Homelessness and the profit economy (not just the example of Hamburg)

dossier

“…Just a few hundred meters as the crow flies from the Elbphilharmonie, the prospects aren't quite as good. At the foot of the main church of St. Michaelis, commonly just called Michel, you can see the underside of the obscene luxury life that the Hanseatic upper class treats themselves to. This is where homeless people “make an appearance” and try to survive the cold winter nights – rolled up in sleeping bags or barely wrapped in blankets. (…) At the end of November, the fourth homeless person died on a night in the Hamburg winter of 2018/19. The approximately 50-year-old man died alone in a pedestrian tunnel under the Lombards Bridge between the Inner and Outer Alsters. It wasn't until two weeks later that his death became public at all because the police didn't find the incident worth reporting…" - from theArticle “Hamburg: Between homelessness and decadence” on March 6, 2019 in the Underground Blättle about (especially) one side of the hunt for profit. Unfortunately, see further examples for all cities in Germany:

• Protest action by homeless and poor people on October 7th, 2026 at Düsseldorf City Hall: Against a ban on begging - fight poverty and not the poor
  “On Wednesday, October 7th, 2026, the tightening of Düsseldorf's road regulations will be discussed in the Order and Traffic Committee. That's why we're protesting on Wednesday, October 7th. at 3:30 p.m. poor and homeless people who sell fifty-fifty or beg in the old town, under the motto “Fight poverty, but not the poor!” in front of the town hall. In true style, they will drive up in a luxury car and dressed as real mafia bosses.
  The background is that on Friday last week the Düsseldorf CDU announced a tightening of Düsseldorf's street regulations, including a general ban on begging within five meters of restaurant terraces. This would lead to a “no-go area” for poor and homeless people in certain streets of Düsseldorf’s old town. The sale of the street magazine fiftyfifty would then no longer be possible there. CDU speakers cite so-called “begging gangs” or even a “begging mafia” that allegedly operate in Düsseldorf’s old town as the main reason for the ban. "A ban on begging does not suit tolerant Düsseldorf at all. Repressive measures are not a solution to social problems. The Düsseldorf street statutes are already partially illegal in their current version," explains Oliver Ongaro from the street magazine fiftyfifty…” Call fromStreet magazine fiftyfifty (via e-mail) about the protest in front of the Düsseldorf town hall at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday, October 7th, 2026
• [Begging bans in more and more cities] Fighting poverty in German: Honest Germans want to drink coffee in peace 
  “In Germany the idea is to combat poverty by criminalizing it. The new begging bans offer no solution, they simply criminalize the poor.
  A special begging ban has been in effect in Dortmund since the beginning of August. In the future, people begging will have to keep a distance of five meters from tables in outdoor restaurants. The local parliament made this decision in its last meeting before the summer break with the votes of the SPD, CDU, FDP, BSW and AfD. The reason for this were complaints from restaurateurs and customers of cafés and restaurants around the Old Market in Dortmund. If beggars violate the ban, they face fines, which in the (probable) case of non-payment can lead to forced imprisonment for several weeks.
  Shortly afterwards, another city in North Rhine-Westphalia followed suit: from now on, a begging ban applies in Düren, which goes further than that in Dortmund. Not only was every request for money within five meters of the outdoor catering area prohibited, but also begging when accompanied by children and feigning disabilities or illnesses. This is to prevent pity from being aroused in this way. (…)
  It was only in the course of the liberalization movement in the 1960s that a decree was repealed in the Federal Republic of Germany in 1969, which had even made compulsory confinement to a workhouse possible. In 1974 the begging paragraph was finally deleted from the criminal code. Begging has been basically allowed for over fifty years.
  However, more and more municipalities are deciding on restrictions. In Munich, for example, it is forbidden to ask for money in the old town or on the Oktoberfest grounds. In Bremen, behavior described as “intrusive” or “aggressive” begging is prohibited. According to the city's service portal, this means harassing, holding or touching people. There is a risk of fines of up to 500 euros. It is still permitted to ask for money silently, for example while sitting with a cup. The regulations that have been in effect in Aachen since 2024 are particularly strict. Here, begging is completely prohibited even in front of shops, at bus stops and in front of ATMs. (…)
  The only thing municipal begging bans achieve is to hide problems. Obviously they do not fight poverty, nor do they offer solutions to those who have to beg. Instead, poor and homeless people are criminalized and pushed out to other places. Such bans mean that these people can no longer ask for money where they assume a higher willingness to donate. The arguments for bans always raise the same specter: the idea of ​​organized gangs of a begging mafia who fake illnesses and aggressively besiege honest Germans while they drink coffee in order to take money out of their pockets. These fears have little to do with reality. Rather, they testify to centuries-old resentments…" OneColumn about housing and homelessness by Merle Stöver in Jungle World from August 6, 2026 and also about it:
  • Begging ban in German cities: Far from the sidelines
    “More and more cities are banning begging. In Dortmund, people are not even allowed to sit quietly in front of restaurants with a cup. Does that solve the problems? (…)
    Still, Pudel and the other punks here have to be extra careful. Because after restaurateurs were publicly outraged about the conditions in the cityBegging has been banned within five meters of outdoor restaurants since the beginning of August . What Pudel, as everyone on the street would call him, comments from a good ten meters away, but surprisingly calmly: “They can’t do anything to me.” His friends are silent. (…) "The public order office just walked past here. Civil servants, I recognize them all," says Pudel. Since the ban was introduced on August 1st, patrols in the city center have been supposed to keep an eye on people begging near restaurants, on weekends and into the evening. In the first two weeks, the city simply issued warnings. There is now a risk of a warning fine of up to 50 euros or, if payment is not made, a substitute prison sentence.
    There are now bans on begging in many cities, such as Munich, Cologne and Düsseldorf. Bans also apply in Hamburg and Bremen - but only on buses and trains.
