The cruel treatment of refugees housed at the former Berlin-Tegel airport throws a spotlight on the alleged concern for people in war zones. The billions of euros in taxpayers’ money do not benefit the refugees, but fill the coffers of the companies involved. And that is the intention.
Around 5,000 people are currently living in Germany’s largest refugee camp under devastating conditions. If Berlin’s Senate (the state executive is a coalition of Christian Democrats [CDU] and Social Democrats [SPD]) has its way, there will soon be up to 8,000 people there.
In public, Berlin’s Senator (state minister) for Social Affairs, Cansel Kiziltepe (SPD), expresses regret about the miserable conditions, with which she is very familiar. However, the Senate has no intention of improving anything; instead, it has decided to continue operating the refugee camp until the end of 2025.
With the beginning of the war in Ukraine in February 2022 and the wave of refugees that soon followed, Tegel was set up as the “Ukraine Arrival Centre TXL” for refugees from Ukraine. The arrival of the refugees from Ukraine was exploited in the media to justify the warmongering against Russia and support for the right-wing extremist Zelensky regime.
At that time, the SPD, the Left Party and the Greens still formed the state government in Berlin. “We have to make room. Every shelter we provide is a condemnation of Putin’s war,” declared Katja Kipping (Left Party). As Senator for Social Affairs, she was directly responsible for setting up this temporary arrangement made of tents and parts of the terminal building, which for the refugees is more of a detention centre and prison than a place to live.
The plan was to distribute Ukrainians fleeing war and poverty to proper accommodation throughout Germany after a short stay and once the necessary administrative formalities had been completed. It quickly became clear that the reality was completely different: the hopelessly overburdened and outdated infrastructure in Berlin means, among other things, that the average stay is 200 days, and for many it is even more than a year.
“We have already collected so many complaints, but it does not help. They want things from people who cannot provide them,” Der Spiegel cites one Ukrainian refugee in a detailed report about the devastating conditions in the Tegel refugee shelter.
Most Ukrainian refugees are traumatised, families have been torn apart. The men, threatened with death and injury at the front, some forcibly conscripted into the army, are no longer allowed to leave Ukraine due to the general mobilisation for war if they are over 16 years old. Many women have come to Germany with their children, hoping to give them a life without war. Here they are struggling to survive, to find decent accommodation, to find work and to find a school for their children.
The conditions in the large tents are unbearably cramped, with 380 people crammed into each. In the sleeping areas, 14 people have to huddle together—randomly assembled. Single women, mothers with children and babies, the elderly and the sick—including people with mental illnesses—and single men live here together without blankets or doors, without privacy or space for personal belongings. The corridors between the bunk beds are so narrow that two people can hardly pass each other.
Sleep is almost unthinkable under such conditions, because someone always has to get out of bed or is coughing, a child cries or a phone rings. In addition, there is dirt, along with mice and vermin, in the tents, which are a breeding ground for infections. There have already been outbreaks of highly contagious diseases such as chickenpox and measles, and, of course, COVID can also spread unhindered here.
Dirty showers, clogged toilets smeared with fecal matter, a large proportion of which are usually out of order, are part of everyday life. Like so many other things, the residents are not allowed to clean the facilities themselves.
There is no possibility to do their own cooking or even just to warm something up, and so the residents have to survive on cheap mass-produced food handed out in a dining tent. Many complain about inedible meals. Plates and cutlery are made of plastic and the tables and benches are dirty. Of course, no consideration is given to dietary plans for medical reasons, such as diabetes.
However, it is not just inhumanity, but above all the prospect of huge profits that was the focus when the refugee camp was set up and that makes life a daily hell for the refugees.
Although the conditions for the people living here are miserable, the operation of the camp devours almost half a billion euros of taxpayers’ money every year–about €250 a day for each of the 5,000 refugees!
The Berlin State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF), which is responsible for the accommodation of refugees in Berlin, awarded the contracts for the operation of the camp in 2022. However, the LAF refuses to provide any information about exactly where the funds for the refugee camp go—it is a “trade secret,” according to the answer to a request from Der Spiegel magazine.
The German Red Cross (DRK), which received the contract to operate the camp from the LAF in 2022 without a call for tenders, is making a lot of money from it. According to Spiegel, the Berlin 2024 budget includes payments of €216 million for the DRK.
In the foreword to the 2022/2023 yearbook of the Berlin Red Cross, it says: “The ‘Ukraine Arrival Centre TXL’ quickly became a model facility for the professional and empathetic reception of refugees.” What a mockery! This was signed by the president of DRK Berlin, Mario Czaja of the CDU, who was Senator for Social Affairs in Berlin until 2016.
Messe Berlin GmbH, among the world’s 10 largest trade fair companies operating their own exhibition grounds, is 100 percent owned by the state of Berlin. It also makes huge profits by renting out tents and organising security at Tegel. Compared to 2019, when Messe Berlin made a half-million-euro loss, it turned a €7.5-million-profit in 2023.
The main reason for this was the increase in “other” sales revenues, which did not come from the trade fair’s core business and which increased more than tenfold from €12 million in 2019 to €143 million in 2023. The 2023 annual report also states that the turnover “was significantly influenced by the revenues from the accommodation and care of refugees at the former Tegel Airport.”
As Senator for Social Affairs of the state of Berlin, Czaja was also head of the Office for Refugee Affairs, which later awarded the contract to the DRK, of which he is now president. Messe Berlin, in turn, awards contracts to Apleona Security Services (formerly Gegenbauer), where Czaja held a senior position for many years.
The inhuman treatment of war refugees, the tightening of asylum laws and the increasing agitation against refugees by all the establishment politicians and their lackeys in the media must be rejected decisively and with contempt. They are an expression of the extreme shift to the right and the fascist danger emanating from ruling circles in big business and the so-called “democratic” parties, which are in reality implementing the demands of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The worldwide attacks on the entire working class—the jobs massacre, wage cuts and abolition of social achievements and democratic rights—are the other side of this shift to the right. The unprecedented social cuts, which are leading to poverty and misery worldwide, while billions are spent on armaments and the danger of a third world war must be stopped. This fight must begin with the defence of the weakest in society, the refugees and asylum seekers.
The refugee shelter at Berlin's Tegel airport, which houses 5,000 people, mostly from Ukraine, was only meant to be temporary. But some residents have been there for almost two years now and frustration is mounting. Berlin authorities say the problem is that there is nowhere else available to house everyone in the capital, which is already experiencing a housing crisis.
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Volume 10 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1061584
This article is part of the Research TopicAir Quality: Observation, Remote Sensing, and Model DevelopmentView all 5 articles
Airports contribute substantially to ultrafine particle (UFP; <100 nm) concentrations on a local scale
which derive mainly from combustion processes
are generated during take-off and landing of aircraft
and by vehicles transporting goods and people on the airfield
UFPs are considered particularly harmful to human health as their small size enables them to pass far into the human body
This study investigates the extent to which particle number concentrations (PNCs) sized 7–2,000 nm respond to the cessation of air traffic due to the closure of a major airport
PNCs and wind data were monitored with a 5 s resolution at one location on the airfield of Berlin-Tegel Airport (TXL)
The station was located 600 –640 m east of the runways and thus downwind of the runways for the predominant wind direction
Observations took place 24 h per day every day for about 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after the closure of the airport
a total of 2,507 take-offs and landings took place
this study shows 30 %–40% lower PNCs on average
2.5-fold lower maximum values as well as a 3-fold lower PNC spread after the closure of the airport
These differences are evident only during the day with active flight operations
70% lower and 30% less frequent PNC peaks occur downwind of the airport after flight operations are discontinued
This unique natural experiment allows for relatively clear conclusions about the relevance of airport operations on PNCs in the airfield area
The measurements carried out before and after the closure allow a direct comparison of the PNCs during airport operations and without any
our study reveals the change in UFP concentration that can be achieved through a reduction in flight operations
the largest airport in Germany’s capital
was relocated from the north of the city 26 km to the south
This provided a unique opportunity to measure PNCs on the airfield of TXL before and after it was closed
flight operations did not take place at full capacity even before the relocation
The number of flights dropped to about 25 %–30% of the usual amount of air traffic in autumn
this allowed our study an in-depth analysis of individual flight impacts
this implies that the PNC values do not represent situations with regular flight activities at TXL
This study analyses the impact of the closure of TXL on PNCs on the airfield
PNC was measured at a fixed location on the airfield 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after the closure of the airport
and maximum PNCs as well as their standard deviation before and after the closure of TXL
including variations of PNCs with different wind directions
we contrast changes of PNCs due to the cessation of flight operations with wind from either the direction of the airfield or the nearby road network
We expect road traffic to be the second major emitter of UFPs in the immediate vicinity of the monitoring station and contrast its contribution with that of the airport
we examine changes in the number and duration of short-term PNC peaks as well as their average and maximum PNCs
the motorway passes through a tunnel (850 m long) that runs under the eastern part of the airfield
North-east of the airfield there are several roads including the motorway access road
Study site: The monitoring site was located east of the runways (blue dot) of Berlin-Tegel Airport (grey area)
The motorway (A111; red line) that crosses the airfield from north to south in the east of the runways leads underground through a tunnel (area of the green rectangle)
We recorded PNCs and meteorological parameters east of the southern runway (Figure 1)
2.2 km from the centre of the airport
600 m from the easternmost part of the southern and 640 m from the easternmost part of the northern runway
We recorded PNCs with a butanol-based Grimm EDM465 UFPC condensation particle counter (CPC). The device included the pre-installed 1 m sampling pipe coated with a nafion membrane for isothermal humidity extraction and a 2 µm precipitator at the sampling head (GRIMM, 2013)
We measured the meteorological variables with a Lufft WS600-UMB weather monitor
Both monitors collected measurements every 5 s (response time of CPC)
The manufacturer of the CPC specifies the particle size in a range between 7 nm (with a 50% counting efficiency) and 2,000 nm
PNCs of up to 150,000 # cm−3 are provided in a single count mode
larger concentrations up to 107 # cm−3 in photometric mode with an accuracy of 5% or 10% respectively
The air inlet was at 1.5 m above the ground
The weather sensor recorded wind direction with an uncertainty of <3° for wind speeds of >1.0 m s−1 and wind speed with ±0.3 ms−1 or ±3% at the height of the CPC at 1.3 m above the ground
Flight data was provided by Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH
It includes the actual time of arrival or departure
the time of arrival at or departure from the parking position
whether the aircraft was arriving or departing
and whether the aircraft took off or landed towards the east or west
We classified the time of aircraft movement between parking position and runway as taxiing time
Data on aircraft movements were included from 20.10.2020 14:00:00
45 min prior to the start of the PNC observations
This includes 2,507 flights in total with 1,261 departures and 1,246 landings
Both runways had about the same load with 1,244 aircraft on the northern runway and 1,263 flights on the southern one
96% of the flights departed to the west or landed from the east of the airfield
starting planes accelerated their engines about 700 m from the monitoring site while landing aircraft passed right over the site
only night mail flights were allowed between 23:00 and 6:00 as well as delayed take-offs and landings until midnight
23 out of 2,507 flights took place during this restricted time window
The CPC is calibrated on a yearly basis by the manufacturer and was additionally compared against a reference device in the 2 weeks prior to the measurement campaign
We checked and maintained the CPC bi-weekly during the campaign
we deleted the data between 2:00 and 3:00 daylight saving time
we rejected data between 15.11.2020 02:15:00 and 18.11.2020 11:14:55
We set wind direction data at times with the wind speed exactly zero to a missing value
To contrast changes before and after the closure of TXL
We defined hours between 6:00 and 23:00 as “day,” since those were the hours with active flight activities during airport operations
We refer to times between 23:00 and 6:00 as “night,” since these were the hours with night time flight restrictions
