Germany
Germany reopens schools, endangering thousands of lives
By Marianne Arens, 9 May 2020
Schools are being reopened in nearly all federal states and the risky measure is meeting with growing opposition from teachers.
German government ends lockdown, putting hundreds of thousands of lives at risk
By Johannes Stern, 8 May 2020
Three weeks after the decision of the federal and state governments to gradually withdraw the restrictions imposed in March, the end of the lockdown in Germany has largely been completed.
German government plans purchase of 138 fighter jets and prepares for nuclear war
By Gregor Link and Johannes Stern, 7 May 2020
Germany’s government is preparing to purchase 93 Eurofighters and 45 US-made F-18 fighter jets for a total cost of almost €20 billion.
German auto companies demand even more state money
By Ulrich Rippert, 7 May 2020
Along with hunting for government stimulus packages, the auto companies are ramping up production again despite the dangers to workers' health and lives.
Playing Russian roulette with hundreds of thousands of lives
German big business demands end to lockdown
By Peter Schwarz, 6 May 2020
Two weeks after the initial lifting of some of the coronavirus lockdown's restrictions in Germany, demands for its total abandonment have reached fever pitch.
German authorities press charges in Lübcke murder case
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 6 May 2020
The neo-Nazi Stephan Ernst is accused of having shot leading Christian Democratic politician Walter Lübcke in cold blood on the terrace of his home on the night of June 2, 2019.
Think tank sees coronavirus crisis as “opportunity” for German militarism
By Gregor Link, 4 May 2020
The German Council on Foreign Relations calls for a “comprehensive conflict strategy” in order to emerge “even stronger” from the crisis.
Euro zone economy contracts at record pace
By Nick Beams, 2 May 2020
The European Central Bank has taken the same road as the US Fed, committing itself to pump still more money across the board into the financial markets.
German government accelerates its deadly back-to-work initiative
By Johannes Stern, 2 May 2020
Despite the continuing spread of the COVID-19 internationally, the German government is accelerating its lifting of the limited restrictions imposed to prevent transmission of the virus.
Nearly 300 meat-processing workers infected by coronavirus at German slaughterhouse
By Marianne Arens, 2 May 2020
While almost 300 workers at a Baden-Württemberg slaughterhouse have COVID-19, the plant remains open.
Germany: Daimler trains managers to kick out workers
By Ulrich Rippert, 2 May 2020
Daimler department heads and other managers are being trained to put pressure on individual workers to “implement the job cuts as smoothly as possible.”
Germany’s Lufthansa: Billions in state aid and mass layoffs
By Peter Schwarz, 2 May 2020
The airline unions are appealing to Chancellor Merkel for state intervention.
Sixty-eight Amazon workers fall ill with COVID-19 at Winsen, Germany warehouse
By Marianne Arens, 1 May 2020
While Amazon has profited massively from the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of its workers throughout the world have become infected with COVID-19.
Profits before human life: German parliament president Schäuble wins broad support in the establishment
By Peter Schwarz, 30 April 2020
The German ruling class is marking the 75th anniversary of Hitler’s suicide in the Führer bunker by discussing how many human lives should be sacrificed in the coronavirus crisis.
German students oppose reopening of schools
By our reporters, 30 April 2020
Under the slogan “average grade 2020,” students are demanding the suspension of final exams and the closing of schools so long as the lives of students, teachers and their relatives are at risk from COVID-19.
Germany: IG Metall and works council force Volkswagen workers back despite coronavirus danger
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting and Peter Schwarz, 28 April 2020
Production is starting up again at Volkswagen ’ s main plant, the largest car factory in Europe with 63,000 employees , as the company plays roulette with the health and lives of its workforce.
Growing resistance in Germany to the opening up of schools
By Andy Niklaus and Carola Kleinert, 28 April 2020
”From the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, I have only seen economic interests at work,” said one high school student.
