A four-star hotel in the German town of Halle (in Saxony-Anhalt, the former DDR) was abruptly converted into “refugee” housing. Hotel employees and business owners received little or no information about the closure beforehand, and many were taken by surprise, finding themselves locked out and suddenly unemployed.
What is notable about the following German news report is the restrained response given by most of the people interviewed. There is simmering anger in their voices, but they are at pains to emphasize that it is not directed at the “New Germans” who are getting off the buses and moving into the hotel. Presumably they are angry at their elected political leaders and the bureaucratic functionaries who serve them, but these newly-unemployed citizens are careful not to voice any specifics in that regard. Perhaps they don’t want to ruin their chances of getting another job.
Many thanks to Nash Montana for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:
Transcript:
| 0:06 | Welcome to Exact. | |
| 0:09 | Taken by surprise, and marooned, that’s how the employees of the Hotel Maritim feel now in Halle | |
| 0:14 | The hotel has been made into an accommodation for refugees. | |
| 0:17 | The employees learned from the media that the hotel shut down operations, | |
| 0:21 | and as of today, most don’t know what is going to happen to them now. | |
| 0:26 | From a four-star hotel to a refugee reception center. Our reporters are on location: | |
| 0:34 | The Maritim hotel in Halle, last Thursday. Police cars are positioned. | |
| 0:37 | Employees are gathered at a side entrance. | |
| 0:42 | The hotel has ceased all operations effective immediately. | |
| 0:46 | They just, they made this all, without consultation with us, right over our heads | |
| 0:53 | Visitors, and people who own businesses in the hotel, are dismissed and told to leave. | |
| 1:00 | Yesterday as I came in for the late shift, I learned that from today, I am not allowed to enter | |
| 1:06 | my business anymore and that I cannot serve any more customers. | |
| 1:11 | Since last week, nothing is how it used to be here anymore. In one heave-ho action, | |
| 1:16 | they transformed a four-star hotel into a refugee center. | |
| 1:20 | Employees only learned of this from the media at the beginning of September. | |
| 1:24 | The Great Refugee Crisis. It arrived in the midst of the Maritim staff. | |
| 1:29 | Andreas Lehmann is the puzzled chairman of the workers’ council. | |
| 1:36 | We accompany him on his last day to his place of employment. | |
| 1:40 | He has worked in the Hotel industry for 37 years. He was the night-shift auditor | |
| 1:44 | at the hotel reception. Now he’s out of work. | |
| 1:50 | ”Yes, I am angry, that my employment has been terminated. I don’t know… | |
| 1:58 | I am seething. I don’t know how I’m supposed to act.” | |
| 2:02 | Last Thursday he met with his colleagues at the hotel that now isn’t one anymore. | |
| 2:08 | About fifty colleagues have gathered. Britt Heidenreich is there too. It is her birthday today of all days. | |
| 2:14 | She is 42 years old; for 25 years she worked at the Maritim as a waitress. | |
| 2:20 | The sudden closure took her completely by surprise, like everyone else. | |
| 2:25 | ”I don’t think anyone expected this. Until the 5th of September | |
| 2:29 | when we had to learn of this through the press. | |
| 2:32 | How do we deal with this… We are trying to process it, we didn’t want to believe this | |
| 2:37 | for the longest time, but meanwhile… this is the bitter truth.” | |
| 2:42 | ”Employees were informed from the very beginning of the repurposing of the hotel, and they were offered | |
| 2:48 | compensatory places of work,” says the Maritim Corporation when being asked. | |
| 2:54 | But obviously this had never reached the employees, they feel marooned. | |
| 2:59 | Michael Schwammberger has worked at the hotel since 1985 as a chef. | |
| 3:04 | ”I don’t have anything to say, it’s all done.” | |
| 3:09 | ”How do you feel treated by your employer, how long have you worked for them?” | |
| 3:14 | ”41 years. 41 years. I started here as an apprentice when I was 16. And now they pull the rug out | |
| 3:22 | from underneath our feet. Just like that.” | |
| 3:26 | The staff walk away to a worker’s assembly meeting. But there they also won’t learn what is going to happen with them now. | |
| 3:33 | They are angry that now suddenly they hear everywhere that the hotel wasn’t profitable anyway. | |
| 3:38 | The Hotel Maritim, built in 1968, had always been regarded as a modern carte de visite for the city of Halle. | |