we use *** for highly significant p-values of <.001
** for very significant p-values of <.01
and * for significant p-values of <.05
We refer to the measurement period before the closure of the airport as “TXL open”
the period after the relocation as “TXL closed”
For the comparison of situations with the monitoring site being downwind of either the airport or the roads, we define the lee as the sector ±45° of the wind direction. We did not see any significant differences in PNCs for different sized wind sectors–i.e., ±10°, ±20°, and ±45°. We chose the ±45° sector in accordance with Keuken et al. (2012)
we consider the CPC downwind of the airport for wind directions 215◦–305° and downwind of the motorway access road for wind directions 0◦–90°
For the PNC peak analysis, we first calculate local maxima within a 5 min time span. Then, we define daily outliers according to the definition of Tukey (1977) as
and (Q3 − Q1) the interquartile range (IQR)
We then combine successive outliers of at least two observations into one group of outliers
When outlier groups coincide with local maxima
The calculated number of peaks is standardised by the length of the measurement period
We recorded 316,381 5-s observations before and 388,772 after the closure of TXL
we adjusted the number of peaks before the closure of TXL by a factor of 1.22881
Peak length [s] is calculated as the duration of consecutive PNCs classified as both local maximum and outliers before observations dropped below peak levels again
Mean PNCs during the day are significantly lower after the closure of the airport than before (Table 1)
the decline is more pronounced in the mean (41%) than in the median (29%)
Means of hourly PNCs (day/night) for the times before and after the closure of TXL
Nighttime flight restrictions occurred between 23:00 and 06:00
Asterisks show p-values for unequal variances t-tests of PNCs before and after the closure of TXL (p-value <.05: *; p-value <.01: **; p-value >.05: (−))
Short-term PNC maxima of more than 100,000 # cm−3 are frequent during daytime before the airport closed (Figure 2). Yet, these peaks cannot be identified on all measurement days. After the closure, peaks are both of a lower magnitude and frequency. During active flight operations, maxima are 2.5-fold higher and the standard deviation (SD) 3-fold larger than after the closure (Table 1)
PNC observations for the periods before and after the closure of TXL
The most common wind direction during the 6-week study period was southwest (Figure 3)
Mean wind speeds before (1.5 ms−1) and after the closure of TXL (1.3 ms−1) are quite similar
Average wind speeds of less than 1.5 ms−1 are likely due to the low height of the anemometer (1.3 m)
The wind roses show differences in the measurement frequency of the wind directions for the two periods that are relevant for further analyses
We consider these frequency differences by either normalising the wind direction segments or by visualising or stating the different sample sizes in the figures
Wind roses for the PNC observation periods before and after the closure of TXL
Roses are calculated with wind direction angles of 10°
Pollution roses for the periods before and after the closure of TXL show only slight differences in the average and minimum PNC; however during winds from the airfield (i.e., from the west) the mean concentrations decrease (Figure 4)
The maximum and the spread of PNCs are substantially lower after the closure of the airport for wind directions from the airport
maximum concentrations of more than 100,000 # cm−3 are less frequent after the cessation of air traffic
they are associated with westerly or southwesterly winds
we cannot draw reliable conclusions about changes due to the airport closure for this wind direction
Pollutant roses before and after TXL closed
The colour scale shows observed hourly PNCs normalised per wind direction to account for their different frequency of occurrence
The black outline shows the frequency of the observed wind direction during the periods
The blue outline and separation lines highlight angles with highly significant changes of PNC (p-value <.001) after the closure of the airport
To separate the effects of road traffic from those of airport operations
we contrasted PNCs for winds both from the direction of the airport and the motorway with winds from any other direction
We excluded data during the times of flight restrictions of 23:00 until 6:00
For wind from the direction of the airfield (Figure 5, left, Supplementary Table S1)
all statistical measures show a significant reduction of PNC after the closure of the airport (mean
SD: ***; min: **)
While minimum PNCs drop only slightly by 21% on average
maximum PNCs by 85% and the spread in PNC by 89%
only the minimum (***) and mean (**) PNCs decrease significantly
but by a smaller degree of 24% and 17% respectively
The maximum PNC and the standard deviation do not change significantly for wind from directions other than the airport
Comparison of PNCs in the lee of the runways (wind directions 215◦–305°) and roads (wind directions 0◦–90°) and those with wind from other directions
Only data included for the times between 6:00 and 23:00
Box widths are proportional to the square-roots of the number of observations in the groups
With the CPC downwind of the motorway access road and road network, none of the statistical measures shows relevant changes in PNCs in comparison before and after the cessation of flight operations (Figure 5
when excluding the downwind sector of the roads from the analysis
all statistical measures have higher PNCs before the closure than afterwards (p-values <.001)
The most obvious changes are in the maximum and the standard deviation values
which decrease 2.6-fold and 3.4-fold respectively
Particularly evident is the decrease in both the number and the maximum PNC of the outliers after the cessation of flight operations for wind from directions other than the motorway access road
These results further highlight the impact of aviation on UFP concentrations near the airfield
One of the most obvious changes due to the closure of TXL are the differences in the number, magnitude and length of PNC peaks (Figure 6, Supplementary Table S2)
Their number decreases from 1,149 to 1,029 with wind from the airfield
which corresponds to a decrease of 30%*** when normalised to the different length of the measurement period before and after closure
Their mean peak length decreases from 58 s to 22 s***
Average PNCs of peaks decrease by almost 70%*** and the maximum values drop by 70%***
Peaks length as well as average and maximum PNC of peaks before and after the closure of TXL
Comparison of concentrations downwind of the airfield (left) and roads (right)
With wind from the direction of the motorway access road and road network, the number of peaks increases 2.8-fold*** after the cessation of flight operations with no significant change in their lengths (Figure 6, Supplementary Table S2)
The average PNC peaks decrease by 30%*** and the maximum peak concentrations by 25%***
the impact of the roads on PNC becomes more pronounced
as the effect is no longer masked by the much higher peaks caused by flight operations
Although road traffic also causes particularly high PNCs for short periods
the peaks are generally much lower than those caused by air traffic
This study is unique in that we were able to monitor both immediately before and immediately after the closure of a major airport and thus assess its impact on PNCs
• Changes in PNC after the closure of TXL were only expected at times with active flight operations (6:00–23:00)
No noticeable changes should occur at the time of night flight restrictions
• Significant changes in PNC should be visible with wind from the direction of the airfield
but not with wind from the direction of other UFP sources such as road traffic
extreme PNC peaks typical for air traffic should occur less frequently and maxima from the direction of the roads should increase in relevance
By simultaneously analysing situations that should not be affected by the closure of the airport
we have ensured that the differences in PNCs between the times before and after the closure are not due to meteorological variations or other contributing factors
Neither the comparison of PNCs during night times from 23:00 to 6:00 nor PNCs from the direction of the motorway access road show significant changes in concentrations before and after the cessation of flight operations
road traffic takes over the role of the dominant PNC source in the vicinity of the airfield after flight operations stop
wind from the direction of the motorway is associated with a one-third increase in mean PNC during the day (6:00 to 23:00) in comparison to PNCs with wind from other directions
Its impact is now statistically increased as the extreme outliers caused by air traffic are absent and the arithmetic mean decreases accordingly
the relative importance of road traffic as a UFP source is increasing
High peaks caused by airport operation, especially LTO activities, have also been detected by Psanis et al. (2017); Westerdahl et al. (2008); Zhu et al. (2011). Studies like Stacey et al. (2021) and Hudda et al. (2022) associate individual aircraft movements with temporary peaks of several times the background concentration
we frequently recorded peaks of more than 100,000 # cm−3 during times of active flight operations
Concentration peaks with wind from the airport were twice as high than those in the lee of the motorway
maxima with wind from the direction of the airfield (22,000 # cm−3 on average) were even lower than those from the direction of the motorway (29,000 # cm−3)
the closure of the airport is not only reflected in a general decrease of PNCs
but also in the reduction of short-term extreme values
Both declines are relevant for any subsequent exposure assessments of people in the surrounding area
Further dispersion and exposure studies are needed for such an assessment
that the exposure of residents living in the vicinity of the airport has been reduced as a result of the closure
In the unique opportunity of a closing major airport in Germany’s capital
this study monitored UFP concentrations on the airfield of TXL before and after its closure
we measured airborne PNCs to identify differences before and after the cessation of air traffic and to therefore assess the impact of airport operations on air quality
We observe a significant decrease of PNCs after the closure of TXL
and the maximum concentrations from 102,800 # cm−3 to 41,300 # cm−3
We detected these differences only during the day
as these were the times when aircraft movements took place during airport operations
these changes are even more pronounced: Average PNCs dropped by 70% and maximum PNCs by 85% after the closure of the airport
We cannot find statistically significant changes for wind from the direction of the motorway
the highest and most frequent PNC peaks were detected with wind from the airport
peaks from the same wind directions were even a third lower than those in the lee of the motorway
Due to the absence of airport emissions after TXL closed down
the relative contribution of the motorway to the total PNC increases both continuously and in the number of short-term maximum concentrations
Due to the restrictions on air traffic caused by the COVID-19 pandemic
the study was conducted with considerably less flights than usual
we cannot draw any conclusions about the extent of PNC during regular airport operations
A simple extrapolation of PNC based on the otherwise higher number of aircraft movements is not justified due to the multitude of variables that have an impact on the dispersion and transformation of aircraft emissions
the results of our study are a strong indicator of the impact of air traffic on UFP concentrations in the direct vicinity of the airfield
The acquired data set can be the basis for further studies
including dispersion modelling to estimate the effect of the closure on the neighbouring residential areas and thus on the exposure of the population living and working in the close by to bridge the gap to health impacts
The datasets presented in this study can be found in online repositories. The names of the repository/repositories and accession number(s) can be found below: The datasets generated for this study can be found at Zenodo [https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7143369]
on-site device maintenance and dismantling
This study was supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) under grant FKZ 01LP 1912B (Urban Climate under Change
The article processing charge was funded by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG
German Research Foundation)—491192747 and the Open Access Publication Fund of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
The authors would like to express their gratitude to Lars Glaser of Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH
who provided the technical infrastructure on the TXL airfield for the operation of the measuring device
We acknowledge Marie Rolf of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin for the in-depth proofreading of the manuscript
We would like to acknowledge the editor and reviewers for their contribution to the improvement of the manuscript
SA is employed by Flughafen Berlin Brandenburg GmbH
The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations
Any product that may be evaluated in this article
or claim that may be made by its manufacturer
is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fenvs.2022.1061584/full#supplementary-material
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Aust S and Sauter T (2022) Impact of the closure of Berlin-Tegel Airport on ultrafine particle number concentrations on the airfield
Received: 04 October 2022; Accepted: 11 November 2022;Published: 30 November 2022
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They stare into their phones or out the window
The bus driver drives like a bat out of hell and the people on bus 410 are jostled about
The passengers wear QR-codes hanging from their necks
or transparent sleeves holding documents with closely written notes
They are coming from some agency in the city
an office where they were trying to get an appointment
Some are carrying large bags and have hope in their eyes
The bus heads onto the highway for a stretch and the TV tower is briefly visible
watching over this inhospitable plain like the Eye of Sauron
tent halls are lined up in military fashion
heading from Jungfernheide station to the "Arrival Center Ukraine” at Berlin’s now shuttered Tegel Airport
We are in front of what used to be Terminal C
covered in welcome messages written in all the world languages – along with a couple of pictograms of landing planes and entry signs for the "Federal Republic of Germany.”
