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Welcome to the Club: How Vereine Can Turn Berlin from a City of Strangers into a Home
In 2000 Robert D. Putnam published a book, “Bowling Alone”, in which he argued that Americans were becoming increasingly isolated and removed from community and social capital. He took the institution of the Bowling League as his prime example. I remember when the book came out – though, admittedly, I never got around to reading […]
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“Civil Courage Begins in Everyday Life – and Ends Where We Look Away” – Diana Henniges on 12 Years of Moabit hilft
WHP: Can you briefly introduce your organization? What is its main mission in Berlin? Diana Henniges: Moabit hilft e.V. is an independent, civil society association that emerged in 2013 from a spontaneous neighborhood initiative. We support people in urgent need – whether they are refugees, have a migration background, or need help for entirely different […]
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“Darth Vader speaks Amtssprache”: The Chilling Poetry of German Bureaucracy
Every bureaucracy has its language; one might even go further to say that language is bureaucracy’s main tool. The characteristics of bureaucratic speech are well known: thick, complicated sentences, dripping with precision and impersonality. It is intentionally difficult to understand, requiring a certain amount of skill and training in its dark art. Most people will […]
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The Kiez: Where Berlin Becomes Personal
I’ve often said that in France every region has its dish, its wine, and its cheese; in Germany, every region has its dish, beer, sausage…and language. If we learned German before coming here, we learned “High German” (Hochdeutsch) – because it’s spoken in the high country… not because it’s lofty, or something – and then […]
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From Budapest to Berlin: “The biggest change for me was this strong sense of locality”
WHP: When did you move to Berlin, and what brought you here? Balázs Dénes: I moved to Berlin with my family in 2017 for professional reasons, as, together with others, I established a non-profit organization here. I am still happy with that decision from 10 years ago, and it brought us to where we are […]
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What does the Bezirksamt actually do, and why should you care?
Most Berliners know the Bezirksamt as the place where they wait weeks for a Bürgeramt appointment. But behind the paperwork lies one of the most important layers of democracy in the city — the level of government that shapes daily life in every neighborhood. Berlin often feels like two cities at once: a capital where […]