German parliament president calls for sacrificing lives for corporate profits
By Johannes Stern, 28 April 2020
The ruling class’s back-to-work offensive, which threatens a major resurgence of COVID-19, has long been accompanied by a media-driven campaign with fascistic characteristics.
Workers at Dublin Bus rebel at lack of personal protective equipment
By Dermot Byrne, 27 April 2020
One Irish driver explained: “There is a general feeling the union doesn’t act in the interests of the bus workers.”
Germany: Daimler and VW boost production and demand billions in taxpayers’ money
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 27 April 2020
Although around 2,500 people in Germany are being infected with the coronavirus every day, Daimler and Volkswagen both restarted car production this week.
Romanian harvest worker in Germany dies of COVID-19
By Anna Rombach and Marianne Arens, 27 April 2020
The death of the 57-year-old Nicolae Bahan has cast a grim light on the terrible conditions confronting harvest workers coming from Eastern Europe to toil in Germany ’ s fields.
German government endangers the health and lives of millions with return to work and schools
By Johannes Stern, 25 April 2020
A number of state governments—including the Social Democrat/Left Party/Green government in Berlin—forced thousands of students back to school earlier this week to sit their final exams.
Germany’s right-wing Bild newspaper agitates against China
By Peter Schwarz, 23 April 2020
The accusation serves to divert attention away from the ruling elite’s failure to deal with the pandemic, while at the same time whipping up public opinion for war with China.
Germany: Opening Berlin schools risks the lives of teachers, pupils and their families
By Carola Kleinert and Andy Niklaus, 22 April 2020
“We must learn to live with the pandemic,” Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed.
Germany’s Left Party backs multibillion-euro bailout of banks and big business
By Johannes Stern, 22 April 2020
The coronavirus pandemic has thoroughly exposed the class character and political orientation of the Left Party and its pseudo-left satellites.
Europe’s pandemic death toll passes 100,000
By Robert Stevens, 20 April 2020
The five major states in Europe—Germany, France, Spain, Italy and the UK—account for around 85,000 of the 100,000 plus deaths.
How German CEOs are profiting from the coronavirus crisis
By Peter Schwarz, 20 April 2020
An article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung details how the executives of major German corporations are raking in millions from the COVID-19 crisis.
German automakers, unions and government collaborate to restart production
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 18 April 2020
Germany’s automakers and the IG Metall trade union are demanding that production be restarted.
Big business representatives defend hospital closures in Germany
By Markus Salzmann, 18 April 2020
Economist Boris Augurzky claims that there are too many hospitals, and has called for the crisis to be used to further reduce the number of facilities.
Munich tram drivers speak out on dangerous conditions during coronavirus pandemic
By our reporters, 16 April 2020
Reports from two tram drivers illustrate the irresponsible actions of the MVG management putting workers at increased risk of infection and death.
German National Academy of Sciences demands reopening of primary schools
By Peter Schwarz, 15 April 2020
The call for human life to be weighed against economic value runs through the statement from start to finish.
Germany: Hesse politicians and employers expose workers to risk of COVID-19 infection
By Marianne Arens, 15 April 2020
Refuse workers report how they are given no protection and are expected to travel home in their dirty overalls.
German airline Lufthansa receives multibillion-euro bailout, prepares to cut 18,000 jobs
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 14 April 2020
Europe’s largest airline, is exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to implement long-planned attacks on their workforces.
No work without protection! Berlin transport worker issues appeal for independent workers committees
By Andy Niklaus, 14 April 2020
A serious fight against the coronavirus pandemic must focus on the interests of the broad masses of the population, not the profits of the wealthy few.
COVID-19 deaths surpass 76,000 in Europe as Spanish government sends millions back to work
By Robert Stevens, 13 April 2020
More than 30 National Health Service workers are reported to have died as the UK’s death toll rises above 10,000.
“If we stop working, nothing will move here anymore!”