Refugees out in front of the tents in Tegel
Overhead view of Tegel showing the white refugee tents
Children playing with the former air traffic control tower in the background
When the Russian invasion drove hundreds of thousands of people out of Ukraine to Germany
It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement in tents and in parts of the terminals
a place where people could rest for a couple of days
do the necessary paperwork and then continue on their way to other parts of Germany or to real lodgings elsewhere in Berlin
We spoke with more than 80 people who live in Tegel or who work or have worked there
Many of them requested not be quoted by name in this story
while others didn’t want to be quoted at all
They fear potential repercussions and say there have been threats
We have analyzed numerous documents and records
children and men are housed at the former airport
the majority of whom are war refugees from Ukraine
but there are also people from Afghanistan
There are many children with their mothers in addition to plenty of elderly and people with health problems
the number of residents will increase to 8,000
The Berlin State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF) is responsible for providing shelter
The Office has transferred camp operations to the German Red Cross (DRK)
has passed some tasks along to other aid organizations like the Malteser and the Johanniter
Responsibility for security and operating the tents went to Messe Berlin
the state-owned company whose primary focus is that of organizing trade fairs
Many places in Germany are currently complaining about the excessive demands and high costs of caring for refugees
But a camp for 5,000 people that costs almost half a billion euros per year is unique - even in Germany
lived at Tegel from October 2023 to January 2024
When we drove into the camp at Tegel one evening
I wasn’t completely wrong: The guards constantly checked our beds
They didn’t care if we were already asleep
they would just beat them until the security service showed up
The 2024 budget has earmarked 216 million euros just for the Red Cross and its helpers alone
with the plan calling for a capacity of 7,000 refugees
the security costs and 90 million euros for the rent and operation of the 45 tents
Tents that don’t even belong to the state – for which rent was paid in 2023 as well
That’s 200 euros for each square meter of tent-space per month
And the ground on which the tents stand also costs extra
That is the equivalent of 180 to 250 euros per refugee per day
every man and every woman in Tegel could be accommodated in a nice hotel with full board – including breakfast in bed and a laundry service
Elvira and her little son Radjic live in tent F1 on the former runway
Elvira and Radjic share their sleeping compartment with twelve others
with only a partition separating the compartments
Elvira is from Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine
fled to central Ukraine before then to Germany
We talk between the bunkbeds and a shelf that is overflowing with toothbrushes and washcloths
food and cups and plastic boxes filled with cookies and gummy bears
and shampoo and mosquito spray and toys and glass marbles and photos of loved ones who are at the front or already dead
next to and inside each other on this narrow shelf
the medallion of a deceased father next to a box of tampons
We are standing because there is nowhere to sit – one behind the other because there isn’t enough room for two people to stand next to each other in the narrow walkway
They are hearing Elvira’s story for the first time
and Elvira hears John’s story for the first time
They look at each other shyly and a bit amazed
How can they have lived next to each other for several months in these cramped quarters and never learned anything about each other
John says it’s kind of an unspoken agreement
at least mentally if there is no physical space
He has been in Tegel for the last year and a half together with his Ukrainian girlfriend
He studied medicine in Ukraine and intends to apply for specialist training in January
His girlfriend doesn’t want to be photographed
She was a teacher in the central Ukrainian town of Vinnytsia and she doesn’t want her former pupils to see how she is now living
She says there are currently 16 toilets for 700 people
Many of the showers are broken and many sinks are closed off and there is excrement in the toilets
she hangs up a sheet in front of her bed for a modicum of privacy when changing her underwear
She knows that it is against the rules due to fire regulations
They actually found an apartment in Berlin
was too small for two people.” She sounds desperate
was voted as Ukraine’s most livable city seven times in a row
Streetcars from Switzerland drive through the city
and you can pay with your phone wherever you go
Vinnytsia was heavily damaged by airstrikes
I still don’t understand how we ended up in this place
Somebody goes to the bathroom and wakes up everyone else
The mothers try to have bread or gummy bears in the tents to keep the children quiet so they don’t wake up the others
But the security guards often take the food away
When the fire alarm goes off – which can happen twice or three times a week
says John – and everyone has to evacuate in the middle of the night
the children scream and can’t go back to sleep afterwards
Some spend their nights sitting outside the tents smoking
sitting on makeshift chairs and thinking about other places and other times – before then trying to sleep during the day
You are only allowed to leave the tent on the right of the entry
women and children who don’t know each other are all thrown together
Infants have to sleep in their mother’s bed
cribs are not allowed because of space constraints
beef soup is on the lunch menu in the food tent
with pasta and tomato sauce on tap in the evening
Plates and cutlery are plastic and end up in the garbage after meals
and the tent is strangely empty at mealtime
a family is eating a cold meal that they brought themselves out of Tupperware containers
we were on the banks of the Berlin-Spandau Ship Canal
a small caravan from the refugee camp comes here every day to cook
who we are supposed to call the Mitsvas – mother
father and three children – has come to prepare a meal of potatoes
Mitsva has brought along everything they need
including oil and peeled potatoes that she bought in the supermarket
She has put up a small barrier to ward off the wind and stirs in the pan as her children play among the garbage and glass
The Mizwa family cooking on the banks of the canal
The Mizwa family on the banks of the canal
A dog in one of the sleeping compartments at Tegel
The children get ill from the food in the camp
The father smiles at us and remains silent
His wife says: "Because we have to hide our gas cooker
We aren’t allowed to bring it into the camp.” Later
she will pack up the meal she cooked so that they can eat back in the camp
even though there is a lot that needs to be done
are immediately eligible for social welfare
And the job centers are responsible for them
You have to wait for appointments that are required to get other appointments
which themselves are important prerequisites for other important appointments
To get a residency permit and a work permit
refugees must make their way to the Immigration Office
You have to wait several months for an appointment at the job center
That’s why all of them initially end up at one of the welfare offices somewhere in the city
What office is responsible for who depends on month of birth
lived from October 2023 to June 2024 in Tegel
I saw the pitch-black smoke in front of the refugee camp
When I fled Kharkiv from the daily bombings
I only took the most important things: birth certificate
Almost everything was destroyed by the fire
I don’t know what traumatized me more: the time I spent at Tegel or the Russian war in Ukraine.”
Arseniy Solovyov works as an interpreter for Russian and Ukrainian at Tegel
but has not found a suitable job in the field
"Some welfare offices don’t give out any money at all sometimes,” Solovyov says
The office in the Berlin district of Tempelhof-Schöneberg
which is responsible for those born in July
The officials there first demand details of the route taken to Berlin based on passport stamps
they want proof of income and pay slips for the entire household
bank statements for the last several months
which hardly any of them brought along when they fled Ukraine
They want proof of appointments at the immigration office and they want to see residence permits that the immigration office hasn’t yet issued
They want things from the people that they can’t provide.”
He asked that we use a pseudonym out of fear of reprisals
He talks about one refugee in Tegel who did all he could to find a job and finally was hired to deliver mail in Potsdam
where he has been working for the last nine months
But he has been unable to move out of Tegel because he was assigned to live in Berlin
And because his job is in the state of Brandenburg
he needs the immigration office in Berlin and the immigration office in Brandenburg to approve his move
climbs down from his bed while trying not to wake up the entire tent
He keeps asking me how such a thing is possible
Tempelhof city councilor Matthias Steuckardt
who is responsible for the social welfare office
responds to the DER SPIEGEL enquiry with a big sigh
"Services in our welfare office are distributed according to legal criteria.” However
the agencies in Berlin have suffered from "digital gridlock” for years
There are processing backlogs in the social welfare office
Employees are overwhelmed and expertise has been lost through departures
Gelya Rolnik is a translator and integration coach
she studied international relations in Kazakhstan and theater studies in Vienna
She has worked elsewhere for the last months
but she still can’t talk about Tegel without crying
When she started working as a translator for the Malteser in April 2023
a resident would ask me to translate a letter from the job center or the health insurance company
And then the shift leader would tell me that I wasn’t allowed to translate anything
The next shift leader would then ask me to help with the translations
"Up to 15 employees would sit around in a tent all day
Hardly any of them had been trained to work with refugees
We weren’t allowed to give out information
Essentially the shift leaders forbid us to help the refugees.”
worked as a translator in Tegel from April to December
They wanted to know how the kindergartens worked
It hurt because I wasn’t allowed to really help them
So I secretly translated their letters from the authorities
"there was a woman who stared at the wall every night
She said the woman was reciting prayers and threatening to kill them all
She just continued standing around and talking to the wall.” The German Red Cross rejects the accusation that mentally ill people receive no help
In cases where they represent a danger to themselves or others
they were cared for intensively from professionals on site
Many of the employees disapprove of what goes on in Tegel
Their contracts are limited and there is a "climate of fear,” she says
Martina Schmidt worked in a managerial role at Tegel for several months following the center’s opening in spring 2022
She has plenty of experience in humanitarian aid
Doctors Without Borders and the World Health Organization
hardly anyone from the senior management level
those who were responsible for managing the arrival center on behalf of the Red Cross
had any experience at all with sheltering refugees
"They were mostly people who had been kept on from the test center
and they were frequently people from the Berlin club scene
from the event industry and concert management,” says Schmidt
Martina Schmidt also asked that we not use her real name
She says she has nothing against career changes
but some of those working in Tegel "had very little awareness of the fundamentals of humanitarian work
processes and priorities.” There was little expertise when dealing with the refugees
little awareness of minimum hygiene standards and shortcomings in fire safety
but even they didn’t have the necessary qualifications
EU Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier
The refugee center at Tegel has "quickly become a model facility,” reads the yearbook of the Red Cross in Berlin
sometimes have to wait for quite some time before the facility is shown to them
Those interested must first register for an appointment
with the visit then being planned by the State Office for Refugee Affairs
DER SPIEGEL was given an official tour of the Arrival Center
Interviews for reporting purposes are not desired
It’s something we learn when we see an elderly woman through the gap in a curtain
She is 88 and comes from a suburb of the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv
"Where you lived is where you should die,” she says in a hushed voice
are insensitive and the woman could be retraumatized
"We’re all friends here and we laugh a lot.” The photographer sees Sascha Langenbach rushing up and gesturing to the guard that to remain silent
He had 'explained to him that he is not allowed to talk to the press.’ We slowly begin to understand what the one employee meant when she spoke of a "climate of fear.”
There are a lot of leisure activities at Tegel
you might think you were on a club vacation
hip-hop – and even fat burning courses for those trying to watch their weight
We want to see some of these activities but have trouble meeting anyone
A prefab structure that has been repurposed as a sports tent is open
Another sports hall is locked up and empty
a father is trying to play badminton with his son
Three attendants are sitting next to each other at a table
while a security guard stands at the entrance
"Thank you for allowing us to disturb you,” the spokesman says
essentially a container with a couple of exercise machines
An attendant in a blue vest is sitting behind a table monitoring two grown men who are doing sit-ups
another is doing a puzzle and the third is sitting on a chair
are looking at a mobile phone and laughing
is not available to children under the age of five without a parent accompanying them
There are no spots for regular schooling for many of the children in Tegel
The "welcome school” at the site was just recently augmented
but according to the Berlin city-state education authorities
some 175 children at Tegel aren’t currently attending school
In the container that is presented as the "library,” there are three visitors and one attendant
Two men are sleeping and another is typing on his smartphone
nobody is doing any handicrafts and none of the sports courses are running
A few people are playing basketball outside
Perhaps the people here simply aren’t interested in hip-hop or circus classes
The language café isn’t in operation at the moment either
We meet in the entrance area of Terminal C and first scare away a few pigeons
One employee says that they have tried almost everything
But even if they managed to chase some away
The idea of building an aviary some distance away
where the birds would be lured with food and concentrated
They feared that the word would spread among the pigeon population that they were living in luxury and would could trigger a so-called "pull effect.”
