared Friday that Navalny’s critical illness was caused by a metabolic disorder brought on by hypoglycemia, not poisoning.
German Socialist Equality Party campaign against reopening schools finds significant response
By our reporters, 22 August 2020
The Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei’s call to build action committees to prepare a general strike in Germany against the reopening of schools has been shared hundreds of times on social media and found thousands of readers.
Thirty years since the capitalist reunification of Germany
Berlin leads when it comes to child poverty, precarious jobs and mass unemployment
By Wolfgang Weber, 21 August 2020
Berlin is being hit with full force by the economic and social consequences of the Corona policy of the city’s government, a coalition of the SPD, Left Party and Greens.
Germany’s Left Party hails the SPD’s chancellor candidate, pledges support for militarism and war
By Johannes Stern, 21 August 2020
The Left Party embraces Olaf Scholz not despite, but rather because of his reactionary policies.
German authorities cover up COVID-19 infections in Hamburg schools
By Gregor Link, 21 August 2020
Events in Hamburg show how recklessly the ruling class is putting the lives of teachers, pupils and parents at risk and covering up the true extent of the pandemic.
Germany’s IG Metall trade union preparing to enforce jobs massacre and deep wage cuts
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 19 August 2020
Big business and the trade unions are exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to secure the upper hand in the global trade war by imposing savage attacks on workers.
A risky game with health and lives as schools reopen throughout Germany
By Gregor Link, 17 August 2020
With the beginning of mandatory school attendance, the number of COVID-19 infections is increasing.
For a general strike against the reopening of German schools!
By Statement of the Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, 15 August 2020
By demanding a return to face-to-face teaching amid rising coronavirus infection rates, German state governments of all stripes are putting the health and lives of countless teachers, students and parents at risk.
Mounting opposition against school openings in Germany
By Carola Kleinert and Gregor Link, 14 August 2020
While many teachers, parents and students are opposed to opening schools under unsafe conditions, administrators and politicians are arrogantly ignoring their concerns.
German court and state prosecutor ignore evidence of far-right terrorist network in Lübcke trial
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 14 August 2020
The long preparation time for the murder of Lübcke and the close connections of the defendants to the violent neo-Nazi scene strongly suggest that there were other confidants or accomplices.
Germany: SPD nominates Finance Minister Scholz as its candidate for chancellor
By Peter Schwarz, 13 August 2020
Scholz’s nomination is a signal to the financial oligarchy and the right-wing elements in the state apparatus that they can rely on the SPD without reservation.
Germany deports Roma family to Moldova despite life-threatening conditions
By Carola Kleinert, 12 August 2020
The deportations were planned and carried out by the Social Democratic/Left Party/Green government in the state of Berlin.
Germany reopens its schools: An experiment in herd immunity
By Marianne Arens, 11 August 2020
Although there are currently more than 1,000 new coronavirus infections per day in Germany, all of the country’s state governments are ruthlessly enforcing the reopening of schools after the summer break.
Germany: Did AfD-related public prosecutors cover up right-wing extremist attacks in Berlin?
By Katerina Selin, 11 August 2020
New evidence points to the fact that right-wing extremists associated with the Alternative for Germany within the judicial system have deliberately delayed and hindered investigations into violent attacks .
German government continues to boost military spending and cover for fascists
By Johannes Stern, 10 August 2020
The billion-euro armament projects are aimed at expanding Germany’s ability to make war, including the upgrading of the elite KSK force, which is riddled with fascists.
German schools reopen despite increase in coronavirus infections
By Marianne Arens, 8 August 2020
In order to ensure the capitalists can turn a profit, all established parties, from the Christian Social Union to the Left Party, are pushing for a return to regular in-person teaching.
Lufthansa, backed by unions, expands job cuts
By Ulrich Rippert, 8 August 2020
In stepping up its attacks on airline workers, Lufthansa collaborates closely with its three unions—UFO, Cockpit and Verdi.
Fascist death squads preparing to carry out mass murder in Germany
By Jordan Shilton, 7 August 2020
Police officers, former military officers and far-right operatives engaged in a vast conspiracy to hoard large quantities of munitions and weaponry, establish safe houses, identify political opponents, and procure the necessary materials to secretly dispose of dead bodies.
Far-right protest against COVID-19 restrictions in Berlin: A put-up job
By Peter Schwarz, 6 August 2020
The protest in Berlin was a predictable, put-up job, which closely resembled the scenario of the Pegida demonstrations held five years ago.
Germany: Right-wing terror in Erfurt
By Marianne Arens, 6 August 2020
On August 1, three Guineans were brutally attacked by neo-Nazis in Erfurt and had to be taken to hospital.