German nurses, carers, transport and delivery workers raise their voices
By Ulrich Rippert, 13 April 2020
It is the workers, not the capitalists, who are essential to social life.
European governments plot return to work in midst of pandemic
By Thomas Scripps, 11 April 2020
As plans were being hatched over how to impose a return to work, over 4,000 new pandemic deaths were reported in Europe on Friday, bringing the total for the continent to over 70,000.
German hospitals become COVID-19 hotspots for health care workers
By Markus Salzmann, 11 April 2020
According to the Robert Koch Institute, more than 2,300 doctors and nurses have been infected with coronavirus in Germany.
Europe’s investors celebrate stock market rally as thousands die of COVID-19
By Jordan Shilton, 10 April 2020
While over 4,100 people died of COVID-19 yesterday, stock markets finished the week with huge gains as the ruling elite’s plan to force workers back to work emerges.
Deaths from COVID-19 mount in German elderly care homes
By Markus Salzmann, 10 April 2020
The large number of deaths stems from the failure to implement timely countermeasures or follow them, a shortage of staff, overworked personnel and the absence of personal protective equipment (PPE).
Germany: Weighing economic interests vs. human life in the coronavirus pandemic
By Peter Schwarz, 9 April 2020
The German media are again openly discussing how much a human life is worth and how many lives should be sacrificed to the interests of the economy.
German government expands war operations despite coronavirus pandemic
By Johannes Stern, 7 April 2020
The dramatic spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has done nothing to change German war policy. The ruling class is utilising the crisis in order to push forward its foreign policy offensive.
German police claim latest racist rampage was not the work of a far-right extremist
By Marianne Arens, 7 April 2020
After investigating the gruesome, racially motivated murder rampage in Hanau, German police concluded there was no indication that it was the act of a far-right extremist.
As Europe’s COVID-19 death toll nears 50,000, British PM Johnson admitted to hospital
By Robert Stevens, 6 April 2020
There is mounting evidence that fatalities are much higher when deaths outside hospitals are factored in.
Doctors in Germany will soon have to decide on life and death
By Peter Schwarz, 6 April 2020
Seven professional societies have adopted a paper with recommendations laying down which patients will be treated, and which must die if intensive care capacity is exceeded.
No to the domestic deployment of the German army!
By Johannes Stern, 6 April 2020
The German army's so-called “Coronavirus operation” is the largest military operation in country’s post-war history.
Unemployment surges in Europe amid COVID-19 pandemic
By Alex Lantier, 4 April 2020
The catastrophe now unfolding in Europe is rooted not in the biological properties of the coronavirus, but in the political bankruptcy of European capitalism.
Mounting opposition among German health care, industrial workers
By Ulrich Rippert, 4 April 2020
The German government has implemented a bailout program for major companies and banks, but health care and industrial workers are forced to work under catastrophic conditions.
Coronavirus crisis: Hunger and malnutrition spread in Germany
By Carola Kleinert and Andy Niklaus, 4 April 2020
Research indicates some 13 million people in Germany are living in poverty or confront hunger, malnutrition and social misery due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.
Germany marked an increase in violent attacks on refugees in 2019
By Isabel Roy, 3 April 2020
The Left Party has been instrumental, along with the country’s other political parties, in creating a hostile climate and the corresponding explosion of violence against refugees and immigrants.
Hospital closures continue in Germany despite COVID-19 pandemic
By Sybille Fuchs, 2 April 2020
Although every hospital bed in Germany is needed because of the coronavirus pandemic, many hospitals are facing closure, especially in more rural areas.
One hundred years since Germany’s Kapp Putsch
How the Social Democratic Party supported the far-right
By Peter Schwarz, 2 April 2020
The Kapp Putsch is of burning contemporary relevance at a time when Germany’s bourgeoisie is once again turning to militarism, a right-wing extremist party is represented in the federal parliament and all state parliaments, and far-right terrorist networks operate unhindered within the state apparatus and the army.