    Dortmund has now received media attention because it has issued a very drastic new regulation: As in Munich, not only so-called aggressive begging is prohibited here, but also passive begging - for example, when someone simply sits quietly on the floor with a cup. In Munich the ban applies in the old town pedestrian zone, and in Dortmund since August even everywhere where restaurateurs put chairs and tables outside in front of their restaurants and cafés. (…)
    In Germany, too, municipalities are apparently not impressed by threatening court rulings. When asked, the city of Dortmund stated that it had not issued a general ban on begging, but only one that applied in front of restaurants. The aim is to ease the situation on site. Neither poverty nor homelessness would be criminalized.
    Bastian Pütter finds this legally dubious. A ban on begging must be justified by threats to public safety, he says. That is not the case here. A problem for him and other helpers, however, is finding people who, like in Geneva, will sue against it. “The living situation of those affected is usually such that they don’t have the confidence to do it,” he says…”Article by Marvin Kalwa from September 15, 2026 in the taz online 
• Survey finally published: Homeless people in Hamburg are becoming more and more impoverished, two thirds say that they are sick...
  • Survey: Homeless people in Hamburg are becoming more and more impoverished
    “The health of people living on Hamburg's streets has deteriorated in recent years. This is the result of a survey of homeless people in the city.
    The social authority had this carried out as part of the nationwide homeless survey in February 2024. And the result is not really surprising, said Hamburg's Social Senator Melanie Schlotzhauer (SPD). “From close communication with the facilities, we know that many homeless people in Hamburg are under severe health conditions,” says Schlotzhauer. This encourages your authority to consistently continue on the path it has chosen. “With the new concept of street social work, the Social Hub Hauptbahnhof and the Streetwork Mobile, we can reach homeless people more directly on the streets and ensure that help gets to where it is really needed,” she added. (…)
    A total of around 300 questionnaires were evaluated as part of the health survey. According to the information, more than half of those affected said that their health was less good or even bad. Almost 70 percent reported permanent health impairments. Only a quarter of respondents said their health was good or very good. The survey also shows that a third of people visit addiction and drug counseling centers - that is almost twice as many as in previous years…”NDR report from November 5th, 2025 
  • Study finally published: Hamburg's homeless are doing so badly
    “Two thirds of the homeless in Hamburg say they are sick. This emerges from a study that has now been published. Hinz&Kunz calls on the city to expand its offers of help.  (…)
    Background to the study that has now been published: In February 2024, homeless people in Hamburg were also surveyed for the federal government's homeless reporting. The social authorities had supplemented this statement with a survey on the state of health, the evaluation of which the Senate kept under wraps for months. “The city urgently needs to expand its offerings and provide more appropriate help to the homeless,” demands Hinz&Kunzt managing director Jörn Sturm in view of the survey results. “The impoverishment on Hamburg’s streets must not continue to increase.” (…)
    The number of homeless people has recently increased significantly: While the city of Hamburg recorded 1,910 people on Hamburg streets in 2018, last year there were already 3,787. What is particularly frightening is that more than 2,000 people affected said that they received no help in finding accommodation after hospital treatment, a stay in a women's shelter or imprisonment…”Article by Jonas Fabricius-Füllner from November 5, 2025 at Hinz&Kunzt 
• Making poverty invisible: In Hamburg, the ban on begging on public transport is being enforced with increasing vigor and unaffordable penalties
  In theInterview by Kristian Stemmler in the young world from April 22, 2025 (“Those affected cannot pay the fines”), explains lawyer Mareile Dedekind. The Hamburg street magazine Hinz & Kunzt and two affected people, together with the Society for Freedom Rights, sued the Hamburg district court against the ban on begging on buses and trains of the Hamburg transport association:"The background to the lawsuits is that the ban on begging, which has long been included in the HVV's conditions of transport, is being increasingly enforced and begging people are being fined 40 euros, which they cannot pay. In total, those affected had to pay over 50,000 euros in the first half of 2024. As a result, this leads to the displacement and stigmatization of people affected by poverty and, in particular, homeless people. Our aim with this lawsuit is the ineffectiveness of the ban on begging and the contractual penalty imposed in the event of a violation and to focus on the basic rights of homeless people (…) In our view, the right to ask other people for help in the form of food or money is included in the general personal right is derived from the general freedom of action in connection with human dignity and also protects against social isolation and stigmatization puts human dignity at the center of its value system and is committed to the welfare state principle set out in Article 20 Paragraph 1 of the Basic Law. By basing the ban on begging solely on the well-being of passengers, the general personal rights of begging people are violated (…) The legal questions raised in the lawsuits are also relevant for bans on begging in other cities (…) We would like to ensure that the blanket ban on begging is repealed in the conditions of transport and that the fundamental rights protection of begging is recognized. We will exhaust all available legal remedies in this regard.”