Loud music booms through the "leisure tent” D3
Maybe 50 people have turned up for karaoke
almost all of them are sitting on chairs at the edge
The woman in charge is happy to provide information
She says that she has a degree in political science and has traveled a lot
It’s usually like it is on this evening: People are sitting on chairs
Then Ukrainian music comes on and two girls dance
A young man from Afghanistan is now dancing in the middle of the floor
He is wearing a traditional jubah along with shower sandals
His name is Elkhan Zirar and is from the province of Laghman
having just arrived from a country under Taliban control
he hasn’t heard loud music for a long time
jumps and beams and seems to be unable to believe his luck
and then back inside to grab a few of their belongings
Flames shoot several meters into the air out of the sleeping partitions
An old man drags his suitcase in the wrong direction
A security guard is standing outside with a fire extinguisher in his hands
Have you seen any children?” Somebody apparently has time to film
One tent was completely destroyed by the fire
Residents lost what little they had left: their birth certificates
passports and perhaps that one stuffed animal that still smelled just a little bit like home
the cause has still not been completely determined
Security personnel in yellow vests are everywhere
They stand in front of the entrances and exits
they are at the karaoke and in front of the fitness container
They make sure that the refugees enter to the right and exit to the left
and they check the QR codes of the refugees
who security staff refer to as "guests.” The QR codes function both as entry passes and a way of exerting control
to get clothes from the coop and when entering and leaving the tents
that means that supervisors know where everybody is at all times
Those who are away from the camp for more than three days without permission lose their beds
There are a lot of complaints about the security staff at Tegel
that they don’t seek to deescalate in cases of conflict and make things worse instead
That they storm into the tents at night for bed checks
That they insult people and take part in fights
female residents complained in an open letter that they were constantly being harassed
were frequently searched by security guards
They said their underwear was examined when they came out of the shower and that there was no safe space for them to go
an incident was recorded in which security guards joined residents in attacking and injuring Kurds
or at least that which is considered as such
Fully 85 million euros have been earmarked for the purpose for 2024
each dancing Afghan is being watched at a cost of 1,500 euros per month
an additional 46 million euros has been approved
the company contracted the job out to the company Teamflex Solutions
And Teamflex also passed along much of the contract to other subcontractors
During a check at the Arrival Center late last year
German customs officials found 190 employees who were working for up to 40 different subcontractors
Eighty-seven proceedings were initiated and 55 people were sent home immediately due to a lack of qualifications and background checks
neither Messe Berlin nor Teamflex was interested in sharing how much they earned from the lucrative contract
which reported annual profits of around 500,000 euros in the years up to 2020
quadrupled its return on sales in 2022 and boosted its profit more than 10-fold with lower personnel expenses
Most of the company’s 326 employees likely didn’t benefit much from the windfall
the average personnel expenses per capita listed in the annual report can fairly be described as rather precarious
Yet a quick calculation would seem to indicate that each of the 546 security guards who
according to the State Office for Refugee Affairs
are employed at Tegel cost 155,000 euros per year
Why the Office elected to contract Messe Berlin for security services – instead of hiring security companies themselves as usual: The office left that question unanswered
recently moved into a container in the Tempelhof district of Berlin
"When I arrived at Tegel with my two sons in February 2023
I thought: this is a place where homeless are crammed together
we shared a room with a woman who had tuberculosis
My son was beat up by a resident addicted to drugs
I kept thinking: We escaped from the horrors in Ukraine only to end up in another hell.”
the State Office for Refugee Affairs tends not to say much at all when asked about anything having to do with money for the Arrival Center
Who gets how much for what is something that the public
can be found in the annual reports of the companies involved
has done extremely well as one of the primary contractors at Tegel
revenues in 2023 were almost 10 million euros higher than in the reference year of 2019
with return on sales almost doubling and planned revenues exceeded by more than 80 percent
"Revenues from the accommodation and care of refugees at Tegel Airport had a positive effect,” the report notes
Many people understood that after the war in Ukraine started in 2022 the contracts for operating the refugee center were awarded to the Berlin Red Cross without a call for tenders
and the Red Cross and other aid organizations are experienced in providing emergency assistance
The State Office for Refugee Affairs has since revealed that "market research” had since shown that no other operators could be found for Tegel
And because the companies and persons involved seem so familiar
was the Senator for Social Affairs of the State of Berlin until 2016
and thus the senior official in charge of the Office of Refugee Affairs
The same office that is currently distributing such immense sums of money – to the Berlin Red Cross
which has passed along contracts to the subsidiary of Gegenbauer/Apleona
Mario Czaja worked in senior management at Gegenbauer for many years
who was head of Messe Berlin until the end of 2020
now manages the affairs of the Gegenbauer family’s holding company
Operators of other refugee hostels in Berlin
receive a fraction of the money and can afford only a fraction of the personnel
They have to house men and women separately and families together
The staff must meet high qualification requirements and the costs must be calculated precisely month by month
the operators of other refugee facilities in Berlin do not want to speak on the record
The Berlin State Office for Refugee Affairs will likely be their main client in the future
We meet Kleopatra Tümmler in front of the hairdressing container
energetic woman with short white-blond hair and shaved temples
She has already managed the vaccination center for the Red Cross
It is often said that she comes from the Berlin party scene
she explains as we walk up the stairs to her office container at the back of Terminal C
She says she managed tours and guided the career of Tokio Hotel for the first 10 years
"I wouldn't say that about myself.” When asked why she didn’t return to the entertainment industry once the coronavirus pandemic came to an end
she says: "Because this is a task that is so much fun and extremely fulfilling
such that I don’t feel the urge at the moment
the music industry still doesn’t really work.”
Red Cross manager Kleopatra Tümmler (left)
together with an employee and the press spokesman Sascha Langenbach
She says she finds it a wonderful challenge "to create a working atmosphere with such different people that is so positive and which makes it possible to express criticism without having to fear punishment,” she says
But isn’t there massive public criticism of the accommodation
the working atmosphere and of the management
"Every now and then there is rather unspecific criticism voiced against my person,” Tümmler says
"I'm not aware of being accused of specific things.’ She finds it regrettable that the criticism hasn’t been more specific
"Because I also need to have the opportunity to learn from it and improve
There is plenty of criticism of operations,” she admits
But first and foremost: We are not responsible for any bureaucracy.” The Red Cross Berlin
is responsible for managing the accommodations
bothers to look around to see who in Tegel is responsible for what
"You have probably noticed that staff members are extremely reserved when talking to the press.” Many people
have experienced their words being twisted
anyone who wants to can talk with the press.”
We don’t tell her that we were almost kicked out for trying to speak with an elderly woman and that a security guard is supposed be fired for speaking with us
instructions for employees are circulating in Tegel telling them how to turn people away
Are employees forbidden from providing assistance to the refugees
"We don’t look at every briefing for staff members,” says Tümmler
isn’t a place to go for psychological help
that’s what the counseling centers are for
"You can imagine what would happen if a staff member were to fill out a form incorrectly and the person
wouldn’t receive any assistance or the wrong assistance as a result.”
"Clowns were wandering through the cafeteria
and there they were walking through the empty hall strumming their guitars.” Solovyov says that he sometimes doesn’t know whether to laugh or cry
Tegel is a temporary solution that no one really wants
The goal should be to downsize Tegel and close it in the medium term
the Berlin city-state senator responsible for the social welfare portfolio and a member of the center-left Social Democratic Party (SPD)
Tegel has become an symbol of the German refugee system
Everybody acts as if providing care for refugees is a constant unexpected temporary emergency
They are housed in provisional accommodations paid for out of supplementary budgets
people have no healthcare and their children do not go to school
Unfathomable sums of money are distributed
and people are hired off the street to keep the makeshift arrangements from completely derailing
And yet: Taking in and providing care for refugees has long since become a long-term task for the entire country
other accommodations would have to be opened up: in military barracks
Berlin introduced late last year a "coordinator for refugee affairs.” He is an old acquaintance and a well-deserving man of the city: former fire chief Albrecht Broemme
who coordinated the establishment of Berlin’s vaccination centers during the pandemic
would be tightly integrated into the Berlin city-state government
Broemme’s name can be found nowhere in the Berlin government’s organizational chart
He has no official email address or website or a landline in the city administration
The "coordinator for refugee affairs” in the city-state of Berlin is a retired public servant and receives an expense allowance for his services
You can’t even really say that the Berlin city-state government is looking the other way
It’s worse than that: They pay close attention
They know the living conditions at the Arrival Center Ukraine at Tegel
Another half a billion euros are earmarked for the facility in the 2025 budget
Priority Pass holders can now visit the Tegel Lounge in Terminal 1
The lounge offers comfortable seating areas
and quiet work areas – ideal for travellers who want to relax or work before departure
The Tegel Lounge in Terminal 1 offers a stylish ambience with fine details and recognisable features from the former Tegel Airport
The lounge is located behind security control in the northern main pier
travellers can enjoy access to over 1,300 lounges worldwide without a business class ticket
The perfect service for those who want to travel relaxed regardless of their flight class
zur Lounge Tegel
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Delta again has a chance of being awarded the prestigious Tegel – which literally means tile – award
is one of the nominees for the most important award in journalism in the Netherlands for her investigative article about the Innovation & Impact Centre at TU Delft
Another nomination for Delta’s Editor in Chief, Saskia Bonger. This time she was nominated for a Tegel (in Dutch) for her investigative article about the duty of confidentiality at the Innovation & Impact Centre (I&IC) at TU Delft in the ‘Regional/Local’ category
The annual prestigious prize is awarded to the creators of the best journalistic products of the previous year
It is considered the country’s most important recognition for journalism
“The support and recognition of peers means a lot
but it also helps strengthen Delta’s position
The nomination underlines the value of journalism in higher education.”
The censorship that followed generated worries at TU Delft for a long time. Under judicial pressure, TU Delft ordered Delta to remove the investigative article. It only appeared online again two months later
The jury judged that the article ‘demonstrated very clearly the importance of having an independent medium in university communities that takes on the role of watchdog’
Apart from Bonger’s article, two other publications (in Dutch) are competing for the ‘Regional/Local’ Tegel Award
Leo van Raaij wrote a series of articles on the ‘Theatertapes’ for the Tubantia newspaper in the province of Twente
They uncovered how the municipal council of the town of Almelo took decisions about the Stadstheater (town theatre) there
Oscar Spaans and Bart Vuijk (Noord-Hollands Dagblad
They revealed that the municipality of Beverwijk was fixing information about environmental pollution
For Delta, this is the second Tegel nomination in five years. In 2022, the honour went to editors Annebelle de Bruin and Tomas van Dijk. They discovered that at least 29 Chinese PhD candidates and guest researchers were accumulating research experience at TU Delft
some of which could be used for military purposes
Whether Bonger wins the award will be made on Monday evening
The Tegels will be awarded in the Koninklijke Schouwburg theatre in The Hague
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live in Berlin's main refugee camp at the disused Tegel airport
The facility devours 30 million euros per month
9 min Share On a faded wall poster at Berlin’s former Tegel Airport
the words are still legible: «Was your flight canceled
Here are your rights as a passenger.» But no more trips are starting here – not to business meetings in Cologne or Zurich
and certainly not to popular destinations in Spain or Greece
although «arrival» must be understood in the broadest conceivable sense
When Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022 and the first refugees began arriving in Germany
the «Ankunftszentrum Tegel» (Tegel Arrival Center) was built on the disused airport site within a few weeks
The tent city was intended as an initial reception facility where the refugees would spend a few days at most until they were registered and could be properly accommodated elsewhere
But there is little «elsewhere» to be found in Berlin
Almost 5,000 women, men and children are now living in Tegel's tents – around 4,000 Ukrainians, as well as almost 1,000 asylum-seekers from countries such as Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Georgia and Vietnam. The average length of stay in the primitive emergency shelters is 200 days
But some people have been here for two years
passengers had to be prepared for heavy traffic if they took a cab or their own car from Berlin's A 100 city highway to the Tegel junction
The shoulder was typically full of cars whose owners were reluctant to pay the high parking fees at the airport
a visitor perceives an almost eerie silence blanketing the site
There is no aircraft noise from takeoffs or landings
and is even beginning to break through the concrete
The journey of a Ukrainian war refugee into a new transitional life begins in front of the former check-in hall once used by bankrupt low-cost airline Air Berlin
Shuttle buses arrive here every 10 minutes
They bring new arrivals from the city center
these newcomers then sit next to their bulky pieces of luggage
What does a person fleeing their home take with them
What must be left behind with a heavy heart
and many people who need a wheelchair or who use a walker
Tegel has an improvised care ward for dementia patients
for dialysis patients and for bombing victims without legs
the German state no longer wants to be accused of not knowing who is entering the country
it is clear: It is not the best-qualified people who are coming here
Such refugees often find other accommodation directly
sports colleagues or fellow Erasmus students
who couldn't stay in their destroyed towns and villages
Germany’s public will have to come to terms with this
The real moment of arrival – or perhaps more accurately
the shock of being here – comes when the Ukrainians realize where they will be living
They are housed in rows of 10- or 14-bed dormitories
in which there is hardly any space for suitcases
have plastic walls and are open at the top
and the constantly overloaded washing machines spin in the background
Shrieking children race through the aisles on scooters or in-line skates
A 70-year-old woman who has traveled here alone as a refugee may find herself in a sleeping area with three strange young men and an extended family
They will then see how she changes her clothes
Curtains or other such screens between the beds are not permitted
this danger is persistently present even without room dividers
The flames destroyed everything the residents had been able to bring with them from Ukraine
The hygiene situation in Tegel is difficult
The toilets are often blocked because unsupervised children throw mountains of toilet paper into them – or for other reasons
the facilities are then closed for hours or days
which doesn't make the situation any better
The natural question at this point of the camp tour is: Why can't the refugees do the cleaning themselves
«But that's not in line with our principles,» says Kleo Tümmler from the German Red Cross: «If you live here
this almost inevitably leads to conflict situations
creates unpleasant hierarchies and causes problems with data protection.»