German government preparing major domestic military deployment
By Johannes Stern, 31 March 2020
Regardless of how much medical assistance the military ends up providing, its deployment must be understood as a warning.
Germany: The coronavirus pandemic and the destruction of the public health system
By Tino Jacobson and Markus Salzmann, 31 March 2020
Over the last 30 years, the German health care system has been radically damaged as a result of austerity, privatised and its institutions trimmed for profit.
Germany: IG Metall union exploiting COVID-19 crisis to cut more jobs at Thyssenkrupp
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 30 March 2020
The union and its works council representatives have agreed to increased job cuts and are also sending workers onto the production lines, despite heightened health risks, to achieve ever-higher productivity.
Coronavirus in Europe: Overworked hospitals become death traps
By Gregor Link, 28 March 2020
The criminal inactivity of European governments has led to a murderous and vicious circle of overwork, infection and work absences in hospitals throughout the continent.
European Union summit on coronavirus ends in acrimony
By Peter Schwarz, 28 March 2020
The 27 European Union heads of government met via video conference on Thursday evening to discuss the coronavirus crisis.
Profits before lives: German parliament passes emergency package for large corporations and the rich
By Johannes Stern, 27 March 2020
All parties in parliament, from the Left Party to the extreme right AfD, are working together to defend capitalism and to shift the burden of the COVID-19 crisis onto the working class.
German investor Dibelius: Big business must take priority over health care
By Peter Schwarz, 26 March 2020
It will only be a matter of days before Dibelius and his ilk will demand that workers who refuse to risk their health by going back to work should be forced to do so.
Germany: IG Metall union agrees an industrial truce with the corporations
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 26 March 2020
Last week, the IG Metall in North Rhine-Westphalia agreed to a wage freeze, which is to be extended into all areas of the economy.
Death toll over 12,000 in Europe as coronavirus infections escalate
By Thomas Scripps, 25 March 2020
WHO Director General Dr. Tedros Adhanom insisted it was still possible to “change the trajectory,” but warned that governments were failing to devote the necessary resources to the crisis.
German government’s coronavirus bailout: Billions for the rich, rations for the poor
By Peter Schwarz, 25 March 2020
It is a continuation of the policy of enriching the wealthy at the expense of the poor that the grand coalition has been pursuing for years.
A tale of two surges: Wall Street soars amid New York City’s coronavirus toll
By Bill Van Auken, 25 March 2020
As billionaires gorged themselves on the prospect of trillions more being poured into the financial markets, the pandemic was wreaking havoc in America’s largest city.
Germany: Appalling lack of protective equipment in COVID-19 outbreak
By Markus Salzmann, 24 March 2020
It is still virtually impossible to be tested for the life-threatening virus and there is a lack of protective marks and other urgently needed equipment for health care workers.
German government prepares for internet censorship and deployment of the armed forces
By Ulrich Rippert, 23 March 2020
The social democratic state premier of Lower Saxony, Boris Pistorius, has called for a clamp-down against those contradicting official government propaganda about the coronavirus epidemic.
Over 620 deaths in Italy on Friday as coronavirus fatalities surge in Europe
By Robert Stevens, 21 March 2020
Italy, Spain, Belgium and the UK all recorded their largest single-day death tolls in the global coronavirus pandemic on Friday.
US imperialism exploits coronavirus as a weapon of war
By Bill Van Auken, 20 March 2020
The maintenance and tightening of punishing economic sanctions against Iran as it confronts one of the world’s worst outbreaks of the coronavirus constitutes a US war crime.
German Chancellor Merkel’s address to the nation: A declaration of criminal irresponsibility
By Johannes Stern, 20 March 2020
The central message delivered by German Chancellor Angela Merkel in her address to the nation Wednesday evening was that the federal government will do nothing to avert a catastrophe for the population.