• A “village” for homeless women. A space of its own: On the campus of a Hamburg university, a container settlement offers women accommodation
  "Sometimes five square meters can be like a kingdom of heaven - at least for people who were homeless before moving into their own four walls, and that as a woman. Not big, but mine. A door that you can close. Behind which you can be alone. On the campus of the University of Applied Sciences (HAW) in Hamburg, there are seven brightly colored containers in a parking lot, right on a busy street. And yet a feeling of coziness quickly arises in the small container village. Up to Ten women find a home in the containers. The beginning of the project dates back so far to the 90s that social worker Thilo Graf from Caritas can no longer remember the original idea. But he remembers Andrea Hniopek very well, who shaped the project for many years and only recently left it as a student and finally brought it to the campus at Berliner Tor in 2012. She turned a winter aid program into a year-round program. “The HAW made part of the parking space available very easily,” says Graf, who basically took over the “village” from Hniopek. The idea has remained the same to this day (…) Life on the streets is often very difficult, especially for women. “Homeless women are also more severely affected,” says Thilo Graf. There are hardly any of them who have not experienced violence, often sexualized In urban shared accommodation, many people often have to live in one room (…) A good 47 percent of the homeless in the Hanseatic city are non-Germans.73 percent are men, 27 percent are women. Of the residents of the container village, two come from Eastern Europe, while the others' origins are spread around the planet. One woman comes from the USA. The oldest resident is 74 years old. “We also offer trans women a safe space with us,” says Emilie Högele. Trans and queer people are often even more affected by discrimination and attacks on the streets. In shared accommodation there is no chance of escaping this. (…) The container rooms are very popular. Free places are often filled within a few minutes. Since the project also takes in trans women, it can hardly save itself from inquiries. And so female homelessness remains dangerous for most of those affected – and often socially invisible.” Article by Guido Sschläger from March 7, 2025 in Neues Deutschland online 
• Without papers in the city of millionaires. Project Shelter, a migrant self-advocacy association for homeless people, is celebrating its tenth anniversary in Frankfurt am Main
  "In 2016, Osman S. arrived in Frankfurt am Main. At that time he had no job, no accommodation and a residence permit in another EU country. He quickly realized that there was a lack of an urban structure that would help him to reposition himself. So he became active in Project Shelter himself, he says. In the initiative, homeless migrants and refugees have been campaigning for their rights for ten years, together with people who show solidarity. They are committed to a self-organized Center, try to make the issue of homelessness visible and support homeless people in everyday life, regardless of their residence status. According to the British investment consultant Henley & Partners, the city ranks 16th on the global list of cities with the most millionaires and billionaires. At the same time, mattresses are laid out in Frankfurt's subway stations at night to provide sleeping spaces for homeless people without residence status There are around 300 homeless people in the city and over 4,000 homeless people who live in city facilities or with friends without a permanent home. According to the federal government's homeless report published this week, more than half a million people in refugee accommodation, in women's shelters or in prisons are not counted in official statistics. (…) Osman S.describes the situation as a vicious circle: temporary residence permits make it more difficult to find a job, unemployment makes it impossible to find accommodation, which in turn stands in the way of a permanent residence permit. Conversely, the residence permit is linked to employment contracts and forces those affected into precarious conditions. "When you're sick, you don't take sick leave for fear of being fired and losing your visa," he says. People without social security in Frankfurt can stay in homeless shelters for a maximum of three days. (…) It is therefore particularly difficult for migrants and refugees to escape homelessness, says Tim Herbold from the research project “Contestations of ‘the Social’”. Herbold studies the social policy effects of initiatives by precariously employed and unemployed people at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich. “The priority check pits workers and migrants against each other,” he says. It is similar with social problems in the city. (…) Osman S. now lives with 40 to 50 other people in a housing project that emerged from one of their occupations. The city will tolerate this until the summer of 2025, then the building will make way for a school site. According to the coalition agreement of the Frankfurt city government made up of the SPD, Greens, FDP and Volt, the initiative should receive a permanent building; The building department's plans for this are still unclear. The fact that migrant homelessness is now even being discussed in Frankfurt is thanks to initiatives like Project Shelter, says Osman S.” Article by Sarah Yolanda Koss from January 9, 2025 in New Germany online 
• Hamburg, Berlin, Dortmund: Homeless people are disturbing and are increasingly being evicted since the start of the European Championships - and Bremen bans begging in outdoor restaurants 
  • [#AbseitenAbschaffen] Expulsions against homeless people: “With the European Championships, the displacement of homeless people has increased again”
    “The Hamburg street magazine Hinz&Kunzt and theSociety for Civil Rights (GFF) In view of the European Championships in men's football, we are calling for more protection for the homeless with the “Abolish Offside” campaign. During major international events, homeless people are often pushed out of train stations and city centers in order to create a “tidy cityscape”. The Society for Freedom Rights also wants to take strategic action against evictions for homeless people. Expulsions may only be given to avert danger. This time we want to look at the issue less from a legal perspective and instead ask about concrete experiences with the displacement of homeless people. We therefore spoke to social worker Teresa Jakobs from Diakonie Hamburg.“Interview from July 5, 2024 on Radio Dreyeckland 
  • Kicked out cleanly
    “…The cityscape has changed since the European Championships started a week ago.  For international football fans, there was particular attention in public places and inA huge clean-up program was carried out in tourist areas. The victims of these measures are homeless people. There has been increased action against them in the last few weeks, and there have been major evictions of their sleeping places in Mitte on several occasions. “The frequency and density of evictions is very noticeable,” says Juri Schaffranek from “Gangway”, an organization for street social work, to the taz. (…) We know from the homeless magazines Hinz&Kunzt in Hamburg and Bodo in Dortmund: “Exactly the same thing happens there.” It was also noticeable that the evictions were usually only communicated verbally and were therefore difficult to check. Those responsible would never admit publicly or in writing that an area is being cleared due to EM (…) The Mitte district justifies itself: The public order office is “aware that some of the people affected have health restrictions and difficult fates behind them”, but this fact is “not a sufficient reason for tolerating illegal camps to the detriment of general security and order”. Gangway is critical of this approach: “Simply, repression doesn’t solve a single problem.” This is also shown by the BVG “cleaning patrol” project, which has been running since February and is intended to ensure more safety and cleanliness along the U8. Homeless and addicted people would also be displaced. This leads to these people spending more time in the surrounding neighborhoods, which in turn causes trouble for the residents. Schaffranek fears that such repression measures could intensify after the European Championships.Because once residents got used to tidy places and clean, homeless-free subway stations, they wanted it to stay that way. Even if it happens at the expense of the homeless.”Article by Luise Greve from June 21, 2024 in the taz online 
  • Bremen bans begging in outdoor restaurants: cappuccino without misery
    “Bremen's red-green-red coalition prohibits beggars from approaching guests in outdoor restaurants. Only passive begging remains permitted.