| 3:46 | 310 single rooms were considered hard to manage, and with a revenue goal of €3 million | |
| 3:52 | per year, money was strictly budgeted. | |
| 3:56 | But from now on, the Maritim Corporation will earn €3 million with refugees every year. | |
| 4:00 | A three-year rental contract has been signed with the county of Sachsen-Anhalt. | |
| 4:05 | The county was desperately seeking for refugee facilities. | |
| 4:10 | ”They say they were under pressure, but I have to say, they made these problems themselves. | |
| 4:15 | That we have to suffer for these problems created by politicians… that’s very sad.” | |
| 4:19 | Politics under pressure. How much so shows in the tempo. | |
| 4:24 | On September 10th, the contract was ready to be signed. On October 1st, the first refugees arrived | |
| 4:30 | A hotel was transformed into a temporary address for refugees. | |
| 4:34 | But when the first buses arrived, the welcome was scornful. | |
| 4:43 | Protests. The usual suspects. People hiding behind banners, | |
| 4:47 | not facing the reality of a world full of refugees. | |
| 4:52 | 17,000 asylum seekers were taken into Sachsen-Anhalt county alone this year. | |
| 4:57 | The Center for refugee processing in Halberstadt is hopelessly overwhelmed. | |
| 5:02 | The hotel is supposed to bring some relief. It has been planned that up to 700 people will live here. | |
| 5:07 | This has nothing to do with luxury accommodation in a four-star hotel. | |
| 5:13 | The small one-bed rooms are being occupied by up to five people. | |
| 5:17 | Rumors that the refugees are enjoying an exclusive kitchen are propaganda from the Internet. | |
| 5:24 | While the refugees move in, the business owners have to say goodbye to the hotel. | |
| 5:29 | The proprietors of the hair salon and the beauty salon were caught off guard as well by the closing. | |
| 5:35 | Since the 1st of October, the clientele can’t come back onto the property. | |
| 5:38 | The salon owner Karin Lüschke feels completely let down by politicians and the Maritim Corporation | |
| 5:44 | ”Nobody helps. Nobody cares. We have nothing to say. | |
| 5:49 | They do everything for the refugees, which doesn’t mean I’m angry at the refugees, in no way, | |
| 5:54 | but they should’ve treated us differently. | |
| 5:57 | They should have talked to us differently. Not from one day to the next.” | |
| 6:01 | Also finished are the infant swimming courses at the hotel’s own swimming pool. | |
| 6:08 | The trainer Kathrin Zäh rented space here, but she is out of work as well now. | |
| 6:14 | She is disappointed, but she’s not angry. Especially not at the refugees. | |
| 6:18 | ”Oh well, this is certainly a difficult situation, for Germany to find adequate housing | |
| 6:24 | for the refugees, where they can live under humane conditions. | |
| 6:29 | But on the other hand, that people are being put out in the street, | |
| 6:34 | unemployed, that other people who helped build this hotel, like the swimming pool, | |
| 6:38 | that they can’t use these structures anymore, | |
| 6:42 | to figure out the situation, I’m sure it was hard. | |
| 6:46 | I just find it disappointing how hastily everything went down.” | |
| 6:50 | This kid and his family from Iraq know nothing of the frustration behind the curtains. | |
| 6:55 | What takes place in and at the hotel is being watched closely | |
| 6:59 | by Helmut Geier, directly opposite. | |
| 7:03 | The 80-year-old has seen a lot as a seaman for the German Marines. | |
| 7:07 | But what happens right now in front of his own door, it touches him. | |
| 7:13 | ”I am just happy that these people have a place to sleep, yes? I mean, they have been | |
| 7:18 | fleeing, doesn’t matter where they come from, but at least now they have sort of arrived somewhere. | |
| 7:26 | I think that’s pretty nice. | |
| 7:29 | Refugees need help, and they need a place to stay. | |
| 7:32 | But for the Hotel staff anger and frustration remains that neither the Hotel Corporation nor the politicians | |
| 7:36 | made an effort to talk to them honestly and promptly. | |
| 7:42 | A few weeks ago, before the staff had gotten a taste of the refugee crisis, | |
| 7:47 | when some of them were housed as guests. Andreas Lehmann and his colleagues | |
| 7:51 | would’ve been willing to engage in helping. | |
| 7:54 | ”Surely we could’ve found a solution where we could’ve helped with the care for refugees, | |
| 8:00 | but they decided all that over our heads. Now we’re not allowed to… So now… it’s over.” |
Welcome to the ‘new Europe’.
