Germany
Amazon workers strike in Germany
By Michael Regens, 25 May 2013
The Verdi trade union is aiding German businesses like Amazon.de to exploit foreign workers on temporary work contracts.
German Socialist Equality Party campaign wins support among Opel workers in Rüsselsheim
By Marianne Arens, 25 May 2013
In the course of campaigning for ballot status for the September general election, reporters interviewed workers in Rüsselsheim for the World Socialist Web Site.
Works council in Bochum seeks to stifle opposition to GM-Opel plant closing
By Dietmar Henning, 24 May 2013
The chairman of the works council at the GM-Opel factory in Bochum called a meeting at the plant gate which halted production for several hours following the recent confirmation by management that it planned to close the plant.
The SPD celebrates its 150th anniversary
By Peter Schwarz, 23 May 2013
The ceremony in Leipzig is completely directed towards the ruling elite, with the SPD eager to confirm that it will faithfully represent its interests at a time of crisis.
ThyssenKrupp to slash 3,000 jobs
By Elizabeth Zimmermann, 22 May 2013
ThyssenKrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger announced the axing of a further 3,000 jobs worldwide.
Germany: Parliamentary inquiry into neo-Nazi murders concludes
By Peter Schwarz, 21 May 2013
The federal prosecutor and judges in the neo-Nazi NSU trial want to limit further revelations about state involvement in the group’s series of murders.
Stalemate after elections in Bulgaria
By Anna Rombach, 20 May 2013
The Bulgarian parliamentary elections of May 12 have exposed the deep divide between the population and the country's political elite.
The Left Party: A party of German imperialism
By Johannes Stern, 20 May 2013
In a joint foreign policy statement of all parliamentary parties, the Left Party supports the expansion of German militarism.
German unions agree on engineering industry contract
By Dietmar Henning, 18 May 2013
The IG Metall has signed a contract which excludes short-term workers.
The NSU neo-Nazi gang and the German intelligence service
By Ulrich Rippert, 18 May 2013
The effort in the NSU trial to ignore the role of the German secret service and other state agencies makes clear that the object of the proceeding is to cover up rather than reveal the truth.
Former guard in Nazi concentration camp arrested in Germany
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 15 May 2013
Earlier this month, German authorities arrested 93-year-old Hans Lipschis, a former guard at the Nazi extermination camp in Auschwitz.
SEP (Germany) election statement
A socialist program against social cuts and unemployment in Europe
15 May 2013
The Socialist Equality Party (Partei für Soziale Gleichheit—PSG) is running candidates in the September 22 general election in Germany.
Germany: Opel Bochum workers denounce union sellout
By our correspondents, 11 May 2013
GM Opel workers are incensed over the betrayal carried out by the IG Metall trade union.
German Left Party’s Oskar Lafontaine calls for return to national currencies
By Christoph Dreier, 11 May 2013
The founder and former chair of the Left Party, Oskar Lafontaine, is proposing the reintroduction of national currencies to drive down wages.
Marx 21 Congress: Anti-Marxists meet in Berlin
By Johannes Stern, 11 May 2013
The congress of the Marx 21 group taking place this weekend in Berlin is a shabby operation aimed at promoting right-wing and imperialist policies under a pseudo-left garb.
Lufthansa: Verdi union agrees to 30 percent pay cut for airline workers
By Ernst Wolff, 9 May 2013
Verdi union negotiators have approved the setting up of three low-cost subsidiaries at Lufthansa, the largest European airline, paying up to 30 percent lower wages.
Trial of neo-Nazi terrorist group begins in Munich
By Peter Schwarz, 8 May 2013
The federal prosecutor and judges in the neo-Nazi NSU trial want to limit further revelations about state involvement in the group’s murders.
Germany: Verdi union accepts cuts to real wages at Lufthansa
By Ernst Wolff, 7 May 2013
Following strikes by its Lufthansa members, Verdi has capitulated to management.
German defence and interior ministers visit the US
By Sven Heymann, 6 May 2013
The visit to Washington by the German ministers last week heralds a significant intensification of German militarism and domestic repression.
German Green Party congress adopts election programme
By Christoph Dreier, 4 May 2013
The central issue at the Green Party congress last weekend was promoting a coalition with the German Social Democratic Party.
German Left Party, Marx 21 group praise “Icelandic Model”
By Johannes Stern, 3 May 2013
The Left Party and Marx 21 call for the “Icelandic Model”—which has plunged a large part of Iceland’s population into poverty—to be extended throughout Europe.