    The Bremen city council banned “intrusive and aggressive begging” on Tuesday. This also includes addressing people who are sitting on the sidewalk outside restaurants and cafés.Abusive forms of begging reduce the quality of stay for citizens and visitors alike, says oneDraft bill from the red-green-red Senate , on which the decision of the city's citizens is based. They not only had an impact on the feel-good character of the city, but also on the tourist businesses and “people’s subjective sense of security”. (…) The bill defines intrusive and aggressive begging as not only begging outdoors but also begging on buses and trains as well as sitting down or standing on the sidewalk. It is therefore not permitted to speak to people in an intrusive manner, to insult them, to follow them, to pull on their clothing or to walk from passer-by to passer-by. On the other hand, silent, passive begging, for example with a sign, is “to be tolerated in principle,” according to the explanatory notes to the draft law. (…)
    “From our point of view, the new regulations have not been fully thought out,” says Anke Mirsch from the Association for Internal Mission Bremen. People would still beg because they depend on it or come up with other strategies that then have to be responded to. If begging is punished, it would be a high and pointless expense because people generally cannot pay the fine. Instead, people should be offered alternatives such as low-threshold jobs. (…)
    The Society for Civil Rights (GFF) has announcedto sue against the ban on begging on Hamburg buses and trains . “Begging is protected by fundamental rights and a ban cannot be justified by the fact that passengers should be spared the confrontation with precarious living conditions,” said Mareile Dedekind from the GGF to the taz. This is particularly true if a ban also includes silent begging…”Article by Gernot Knödler from June 20, 2024 in the taz online , see also:
    • Begging ban in the city center: Bremen is a failed state
      “In the future, begging will be prohibited on buses, trains and in outdoor restaurants in the city center, the Bremen city council decided on June 18th. Bremen is governed by a red-green-red coalition. Repressive policies that target the poor instead of poverty are nothing new in Bremen. It's right to get upset about Bremen's inhumane domestic politics - but it's also cheap. What is really interesting, however, is the helplessness and uselessness of all these actions, also from the perspective of the law-and-order fans in the interior authorities. Bremen, the state with the highest unemployment rate nationwide, rising rents, poverty and countless temporary employment agencies, is in reality a failed state. At the latest after the shipyards died down at the end of the 1990s, the city-state was economically exhausted. Beyond federal funding, everything depends on the well-being of a few large construction companies. But if the state has no resources, it has little choice but to at least symbolically assert its monopoly on violence, with violence. “Hump up, step down” is also how “politics for the middle” works in Bremen. Scandalizing this is the right thing to do. Alternatives would also be possible without a lot of money; instead of investing millions in questionable large-scale tourism projects, the poor would be better off…”Contribution from June 19, 2024 by the Antifascism Basic Group (BA) Bremen 
• Hamburg is cleaning up for the European Championships: Social workers are observing that homeless people are being evicted. Now the society wants to sue for civil liberties
  "Hamburg is hosting the European Football Championship starting on Friday. Five games will be played in the Volksparkstadion and they want the city to be clean and tidy when the fans arrive. The street magazine Hinz & Kunzt fears that homeless and homeless people will be further pushed out of public spaces in favor of a "tidy" cityscape. (…) In the city center, some street social workers have already observed in the past few weeks that the number of expulsions has increased significantly, explains Hinz&Kunzt managing director Jörn Sturm. The Society for Freedom Rights (GFF), an association that uses strategic litigation to strengthen fundamental and human rights in Germany and Europe, now wants to take legal action against this. Because: The fact that all people are allowed to use public spaces freely is regulated in the Hamburg Highways Act. Every person has the right to be in public places - this also applies to homeless and homeless people. The police may only issue expulsions if there is a danger to public order. Such a danger would arise in the event of a violation of the legal system, explains GFF lawyer Mareile Dedekind. This includes, for example, the consumption of alcohol in the alcohol ban zone at Hamburg Central Station, which was only set up in April. “The mere presence of homeless people at the main train station does not justify expulsion,” she explains. However, it is common practice for the police to expel homeless and homeless people from public spaces even though there is no corresponding danger. Those affected also report this again and again - they feel specifically criminalized and stigmatized as a result.(…) At least 2,000 people live on Hamburg's streets who are homeless. The number of unreported cases is estimated to be much higher. Almost 32,000 people were accommodated in city accommodation in April 2024 - this puts Hamburg above the national average. Rising rental prices, a shortage of housing and increasing homelessness are exacerbating the precarious living situation of people living on the streets. “Homelessness is not a threat to public safety, but rather a threat to the people affected by it,” explains Mareile Dedekind from the GFF. (…) The Society for Freedom Rights would also like to take legal action against the recently passed ban on begging on trains and train stations in Hamburg because the legal basis for the ban is untenable. “Begging is protected by fundamental rights and a ban cannot be justified by the fact that passengers should be spared the confrontation with precarious living conditions.” As a private company in state hands, the Hamburger Hochbahn is also obliged to respect basic rights and therefore tolerate begging. (…) “Showing that you are poor and needy is by no means a reason to remove people from the cityscape,” criticizes “Hinz & Kunzt” managing director Jörn Sturm. “Our concern is that the most extreme form of poverty will be made invisible during the EM.” Article by Sarah Lasyan from June 11, 2024 in the taz online , see also:
  • Homeless people in Hamburg: Complaints against police operations. Put expulsion on the agenda
    “The police are taking action against homeless and begging people around Hamburg Central Station. Luisa Podsadny and Mareile Dedekind from the Society for Civil Rights want to sue…”Interview by Benjamin Buchholz from May 29, 2024 in Hinz&Kunzt 
• #AbseitenAbschaffen campaign for the European Football Championship: All people have the right to decent housing! Homeless people also have a right to be in public spaces
  “Together with the Hamburg street magazine Hinz&Kunzt, the Society for Freedom Rights (GFF) is calling for more protection for the homeless with the “Abolish Away” campaign at the start of the European Football Championship. When major media events such as international football championships take place, homeless people are often pushed out of train stations and city centers in order to create a tidy cityscape. There is a fear that the most extreme form of poverty will be made invisible. The GFF also plans to take strategic legal action against the repression and create more visibility for the problem. The aim is to strengthen the right of all people to decent housing. "The police have been increasingly taking action against homeless people in downtown Hamburg for more than a year. Instead of pushing them out of the cityscape, we need offers of help and concepts to eliminate homelessness," demands Hinz&Kunzt managing director Jörn Sturm. "The police have often driven me out of public places. This has to finally end," says Anni, who has been living on the streets in Hamburg for almost 30 years. Public space is available to everyone. Expulsions may only be given to avert danger. In most cases, the people who are sidelined endanger nothing or no one. "Homeless people also have a right to be in public spaces. Repression such as evictions obscure the view of the actual problems: housing shortages and poverty," explains GFF lawyer Luisa Podsadny.“With the planned lawsuits, we will stand by the people who have no lobby and whose rights are often literally trampled on.” (…) For the large-scale Instagram campaign, the GFF and the Hamburger Straßenmagazin are supported by the advertising agency Scholz & Friends. Under #AbolishOffside, light is shed on the dark sides of the European Championship…” Press release from June 5, 2024 from the Society for Civil Rights , see also:
  • #AboveAbsides for the European Football Championship: “Homeless people also have a right to be in public spaces.”
