§ "If we are serious about the fight against Islamism and
terrorism, then it must also be a cultural struggle." — German Vice
Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel.
§ German authorities issued 105,000 visas for so-called family
reunifications in 2016, a 50% increase over the 70,000 visas issued in 2015,
according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The 105,000 visas for family members
were in addition to the 280,000 new asylum seekers who arrived in Germany in
2016.
§ Police say Sudanese migrants, many of whom were allowed to enter
Germany without having their fingerprints taken, have "created a business
model" out of social security fraud. Local officials have been accused of
covering up the fraud.
§ An employee at a social security office handed her boss a file
with 30 cases of suspected fraud. After he refused to act, she contacted the
police. She was fired for "overstepping her authority."
§ Finance Minister Wolfgang Schäuble revealed that the migrant
crisis would cost German taxpayers €43 billion ($46 billion) during 2016 (€21.7
billion) and 2017 (€21.3 billion).
§ The Bishop of Regensburg, Rudolf Voderholzer, said there could be
no reconciliation between Christians and Muslims. Islam is a
"post-Christian phenomenon, with the claim to negate the core content of
Christianity," he said.
January 1. Some 2,000 "highly
aggressive" migrants from Africa, Asia and the Middle East gathered at the central train station in
Cologne and the square in front of the iconic Cologne Cathedral, where mass
sexual assaults occurred on New Year's Eve 2015. A massive police presence
consisting of 1,700 officers deterred mayhem. Police reported three sexual
assaults on New Year's Eve 2016, compared to more than a thousand on the same
day in 2015.
January 1. In Berlin, at least 22 women
were sexually assaulted
during New Year's Eve celebrations at the Brandenburg Gate, despite the
presence of 1,700 police officers. Police initially reported six assaults, but
after inquiries from local media raised that number. In Hamburg, at least 14
women were sexually assaulted.
Police arrested three Iraqis, three Syrians, two Afghans, one Eritrean and one
German-Russian.