Latest disclosures link German state with neo-Nazi terrorists
By Sven Heymann, 1 May 2013
New evidence relating to neo-Nazi murders exposes the criminal involvement of Germany’s state and federal intelligence agencies.
At Opel plant in Bochum, Germany, Maoists provide key support for union leadership
By Ulrich Rippert, 27 April 2013
The Maoist “Marxist–Leninist Party of Germany” (MLPD) has leapt to the side of the union bureaucracy to prevent a rebellion against the IG Metall trade union.
Germany: Federal Constitutional Court legitimises anti-terrorism database
By Johannes Stern, 27 April 2013
Under the guise of “fighting terrorism,” the court has legitimised an expansion of the powers of the police and intelligence agencies to spy on the population.
State prosecutors in Dresden, Germany, target anti-Nazi protesters
By Martin Nowak, 26 April 2013
The state prosecutor in Dresden is systematically targeting opponents of Nazi groups, in a region that is one of the centres of right-wing extremism in Germany.
Germany extends military mission in Afghanistan and arms Qatar
By Johannes Stern, 25 April 2013
On April 18, German ministers announced that at least 800 soldiers would be kept in Afghanistan beyond the official date for the withdrawal of NATO combat troops.
Protest strike by teachers in Berlin
By Ute Reissner, 25 April 2013
Some 8,000 teachers were called out on a one-day protest strike in Berlin on Tuesday.
One-day Lufthansa strike grounds flights in Germany
By Ernst Wolff, 24 April 2013
A strike by Lufthansa ground crew on Monday led to the cancellation of flights at airports across Germany.
German media, politicians praise Obama for military-police lockdown of Boston
By Johannes Stern, 23 April 2013
Commentaries in the media and by leading political figures on the events in Boston throw a spotlight on the undemocratic character of the German ruling elite.
German Left Party supports imperialist intervention in Syria
By Johannes Stern, 23 April 2013
The Left Party has responded to the intensification of imperialist intervention in Syria by working more openly with right-wing Islamist forces and US imperialism.
Bochum Opel plant to close
By Ulrich Rippert, 20 April 2013
The supervisory board of GM-Opel officially decided on Wednesday to close its plant in Bochum.
GM and German metal workers union collaborate against Opel workers
By Dietmar Henning, 19 April 2013
The closure of Opel’s factory in Bochum is central to GM’s strategy and a prelude to a fundamental restructuring of its European operations.
Germany’s Left Party pledges support for debt ceiling
By Hendrik Paul, 19 April 2013
The Left Party has endorsed constitutional amendments that will commit federal and state governments to brutal austerity policies.
German state court defers trial of neo-Nazi gang
By Sven Heymann, 19 April 2013
The deferment of the trial of the National Socialist Underground is an affront to the families of the victims of the neo-Nazi murder gang.
The reactionary nationalism of the “Alternative for Germany”
By Peter Schwarz, 19 April 2013
The emergence of a right-wing, anti-euro party in Germany is the logical consequence of Berlin’s European policy, which has the full support of the bourgeois “left.”
German SPD conference approves election program
By Christoph Dreier, 18 April 2013
The Social Democratic Party Augsburg conference sent a clear message that the party agrees with the Merkel government’s austerity policy.
Right-wing opponents of the euro found party in Berlin
By Ulrich Rippert, 17 April 2013
The Alternative for Germany is an attempt to deflect growing resistance to the anti-social policies of the EU into right-wing nationalist channels.
Siemens to slash 4,000 jobs in its industrial sector
By Elizabeth Zimmermann, 17 April 2013
Siemens plans to cut 4,000 jobs in its industrial sector worldwide in order to save 1.1 billion euros by 2014.
German Defence Minister prevented from speaking at Berlin’s Humboldt University
By Ernst Wolff, 16 April 2013
Protesting students in Berlin prevented Germany’s Defence Minister Thomas from delivering a lecture.
Putin in Germany: Rising tensions between Moscow and Berlin
By Clara Weiss, 13 April 2013
The relationship between Moscow and Berlin is characterized simultaneously by growing economic cooperation and increasing political tensions.
Germany: Bundestag allows police access to private PINs and passwords
By Johann Müller, 11 April 2013
Revisions to the German Telecommunication Act legalise the monitoring of private data stored on mobile phones and in the Internet.