    “At the start of the European Football Championship, Hinz&Kunz and the Society for Freedom Rights (GFF) are calling for more protection for the homeless with the “Abolish Away” campaign. When major media events such as international football championships take place, homeless people are often pushed out of train stations and city centers in order to create a tidy cityscape. There is a fear that the most extreme form of poverty will be made invisible…”Contribution by Sybille Arendt from June 5, 2024 in Hinz&Kunzt 
• Number of attacks on homeless people is increasing: targeted misanthropy
  "... A video documents the abuse. In Peine, three men and a woman tortured a homeless man for at least two hours on Saturday evening. They beat the 42-year-old on an apartment balcony in the Lower Saxony city. They insulted him and urinated on him. A witness from Langenhagen alerted the police. He had received videos and photos of the attack from an acquaintance. Police recognized the balcony and were able to free the victim. “The attacks on homeless people have increased,” says Heike Kleffner from the “Association of Advice Centers for Those Affected by Right-Wing, Racist and Anti-Semitic Violence.” The association recorded the increase through independent monitoring in which eight federal states took part. The assessment corresponds to data from the Federal Working Group on Homeless Assistance. From 1989 to 2023 alone, 626 deaths due to violence were documented there. In 345 cases the violence came from other homeless people, in 281 cases it came from people who had an apartment. In the same period, the federal working group registered 2,350 serious physical injuries, 1,350 of which were committed by people who had an apartment. But why does it matter whether the perpetrators are resident or not? The distinction points to different motives, explained the former managing director of the Federal Working Group, Werena Rosenke, in an interview with the Editorial Network Germany. While the acts of homeless people often occurred in emergency shelters and should not necessarily be understood as targeted attacks, one must assume that non-homeless people were targeted attacks due to group-related inhumanity.However, a political positioning of the crime and the motive is often missing in criminal prosecution and in reporting. The question of why the violence is specifically directed against the homeless remains unanswered..." Column by Andreas Speit from April 21, 2024 in the taz online 
• Since November last year, 24 homeless people have died in Hamburg, including six on the streets
  “In Hamburg, six homeless people died on the streets this winter, according to a small question from the Left. The left-wing faction criticizes the fact that homeless people have to leave the shelters during the day. In total, 24 homeless people have died this winter since November last year, including six on the streets. The Senate's response to the Left's request also shows that 18 homeless people died in a hospital. In total, 24 homeless people have died this winter since November last year, including six on the streets. The Senate's response to the Left's request also shows that 18 homeless people died in a hospital.
  “It always astounds me that so many homeless people in Hamburg are dying on the streets – despite the winter emergency program,” said Olga Fritzsche, social policy spokeswoman for the Left. The left-wing faction has been criticizing for years that people have to leave their accommodation during the day and that they are accommodated in mass accommodation with a few single rooms. “It is really grotesque that the Senate fears a pull effect on Hamburg if it is opened all day.”“Report from March 16, 2024 on NDR (“Six homeless people died on Hamburg’s streets in winter”)
• [Hamburg “just” the tip of the iceberg, every winter] Despite snow and ice: the city sends homeless people out during the day
  “Despite the onset of winter, most homeless people still have to leave the emergency shelters during the day. The weather development was “not unusual,” explained the municipal accommodation operator Fördern & Wohnen as justification. (…) Daytime opening is “not planned for frost protection measures,” is the city’s justification. Homeless people could stay in day care centers during this time.
  The Social Association of Germany (SoVD) has now criticized this argument strongly: 500 places in day care centers are far too few, given that there are at least 2,000 homeless people in Hamburg. When it rains, snows and is cold, people need more options where they can stay, warm up and get medical care during the day without stress. SoVD boss Klaus Wicher: “The supply has been poor for a long time.” Hinz&Kunz has also been calling for winter emergency shelters to be open every day for years.”Article by Ulrich Jonas from November 29, 2023 at Hinz&Kunzt – there is a (small) update:
  • City keeps accommodations open longer
    “In view of snow and cold, the municipal accommodation operator Fördern & Wohnen is extending the opening hours of the winter emergency program. However, there will be no full daytime opening…”Article by Lukas Gilbert from November 30, 2023 at Hinz&Kunzt 
• Hamburg Central Station: The wretches should disappear. 