Tümmler is the Red Cross operations manager at Tegel
the State Office for Refugee Affairs is responsible for organizing the arrival center
«On the other side of the desk,» Tümmler says
«aid organizations work as service providers: we at the Red Cross
the Malteser International and the Johanniter group
We all had experience with setting up vaccination centers during the COVID-19 pandemic
and we were able to react quickly here to what was a major problem.»
The nongovernmental aid organizations are responsible for the accommodation
and for catering services that provide three meals a day
we’re running a gigantic hotel business here,» Tümmler says
According to the Berlin State Office for Refugee Affairs
a stay in the Tegel arrival center costs about 200 euros per refugee – per day
but rather a borderline emergency accommodation
Even factoring in the high costs for setting up the camp
and the thousand or so workers from security
catering and cleaning companies and other social services
it is natural to ask where all the money is going
officials also plan to add another 1,000 or so places
and therefore more expensive,» says Tümmler
The fact that the refugees see their expensive accommodation as more of a catastrophe than a blessing becomes clear when sitting down in the canteen area in one of the identically constructed tent halls
Any person who looks halfway official is immediately thronged by desperate people with concerns
Everyone has a strong opinion about the food
«Why can't we cook for ourselves?» asks 60-year-old Liliya Kopylenko
«Our caterer would prefer to set up a commercial kitchen on site,» says Red Cross operations manager Tümmler
«That would definitely be good for the freshness and quality of the food
But we don't have the right power connections or water supply
or especially the space.» Given the fact that the arrival center is located on the site of a former international airport
and that it devours a monthly budget of 30 million euros
this justification seems a little puzzling
Is it ungrateful of the Ukrainian refugees to criticize the food
it is absolutely typical for people living in highly regimented circumstances – in the military
in hospitals or in boarding schools – to focus their minds on this topic
Food is bound up very closely with survival
We don't understand the documents we have to fill out
We get German lessons from Arabs who don't speak Ukrainian or Russian
We get sick and the doctors tell us to drink water
«I came from hell, and now I've landed in a kind of hell again,» says a 77-year-old woman from the eastern Ukrainian town of Bakhmut.
«You can really only stand it here with sedatives,» says 20-year-old Aleksandra Polishchuk
She has been living in Tegel with her husband Vladislav
These two are among those who lost everything in the fire in March
even more months stuck in the bureaucratic obstacle course
They say they will not be compensated for the damage
They do not believe that a return to their homeland will ever be possible
They want one thing above all: To get out of the camp
Vladislav and Aleksandra are heavily tattooed
in this insane makeshift little town of Tegel
we are somehow happy that they were at least able to save their skin
It is now the only thing from home that no one can take from them
Designed by The Lennon Project for a Swedish family
while the interiors feature traditional bricks often seen in local temples (the word tegel means ‘brick’ in Swedish)
The ground floor adopts a series of level changes between the entry
mimicking the local terraced rice paddy fields over which the house looks
culture-led approach forms the foundations for a pitch-perfect holiday retreat
When a Swedish family started their search for a dream Bali house – a modern
low-maintenance holiday retreat on the Indonesian island – they turned to The Lennon Project
The Auckland-based architecture studio then set out to balance the requirements of its clients with the island’s rhythms
bringing everything together effortlessly in Tegel House
which feels like a natural addition to its neighbourhood
a buzzy resort on the island’s south coast
which sat next to a house also designed by the studio
‘They liked the aesthetic of this house and asked the owners for my details,’ recalls Lennon of the first conversations back in 2020
even though located in a high-density area
which consists of terraced rice paddy fields still in use by farmers
It was these views and the island’s slow pace
green nature and pleasant climate that the owners wanted to make the most of
asking the architects to create a retreat that embraces local styles and materials
while avoiding pastiche interpretations of the island vernacular
‘I wouldn’t say that the general form of the house adheres to the traditional Balinese style
but we have intentionally used a limited but considered material palette
to ensure the home felt like it belonged in its wider surroundings,’ says Lennon
which are commonly seen in many local temples
The use of teak is also a dominant feature throughout the house
These materials often pass from the exterior to the interior environment
blurring the thresholds of indoor and outdoor.’
bringing natural light in was a key concern
swathes of glazing in the circulation areas
well-orchestrated views in the bedrooms upstairs
and a central courtyard that unites different parts of the house while allowing daylight to infiltrate
Conceived as a black timber box resting on a series of solid brick walls that jut out
delineating the plot’s boundaries and defining the outdoors
Tegel House achieves that tropical modern feel
while maintaining a sense of streamlined contemporary minimalism
The studio’s work was enhanced by the owners’ research and understanding of Balinese craftsmanship
they spent a lot of time on the island researching local talent
and eventually shared with the architects a wishlist of craftspeople and artists that they wanted to collaborate with on the project.
Working with the Balinese trade community and resources on most aspects of design and construction not only wove the house organically into the island’s way of life
but it also kept its carbon footprint down
The project’s contributors include woodworkers Kalpa Taru
who built cabinetry and bespoke pieces of furniture; interior design studio Somewhere Concepts; Maverick Lee
who created a series of neolithic-looking objects; and Ricky Lee Gordon and his charcoal art
And because of the owners’ proactive and trusting attitude
as well as the fact that the architects are based in New Zealand and the scheme developed during the pandemic (a local architect helped to coordinate everything)
Tegel House became a truly collaborative piece of architecture
folding talent and ideas from across the island into its creative process
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inclusive and culture-led approach that the owners are keen to keep alive
The family’s two grown-up children often visit separately with their friends
the clients plan to make their house available to visiting artists – for example
to those invited to show work in Gordon’s new gallery
visitors would leave a piece of their art in the home
diverse artists became integral to the process
each contributing their unique creativity to shape the perfect dwelling,’ say the clients
‘This decision isn’t just about opening our doors; it’s a celebration of artistic expression and a desire to foster an ever-evolving canvas within our walls
there’s a new masterpiece waiting to be discovered
making Tegel House a living testament to the intersection of architecture
sustainability and the endless possibilities of art.’
thelennonproject.com
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*
She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London
she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006
visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas
Ellie has also taken part in judging panels
such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson
Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022)
The shares will be listed on the NZX main board and Australia's ASX on May 3
Shares in chicken producer Tegel have been priced in an indicative range of $1.55 to $2.50
giving the company an implied market value of up to $636 million
according to the product disclosure statement
The shares will be listed on the NZX main board and Australia's ASX on May 3
with the deal expected to raise between $299.1 million and $344.4 million
More than $130 million of the cash raised will be used to repay bank debt
while up to $163 million go to holders of Tegel's redeemable shares
The remaining $22.5 million to $25.3 million will cover IPO costs
including an $8 million bonus for senior management
Final pricing of the shares will be set in through an auction-style bookbuild process with institutions and brokers on April 18 and 19
A broker firm offer to retail clients of selected NZX firms will open on April 20 and close on April 29
The deal gives Tegel an indicative price-to-earnings multiple of 12.7 to 14.7 times
which compares with analyst trading valuations ranging from 14.7 times to 18.5 times with an average midpoint of 16 times
an implied enterprise value of $672 million to $756 million and an implied market capitalisation of $552 million to $636 million
Tegel's majority owner Affinity Equity Partners will sell down around 30 per cent of its existing 87 per cent stake to retain about 45 per cent of shares in the company following the deal
Affinity won't be able to further sell down its stake until the release of 2017 full-year financial results
50 per cent of Affinity's stake could be released early following the 2017 half-year result if Tegel's share price has gained 20 per cent on its issue price at that time
Management won't sell down any of their existing 1.3 per cent stake and will retain 0.8 per cent of the company following the offer
A gross dividend yield of 6.2 to 7.1 per cent
Affinity purchased the business in 2011 for $605 million from Australia's Pacific Equity Partners
The chicken firm has operations across New Zealand and around 2000 staff
Tegel will be the first IPO of the year after a sluggish 2015
which saw a number of sales deferred in turbulent financial markets
While private equity owners have attracted scepticism after the failure of consumer electronics store Dick Smith Holdings
investors have been more optimistic about the potential fortunes for Tegel
The company expects poultry sale volumes to rise to 92,814 tonnes by the 2017 year
That compares with 80,273 tonnes sold in 2015
including 13,125 tonnes of exported product
chairman James Ogden said Tegel plans to focus on new product developments to increase the value and volume of poultry sold
The deal is being managed by Deutsche Bank/Deustche Craigs
The casino operator has downgraded its earnings guidance for the second time
Berlin's Tegel Airport opened in 1948 and is closing Sunday as a new international hub opens after a series of delays
Germans are flocking to Tegel to relive memories
where loved ones part ways and families reunite
they are an embodiment of what the Germans call Fernweh
which — for want of an English word — roughly means the painful longing to be elsewhere
the city's airports provoke wildly different emotions
depending on which one you're talking about
then two — and soon there will be just one
But any mention of this long-awaited international airport tends to elicit expletives and laughter because of a succession of technical fiascos which set back construction by almost a decade
causing the construction budget to run over by more than $4.7 billion
After postponing half a dozen times over a nine-year period
with little fanfare to save both money and face
the latest in a series of chief executives for the airport
"The massive delays and construction problems made Berlin and the whole of Germany a laughing stock," he said at a recent press conference
Berlin's other airport — built 72 years ago and set to close for good on Nov
Although the coronavirus means that few are flying anywhere
Berliners are visiting Terminal A simply to walk about
drink an overpriced beer and quietly take their leave
"I came here today to take a few farewell photos," says Rolf Schneider
"I've flown from Tegel many times since the Wall came down
and it feels like an era is coming to an end."
Schneider couldn't fly from West Berlin's Tegel — or anywhere else — until 1989
the airport represented a freedom he was denied until middle age
Tegel was built to guarantee the freedom of West Berliners
Constructed in 1948 during the Soviet blockade of West Berlin
it enabled Allied planes to deliver much-needed postwar supplies that were also being flown into a British military air base and the city's Tempelhof Airport
While it took just three months to build a functioning airport at Tegel — and what was
Europe's longest runway — its contemporary replacement has taken 30 years to come to fruition
The initial concept came after German reunification in 1990 and construction began 16 years later
Hamburg-based aviation journalist Andreas Spaeth has reported on the entire story from start to finish
He says he is still trying to explain why it took Berlin so long to build a new airport
"How the hell could this happen to Germans
so much known for their precision?" he exclaims
Spaeth says the new airport's series of construction issues has debunked the myth of German efficiency once and for all
A roof turned out to be too heavy for the building; escalators were too short
Much of the airport's décor is now outdated
originally intended to serve the Airbus A380 superjumbo jet
the airport was already losing several million dollars a week and faces yet more debt with the airline industry in turmoil
But Spaeth says the current lack of passengers has a silver lining
"Berlin airport is almost lucky in a way that this crisis happens now," he says
"They can actually calmly and quietly open the airport without being at maximum capacity demand right away."
the main terminal fills up with nostalgic day-trippers
"We came here today to say goodbye because over the years we've experienced a lot at this airport," says Mariane Dillenberger
"All those memories: meeting family in arrivals
But he politely excuses himself and turns away
Her husband's tears signify Heimweh — the opposite of Fernweh
a yearning for the West Berlin that is no more
But a little bit of that bygone place can still be found at the new airport
a Nobel Peace laureate and chancellor who worked for East and West German reconciliation — and served as West Berlin's mayor in the mid-20th century
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Conditions in Berlin’s so-called “Ukraine Arrival Centre TXL” (UA TXL) are intolerable
They show the extent to which the government’s policy of sealing off Europe’s external borders is also being continued inside the country
Initially, politicians and the media overflowed with welcoming words for refugees with Ukrainian passports
Images of trains full of Ukrainians fleeing to Germany were seen as an excellent way to exploit the warmongering against Russia and justify the political and military support for the far-right Zelensky government
But the effusive media welcome for Ukrainians has long since given way to a reality of right-wing agitation
The so-called “arrival centre” on the former Berlin-Tegel airport site (TXL) shows particularly clearly what all state governments
now support and implement: an extreme right-wing
racist immigration policy that is intended to deter and divide
The camp was opened in Berlin two years ago as a hub for people who had fled the war in Ukraine
Around 10,000 people have passed through the camp in the past two years
the senator (Berlin state minister) responsible for social affairs until April 2023
justified the 2022 announcement that a tent city would be set up on the site by citing a lack of housing options in the existing accommodation
Every shelter we give is a condemnation of Putin’s war.”
