Germany to house Refugees In An Old Concentration Camp

[Melech 9,900]

 

 

A housing shortage for asylum seekers in Germany has led one city to propose a controversial solution that would place 21 refugees in a barracks on the grounds of a Nazi-era concentration camp.

Carsten Morgenthal, who is a spokesman for the city of Schwerte in North Rhine Westphalia, tells the Westdeutsche Allgemeine newspaper it isn't the first time this would be done.

Two decades ago, Schwerte officials also placed refugees at what was once a forced labor branch of the notorious Buchenwald camp during World War II.

Schwerte officials say the building they plan to use for the latest asylum seekers was actually built after the war. In addition to lodging the earlier refugees, it's been used as a kindergarten, a warehouse and an artists studio.

But other German officials  including the premier of North Rhine Westphalia  say the plan is unacceptable.

A growing chorus is criticizing Schwerte for being insensitive toward the refugees and the camp's painful history. Rikola-Gunnar Luettgenau, who is deputy director of the Buchenwald memorial, told DPA news agency that what the city is proposing is a "bad solution."

Schwerte's leaders say they are surprised by the outcry, and they refuse to budge.

"All buildings can't be taboo 70 years after the Second World War," Mayor Heinrich Boeckeluehr told Zeit Online.

In an interview with German public radio's Mitteldeutschen Rundfunk, Birgit Naujocks, who heads the NRW Refugee Council, called on the city to instead use repurposed shipping containers for the refugees. The city dismissed that idea as too expensive.

With an ever growing number of refugees arriving in Germany, the national government is asking local governments to contend with the newcomers.

The figures are still being tabulated, but United Nations officials say that in 2014 Germany likely had its highest number of asylum seekers in the past two decades  more than twice as many as France and 20,000 more than the U.S.

One in five of those coming to Germany is from Syria, while significant numbers are also coming from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Kosovo and Serbia.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/parallels/2015/01/16/377756096/a-german-plan-house-refugees-in-an-old-concentration-camp

 

 

Idk, on one hand it's good that they want to turn something bad into something good. But idk. 

[RAMROD 117,520]

That sounds curious

Inb4 someone yell Nazi :sis:

[Pitch 204]

Eek

[Melech 9,900]

That sounds curious

Inb4 someone yell Nazi

I will drag that person so much since he most likely didn't read the article  

[Miky 9,588]

This thread will get messy.

[Valextra 58]

Well better than nothing I guess, I understand it's not the best thing put people in there but if they don't have other alternatives, don't know what to think 

[Melech 9,900]

Well better than nothing I guess, I understand it's not the best thing put people in there but if they don't have other alternatives, don't know what to think 

Exactly. Germany is taking more refugees than any other western country. 

And we shortages of houses where they can live. It will be only a temporary solution, i guess 

[Andy McQueen 4,484]

Beyond tasteless tbh ...

[xoxo cupcakke 4,781]

Well, the building was made after the war but it just seems creepy. Like, I don't know. I have no words to explain this event other than it is about time people start moving on from WWII but never forgetting everything that happened in WWII. Same thing for the US. For the longest time, 9/11 was such a terrible day of sadness and tragedy but now, people have started to not een realize it's 9/11, which is both bad and good because no one will ever forget 9/11 but not a lot of emphasis is being placed on it.

Kind of scared my words will be taken out of context though

[Andy McQueen 4,484]

I mean it's good that they get a home but why does it have to be a place that was so horrible in history? 

[Melech 9,900]

Beyond tasteless tbh ...

 

What else should we do with the building? I'm still here to destroy those buildings since they are useless and to then we should build a proper house.

Though there is a huge wave of refugees coming to Germany. We can't let them live on the streets or in super bad conditions. 

I mean it's good that they get a home but why does it have to be a place that was so horrible in history? 

Shortage of building to offer. 

[Andy McQueen 4,484]

What else should we do with the building? I'm still here to destroy those buildings since they are useless and to then we should build a proper house.

Though there is a huge wave of refugees coming to Germany. We can't let them live on the streets or in super bad conditions. 

Shortage of building to offer. 

 

Okay, I understand. Well then it's good. I just personally can't imagine to live in a place where millions were tortued and killed brutally in the past (I mean the place still seems to look the way it looked back then?), but I understand there's no other way.

[Giorno Giovanna 3,178]

queen simona, educating me about my country...one sequin at a time

[Melech 9,900]

Okay, I understand. Well then it's good. I just personally can't imagine to live in a place where millions were tortued and killed brutally in the past (I mean the place still seems to look the way it looked back then?), but I understand there's no other way.

Naja, an dem Ort sind jetzt keine Millionen gestorben. (Ich bin mir auch nicht sicher, ob da überhaupt ein Massentöten war in diesem KZ) 

Und das sage ich ,als jemand, dessen Teile seine Vorfahren in KZ waren und dort zum Teil gestorben sind. 

[Luiz 4,253]

Schwerte officials say the building they plan to use for the latest asylum seekers was actually built after the war. In addition to lodging the earlier refugees, it's been used as a kindergarten, a warehouse and an artists studio.

 

i'm fine with it. throw em in