  “In Hamburg, a haphazard policy of repression is being pursued around the main train station (...) The "Drob Inn" has been around since 2003, but it has only been scandalized for some time: since the AfD and CDU factions in the Hamburg citizenry, the city parliament, discovered the main train station as a crime hotspot and thus put pressure on the SPD and Green government. Legend has it that the customers of the “Drob Inn” would significantly impact security at the main train station, 400 meters away. But there is no reliable data. “Since there are no statistical surveys, we cannot make any valid statements about this,” a police spokesman recently explained. (…) The main train station is “the most dangerous train station” in the country, is an oft-repeated headline. It is not surprising that the train station with the highest frequency of travelers and passers-by also leads the crime statistics. This only says something about the actual danger when the number of crimes is compared to the number of people who are there. Even a closer look at reality did not stop the CDU from calling for a ban on weapons at the main train station. (…) In March 2023, the “Alliance for Safe Central Stations” was founded. Since then, the federal police responsible for the station itself, the security personnel from Deutsche Bahn and from the Hochbahn responsible for the subway, as well as the Hamburg police have formed joint patrols. The SPD Interior Senator Andy Grote presented himself on Instagram several times on joint tours with law enforcement officers.The police chief made it clear that it was less about fighting crime than about the “subjective feeling of security”.The latest measure is also intended to serve this purpose. The free smartphone app “Safe Now” was introduced in October. If you feel threatened in the main train station, you can press a button that alerts a digital group you have created yourself. But how someone from this group who is not there themselves could help, other than calling the emergency number, is unclear. "The aim of 'Safe Now' is to give the users of the app a feeling of security in their daily lives," it says in the general terms and conditions. So it's not about real help, but about creating an appearance. However, this suggests a permanent threat and creates an idea of ​​“misery and disgust”. It's about eliminating the "neglect" and driving away those from the main station who are even more unwanted elsewhere: the homeless and, above all, drug addicts. In fact, the number of emergency calls related to the main train station has been declining since 2018. (…)But the repression of “disgust and misery” has already been achieved. On this autumn afternoon there is no homeless person to be seen around the main train station. The preferred place to stay at the exit to the church avenue opposite the theater is yawningly empty. This was the location of the “gift fence,” a grid to an area where police vehicles are parked. Until recently, several initiatives provided homeless people with food and clothing. On September 16th, the police came to evacuate the building. Reason: The “special use of public paths” was “neither requested nor reported in advance”.…”Article by Volker Stahl, Hamburg, from November 21st, 2023 in ND online 
• Begging ban in Krefeld: Defending yourself helps 
  “A person affected has had the begging ban lifted there in Krefeld. Poor people also belong in a society, he says. “Organized, traffic-obstructing or aggressive begging” has been banned in Krefeld for a long time. But that wasn't enough for the city: in March it issued a general decree and extended the ban to include "active" begging in the city center. In contrast, Federico Tolli from Krefeld, with the support of the Left, applied for temporary legal protection before the Düsseldorf administrative court - and was proven right this week: the begging ban is illegal and is temporarily suspended. (…) The administrative court suspended the ban on begging on the grounds that it was questionable whether the general decree was even the appropriate form of action - after all, there was already an ordinance in Krefeld that banned certain forms of begging.“If the regulation were to continue to apply, begging would have been associated with considerable uncertainty,” says Tolli’s lawyer Julius Altmiks. The security service could have relied on a ban without anyone knowing how far it really went. “The door would have been wide open for repressive measures against begging people and Mr. Tolli,” he says. The city of Krefeld justifies the need to ban “active begging” with references from citizens and retailers to “overly disruptive to aggressive begging behavior”: “Citizens should have the feeling that they can stay in Krefeld city center undisturbed,” writes the city of Krefeld to the taz…”Article by Nina Spannuth from June 10, 2023 in the taz online 
• Hundreds show solidarity with homeless people in Hamburg - but there's still Krefeld and Dortmund and...
  • Hundreds show solidarity with the homeless
    ““"Solidarity with all homeless people instead of expulsion, ban on begging and police violence": under this motto, hundreds of people demonstrated in downtown Hamburg on Saturday afternoon against the expulsion of beggars and homeless people. They marched from Hansaplatz via Mönckebergstrasse to Jungfernstieg. According to the police count, 350 people took part. The new initiative "Solidarische Strasse" called for the demonstration, together with left-wing groups, some members of the Left Party and experts from the shelter and Homeless assistance. “The expulsion makes social work in the inner city area much more difficult and homeless people are further socially excluded,” explained Anja Meyer from the initiative in advance. “We are calling on the city, instead of relying on repression and expulsion, to make money available for social assistance,” said Gudrun Greb from the Ragazza association, which also supports the call, in a speech at the demonstration. Gülay Ulas from the GoBanyo shower bus added: "We don't need bans on begging, but the political will to end homelessness! Instead of helping people, they are violently maneuvered out of sight. This has to stop!"..." Report from April 16, 2023 at indymedia , see also:
    • Hundreds show solidarity with the homeless
      Report by Lukas Gilbert from April 15, 2023 in Hinz & Kunzt 
    • Activist about begging bans in Hamburg: “Chased through the city”
      “An initiative wants to use a demonstration to draw attention to the situation of homeless people. There is great ignorance in politics and society…”Interview by Mona Rouhandeh from April 14, 2023 in the taz online 
    • More and more criticism of expulsions and begging bans
      Contribution by Benjamin Buchholz from April 12, 2023 in Hinz & Kunzt 
