Berlin protests against Ukraine War, by Lewin Bormann, CC BY-SA.
While probably many of us are still struggling with the effects of the ongoing pandemic, the world has been thrown another shocker of a curveball just a week ago: A violent war that is closer in front of our own doorstep than many of us ever expected to witness. The people from Ukraine had to deal with the aggression of the unpleasant neighboring autocrat for such a long time now that we in the West of Europe have already pushed this ongoing conflict into our subconscious. But now it can hardly be ignored and is a brutal wake-up call for the rest of Europe about how fickle the world we believe to live in actually is.
The response from the people of the other European countries has been overwhelmingly positive towards the people of Ukraine. It is touching to see how people have not only massively expressed solidarity and sympathy in countless freedom and peace marches across the continent (also from within Russia), but also how many organized help and support in terms of transport, supply, and accommodation for refugees from Ukraine. It might be a biased impression, but I can only hope the determination and efficiency of the PEOPLE, will also inspire more CORPORATIONS and GOVERNMENTS to follow suit.
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by Frank | Stories
Last year, Berlin became the first German state to make Women’s Day a public holiday. Having been originally proposed by German women’s rights activist and Marxist theorist Clara Zetkin at the 1910 International Socialist Women’s Conference in Copenhagen, women have celebrated the holiday in March for over a century. In 2019, the Berlin Senate voted 87 to 60 in favor of the bill to make Women’s Day a city-wide holiday. Instead of simply enjoying the day off this year, check out some of these projects and events celebrating womxnhood and the feminine experience in Berlin.
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by Adri | Events, Videos
photos: Hanko Ye.
Contesting outdated social norms is in itself a favorite pastime of many Berliners, but it gets even better when the critique is accompanied by elements of the new counterculture. That’s what the Riot Pant Project is all about – read on to find out more about the subversive trend that reclaims public space from the grip of social masculinity.
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by Michalina | Fashion
photos: Vismante Ruzgaite.
Berlin on the first of May, Labor Day. What was once a day of protests and revolts where the Kreuzberg anarchists and punks would throw bottles at the police, set cars on fire and smash shop windows is nowadays one of the biggest street parties taking over most of Kreuzberg 36 and some other parts of the city.
You could argue that Berlin has lost its edge and that the youths now frolicking through the streets with beer in their hands have totally forgotten about the history and meaning of this important German Holiday. But on the other hand, isn’t this free-spirited way of celebrating life in any given place and for any reason Berlin’s major trademark since basically the early 90s?
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by Frank | Photos
Our city is changing. As long as we’re loud enough, it can change for the better.
My body is still sobering up from excessive new years celebrations when I leave my apartment on Karl-Marx-Allee on this frosty Thursday morning. I might feel like trash, but stepping through the elegant row of columns guarding the gates to the monumental ‘Stalin-palaces’, I live in, just gives me something grand each time.
I’m on my – semi-thought-through – mission to keep it that way: I’m buying my apartment! – I’m 25, I just finished my studies, and my savings got me as far as a new MacBook… Turning around the corner to Ostbahnhof, nervously fiddling with the pile of signed documents in my right hand, I ask myself: Have I gone mad?
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by Andy | People, Stories
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Renting an apartment in Berlin has become outrageously expensive and doesn’t fit the anti-capitalist flair that many residents are here for. In fact, rents in Berlin have almost doubled in the last 5 years. The more often I talk to friends about the situation, the more I get used to it. And that’s even scarier. The other day, a friend who recently moved to Berlin told me that, she pays a staggering 920€ for 35m2 in Sonnenallee. That’s over 25€ per sqm! Allegedly luxuriously renovated and provided with a plush fitted kitchen.
We think that’s the new normal – but it’s still illegal. Indeed, even a rent of 10€ per sqm is often already illegal. To prevent rents from rising any further, the government passed a rent control law – the so-called Mietpreisbremse. That law has been in place for more than three years. So why has hardly anyone used it so far? Why do rents continue to rise?
We did some research on this and want to show you three different options for how you can actually and effectively lower your rent. We will start with the online service of wenigermiete.de, than compare it with going it through lawyer or a tenants rights association.
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by Franziska | Stories
242,000 people marched against the right-wing last Saturday. The iHeartBerlin team took part and has some pictures for you.
“Solidarity, not exclusion – for a free and liberal society,” the unifying motto of the “Unteilbar” (inseparable) initiative lead a massive crowd of people out on the streets six kilometers across the capital from Alexanderplatz to Siegessäule. “Tens of Thousands Protest Racism and Discrimination in Berlin”, “240,000 demonstrate against hate and xenophobia”, “March against far-right draws huge crowds in Berlin”, “It’s finally a united movement”, headlines like these popped up all over the world the last few days. It’s a symbol of hope during otherwise gloomy days that not only Berlin needed, but the whole world. And we want to say thank you. Thank you, Berlin. We all needed that.
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by Andy | People, Stories
Update: Join the #Unteilbar demonstration against the right-wing populists and Nazis in our country this Saturday, October 13th, 2018.
It seemed one of those beautiful early summer Sundays where you wake up with a little bit of hangover from a long Saturday night, lying around in bed a bit lazy but still sure you have to go out because the weather is too good to waste on a hangover.
But on this beautiful Sunday the so-called “Alternative for Germany” a party that gained popularity in a time of the refugee crisis and international instabilities had made big plans. This party wanted to march for the “future of Germany” all over Berlin and show how popular they have become. With an announced number of 10 000 marchers, it was supposed to become the biggest right-wing march since the end of the nazi-regime.
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by Claudio | Stories
photos: Anna Agliardi
The summer party of the UdK – University of the Arts is one of the cultural highlights of the summer. Crazy performances, nice jazz music, outlandish musical singers and of course beautiful art works of the graduating students are just a few of the highlights of this spectacular night. Sadly this year was a bit different than the other years. Most of the ateliers and working studios were closed for public. The students are protesting against the new faculty politic which is having less permanent professors and is working with more guest professors instead. These guest professors are often famous artists with a big name bringing a lot of attention to the university. But of course for the students this PR strategy means also less assistance also during the semester holidays and generally speaking famous artists are not automatically good teachers.
Even if I think the protest has its valuable reasons, I was wondering all night if not showing the work of the students is the best strategy to accomplish anything. The Rundgang is always a perfect platform for the upcoming artists to present their work to the public and to the press. Rejecting this opportunity for a bigger cause is a understandable decision. But as a lot of befriended artists of mine also said: It would have been much more effective to show art and cancel the party instead. Or at least don’t serve alcohol. But this would be crazy, right?
Anyway, we had a good night and enjoyed discovering some artworks and listening to the music and dancing in the magical courtyards of the university. You can still go and discover the artworks of the graduating students and the architects during the whole weekend. All the information and addresses are listed here. Enjoy the photographic impressions of last night shot by Anna Agliardi after the jump.
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by Claudio | Art, Party
Last week Berlin-based performer Peaches called to action in support of the imprisoned Russian protest band Pussy Riot. Together with Simonne Jones she recorded a special song and shot a video with many other supporters in the streets of Berlin that has been released a few days ago. See the results after the jump. Read more about the protest here and if you would like to support the cause as well, sign the petition here.
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by Frank | Music, Videos