Germany: Victims of the Kunduz massacre sue for compensation
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 5 April 2013
A Bonn court recently opened proceedings in a case brought by two survivors of a NATO air strike near Kunduz, Afghanistan.
Germany: Pirate Party makes overtures to the far right
By Martin Kreickenbaum, 3 April 2013
At rallies in North Rhine-Westphalia, Pirate Party flags could be seen prominently alongside posters of the far-right Pro NRW.
IG Metall union joins offensive against GM-Opel workers
By Dietmar Henning, 30 March 2013
The executive of the IG Metall trade union unanimously voted in Frankfurt-Main in favor of the so-called “Opel Master Contract”, sealing the closure of the GM-Opel factory in Bochum.
Germany: leading Left Party official praises Agenda 2010 reforms
By Hendrik Paul, 27 March 2013
The deputy leader of the Left Party’s parliamentary group praised the Agenda 2010 social cuts made by the former Social Democratic Party-Green Party coalition government.
German military deploys lethal drones in Afghanistan
By Sven Heymann, 26 March 2013
Media reports reveal that the Bundeswehr has killed several “insurgents” with the use of a US drone.
Germany: IG Metall union stitches up the Opel Bochum workforce
By Dietmar Henning, 23 March 2013
At two staff meetings on Thursday, workers at the Opel plant in Bochum voted by a large majority (76.1 percent) against the so-called “master contract”.
Germany: Left Party leader seeks to dupe the electorate
By Ulrich Rippert, 23 March 2013
Former Left Party chairman Oskar Lafontaine has warned his party to maintain a certain critical distance from the Social Democratic Party and the Greens in the run-up to this year’s federal election.
German defence minister visits Mali
By Ernst Wolff, 22 March 2013
German defence minister Thomas de Maizière made a surprise trip to Mali last weekend.
Germany’s Left Party closes ranks with German intelligence
By Johannes Stern, 21 March 2013
The German Left Party is holding public meetings with top German intelligence officials in the wake of the NSU neo-Nazi scandal.
Germany: Resignation of ThyssenKrupp boss heralds new attacks on workforce
By Elizabeth Zimmermann, 20 March 2013
Gerhard Cromme announced his resignation March 8 as chair of the Supervisory Board of ThyssenKrupp AG.
At mass meeting in Rüsselsheim
German auto union splits GM-Opel workforce
By our correspondent, 20 March 2013
Workers spoke of an atmosphere of intimidation at recent IG Metall meetings to discuss the future of GM-Opel.
Germany: Inquiry committee posts interim report on neo-Nazi terrorist group
By Sven Heymann, 19 March 2013
The report exposes how the police and secret service directly aided the extreme right in Thuringia.
63rd Berlin International Film Festival—Part 8
No holds barred: Two German documentaries— I Will Not Lose and Metamorphoses
By Bernd Reinhardt, 18 March 2013
One of the documentaries examines the former East German sports programme and the other the terrible consequences of the 1957 nuclear accident near Kyshtym in the USSR.
Germany: Union conference discusses “renewal through strikes”
By Markus Salzmann and K. Nesan, 16 March 2013
The conference had one main goal: strengthening the trade union apparatus suppress the growing opposition among workers to the massive attacks on wages and jobs.
German social democrats prepare a new austerity agenda
By Ulrich Rippert, 15 March 2013
The Social Democratic Party is proposing to wipe out what remains of the European welfare state in the name of international competitiveness.
Statement by the Socialist Equality Party of Germany (PSG) and the editorial board of the World Socialist Web Site
Opel workers: Vote no on the contract!
15 March 2013
The agreement reached between GM-Opel management, IG Metall and the joint works council is aimed at pitting workers at different plants against each other and carrying out the closure of the Bochum factory.
Germany: Turkish mother and seven children killed in fire
By K. Nesan, 13 March 2013
A fire in southern Germany on Sunday claimed the lives of eight members of a Turkish family.
63rd Berlin International Film Festival—Part 7
“The Weimar Touch”: An interview with Rainer Rother, director of the 2013 Berlin film festival’s retrospective
By Stefan Steinberg and Berndt Reinhardt, 13 March 2013
WSWS reporters spoke recently to the head of the Deutsche Kinemathek (German Cinematheque) and the curator of this year’s Berlin film festival retrospective on German films of the Weimar era (1919-1933).