    • “(…)OneLegal commentary on the Hamburg law for the protection of public safety and order According to the report, the city of Hamburg tried in the past to establish a begging ordinance in the city through police law, but this failed. So now a new attempt, although the comment emphasizes that begging on the streets cannot be banned according to a court ruling. Even a legal layperson can see that the police's ban on lying down in the city is far-fetched. The city of Hamburg is once again trying to use police law to solve “problems” with homelessness, primarily meeting the needs of the powerful merchants who claim that customers feel disturbed by homeless people when shopping. But what about those customers for whom this is not the case? What do Senators Leonard and Schlotzhauer say about the displacement of the homeless by the vague legal interpretation of the police? Isn't it irresponsible if the social welfare authorities and the Green Party group do not use their own legal expertise to question the police's interpretation of police law towards homeless people? According to the police, how many passers-by felt disturbed by homeless people? Did the police attempt to obtain possible contrary statements from passers-by regarding the circumstances in question and, above all, were the affected homeless people confronted with the reasons for the disturbance in order to be able to bring about an “improvement”? Questions and questions that are crying out for legal clarification in court.” Reader's comment from Lindenberg onInterview by Kaija Kutter from April 17, 2023 in the taz online with the Green Party Mareike Engels: Politician on dealing with beggars: “More social rights for EU foreigners”
  • Ban on begging in Krefeld city center suspended due to lawsuit
    “The begging ban in Krefeld is currently suspended due to legal proceedings. A man who regularly begs had sued the city's general order. The begging ban has only been in effect in Krefeld city center for a month. The Krefeld city council decided to do so because aggressive begging in the city center had repeatedly led to complaints and problems for years. In the past, drug addicts, homeless people and beggars have often been found in the area around Krefeld's Theaterplatz. According to the city of Krefeld, the ban includes “aggressive begging by persistently speaking to, insulting, pursuing, touching, getting in the way or blocking the path, as well as gang-like and organized begging, begging that obstructs traffic and begging with children and animals.” The Left supports the plaintiffs: The city has now suspended the ban again at the request of the administrative court. An anonymous plaintiff, with the support of the Left Party faction, sued against the ban. He regularly begs between the four ramparts in Krefeld. (…) Until the court has made a decision, the city will not punish any violations of the begging ban.”Contribution from April 14, 2023 on WDR 
  • Press release on the evacuation of night camps at the main train station and the construction of inhumane, defensive architecture in Dortmund
    “Dortmund. The “Sleeping instead of Punishment” initiative has been denouncing the increasing displacement of homeless people from Dortmund city center for a long time. In the past few months, the area around the main train station has developed into a hotspot of repression, where the public order office, federal police and DB Security are jointly taking action against people living and staying there and are repeatedly moving into the gray area of ​​exceeding their authority. A few weeks ago, around March 23rd, 2023, several people's sleeping quarters under the stairs of the left outside entrance to platforms 2-6 were evacuated without warning. Some of the people's belongings were stolen and disposed of and then a wire cage was installed to prevent access to the space under the stairs. “Sleep instead of punishment” strongly condemns this unnecessarily harsh approach. Press spokeswoman Anna Flaake: "We see a further level of escalation in the actions of DB, the police and the city of Dortmund with the aim of driving homeless people out of the public space in the city center. The dignity of these people, who had simply found a halfway protected place to sleep here, is being trampled on." “Sleep instead of punishment” is in close contact with the people who were evicted and expelled from this location.“Although we were always quiet and kept the sleeping area as clean as possible, we have often received expulsions from the public order office at this point,” reported one of those affected by the initiative (note: the area belongs to Deutsche Bahn, which is why the local public order office should not actually be able to work here without further ado), and further “We still didn’t expect that we would be chased out of there completely.” Those affected said that they were woken up in the morning by the public order office with the sudden announcement that the eviction was about to begin. (…) The “Sleep instead of punishment” initiative is deeply shocked by the renewed repression and actions of DB, the police and the public order office. “It is a scandal that these people were expelled without giving them the chance to prepare and at least bring their few belongings to safety,” says Anna Flaake. "The fact that a cage was installed at this point for a lot of money a little later, which cordoned off the area under the stairs, shows that it was not about these specific people, but that general homeless people were to be pushed out of the area around the train station. The railway actually has enough important problems and construction sites that should finally be addressed.”…”Press release from April 11, 2023 from the “Sleep instead of punishment” initiative 
• Demo on April 15th in Hamburg: Solidarity with all homeless people instead of expulsion, begging ban and police violence 
  “Senate without heart and mind - The Hamburg Senate and the Hamburg police are reacting to the increasing impoverishment of people on the streets of Hamburg and pressure from retailers by criminalizing poverty through expulsion and issuing bans on begging. The police have been taking a tougher approach for several weeks and are taking action against homeless people who are in the city center. Currently, homeless people are being evicted and evicted every day. The main thing is that no one feels disturbed while shopping and the retail cash registers ring. Eviction is not a solution - Eviction makes social work in the inner city area much more difficult and homeless people are further socially excluded. The Hamburg police justify their actions with the pretext that there is a new law in Hamburg that prohibits begging. However, there is no such law (…) Let us send a signal that we do not care about the homeless in this city and that we show solidarity with them. We are stunned and shocked by the reckless actions of the Hamburg Senate and the Hamburg police…”Call from solidarischestrasse for the demonstration on April 15th. – 1 p.m. at Hansaplatz, see also thatCall from Antifa Info Hamburg on Twitter 
• Police drive beggars out of the city center - the red-green Hamburg Senate justifies the begging bans 
  “The Senate has now admitted that the police are taking action against people who set up begging in downtown Hamburg. The aim is to keep “the negative effects of homelessness as low as possible”. That the police have onetook a tougher approach against the poor and homeless in the city center the Hamburg Senate admits in an answer to a question from the left-wing social politician Stephanie Rose. This has been the case since the end of last year in response to complaints from citizens, traders and business associations, as the Senate printed matter states: “These particularly problematize the side effects of homelessness, such as an increased amount of rubbish and excrement as well as people who appear to be significantly intoxicated.” 
