Petersdorf in Brandenburg is a small village with only 600 residents. It is close to the spa town of Bad Saarow, a place with beautiful natural landscapes and an idyllic way of life. Brandenburg is one of Germany’s least populated states.
Now, in a move that has outraged locals, the Federal government has announced plans to house 500 migrants in a nearby former army barracks. The four-storey building can house 300 men, but plans are afoot to install residential “containers” to house the other 200 that are expected.
As happens all too frequently in Britain and Ireland, the wishes and safety of the local population is secondary to the government’s need to find accommodation for the newcomers.
In recent state elections, Brandenburg swung decisively to the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), delivering the party close to 30 percent of the vote. Locals told a reporter from the Welt newspaper that they don’t know how the limited facilities in the village will handle the unexpected surge of migrants.
The plan to lodge the 500 refugees in the village was rejected by the local council, but the government ignored their protests. Paragraph 246 of the German Building Code has been used time and time again across Germany to stifle opposition, as it allows for the construction of emergency refugee accommodations as quickly as possible.
The AFD has cited this case as a further illustration of the impact of mass immigration on the transformation of communities. The Oder-Spree branch of the party wrote:
“Shock for Petersdorf and Bad Saarow. These are gigantic numbers that reflect the extent of migration: more than 8 million foreigners migrated to Germany since 2005, according to the Federal Statistical Office… Especially cruel is once again a case right here in the district of Oder-Spree.
“In Petersdorf, located between Fürstenwalde and Bad Saarow, container villages are created. In total, 500 migrants are to be housed in the middle of the forest on the site of a former barracks at Fuchsbau. That would double the population. Locals say, ‘This has nothing to do with democracy anymore.’”
Credits:
Main Image: X.
Lower Image: Public Domain. St. John’s Church in Petersdorf dates from the 13th century.
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