with around 5,000 places in 40 lightweight halls
has turned out to be a detention centre for refugees of all ages and health conditions
It deprives people of all their rights and denies free access to critical journalists
What was originally designed as accommodation for a few days or weeks has become a trap for many people
some of whom have been unable to escape for over a year
there were more than 4,500 people crammed into a very small area
and Afghanistan have also been housed here indefinitely
The Refugee Council found that “from October 2022 to the end of January 2023 and since October 2023,” asylum seekers have been “parked” in the Tegel camp for long periods of time without any entitlement to social benefits
or registration of their asylum application
In an incendiary letter in September 2023 to Kipping’s successor
Social Affairs Senator Cansel Kiziltepe (Social Democrat
around 130 Ukrainian women denounced the “insults
arbitrary treatment and violence—including against children” by the security staff in charge
the intolerable camp conditions burst into public view once again
as mass brawls with the abusive and sometimes racist security staff led to police investigations and the immediate suspension of 55 security staff
Although the camp is not currently at full capacity
the free areas are not being used to alleviate the unbearably cramped conditions
this occupancy rate results in 2.63 square metres per person in a very small space
The planned minimum standards for shared accommodation of six to nine square metres per person are being dramatically undercut in Tegel
curtains instead of doors” prevent any privacy
reported a carer in an interview with Neues Deutschland (nd)
as are minors and people with open war injuries and mental health problems
Camp residents have reported that families and partners are separated
women with babies or even pregnant women have to share compartments with men they do not know
These and similar reports have been confirmed by the Berlin Refugee Council
Emily Barnickel from the Refugee Council explained: “There is also the extreme case of mothers with their three-day-old babies being placed in mixed compartments with six other men.”
The obligation to wear a smart card around their neck at all times in order to have personal names and data scanned by a machine reinforces the feeling of having no rights and being locked up
Luggage and personal belongings can be and are checked and searched at any time
the heating in the lightweight halls repeatedly breaks down
Catastrophic hygiene conditions led to mass outbreaks of highly contagious diseases
such as the chickenpox outbreak last year and the measles outbreak this year
The risk of contracting COVID-19 is permanently high
But as the Berlin Refugee Council alarmingly pointed out
the camp no longer has a quarantine centre
The camp doctor and paediatrician do not issue prescriptions or referrals
but only treat sick people from existing stocks of medication
supported by paramedics from the German Red Cross (DRK)
Adequate medical care—including for people with chronic illnesses or pregnant women—”is virtually non-existent.” For non-Ukrainian refugees
access to the camp’s rudimentary medical care is even more limited
There is no regular cleaning service in the dining areas
and refugees who want to clean themselves are given neither cleaning materials nor money to do so
according to an employee of the camp operator
no dry wipes and no disinfectant.” Defective toilets and showers are not repaired
the employee says that “only three women’s showers” were working in the tent area she was in charge of and that “half of the 40 toilets were blocked.”
you will be traumatised there,” employees on site told nd
“It’s a very toxic place for us employees.” “The camp should actually be closed.” “It’s a disaster
from top to bottom,” and the management bears the main responsibility for this they said
responsibility lies with the SPD Senator for Social Affairs
and the President of the State Office for Refugee Affairs (LAF)
In view of the police investigations and reports from those affected
the latter himself had to admit in December 2023 that it was not a place “that anyone would want here.” The German Red Cross (DRK) is responsible for looking after the camp and has rejected the allegations as “inaccurate” or merely temporary grievances
The DRK is supported by the aid agencies Arbeiter-Samariter-Bund (ASB)
the Johanniter-Unfall-Hilfe and the Malteser Hilfsdienst
the garrisoning is also intolerable in terms of their right to education and free development
they were denied adequate schooling or access to public schools until mid-February
Containers equipped with computers were made available only to the approximately 560 Ukrainian schoolchildren in November
where they could “independently participate in online home-schooling with their teachers in the UKR [Ukrainian Republic],” according to the Berlin Refugee Council in its report on the conditions in the TXL detention centre
Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (Christian Democrat
CDU) boasted about the opening of the “Welcome School TXL,” where around 130 underage Ukrainians were learning German and receiving specialised lessons
A further 300 places were to be created in March 2024 and up to 700 such school places in the future
the camp school “Willkommensschule TXL” epitomises the deeply racist character of the immigration policy of the state government—a coalition of the CDU and SPD
makes clear on the verfassungsblog.de website that the separate schools in emergency and collective accommodation centres were pursuing a “new segregation strategy” with the aim of using “parallel” educational institutions to exclude the “equal enjoyment of rights” by schoolchildren with a refugee background
to which non-refugee schoolchildren would be entitled
This strategy is reminiscent of the US doctrine: separate but equal
the racially motivated schooling of black and white pupils in separate schools until 1954
Instead of expanding the capacity of public schools
funding long overdue refurbishments and new school buildings as well as affordable housing for all
the state government is pouring millions into funding temp-homes
The “segregation strategy” of the CDU Education Senator and the garrisoning policy of the SPD Social Affairs Senator in Berlin are completely in line with the federal policy of hermetically sealing off the EU’s external borders
The mass accommodation centre hit the headlines again at the beginning of March 2024: A major fire on the site once again raised awareness of the inhumane conditions refugees confront in the heart of the German capital
One of the 1,000 square metre tent halls caught fire
but the 300 or so residents from Ukraine lost their few personal belongings
The case inevitably brings back memories of the infamous Moria mass accommodation centre on the Greek island of Lesbos
The fact that there was no catastrophe comparable to that in Moria in 2020 was partly due to the fact that the fire broke out during the day
but above all because the camp’s capacity is currently underutilised
emphasised: “We have repeatedly warned in the past that cramming so many people together in precarious accommodation is extremely dangerous.” Neither the Left Party (when it was in government) nor the SPD and CDU are influenced by the concerns and warnings of aid organisations and doctors
who heads the CDU-SPD Berlin state administration
immediately announced the construction of a new large tent on the site of the burnt-down tent hall
at the end of March—less than two weeks after the major fire—the state government decided to expand the camp’s capacity to 7,100 places and to extend its operation up to and including 2025
The construction of further temporary accommodation and container villages is also being planned
Mass accommodation in Germany and barbed wire
pushbacks and detention centres at Europe’s external borders—this is the far-right asylum policy of the SPD-led federal government under Chancellor Olaf Scholz
which is supported by all the state governments
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protagonist Viktor Navorski - played by Tom Hanks - does just that
Eco-conscious German property hunters now have the chance to do the same
Berlin’s disused Tegel airport will soon become an environmentally-friendly residential community and research hub
The ambitious five-million square metre ‘Tegel Projekt’ renovation will include a 10,000-person
This so-called Schumacher Quartier will boast shops
The former airport will also house an industrial park and research area called The Urban Tech Republic
this area will include a campus for Berliner Hochschule für Technik University
with the initial parts of both projects due for completion by 2027
airports are hardly known for their environmental credentials
But in its new form, the Tegel will set a benchmark for eco-friendly living.
the largely-pedestrianised community will put bikes before cars
Electric buses and a tramway are slated as future developments
Preliminary renders reveal vertical gardens on the apartment blocks - one way of keeping buildings cool without resorting to energy-guzzling air conditioning - and grassy parklands
Each rooftop is to be fitted with solar panels for domestic electricity
while ‘sponge city’ technology like permeable pavements and rain gardens will help the city soak up as much water as possible
Nearly half of the vast airport plot will be set aside as a nature reserve
Designers hope to make the construction process carbon-neutral, too, using local timber and offsetting emissions
The project will form a “blueprint” for other eco initiatives
a press release by the state-owned development company declares
“The former Berlin-Tegel Airport is making room for Berlin,” they say
“Berlin TXL – The Urban Tech Republic is a unique initiative in Europe at the present time
Australia’s most prominent private equity firm is lifting the lid on the multibillion-dollar deals it’s done on this side of the ditch
all while tackling its ongoing perception problem
Barbarians at the Gate and all this type of thing
It is a caricature of our industry,” Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) managing director Cameron Blanks told Markets with Madison
for a private equity firm to have a sustainable business
we need to be buying businesses and making them better and then having a very clear growth story for the next buyer.”
PEP had owned and sold major New Zealand businesses including the chicken company Tegel and biscuit maker Griffins
The firm typically doubled profits in the businesses it bought
then on-sold them for about 30% more than their valuation on paper years later
established businesses that have market-leading positions that have sort of lost their way either on the public markets or as divisions of big multinational companies.”
it was losing profitability because its executive bonuses were based on market share
it changed the incentives structure and improved product mix and supply
PEP’s most recent deal here was its partial investment in the freshly merged wealth firm FirstCape
“We’re one of the biggest pools of capital in the market.” Blanks said
Other deals Downunder included Mānuka Health
and toilet paper and tissue company Asaleo Care
PEP’s first investment was Frucor in 1998 - a corporate carve-out from the New Zealand Apples & Pears Board which had an opportunity in a new product
we’re seeing a very active market still for deals.”
Every year it typically considered up to 120 businesses to buy
But changes in interest rates created a sort of lull for the industry
with business owners less certain of how to value their business and therefore sell it
It was well-known for its purchase of Peters Ice Cream in Australia from Nestle
which it later reportedly sold in an A$450 million trade sale in 2014
and what NZ business does it want to buy next
Watch the episode of Markets with Madison above to find out
Get investment insights from executives and experts on Markets with Madison every Monday and Friday here on the NZ Herald, on YouTube and wherever you get your podcasts
Disclaimer: The information provided in this programme is of a general nature
and is not intended to be personalised financial advice
We encourage you to seek appropriate advice from a qualified professional to suit your individual circumstances
Madison Reidy is host and executive producer of the NZ Herald’s investment show Markets with Madison
She joined the Herald in 2022 after working in investment
and has covered business and economics for television and radio broadcasters
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2017 at 12:16 PM ESTBookmarkSaveIf one city proves the importance of a good airport
where the tumultuous 20th century scattered a trail of three flughaefen from east to west
© Stefan MüllerThe new Galeria-Kaufhaus in the northern section is reminiscent of the legendary, now defunct facade of the Karstadt Building on Hermannplatz. The northern portion of the Tegel Quartier is configured as an ensemble of separate addresses: this lively, varied architecture, whose details fascinate passersby day and night, is nonetheless traceable to a unified design concept. Here is a genuinely high-quality, durable, and exceedingly memorable architecture.