  Instead of helping the homeless, they are nowchased away by the police : Every day, the emergency services would receive “a briefing on the situation regarding the number of complaints and other event-related findings,” according to the Senate. Ultimately, the police's job is to "keep the negative effects of homelessness for everyone involved as low as possible within the scope of police responsibility." Begging is still generally permitted, writes the Senate, “if it simply involves approaching passers-by with a request for donations, without hindering or harassing them.” However, anyone who settles permanently in a fixed begging area and possibly sets up objects while doing so is violating the Hamburg Highways Act. This is a special use that requires approval and would hinder passers-by…”Article by Benjamin Buchholz from March 21, 2023 at Hinz&Kunzt (“Hamburg Senate justifies begging bans”), see:
  • Police drive beggars out of the city center: Anyone who wants to beg in the city of Hamburg has to stand 
    “Begging while sitting is prohibited in the city of Hamburg. Police have stepped up evictions of sitting beggars as traders complained.The police arrived on Tuesday with eight officers because two needy people wrote “Have a mark” on the ground at Hamburg Cathedral with chalk. This was “not a joke,” wrote one citizen on Twitter. Harassment against people who beg has been increasing massively for some time if the sight of them “could disturb tourists while shopping,” he tweeted, referring to the street magazine Hinz&Kunz. “Homeless people have been telling us since the end of February that the police have banned them from begging,” confirms Jörn Sturm, the managing director of Hinz&Kunz. The police are asking people who have sat down on the sidewalk with their belongings to leave the square. The reason given is that there is a new law. “But that doesn’t exist,” says Sturm. (…) Police Commissioner 14, which is responsible for the city center, responded to frequent complaints from citizens, dealers and business associations in the fall. These would have problematized the “accompanying symptoms” of homelessness, such as people who appeared to be significantly intoxicated and an increased amount of rubbish and excrement. According to the Senate, one of the tasks of the police is to “keep the negative effects of homelessness for everyone involved” as “low as possible”. (…) Sturm finds it cynical when the city writes about the negative effects of homelessness “for everyone”. The police should stop the eviction immediately “because it doesn’t help any homeless people.” Diakonie pastor Dirk Ahrens supports this. “Yes, people begging confront us directly with poverty,” he says. “But something that is unpleasant or disturbing does not necessarily mean that it should be forbidden.” People lose the center of their lives…”Article by Kaija Kutter from March 31, 2023 in the taz online 
• Who's Next? Homelessness vs. Christmas idyll 
  “In Hamburg, an exhibition commemorates those who died from the cold. It also raises the question of what architecture can contribute to the solution - and what politics should contribute.You walk downstairs under lots of sleeping bags: red, blue, green. But the colors don't convey a feeling of happiness or freedom, a camping atmosphere. The sacks just hang there, not carefully lined up like in the store or in the closet, but tightly packed and draped over clotheslines, carelessly. Empty.Kind of threatening, hopefully they don't fall and trip you up on the stairs. There are exactly 43 pieces - and they have been hanging in the Hamburg Museum of Art and Industry since mid-October. The empty sleeping bags form the introduction to the exhibition"Who's Next? Homelessness, Architecture and the City" and are, according to the accompanying text, a “sad symbol for the 43 homeless people who died in Hamburg in 2021 alone.” (…) The exhibition organizers are taking sides: “We have to get the homeless off the streets!” they write: With the initiative#ZeroBy2030 They want to remind the city of Hamburg of its promise to completely eliminate homelessness by 2030 at the latest. At the same time, they collect money to provide homeless people with a permanent roof over their heads. But in times of inflation, when donations are also collected for war victims in Ukraine and other conflict regions as well as for environmental concerns, fundraising obviously cannot solve the problem. Homelessness is a global problem, according to the exhibition organizers. Solutions, however, would have to be discussed and found on site…”Contribution by Ulrike Heitmüller from December 23, 2022 in Telepolis 
• Anti-homeless architecture: freezing cold
  “Reports of cold deaths are increasing. Meanwhile, public and private sectors are relying on architecture that pushes homeless people out of the cityscape. A group of Stuttgart activists counters with manual labor. (…) Last week, the Federal Working Group for Homeless Assistance (BAG W) listed the first cold deaths. “Winter is just starting,” the message says. A 62-year-old homeless man was found dead on a park bench in Schmalkalden (Thuringia). A 39-year-old homeless man froze to death in Hanover's main train station. The official manner of death of a 40-year-old who was found dead in front of a supermarket in Saarlouis after a night of rain and temperatures around freezing point remains unclear. “Since there is no evidence of foul play, the man’s body will not be autopsied,” reports Saarländischer Rundfunk. The BAG W lists 23 homeless people who froze to death in the Federal Republic of Germany last winter. However, there are no official statistics from the government. The number of victims is not recorded, and the homeless assistance agency assumes that the number of unreported cases is high. (…) In the “target concept for a liveable city center,” the city administration promises more “rooms for strolling and relaxing,” and the “quality of stay in the entire area should be further increased.” But in the new construction of the “Staatsgalerie” tram stop, which is mentioned here as an example and cost 100 million euros, benches were chosen that no one can lie on.In order to at least send a symbolic signal against the exclusion of the poorest, twelve young men and women have now done manual work, i.e. dismantled the 60 steel angles in front of the empty bench…”Article by Minh Schredle from December 21, 2022 in kontaktwochenzeitung.de 
• Dying on the streets begins: Hamburg forces homeless people to leave the buildings of the winter emergency program during the day, despite sub-zero temperatures 
  "Every year there is a political dispute in Hamburg about whether it is right for the city to send the approximately 700 people who are staying overnight in two large shelters in the winter emergency program onto the streets during the day from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. The SPD-led social authority is adamant about this. Even the icy temperatures of recent days have not changed that. When asked whether people have to leave the emergency shelters during the day even in view of the current cold, authority spokesman Martin explained Helfrich on Thursday morning at 10:10 a.m.: "In special weather conditions, there is the possibility of opening during the day; a corresponding weather warning from the DWD has not yet been issued." At that point, people had already had to leave their accommodation on Friesenstrasse in the Hammerbrook and Billbrook districts for 40 minutes. According to the theory, they should drive to day care centers in other parts of the city, where they can also get something to eat. But they are not always open and only have limited spaces. (…) The health mobile achieved last week by issuing a medical certificate for two people,