The unholy marriage of business and state.
An aggressive cancer growth industry. National suicide by numbers.
I’ve got that nasty feeling that this is only the trickle before the deluge and Merkel now wants to get refugees from third party states directly.
In fr https://francais.rt.com/international/8978-allemagne-quotas-migrants-turquie-union-europenne-souverainete
“In contrast with some European governments, Angela Merkel would like to manage the migration crisis by directly seeking refugees in the Middle East in order to then better share it in Europe.”
Yes LeDahu, this deluge has been envisioned
After all Merkel has found that there is no real opposition in the government and not really from the people. Just look as everyone shrugs their shoulders and still implies that we must help those refugees. Just an oversight by the government, and better ways must be found for the poor immigrant.
Probably for some native Germans being unnerved now, will be helped, but it will turn into a “Ponzi scheme” as the number of “dislocations” will soar, and so later it will crash, so the tail end of dislocated German truly will be on the street, in the cold. Then it will be much too late to stop or change and basically Coudenhove-kalergi societies such as My Europe will have won.
http://www.my-europe.org/about/
It is interesting how this is all portrayed for television general consumption. Yes some problems, but it is an emergency, (“think of the children” whooops, ahhh there)
, could be better handled, too bad, never mind. Will do better ! ! (Yeah right)
Just sort of nimby (Not In My Back Yard) not my hotel but pass the problem to other towns, other states, other countries.
Yes Merkel is holding to the Coudenhove-Kalergi plan and it appears stiffened by the “Hooten Plan” as it is believed that too many countries are “too homogenous” This is inculcated through schools, academia, bureaucracies. I can see the similarity particularly with HR Clinton, with some Utube interviews and now J. Trudeau PM of Canada. I am sure that contagion runs through many western universities, lead by the Ivy league ones that many get scholarships to study at, and network with and end up in politics and the civil service.
But of course Merkel at al will go on doing what they do – does anyone really expect them to change? When Copernicus explained his closer-to-truth discoveries did the Ptolemaics admit they were wrong?
Merkel et al got where they’ve got to by virtue of their adherence to the prevailing worldview – they are its (public) leaders. They’ll never say they got it wrong. But then neither did Mussolini.
I look at those responses too. It makes me feel sad, frustrated, and sure the government is to blame, but the policies of destroying homogeneous peoples have been in place for over 60 years ! ! !, ok slowly but the flow has been stepping up in many countries, and I know the truth of the problems are covered over by the media, spouting on over professors with “papers of wisdom” on economics, demography etc. Dam it, just look how Europe, Britain coped with the Black Plagues and Religious Wars. If a society wishes and the woman are ok with it, many woman of good child bearing age could have a baby every 2 years for almost 20 years or more, with a very good survival rate.