© Stefan MüllerThe various utilizations brought together here – including an office high-rise and a parking garage – remain legible through modulations in the facade motifs which correspond to the respective theme
the ground floor zone is opened up by numerous entrances on varied scales
The result is a lively shopping locale with a multitude of attractive offerings
The cascading design of the natural stone facade
with its staggered elements measuring up to 45 cm in depth
was executed using numerous solid elements and is arguably unique by virtue of its form and exceptional quality
groups of three stone elements were assembled using compression joints
Another special feature is the execution of the fixed glass display windows
A (dismountable) frame in natural stone conceals the post-and-beam construction lying behind
leaving glass and stone as the only visible materials
Emerging in the Tegel Quartier on altogether 90,000 m² are retail and office spaces
The northern section encompasses circa 45,000 m²
approximately two-thirds of the new businesses in the Tegel Quartier have already opened their doors
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Swedish artist and craftsman Love Hultén has designed the Tegel, a sound sculpture that merges traditional craftsmanship with modern technology. Across his body of work (see more of his creations in our previous articles here)
the artist combines vintage aesthetics with contemporary functionality
exploring diverse mediums like woodworking
incorporates a miniature bonsai tree connected to probes and a small computer to create audio experiences
The sculpture interprets biological data from organic material by detecting minute fluctuations in electrical currents
and then these signals are translated into MIDI
which is directed to a Korg NTS-1 synth for basic sound manipulation
This innovative approach cleverly utilizes plants as adjustable resistors
highlighting a fusion of nature and technology in generating sound
all images by Love Hultén
Love Hultén is recognized for his handcrafted consoles
and other art pieces that combine nostalgic elements with a minimalist and sleek design
The piece also features an analog VU-meter and a small MIDI keyboard for optional use
Drawing inspiration from the brick sculptures by Per Kirkeby
its design was initially conceived as a prototype for a local public art contest
Hultén’s work highlights his blend of traditional craftsmanship and contemporary technology
aiming to breathe life into objects and challenge conventional perceptions of music and design
the design draws inspiration from the brick sculptures by Danish painter and poet Per Kirkeby
a small Bonsai tree is hooked up to probes
and a small computer transforms the biodata into MIDI signals
designer: Love Hultén | @lovehulten
AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function
but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style
A week after the opening of Berlin Brandenburg Airport
Berliners said a tearful goodbye to Tegel Airport
We profile the history of this iconic hub and looks at plans to incorporate it into a new residential area
As the last flight from Berlin’s Tegel Airport took off at 3pm on 8 November 2020
Berliners said goodbye to a remnant of their city’s history
The airport shut down operations after 72 years to make room for the new Berlin Brandenburg International Airport
which finally opened its doors on 31 October 2020 after a nine-year delay
Despite feeling relief about the new airport opening
many were sad to say goodbye to the legendary hub
posting thousands of ‘thank you’ messages on social media with the #GoodbyeTegel and #DankeTegel hashtags
This outpouring of gratitude is inextricably tied to what the city has gone through in the last 80 years
from WWII and the Cold War to the demolition of the Berlin Wall and the reunification of Germany
With plans underway to turn the airport into a business and residential area
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard
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Even though Tegel Airport was built in 1948
Initially used in the 1800s as an artillery firing range by the military
in 1896 the area saw the construction of barracks for an airship battalion
as well as experiments on dirigible designs
the first airship hangar was built on Tegel’s grounds and in 1914 the area became a military training ground used by aerial reconnaissance crews
Aviation works at Tegel came to a halt with Germany’s defeat in WWI
As a result of the Treaty of Versailles – signed in 1919 between the Allies and Germany – the country was stripped of almost all its military capabilities and forbidden from having an armed air force
which led to the demolition of the 1906 hangar
the area was turned into a rocket testing site while nine years later – on the verge of WWII – it became an air force military training ground
Berlin Tegel opened at the beginning of the Cold War under the extremely difficult circumstances of the 1948 Berlin Blockade
Alarmed by the economic and social policies implemented by the US in post-war Europe
Joseph Stalin’s Soviet Union blocked all land access to West Berlin in June 1948
cutting access to primary good for 2.5 million civilians
western powers carried out an 11-month airlift
delivering vital necessities to the residents of West Berlin
French-occupied forces built Tegel Airport in 90 days
with the first plane landing on 5 November 1948
the airport became a military base for the French air force
Tegel opened its door to commercial aviation and in the years to follow emerged as West Berlin’s most popular airport
Air France launched its first regular commercial service to the airport
which was quickly followed by PanAm in 1964
Tempelhof Airport – at that time West Berlin’s most important airport – reached its maximum capacity
leading airlines to move their services to Tegel
Tegel became the centre for PanAm and British Airways’ Berlin operations
replacing Tempelhof as the city’s main airport
As Tegel was being used as both a civilian and military airport
passengers were flying to and from a prefabricated terminal
Designed in a brutalist architectural style
the hexagonal terminal building became famous for its proximity to the runway
“To me and many other West Berliners, Tegel really was a place apart,” West Berlin resident Drahomira Bukowiecki told CNN
“It symbolised the glamorous world of air travel with its shops that sold wonderful things and the whole process of taking a flight which was very different in the 1970s.”
Bukowiecki – who fled Czechoslovakia in 1968 – was one of the millions of West Berlin residents for whom Tegel represented the only way out to western Europe and freedom
for me and my generation Tegel is the true Berlin airport
a part of us and the one place that enabled us to fly to freedom,” she added
With the 1990 reunification of Germany and the federal government moving back to Berlin
West Berlin’s air traffic restrictions – which excluded airlines not headquartered in the US
In the 30 years since Germany’s unification
with passenger numbers reaching 24 million in 2019
the airport started to become more and more outdated
despite important renovation works such as the 2007 terminal
The Berlin Brandenburg project aimed to replace Tegel but delays kept Tegel alive for another eight years until November 2020
According to Tegel Projekt GmbH CEO Philipp Bouteiller
consideration for the future use of the Tegel site around 2008
four years before the company drew up the masterplan for Berlin TXL
The basis for the 500-hectare project was the need to create a prototype for ‘the city of tomorrow’
a place where research and the development of solutions to issues such as climate change and digitalisation could be fostered
Commencing this year and scheduled for completion in 2041
the project revolves around two main areas
the Schumacher quartier and the Urban Tech Republic
the Schumacher quartier will see the construction of 5,000 smart and sustainable apartments for more than 10,000 people
the district will also draw a diverse clientele due to its affordability
there is a shortage of affordable housing,” he says
“This causes people with lower incomes to be pushed out of the inner cities
Our vision is different: Berlin TXL should not be a place for a high-income clientele only
liveable space for people of all ages and regardless of their income.”
Considered the conceptual nucleus of Berlin TXL
Urban Tech Republic will be divided into a 96-acre campus for the Beuth University of Applied Sciences
as well as a 170-acre commercial area and a 200-acre industrial park
“Companies dedicated to future technologies – in sectors such as energy
materials and ICT – can expect to find surroundings conducive to their business models here
including immediate access to curated scientific institutions
all of which are embedded in a unique space for urban technology innovation,” he adds
Because its buildings are considered monuments
“The northern runway will also remain and be used by Berliners for leisure activities,” concludes Pouteiller
“The belief in a better future is anchored in the DNA of this site and will continue to be relevant in the future.”
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Eric Kontos
Time was short when I started putting together this story about a new Nola Tegel and Patricia Johnston art exhibition at the Cobbitty Gallery
It was decided that email was the most efficient tool for this task
so I politely instructed the artists to open a new email addressed to me and start writing about themselves
they turned out to be very kind and generous
sending more than enough information about their art and their long friendship
They even revealed their ages to me – because I asked
even of women – but with the addendum: “is that important?’’
I like to think I am an old school gentleman
so you won’t see their actual age numbers revealed in this story about Just the two of Us
both artists have been around the block one or two times
after discovering what a fascinating pair Nola and Patricia are
it was a good challenge: write a story encouraging readers to head to Cobbitty to enjoy the art works on display or the opportunity to meet two absolute Macarthur region legends
“Patricia and I have been close friends from the beginning of our art career and that seems like a lifetime,’’ says Nola
who explains how the friendship got off the ground
“It all started when Alan Baker started a painting group at Camden 1970
He didn’t teach but directed and drew along with all
The pair went off to the Royal Art Society in North Sydney to formally learn about art
“Then the final accolade of becoming Fellows of the Royal Art Society of NSW
so we are now Nola Tegel FRAS and Patricia Johnston FRAS.’’
Nola held her first exhibition at the Maitland Art Gallery
the most recent in the Fishers Ghost art prize in 2022
This painting will be in the exhibition at the Tegel gallery in Cobbitty
which will have a formal opening tomorrow evening (Friday
Her partner in crime Patricia Johnston has also won many art prizes over the years
with her most recent honour being overall winner at the 2024 Camden Art Prize
“Nola and I have exhibited together for many years from our very first at Artisan Gallery in Mittagong in 1973 until this one in the beautiful Tegel gallery in Cobbitty,’’ says Patricia
This new exhibition at Cobbitty contains works from here and overseas: these two like to travel
so there will be plenty of paintings done in their style
or plein air as the French say it hanging on the gallery’s walls
“The exhibition theme is a celebration of friendship and a life long love of art,’’ is how Patricia describes it
Please note the exhibition (October 19-27) will be closed on Monday and Tuesday of next week
what time is the exhibition open saturday 26th and sunday 27th october please
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With companies starting to realise that climate change isn’t going away
more are working together to bring green solutions to the table
One such solution comes from Heat Storage Berlin
a German company that’s on a mission to store surplus renewable energy as heat
“This allows us to supply entire industries such as breweries or the paper industry with steam
using sustainable energies,” founder and CEO Ulrich Prochaska tells Euronews Green
He created the technology to address the problem of global warming. “We've already reached 1.5 degrees Celsius of global warming,” says Ulrich
we absolutely need to stop the burning of oil and gas.”
The devices leverage electricity that isn't immediately required when generated and store it as high-temperature heat. When needed, this energy can be accessed as steam or hot water, reducing the strain on the energy grid by smoothing out generation peaks.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Euronews Green (@euronewsgreen)
In comparison to a heat pump
which can produce four kilowatt-hours of heat from every kilowatt-hour of electricity
this system is designed to require only four hours of electricity per day
The prototype device, located in the former cargo hall at Tegel
only needs four hours of electricity per day to provide companies with continuous heat for 24 hours
Ulrich is working on making bigger heat storages for industries that are dependent on high temperatures including breweries
“Our high-temperature storage is a very simple product
We use very simple materials that also don't break
a storage [device] can easily serve for 40 years and longer,” says Ulrich
the technology is being used to power a climate-neutral pizza oven at Tegel
The pizza Euronews Green tasted there was very delicious
Berlin brewery BRLO is planning to expand and has set its sights on a new brewery that will use second-hand
unused energy in collaboration with Heat Storage Berlin
BRLO co-founder and chief product officer Michael Lembke says the plan will be to "utilise the unused energy from our neighbours, likely needing to raise it to a higher temperature level, so that we can reach above 120 degrees Celsius, enabling us to use this heat for brewing
BRLO and Heat Storage Berlin work alongside more than 200 staff members from technology startups at GUT Am Flughafen 1
The collaboration centre based in the former TXL airport brings together innovators in renewable energies
“Since 2022, we are pioneering this development and 17 startups have formed a group to work together on solutions for the city of the future,” Marc Bernath
managing director of GUT Am Flughafen 1 tells Euronews Green
The 500-hectare space is one of Europe's largest urban development projects
Tegel airport is being eyed up as a new venue – but plans are meeting with ambivalence as clubbers see their subculture becoming more mainstream
Berlin’s clubbing scene has long taken a creative approach to issues of space
Now its main airport is joining the list of alternative venues
Tegel’s air traffic control towers, expansive hangar and soundproof jet engine testing hall were highlighted as potential spaces for a mixture of temporary and permanent music venues for open-air festivals, studios and clubs. The vision for Tegel also includes new housing and a tech hub
“A whole new district of the city will be born,” says Daniel Bartsch
“I think Tegel will become a figurehead for the city’s modernity and diversity.”
Architecture is important to Berlin’s clubbing scene
Leichsenring says: “The Berlin scene doesn’t want anything too clean or chic
It focuses instead on the basics: having a good soundsystem and good bookings
And it is always good to have a building where you see the history when you walk in
Berlin clubs like to work with the shape and the soul of the building.”
View image in fullscreenA plan for Tegel airport
Illustration: Atelier LoidlSituated 8km north-west of the city centre
Tegel’s site was originally used for rocket testing during the second world war and was set to be turned into allotments due to severe bomb damage
the first plane landed there in November 1948 after a runway was built in just 90 days to help support Tempelhof airport during the Berlin airlift
when Allied forces in the late 40s broke the Soviet blockade of west Berlin by airlifting goods in directly
It’s been the city’s key passenger airport since the 1970s
Tegel has been operating far longer than intended, though, with the Berlin-Brandenburg originally due to open in 2012. Technical issues, scandals and multiple delays in its construction have turned it into a running joke among Berliners, with a majority voting to keep Tegel open in a nonbinding referendum last year
argue Tegel’s concrete hexagonal terminal building and infrastructure are ill-equipped to meet the city’s growing number of air passengers
Normally the clubbing scene itself decides what could be an interesting or sexy siteBen de BielClubbing has also changed a lot in recent decades
as the formerly countercultural scene has been subsumed into the city’s brand
“When the Club Commission was set up in 2000
the club scene was associated with drugs and criminals,” says Leichsenring
“Now it is widely accepted to be part of the DNA and appeal of the city.”