Berlin: Mass layoffs at energy firm Vattenfall
By Ernst Wolff and Johannes Stern, 12 March 2013
Workers protested in Berlin after the Swedish energy firm Vattenfall announced plans to cut 2,500 jobs by the end of 2014.
German interior minister agitates against immigrants
By Martin Kreikenbaum, 11 March 2013
Last week, Hans-Peter Friedrich denounced immigrants from Eastern Europe, stoking up resentment against alleged "benefit tourism" from other EU states.
German trade unions march in step with German army
By Sven Heymanns and Johannes Stern, 7 March 2013
The German Trade Union Federation is publicly backing the increasingly aggressive role of the German army.
IG Metall protest at Opel Bochum: A travesty of solidarity
By our correspondent, 6 March 2013
Last Sunday, the IG Metall union and works council held a so-called “solidarity festival” for workers at the Opel Bochum plant, which is facing closure.
63rd Berlin International Film Festival—Part 5
Raoul Peck’s Fatal Assistance: An indictment of Western aid to Haiti, but…
By Stefan Steinberg:, 6 March 2013
The latest film by Haitian-born director Raoul Peck focuses on the aid operation organised by the US and Western powers in the wake of the deadly earthquake that struck Haiti in January 2010.
German parliament approves military operations in Mali
By Johannes Stern, 4 March 2013
The aim of the mission is to stabilise the Malian army and support the combat mission by French troops in the country.
63rd Berlin International Film Festival—Part 4
An honest Russian citizen: Boris Khlebnikov’s A Long and Happy Life
By Bernd Reinhardt, 4 March 2013
The film depicts the futile struggle of a small farmer in the Russian provinces against corrupt local authorities.
Berlin bus driver welcomes rank-and-file committee of New York City school bus workers
4 March 2013
New York City school bus drivers and escorts decided to set up a rank-and-file committee after the betrayal of their month-long strike .
German Left Party promotes SPD candidate Steinbrück
By Hendrick Paul, 2 March 2013
Leading Left Party figures have stated their readiness to support the Social Democratic Party's right-wing candidate Pier Steinbrück.
IG Metall union seeks to finalize closure of GM-Opel Bochum plant
By Dietmar Henning, 1 March 2013
In the next week, the IG Metall, the works council and management at Opel want to seal the final closure of the Bochum Opel plant. Opel workers must not let this happen.
63rd Berlin International Film Festival—Part 3
What Ken Loach makes of The Spirit of ’45
By Stefan Steinberg, 1 March 2013
The veteran British filmmaker’s new documentary deals with the nationalisation of sections of industry carried out by the Labour government following the Second World War.
63rd Berlin International Film Festival—Part 2
The Plague: The “loneliness, strength, humanity and beauty” of ordinary people
By Francisca Vier, 27 February 2013
The Plague (La Plaga) from Spain, directed by Neus Ballús, was one of the most satisfying films at the 63rd Berlinale.
The way forward in the fight against the closure of GM-Opel’s Bochum plant
By Ulrich Rippert, 26 February 2013
The following statement from the Socialist Equality Party (PSG) in Germany is being distributed to auto workers at the GM-Opel plant in Bochum who are facing the shutdown of their factory.
Germany arms the Persian Gulf monarchies
By Johannes Stern, 25 February 2013
Germany has more than doubled its arms exports to the reactionary Arab Gulf monarchies.
German government report threatens cuts to welfare benefits
By Sybille Fuchs, 25 February 2013
Targeted are the child allowance, health insurance, parental benefits, pension benefits, and funding to help with housing and education.
German government decides on long-term military deployment in Mali
By Wolfgang Weber, 22 February 2013
According to the terms of the mandate, 180 armed soldiers are to be deployed to Mali as part of a European Union “training mission”.
The return of German imperialism
By Johannes Stern, 21 February 2013
Germany is making intensive preparations to wage new wars to secure resources.
Huge police operation to evict Berlin tenants
By Emma Bode, 21 February 2013
On February 14, a squad of police forcibly evicted a family of five from their home in Berlin.
German industry, government planning for resource wars
By Peter Schwarz, 20 February 2013
The Resource Alliance, tasked with securing raw materials for its shareholders and corporate members, is calling for the use of military force.
Teachers demonstrate in Berlin
By our correspondent, 20 February 2013
German unions are seeking to defuse anger and prevent united action by teachers.