Computerization, Robotics mean we do not need all the cheap labour !
May be they are bought up ignorant about politics, economics, demography, history religion and all that elite with the media etc. etc., have so muddied the waters and hold that diversity plans to be so great. There is no alternative viable opposition party so going along with immigration is an acceptance, sort of an appeasement, that I will be gone before the crocodile looks for me, and even now it is not really an issue.
Those Germans held their cool, carefully using words, in front of a camera, and I feel that free speech in Germany is totally bottled.
Probably even if any inappropriate words were said, or some one with sound commonsense pointed out “the emperor has no clothes” or the problem of young men and what the koran, hijra, sharia halal and jihad means then they would not be televised at all, covering for the indoctrinated parliament and instituitons. Though I would be quite sure that name would be noted and used against him at a more suitable time by the authorities.
The other part is I believe they do not really know what is going on, other than it is a “Great Refugee Crisis” and they must all “help”.
They are all very nice and generous people and I would be pleased to know any one of them. Some of them would have given their coats of their back. However I would respectfully not ask and if having to receive help would do what I could when I was in a better position.
Not one word against the politicians’ policies of allowing this refugee influx. Not stronger borders, not stronger policing of German laws.
Just that the politicians inconvenienced them and did not organize with them, how to cope with the flow.
Nor do I want to be merciless to the genuine refugees either, but as I recall quite a while ago, in trying to come up with an answer was to carve out “green economic zones” and countries and run them under martial law, banning one religion in particular, under penalty of deportation. Genuine refugees would be quietly thankful for the peace and security.
After all what is the difference to unwittingly carving up, cannibalizing and “Balkanizing” Europe.
Not much choice as the current government, Merkel’s party, Christian Democratic Union is centre right and so is the other supporting party. The opposition parties leftish, really have the same agenda that are all to the left. So it is extremely difficult to kick Merkel out.
The policy of Pan Europe with the aim not to have an homogeneous peoples, goes back 90 years. This insidious agenda in the name of “peace” was not discussed or debated, but was a driven subtle indoctrination so they even they believed it unquestioningly, for peace until asked for a “great sacrifice” of their jobs, for the moment. A wonderful combination as even George Bush, muslims and many peaceful people seem to want to co join and created a neologism of the Religion of Peace, and dove tailed so well with other islamic claims.
At the moment the hotel “offered compensatory places of work” and would probably fund severance/redundancy, so many months payment for each year of employment. I would think possibly the municipality would try and give a part benefit allowance or such and so would the federal government. I am 2nd guessing this, but this is so to try to smooth over the bumps and not drive any one to PEGIDA. Perhaps another reason not to speak out in a country that controls free speech and thought.
Really needs freedom to allow for much open discussion and debate, on the issues.
May we truly understand and value our free speech, and protect it.
It would appear that the terminated employees had to choose their statements very carefully. They would face ‘red tape’ or be given a ‘hard time’ when applying for unemployment benefits.
I suspect they are worried about the state putting them on charges for Islamaphobia and Hate Speech.
Look at Sweden. They let in muslims. They can not even punish them. Islamphobia?
Rape 12 years old girl and didn’t even get jail time. It is your future Germany.
http://www.amren.com/news/2015/07/immigrant-to-sweden-rapes-12-year-old-girl-gets-community-service/
Isn’t this what conquering armies do, occupy the homes of civilians? I would think this would be all too familiar to those still alive from WWII.
What’s wrong with the German people. You just let Merkel do what she wants. It is very similar how nazi Germany started.
Back then they killed the Jews, Gypsies, and the crippled. Now add everybody else who is not muslim.
Time for a 21st Century Operation Valkyrie; unfortunately there seems to be a total lack of German males with the courage of Erwin Rommel and Klaus von Stauffenberg.
Massive wars have consequences. WWII managed to kill off the best and brightest in Europe that hadn’t been snuffed in WWI. Read C.S. Lewis for the whys.