He founded the Creative Footprint nonprofit organisation to research live music venues in the city and protect its nightlife from the increasing pressures of regulation
“It is very important that with Tegel we talk about building additional clubbing space for the city
and not somehow giving up what we already have,” he says
laments the lack of suitable sites: “In the first few years after the wall fell there were so many empty spaces
The first club I opened was in 1991 in an illegally squatted set of flats
Today there is little affordable empty space for clubs left.”
De Biel says Tegel’s remote location is less likely to be a drawback to clubbers than the process of its development
He can point to a number of clubs that have thrived outside the S-Bahn train line circling the city centre
but adds: “Normally the clubbing scene itself decides what could be an interesting or sexy site.”
View image in fullscreenInside Berghain, one of Berlin’s most famous nightclubs. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/ReutersSven von Thülen, DJ and co-writer of the Sound of Family, an oral history of the Berlin clubbing scene, is sceptical of the plans. “I cannot see people from Berlin actually going there,” says Thülen. “I can only see it being a tourist trap.
“For a long time Berlin clubs were about reclaiming the city and revitalising forgotten spaces. They were developed from the bottom up … Tegel could be an interesting physical space but it would be a top-down development, a kind of sanitised place.”
Read moreConsidering the ongoing saga of the new Brandenburg airport
it is unlikely Berlin clubbers will get the chance to head to Tegel any time soon
Yet the ambivalence over the proposed club feels fitting in a city that has seen its clubbing subculture become mainstream and its previously squatted venues turn into prime real estate
Leichsenring is keen to ensure the Tegel redevelopment is an opportunity for smaller grassroots groups to develop organically
He envisages it as not only an open-air festival space
“The clubbing scene in Berlin doesn’t need any more commercial spaces,” he says
“We need more accessible space for experimentation
We don’t want one club where you can just drop 5,000 people in there at the weekend – we want lots of smaller creative cells
and these spaces don’t need lots of investment
“You basically just have to rip everything out of them and start the first party.”
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Items from the now-closed Berlin Tegel International Airport (TXL) have gone to auction
and you can take your pick of airport items
The bulk of items for sale appear to be television screens and monitors
benches and snowplows -- and there's even a coffee roasting machine for the caffeine lovers
Take a look at some of the items below and determine if you have enough space for a piece of an airport in your living room
This three-seater bench is on auction with a current bid of $140
There are several snowplows up for auction
with the most economically-friendly model starting at $6,068
If you miss squinting at the screen trying to find your flight's gate
you can purchase this 55-inch LG monitor on auction with a current bid of $121
For coffee lovers, now's your chance to snag this coffee roasting machine, with a current bid of nearly $4,900.
If you place a bid -- and win -- you'll need to pick up your item before May 3, 2021. However, if you're bidding from outside of Germany, you'll have to pay a refundable deposit on the net purchase price in the amount of the VAT rate applicable in the country.
TXL was replaced by Berlin's Brandenburg Airport (BER), which finally opened in the fall of 2020 after nearly a decade of delays. Named after former West Germany Chancellor Willy Brandt, the new airport, which began construction in 2006, was plagued by financial problems, bureaucratic delays and construction flaws.
The project went 4 billion Euros over budget and faced growing uncertainty, with the global pandemic greatly reducing travel demand. However, with two of Berlin's three existing airports closing and nearly 300 million Euros in government aid, there is hope that the new facility will weather the pandemic.
The Points Guy believes that credit cards can transform lives
helping you leverage everyday spending for cash back or travel experiences that might otherwise be out of reach
That’s why we publish a variety of editorial content and card comparisons: to help you find a great card to turn your goals into reality
four flights heading from Europe to New York were hijacked in a coordinated action by members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP)
Two of the aircraft wound up landing in Jordan on a desert airstrip called Dawson’s Field
managed to subdue the two hijackers on board by sending the aircraft into a nosedive 20 minutes after taking off from Amsterdam
Nicaraguan-American Sandinista Patrick Argüello
who had already hijacked TWA Flight 840 a year earlier
Argüello critically injured flight attendant Shlomo Vidor
Seeking speedy medical attention for the injured attendant
pilot Uri Bar-Lev disregarded instructions to re-route to Tel Aviv and landed safely in London
The Boeing 707 from that fateful flight is today parked in the far southwest corner of Berlin’s recently shuttered Tegel “Otto Lilienthal” Airport
One of the plane’s passenger doors hangs off its hinges
Two sets of boarding stairs in similarly bad shape are lined up neatly adjacent to the aircraft
This curious tableau is clearly visible from the other side of the razor wire-topped fence separating the end of the airport from a trail at the edge of the Jungfernheide forest
After the foiled attack, and prior to winding up in the Deutsches Technikmuseum’s possession, the plane returned to normal operation. At the time, hijackings were much more common than they are now—between 1968 and 1972, there were 326 attempted hijackings worldwide
The aircraft remained part of the fleet until April 1984
when it was leased to another Israeli airline
Then it was sold back to Boeing in September of that year
“From what I understand,” emails Stanley Morais
El Al’s acting director of international affairs
“Boeing gave it to Lufthansa as a gift celebrating 30 years of working together (in a sort of retro livery) and Lufthansa gifted it to the aviation museum in Berlin.”
the aerospace curator at the Deutsches Technikmuseum (German Museum of Technology)
says Boeing gave the former El Al 707 to Lufthansa so the German airline could use it as a prop in honoring the company’s 1926 Berlin origins
“Lufthansa wanted to place a symbol somewhere that they were both interested in Berlin and founded there,” Triesch explains
Lufthansa was barred from operating in the city of its founding
Because West Berlin was entirely surrounded by East Germany
were connected to the rest of the West only by strictly controlled air corridors
and American airlines were the only commercial operators allowed to fly in or out
Lufthansa Technik repainted the plane in the airline’s post-war livery
then scrupulously covered it up to sneak the craft into West Berlin
American pilots flew the plane to Tegel from Frankfurt undercover in 1987
the Boeing 707 was proudly displayed as a gate guard
“so the first thing you saw when you flew from Berlin was a Lufthansa plane painted in their 1950s design,” Triesch says
After the Wall came down and Berlin was reunified
like much of the city’s infrastructure
and a renovation project in front of Tegel meant the Boeing 707 was in the way
Triesch thinks the plane was moved from its plum position to its current area—under a stand of pine trees
far from view of the airport buildings—in the late ‘90s or 2000
The 707 was used for a while as a training site for fire brigades and special police forces
the aircraft has been left to the elements
“you always have to keep an airplane under a roof.” Today
the 707’s exterior draws observers as much for its derelict condition and unlikely parking spot as it does for its out-of-production status and retro paint job
The Deutsches Technikmuseum owns multiple other historically significant aircraft including a Candy Bomber
one of the iconic Douglas DC-3’s used to parachute little packages of sweets to West Berlin children during the Berlin Air Lift
the Boeing 707 is not a particularly high-value museum object
“It was a gift we did not want to get
With the plane no longer certified to fly and the prestige of its former parking spot in front of Tegel wiped away by changing history
the 707 quickly became a hassle nobody has been able or inclined to deal with
Triesch estimated the cost of disassembling and trucking it to the museum’s storage at another former Berlin airport
That alone would be around 100,000€; adding on a restoration project puts it in the millions
The museum’s contract with Lufthansa stipulates the airline cover certain associated costs
and though they were previously “always generous when we asked them for support
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Freeimages.comBounty Holdings New Zealand’s offer to buy New Zealand poultry company Tegel Foods has been approved by the Overseas Investment Office (OIO)
The OIO approved the offer unconditionally under the Overseas Investment Act, according to a statement from Tegel Foods
A wholly owned subsidiary of Philippines-based Bounty Fresh Foods, Bounty Holdings New Zealand offered to pay NZ$1.23 (US$0.82) per share in an unsolicited takeover offer proposed in April
and followed up with a full takeover offer at the end of May
After reviewing an offer from Bounty Holdings New Zealand Limited to acquire all the ordinary shares of the company, Tegel’s directors recommended to shareholders that the offer be accepted
After reviewing an offer from Bounty Holdings New Zealand Limited to acquire all the ordinary share of the Tegel Group
a group of independent directors is recommending shareholders to accept the offer
Bounty Fresh Group, according to the WATTAgNet Top Poultry Companies database consists of retail rotisserie chicken chain Chooks To Go
poultry integrator Bounty Agro Ventures Inc
The operations breed their own parent and grandparent stock to provide fresh and marinated chicken
processed meats and table eggs in the Philippines
Bounty Fresh is a market leader in table eggs and in layer genetics
Tegel Foods is New Zealand's largest poultry producer with 50 percent market share
Strong exports also have driven recent growth
the company sells under the brands Rangitikei
Top Hat and Pure New Zealand Premium Chicken
Tegel’s Golden Coast Commercial division sells day-old broilers and layers
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you agree to receive texts or calls regarding your subscription or other WATT products and services
Please call +1 (847) 400-5960 for custom support
These commands will no longer be heard at Berlin Tegel Airport after November 8
An era comes to an end.Image: Soeren Stache/dpa/picture alliance Berlin Tegel TXL"To Otto-Lilienthal Airport please," isn't something a Berliner would ever say
That might be its official name since 1988
For 46 years it was Berlin's gateway to the world
the reliable but chronically congested airport in Berlin's north has served its time
Tegel is considered an icon of airport architecture
Designed in 1965 by the then still unknown architects Gerkan
which was soon considered the most modern airport in the world
Passing through the main hall with its few stores was quick
From here the passengers were distributed to the gates which were located in a hexagon
With exactly two possibilities: To the left or to the right
four more terminals were added to cope with the increasing number of passengers
But to no avail: Tegel was still bursting at the seams
Tegel was needed and intensively used as an international airport
Tegel rose to become the fourth most important airport in Germany
It was designed to handle around three million passengers a year
Queuing for check-in or for baggage collection became the norm
During the Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948-49
the Allies supplied the population via an airlift
This soldier celebrates the 100,000th flight
The airports Tempelhof and Gatow were soon no longer sufficient
another runway was built in the French sector of Tegel — in just 90 days
flights had to pass over former East Germany
Air corridors were set up specifically for this purpose
A gateway to the world opened up for West Berliners
flight attendants of the French airline Air France already welcomed the 25 millionth passenger
only airlines of the Western Allied occupying powers were allowed to fly to and from West Berlin
This special status did not end until German reunification in 1990
when Deutsche Lufthansa was also able to fly to Berlin for the first time
there were also military planes that kept landing there too
but exclusively for state guests and members of the federal government
The visit of the 35th American President John F
He was welcomed by the people of Berlin with indescribable jubilation and conquered their hearts with his statement: "Ich bin ein Berliner."
When state guests such as British Queen Elizabeth II arrived
a Bundeswehr guard of honor and a 21-shot salute
She visited Berlin seven times; her last state visit was in 2015
her grandchildren William and Harry and Princess Diana also made their way across the red carpet here
All of Germany watched the return of the German national soccer team in 2014 after its World Cup victory in Brazil
The team's arriving plane was greeted by the airport fire department with water fountains — and of course the red carpet was rolled out for the national team too
no subway connection and similar complaints
a majority of Berliners voted to continue operating the airport alongside the new BER
But the Berliners will keep the memory of TXL alive
A new era will begin for Tegel in November 2020
There are other plans for the airport site
which is only a 30-minute drive away from the city center
A residential area for 10,000 people is to be built here
along with a research and industrial park and a university campus
Berlin's Cold War-era Tegel Airport handles more than three times the passengers it was designed for
Airport granted a stay of execution due to delays to Berlin's new Brandenburg Airport
Airport officials no longer willing to put a completion date on new airport to avoid further embarrassment
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