German Socialist Alternative group aids union sellout at Opel
By Christoph Dreier, 19 February 2013
The Socialist Alternative group is aiding IG Metall by attempting to sow illusions that the union can be transformed into a fighting organisation.
ThyssenKrupp to cut 3,800 jobs in the steel sector
By Elizabeth Zimmermann, 15 February 2013
ThyssenKrupp can rely on the full support of the union IG Metall in its jobs massacre.
Roma in Germany forced into abject poverty
By Sybille Fuchs, 14 February 2013
A recent report provides a shocking exposure of the contempt shown by local authorities and church institutions in Dortmund for workers from southeast Europe.
The role of Germany in the war in Mali
By Wolfgang Weber, 12 February 2013
Germany is expanding its participation in the French colonial war in Mali from week to week.
Germany: Prinovis print works to close in Itzehoe
By Ernst Wolff, 11 February 2013
The closure of the Itzehoe printing plant in the summer of 2014 will cost 680 permanent employees their jobs, as well as those of 20 trainees and 300 contract workers.
Munich Security Conference endorses US call for expansion of neo-colonial wars
By Christoph Dreier, 4 February 2013
The tone was set by US Vice President Joseph Biden, who delivered a bellicose speech singling out as targets of US and NATO aggression nations ranging from Syria, Iran and Yemen to Somalia, Mali and the rest of North Africa.
Germany: A new capitulation by the IG Metall union to Opel management
By Philipp Frisch, 4 February 2013
IG Metall union functionaries are betraying workers for the sake of their own advancement on Opel’s management board.
Germany’s Commerzbank to cut up to 6,000 jobs
By Konrad Kreft, 2 February 2013
Germany’s second largest bank will achieve its billion-dollar “income and growth objectives” by laying off 10 percent of its workforce.
Germany acquiring drones for military use
By Johann Müller, 30 January 2013
The German government wants to procure armed drones for missions abroad and use re-engineered military reconnaissance drones domestically.
Youth poverty rises in Germany’s Ruhr region
By Elisabeth Zimmermann, 30 January 2013
Recent studies show that despite the relatively low unemployment rate in Germany, poverty rates have increased sharply.
German trade unions reject action to defend GM-Opel plant
By Dietmar Henning, 25 January 2013
A “solidarity evening” in Bochum, organised by the German Left Party, was aimed at covering up the role of the trade unions in the closure of the city’s GM-Opel auto plant.
Vadim: German documentary chronicles a family destroyed by immigration authorities
By Bernd Reinhardt, 24 January 2013
The tragic story of Vadim K. and his family documents the callous inhumanity of Germany’s immigration authorities and politicians and refugee law.
Germany: The role of the unions and Left Party in hospital privatisations
By Michael Regens and Marianne Arens, 23 January 2013
Health workers in Germany seeking to defend services confront a united front of hospital management, politicians of all parties and the trade unions.
Christian Democrats ousted in German state election
By Lena Sokoll and Ulrich Rippert, 22 January 2013
In the state election in Lower Saxony on Sunday, the Left Party lost more than half its vote.
Air Berlin cuts 900 jobs
By our correspondents, 21 January 2013
Chief Executive Wolfgang Prock-Schauer has demanded that the workforce accept pay cuts.
Germany: Lower Saxony vote a litmus test for upcoming general election
By Lena Sokoll, 19 January 2013
The state election in Lower Saxony is widely regarded as a preview of September's the general election.
Germany: Corrupt practices of IG Metall union, paid for by Thyssen-Krupp
By Dietmar Henning, 18 January 2013
Leading figures in the IG Metall trade union enjoyed luxury perks and travel at company expense.
Europe slides deeper into recession
By Stefan Steinberg, 17 January 2013
Industrial output across the 17 countries of the euro zone fell in November for the third successive month.
Germany’s Left Party supports unconditional cooperation with the SPD and Greens
By Peter Schwarz, 17 January 2013
The Left Party has set its sights on an alliance with the Social Democratic Party and the Greens in the election in the German state of Lower Saxony on Sunday.
Leading German publisher smeared as anti-Semite
By Justus Leicht, 15 January 2013
The Simon Wiesenthal Center has branded German publicist Jakob Augstein an “anti-Semite” for criticizing the Netanyahu government in Israel.
German Left Party defends its support for war against Syria
By Johannes Stern, 14 January 2013
The German Left Party newspaper Neues Deutschland has published a comment defending the statement “Syria: Freedom Needs Assistance,” which calls for Western intervention in Syria.
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