Fascist networks in German police and military issue new death threats
By Jan Ritter and Max Linhof, 5 August 2020
A growing number of threatening e-mails and faxes, almost all signed NSU 2.0, have been sent to left-wing artists, immigrants, politicians, journalists and lawyers.
The US troop withdrawal and the return of German militarism
By Peter Schwarz, 4 August 2020
The American withdrawal plans serve the ruling class in Europe and Germany as an excuse to accelerate their own rearmament plans.
“How war and dictatorship are prepared at universities”
Well-attended online meeting concludes IYSSE election campaign at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
By our reporters, 4 August 2020
“The Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is one of the centres of German war weapons research,” IYSSE candidate Gregor Kahl told the meeting.
International Olympic Committee promotes Olympics with Nazi propaganda
By Stefan Steinberg, 3 August 2020
The inclusion of clips from Leni Riefenstahl’s Olympia film makes clear that attempts to sanitise the crimes of the National Socialists is not limited to the spheres of politics and academia.
Reopening of schools in Germany puts the lives of children and educators at stake
By Andrea Reissner, 1 August 2020
The situation is highly dangerous. Since the easing of the coronavirus restrictions, the number of cases in Europe, and in Germany, is once again on the rise.
Germany: “Voluntary military service in Homeland Security”—an invitation to neo-Nazis
By Peter Schwarz, 30 July 2020
The term “Homeland Security” (“Heimatschutz”), which appears eleven times in a short advertising text on the Ministry of Defence website, is a battle cry of the extreme right.
Germany: Stop right-wing terror! IYSSE student parliament campaign at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
“The Secret Service is the cockpit of right-wing terrorism”
By our reporter, 30 July 2020
Last Friday, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE) held their first online campaign rally as part of the student parliament election at Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Germany’s “voluntary military service”: Government recruits for army deployments at home and abroad
By Johannes Stern, 28 July 2020
The programme has two key goals: a major deployment of the army domestically, and the recruitment of new soldiers for external wars.
WISAG ground services slashes hundreds of jobs at Berlin Tegel Airport
By Gustav Kemper and Wolfgang Weber, 28 July 2020
This attack has long been planned by the company, the Berlin state executive and the Verdi trade union. Now the coronavirus pandemic and impending closure of Tegel are being used as the excuse to implement it.
Wirecard and the criminality of capitalism
By Peter Schwarz, 27 July 2020
The public prosecutor’s office is investigating the executives for commercial fraud, balance sheet forgery, market manipulation, embezzlement of assets and money laundering.
Germany: Daimler doubles job cuts from 15,000 to 30,000—shareholders rejoice as stock price rises
By K. Nesan, 25 July 2020
Daimler workers and millions of employees in companies associated with the automotive industry should regard these dismissals as the beginning of a broad campaign of unprecedented attacks.
Trial of Halle synagogue shooter begins in Germany
By Peter Schwarz, 24 July 2020
Stephan Balliet is accused of double murder, 68 counts of attempted murder, predatory extortion, dangerous bodily harm and sedition.
German chicken processing plant remains open despite coronavirus outbreak
By Marianne Arens, 24 July 2020
As with the outbreaks at other German slaughterhouses, the politicians’ main concern is keeping production running so profits continue to pile up.
German defence minister propagates rearmament, militarism and war
By Johannes Stern, 23 July 2020
With the revival of German militarism, the militaristic traditions that are historically linked above all to the Soldateska of the Kaiserreich (Imperial Empire) and the Wehrmacht (armed forces of Nazi Germany) are inevitably returning.
EU Summit agrees to €750 billion fund for the banks and corporations
By Will Morrow, 22 July 2020
The agreement will provide a new revenue stream for European states to give handouts to corporations, and a new mechanism for austerity across the continent.
Germany: The “riots” in Frankfurt and the right-wing network in the police
By Peter Schwarz, 22 July 2020
The Frankfurt “riots” are being used by the German government to increase police powers and justify and strengthen radical right-wing structures in the state apparatus.
Workers disproportionately affected by coronavirus pandemic in Germany
By Marianne Arens, 20 July 2020
The disease particularly affects workers who do not have the opportunity to remain at home and maintain social distancing.
Tönnies meat-processing plant in Germany restarted despite ongoing danger from COVID-19
By Marianne Arens, 20 July 2020
At the Tönnies plant in Rheda-Wiedenbrück, and the district of Gütersloh where it is located, 244 people are still registered as sick due to the coronavirus.
New terrorist threats against politicians, artists and journalists
Neo-Nazi network in police covered up at highest levels of German state and politics
By Christoph Vandreier, 18 July 2020
The threats are intended to intimidate the widespread opposition to the right-wing policies of the grand coalition of the Christian Democrats (CDU/CSU) and Social Democrats (SPD).
