Skip next section Poll shows fewer Germans feel east and west have grown together
09/30/2025September 30, 2025
Poll shows fewer Germans feel east and west have grown together
Only 35% of Germans believe the country has grown together since reunification, according to a Forsa survey for the Federal Foundation for the Study of the Communist Dictatorship in .
The figure matches levels from the early 2000s, down from a peak of 51% in 2019.
Regional differences between remain stark. Just 23% in the east say Germans have become one people since 1990, compared to 37% in the west. In 2017, 43% of easterners still felt that way.
Younger respondents were more optimistic, with nearly half of under-30s saying unity has been achieved, versus 25% of over-60s.
Party preference also played a role: 45% of conservative CDU/CSU supporters viewed the country as united, compared with 29% of center-left Social Democrats and Green voters. and socialist voters were slightly above the average.
At the same time, 85% of respondents considered it important to continue addressing the history of the East German dictatorship, especially in schools and public debate.
Foundation director Anna Kaminsky said the results showed how fragile the sense of unity remains, while shared remembrance is “the strongest bond of our society.”
https://p.dw.com/p/51HGm
Skip next section Survey finds rising antisemitism in Germany
09/30/2025September 30, 2025
Survey finds rising antisemitism in Germany
Jews in Germany are experiencing since the Hamas-led attack on Israel nearly two years ago and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza against the Islamist militant group, according to a new survey.
Respondents reported social isolation and exclusion in all areas of life, including schools, universities, work and doctor’s offices.
The Federal Anti-Discrimination Agency presented the study’s interim report in Berlin on Tuesday. According to the authors, it is the first of its kind in Germany.
Individual and group surveys generally revealed a loss of trust among Jewish people, the agency explained. Some respondents said they were now concealing their Jewish identity to protect themselves from attacks and discrimination.
The study paints “a depressing picture, but one that is by no means surprising to Jews,” explained Josef Schuster, President of the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
“The dramatic escalation of in the past two years has resulted in Jews being increasingly excluded from equal participation in society.”
Such experiences “signify a loss of freedom and fuel fear,” Schuster explained. “It is time to counteract this discrimination.”
The Independent Federal Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination, Ferda Ataman, warned: “We must take the fears and concerns of Jews seriously. They must feel that the rule of law is there for them.”
https://p.dw.com/p/51Guk
Skip next section Germany arrests suspected Syrian militia leader for crimes against humanity
09/30/2025September 30, 2025
Germany arrests suspected Syrian militia leader for crimes against humanity
Federal prosecutors in Germany have arrested an alleged leader of a Syrian militia that supported the regime of .
The man is accused of crimes against humanity for directing assaults on demonstrators in Aleppo in 2011, using batons, metal rods and electric shocks to disperse protests after Friday prayers.
Prosecutors say one demonstrator later died from their injuries, while others were handed over to police or intelligence services and subjected to torture and abuse in detention.
Federal Criminal Police officers detained the suspect in Berlin with local police support. He is due to appear before a federal judge in Karlsruhe on Wednesday to determine whether he will remain in custody.
https://p.dw.com/p/51H4R
Skip next section Lufthansa pilots back strike mandate
09/30/2025September 30, 2025
Lufthansa pilots back strike mandate
Pilots at Lufthansa have voted in favor of strike action in a union ballot.
The Vereinigung Cockpit union said a large majority of cockpit staff at Lufthansa and Lufthansa Cargo supported their wage commission.
No date has been announced for the strike. .
The union is demanding higher employer contributions to company pensions for about 4,800 pilots.
It says benefits have fallen since a 2017 reform that switched from payout guarantees to contribution guarantees.
Lufthansa has rejected the claims as unaffordable. After seven rounds of talks, the union declared negotiations had failed.
A day earlier, Lufthansa said it as it streamlines operations, although it said it would not be cutting operational roles.
https://p.dw.com/p/51H3v
Skip next section Court jails former political aide in AFD-linked China spy trial
09/30/2025September 30, 2025
Court jails former political aide in AFD-linked China spy trial
The Dresden Higher Regional Court has delivered a guilty verdict in the trial of a former aide to over alleged espionage for China.
The court found that Jian G., a German national, passed on confidential documents and other information from his time in Krah’s European Parliament office. He also collected data on AfD leaders and monitored Chinese dissidents.
The court jailed G. for four years and nine months. Read .
https://p.dw.com/p/51GMT
Skip next section Cabinet retreat aims to rebuild team spirit
09/30/2025September 30, 2025
Cabinet retreat aims to rebuild team spirit
Almost five months after being sworn in, the conservative-Social Democrat federal cabinet is , hoping to rebuild team spirit after a rocky start.
The two-day meeting at Villa Borsig on Lake Tegel in northwest Berlin is set to focus mainly on cutting bureaucracy and improving the competitiveness of the German economy.
“Companies are in some cases backed up against the wall or standing with one foot over the edge. That’s why we have to deliver results quickly here,” conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz urged before the start of the retreat.
After only a short time in office, satisfaction with the ruling coalition of the center-right CDU/CSU bloc and the center-left Social Democrats (SPD) has fallen to a record low.
On Wednesday, the government plans to adopt a modernization agenda for state and administration that would cut bureaucracy costs by 25%, or €16 billion (nearly $19 billion), partly by reducing federal staff levels by 8%.
The previous “traffic-light” coalition had held its cabinet retreats at Meseberg Palace, 70 kilometers north of Berlin. There, the center-left Social Democrat, Green and business-focused Free Democrats repeatedly pledged to quarrel less — only for disputes to resume soon after.
Unlike in Meseberg, Merz and his 17 ministers will not stay overnight on the premises. Still, a social element is planned: after the day’s program ends, they will share a dinner together.
https://p.dw.com/p/51GMW
Skip next section Welcome to our coverage09/30/2025September 30, 2025
Welcome to our coverage
Guten Tag from DW’s newsroom on the banks of the Rhine in Bonn.
You join us as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his cabinet — a coalition of his conservative CDU and the center-left SPD — head off for a two-day retreat. The aim? To patch things up and rebuild some team spirit after a shaky start.
The two-day get-together is taking place at Villa Borsig, a stately house on Lake Tegel in northwest Berlin.
The main focus is on trimming Germany’s famously heavy bureaucracy and finding ways to make the economy more competitive.
Follow DW for news about these and other stories here in our blog.
https://p.dw.com/p/51GM1
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