As coronavirus pandemic grows, anger rises against German companies
By Marianne Arens, 19 March 2020
While the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) announced that the health risk posed by COVID-19 is “high”, VW announced its production lines would operate until Friday.
Going into lockdown, Europe overtakes China as coronavirus epicenter
By Alex Lantier, 18 March 2020
Europe is set to soon have more coronavirus cases than China and already has seen more deaths: 3,401 people have died in Europe, and 3,226 have died in China.
Merkel’s response to coronavirus: Draconian measures for German population, unlimited loans for corporations
By Ulrich Rippert, 18 March 2020
While coronavirus tests are denied and workers are compelled, in spite of an immediate threat of infection, into the factories, the state is opening the treasury without restrictions to the financial oligarchy.
70th Berlin International Film Festival—Part 3
Curveball—Germany’s role in the Iraq war—and the horrors of the concentration camp in Persian Lessons
By Stefan Steinberg, 18 March 2020
Johannes Naber’s film is a political satire rooted firmly in evidence researched by the director and his team. Vadim Perelman’s work follows a man who has to invent an entire language to survive.
Coronavirus crisis in Germany: Workers must demand factories and large enterprises be closed
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 17 March 2020
The shareholders’ profits are of more value than workers’ lives for the managers, the government and also the union officials.
As Europe becomes the new epicenter of pandemic
Trump administration official admits coronavirus could kill millions in US
By Benjamin Mateus, 16 March 2020
The World Health Organization has declared Europe the new epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, as more people have died outside China than within it.
Coronavirus could lead to collapse of German healthcare system as early as May
By Marianne Arens, 16 March 2020
The number of people infected in Germany has tripled since Wednesday.
Coronavirus outbreak: The German government was warned of the dangers of a looming pandemic and did nothing
By Gustav Kemper, 16 March 2020
A risk analysis by the Robert Koch Institute eight years ago had already warned that inadequacies in Germany’s health system could mean death for millions when confronted with a novel virus.
German student newspaper “Unauf” defends far-right violence against students
the IYSSE at Humboldt University, 16 March 2020
Following the refusal of Humboldt University management to condemn the physical attack by right-wing extremist professor Jörg Baberowski on a left-wing student, the “independent student newspaper at Humboldt University” has followed suit.
The response of the ruling elite to the coronavirus pandemic: Malign neglect
By Alex Lantier and Andre Damon, 14 March 2020
Governments around the world are making a deliberate decision to minimize their response to the pandemic, threatening the lives of millions of people.
A comment by writer and director Andrew Birkin on Speer Goes to Hollywood
13 March 2020
The WSWS has received a letter from writer and director Andrew Birkin in response to its review, posted on March 11, of Speer Goes to Hollywood .
Crypto AG leaks: German and American spy agencies snooped on 120 countries
By Gregor Link, 13 March 2020
Under the code names “Rubicon” and “Minerva,” Germany’s Federal Intelligence Service (BND) together with the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) had monitored the encrypted government communications of almost half the countries on earth for decades.
On coronavirus, Merkel tells Europe: “Drop dead”
By Johannes Stern and Alex Lantier, 12 March 2020
Merkel stated that a central priority of her government is to ensure the health care system does not become “overloaded” by the task of caring for coronavirus patients.
Trump’s coronavirus address: Ignorance, xenophobia and helplessness
By James Cogan and Andre Damon, 12 March 2020
In remarks consisting largely of self-praise, Trump proposed no measures that would slow the spread of the disease and mitigate its effects.
Coronavirus pandemic surges across Europe
By Johannes Stern and Alex Lantier, 11 March 2020
Thousands fell ill with coronavirus and hundreds died yesterday in Europe as the pandemic kept surging across the continent.
Germany’s Left Party joins hands with far-right Alternative for Germany
By Peter Schwarz, 11 March 2020
Just two days after he was elected minister president of Thuringia, the Left Party’s Bodo Ramelow ensured that the AfD obtained one of the vice president positions in the state parliament.