German automaker Daimler plans fresh assault on jobs and conditions
By K. Nesan, 18 July 2020
In an interview with the Stuttgarter Zeitung, Daimler personnel manager Wilfried Porth threatened to increase the number of jobs to be shed at the auto company.
Germany: Racist “family tree research” and police state measures in Stuttgart
By Max Linhof and Jan Ritter, 16 July 2020
Stuttgart’s police chief Franz Lutz said “nationwide searches” would be conducted at registry offices, “to determine the migration background (of individual suspects).”
Verfassungsschutz Report 2019: German secret service downplays threat of Nazi terrorism and attacks socialist politics
By Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei, 16 July 2020
The year 2019, on which the report focuses, was characterised by a surge in right-wing terrorism, but hardly a word on this threat is to be found in the Verfassungsschutz report.
German state intelligence agency deletes data of right-wing extremists
By Christoph Vandreier, 15 July 2020
There are close links between Germany’s secret services, its government and the right-wing extremist milieu not only in Saxony, but throughout the country.
German Green Party programme: Police-state repression and militarism
By Max Linhof and Jan Ritter, 15 July 2020
Germany’s Green Party presented a draft party programme in Berlin on 26 June entitled “To care and protect ...”
Germany halts preliminary proceedings on 1980 Oktoberfest attack
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 15 July 2020
The intention is to keep the public in the dark forever on the background to the killings and the people behind it, especially the role of the security services.
Merkel in Brussels: Profits before lives and European great power politics
By Johannes Stern, 13 July 2020
The message was clear: despite the massive increase in infections and deaths, there would be no new lockdown.
Humboldt University student parliament condemns radical right-wing Professor Baberowski
By Helmut van Heiken, 13 July 2020
The representatives of over 30,000 students demanded that the university administration end its support for Baberowski and that he face consequences for threatening and assaulting students.
German multinational BMW to slash 16,000 jobs
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 11 July 2020
BMW is using the coronavirus pandemic and relying on the trade unions to implement long-worked out plans to restructure and destroy jobs.
Sozialistische Gleichheitspartei condemns right-wing terror against Left Party parliamentarian
By Ulrich Rippert (SGP national secretary), 11 July 2020
Janine Wissler, chairwoman of the Hesse state parliamentary faction of the Left Party, has repeatedly received email death threats.
Massive neo-Nazi penetration of German military and police
By Jordan Shilton, 10 July 2020
There are growing fears in the German government of preparations for a right-wing putsch.
Germany: Automaker Opel cuts company pensions
By Marianne Arens, 9 July 2020
W ith the help of the IG Metall union, management is passing on the costs of the coronavirus pandemic, e-mobility and digitalization to the workers.
Germany’s Commerzbank plans to cut 11,000 jobs
By Gustav Kemper, 7 July 2020
In common with many other businesses, Commerzbank is using the coronavirus pandemic to implement preexisting plans to shed jobs and close branches.
How corporations and government finance the German trade unions
By Ulrich Rippert and Marianne Arens, 6 July 2020
With the pandemic, which has led to the deepest international economic crisis since the 1930s, the role of unions as tools of the corporations is taking on a new dimension.
German defence minister plans more effective organization of army’s far-right elite force
By Peter Schwarz, 4 July 2020
After new details came to light about the far-right terrorist networks inside the Special Forces Command, the German defence minister announced the restructuring of the army’s 1,600-strong elite unit.
Germany’s motto for the EU Council presidency: For militarism and war
By Johannes Stern, 4 July 2020
The German government’s motto for the EU Council presidency is “Gemeinsam. Europa wieder stark machen” (“Together. Making Europe strong again”)—Berlin’s counterpart to Trump’s “Make America Great Again.”
Tens of thousands of jobs at risk as works council at German automaker Daimler announces layoffs
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 3 July 2020
The works council is repeating word for word the arguments of company management and industry analysts calling for stepped up attacks on workers.
Workers in Germany express their solidarity with striking Fiat Chrysler workers
By our correspondents, 2 July 2020
The strikes at two Detroit Fiat Chrysler plants in Jefferson North and Sterling Heights against intolerable health and safety conditions for production workers have met with a powerful response from workers in Germany.
Germany: Verdi trade union sells out Galeria Kaufhof Karstadt workers
By Justus Leicht and Wolfgang Weber, 2 July 2020
Verdi brazenly claimed it would “ fight for every job and every store. ” In reality, the union and the general works council were involved in drawing up the closure plans.