Germany sees rapid increase in coronavirus infections and first deaths
By Markus Salzmann, 10 March 2020
The massive spread of the coronavirus in Germany shows both the government’s indifference towards the dangers for the population and the precarious state of the country’s health care system, which has been systematically run down in recent years.
German government incites racism with commemoration of right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau, refugee policy
By Peter Schwarz, 9 March 2020
The state has not “underestimated” the danger posed by the far-right, but rather systematically incited and encouraged it.
The all-party conspiracy behind the return of the Left Party to government in Thuringia
By Ulrich Rippert, 6 March 2020
One month after Free Democratic Party (FDP) politician Thomas Kemmerich was elected Thuringia state premier with the votes of the extreme right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD), his predecessor, Left Party leader Bodo Ramelow, is back in office.
Right-wing extremist accused of murdering German politician Walter Lübcke suspected in another attempted murder
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 6 March 2020
It is impossible to say where the neo-Nazi milieu ends and where the German state begins.
European Union intensifies war against refugees at Turkish-Greek border
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 4 March 2020
Under the eyes of a high-ranking EU delegation, Greek border guards brutally attacked unarmed refugees.
Defender 2020: Largest mobilisation of NATO troops against Russia in 25 years
By Markus Salzmann, 4 March 2020
Seventy-five years after the end of World War II, the scale of NATO's provocative military exercise underscores how far advanced the preparations for war are.
German department store chain Real to be broken up, threatening 34,000 jobs
By Dietmar Gaisenkersting, 29 February 2020
The new owners have announced that they will not retain a single store for longer than two years if necessary.
The leadership debate in Germany’s Christian Democrats and the steady political march to the right
By Ulrich Rippert, 28 February 2020
There is fundamental agreement on the party’s right-wing policies. The dispute is over how they can best be imposed in the face of widespread popular opposition.
Germany: Nazi terrorist group planned mass murder of Muslims
By Gregor Link, 27 February 2020
German police arrested 12 right-wing extremists who were actively preparing mass murder against refugees, Muslims and political opponents.
Many unanswered questions following attack on carnival procession in Germany
By Peter Schwarz, 26 February 2020
More than 24 hours after a man drove his car into a carnival procession in the small town of Volkmarsen, the investigators are conducting themselves with unusual restraint.
Germany: Left Party embraces Christian Democrats in Thuringia
By Ulrich Rippert, 26 February 2020
Amid massive opposition to neo-Nazis and right-wingers, the Left Party is actively seeking to forge an all-party alliance and work more closely with the Christian Democratic Union.
Germany: Tens of thousands take to the streets against right-wing terror
By our reporters, 25 February 2020
Many demonstrators pointed to the complicity of the security agencies and the right-wing policies of all the establishment parties, which paved the way for the neo-Nazi terror.
German right-wing and far-right parties suffer defeat in Hamburg state election
By Peter Schwarz, 25 February 2020
Four days after the right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau, the Christian Democrats and Free Democrats, the parties that formed an alliance with the far-right Alternative for Germany to elect the minister president in Thuringia, lost large numbers of votes in Hamburg.
Following right-wing terrorist attack in Hanau
German government strengthens intelligence agencies and right-wing networks in state apparatus
By Johannes Stern, 24 February 2020
The strengthening of the state apparatus, which is dominated by far-right networks, will be aimed above all at intimidating and suppressing widespread hostility to militarism and fascism.
Hesse, Germany: Right-wing extremist propaganda at state expense
By Peter Schwarz, 24 February 2020
Shortly before the right-wing extremist terrorist attack in Hanau, the Hesse state government sent posters to all schools slandering opponents of fascism and capitalism as “ left-wing extremists .”
Tens of thousands protest all over Germany against right-wing terror
By our reporters, 22 February 2020
People in over 50 cities have taken part in spontaneous vigils and demonstrations in memory of the victims of the fascist attack in Hanau.
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