Amazon workers in Germany strike against lack of coronavirus protection
By Marianne Arens, 30 June 2020
More than 2,000 Amazon workers are taking part in a 48-hour strike at six locations to protest the company’s refusal to provide adequate protection from the virus.
Merkel, Macron promote EU militarism amid growing conflicts with Washington
By Johannes Stern and Alex Lantier, 30 June 2020
The leaders of Germany and France called for stepped-up military spending and austerity to ensure Europe’s ability to wage war independently from Washington.
Germany: Police powers stepped up after “Stuttgart’s Night of Violence”
By Jan Ritter, 30 June 2020
The violence does not emanate from the population, but from the police against the population—especially against workers and young people.
The poor in Germany have a higher risk of falling sick from COVID-19
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 30 June 2020
The poorest people in Germany, including the long-term unemployed and recipients of Hartz IV social welfare, have an 84 percent higher risk of becoming seriously ill with COVID-19 and requiring hospitalization.
Warnings of a second coronavirus wave in Germany
By Marianne Arens, 29 June 2020
Following an outbreak of coronavirus infections in the Tönnies meat factory in East Westphalia, the virus is spreading rapidly to other companies and regions.
Germany: Lufthansa and the bankruptcy of the unions
By Peter Schwarz, 29 June 2020
Lufthansa will receive €9 billion in government aid, which will be used to restructure the airline, costing thousands of jobs and worsening pay and conditions.
WHO warns of “very significant” coronavirus resurgence in Europe
By Will Morrow, 27 June 2020
The resurgence is driven by governments’ reopening policy, whose aim is the full resumption of corporate profit-making, regardless of the threat to workers.
Wirecard: The German economy sinks into criminality
By Peter Schwarz, 26 June 2020
The company CEO was arrested in connection with the disappearance of 1.9 billion euros ($2 billion).
Following “night of violence” in Stuttgart
German media and politicians stoke massive campaign for a police state
By Jan Ritter and Johannes Stern, 25 June 2020
The campaign is aimed at establishing an authoritarian state in which even journalistic and satirical criticisms of the police are prohibited.
New COVID-19 outbreaks in Germany and Berlin’s inhumane quarantine conditions
By Lisa Lachlan, 25 June 2020
Since June 13, 369 households, each containing one to 10 people, have been quarantined as a result of COVID-19 infections in one of Berlin’s poorest districts.
The coronavirus crisis, the government’s aid package and the attempt to strangle German art
By Verena Nees, 25 June 2020
On closer inspection, the German government’s aid package proves to be a sham and a step towards neutering and strangling a diverse cultural landscape.
More than 1,500 COVID-19 infections at pork processing plant in Germany
By Marianne Arens and Peter Schwarz, 24 June 2020
The Tönnies Group, Germany’s largest meat processing firm, has a long record of putting profits before the health and safety of its workforce.
Germany seeks to tighten European asylum law
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 23 June 2020
The core elements are the internment of refugees at the EU’s external borders and the implementation of fast-track asylum procedures.
The scandal surrounding German MP Philipp Amthor: What is Augustus Intelligence?
By Peter Schwarz, 23 June 2020
The question arises whether Augustus Intelligence is a genuine commercial enterprise or rather a covert intelligence service operation.
Germany: Trial begins in murder of CDU politician Walter Lübcke
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 22 June 2020
The 46-year-old neo-Nazi Stephan Ernst is accused of having shot Kassel District President Walter Lübcke on his terrace on the night of June 2, 2019.
Responding to mass protests against police brutality, Germany’s Left Party appeals for a police state
By Peter Schwarz and Johannes Stern, 22 June 2020
Germany’s Left Party has responded with open hostility to the mass protests against police violence that have spread around the world following the police murder of George Floyd.
Hundreds of new COVID-19 infections in German meat industry
By Marianne Arens, 20 June 2020
More than two-thirds of the meat packers at the Tönnies abattoir in Rheda-Wiedenbrück have been infected with COVID-19, with 730 positive initial test results out of 1,050 tested.
130,000 jobs at risk in the German auto industry
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting and Peter Schwarz, 20 June 2020
Although German auto companies received a lion’s share of the government’s €130 billion stimulus package, and are collecting billions more via the short-time working scheme, the industry plans to axe more than 100,000 jobs.
German Navy prepares for worldwide military missions
By Tino Jacobson and Johannes Stern, 18 June 2020
The ruling elite is making no secret of the imperialist goals associated with the rearmament of the German Navy.
Fascist network uncovered in German Army’s Special Forces unit
By Gregor Link, 18 June 2020
”Right-wing extremist tendencies” are “tolerated” in the KSK and “sometimes consciously covered up,” wrote Der Spiegel based on a soldier’s letter.
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