1. The suspicious reinterpretation of “God loves you”

»This is not a reappraisal, nor is it a will to reappraise.

This is simply an attempt to avoid having to take note of what church employees have done to people." This sentence is quoted by a person affected by sexual abuse on the website of the independent processing commission.

It is not known whether he was tormented by clergy from the Catholic Church or the Protestant Church.

Enlarge image

Evangelical Church near Hanover: The EKD's abuse study shows abysses

Photo: Julian Stratenschulte / picture alliance

But instinctively one would say that he refers to the Catholic Church.

She remained silent for too long, put things into perspective, and ducked away.

The realization that the cases had to be dealt with came too late and the willingness to compensate those affected was too hesitant.

It seemed unthinkable that there could have been similar dimensions of abuse in the Protestant Church - after all, there is no celibacy there, which is often cited as a possible reason for the misconduct of Catholic priests.

At the latest after the resignation of EKD chairwoman Annette Kurschus in the context of an abuse case, one could sense that the Protestant Church is by no means blameless.

Now the EKD in Hanover has published the long-awaited abuse report - and it reveals all the depths that also exist among Protestants.

1,259 suspects and 2,225 cases were identified.

A similar study on the Catholic Church from 2018 identified 1,670 suspected perpetrators and 3,677 victims.

The Protestant church cost the investigations 3.6 million euros.

But according to my colleague Annette Langer, the result is poor.

The 1,000-page report has significant methodological deficiencies.

In reality, the number of unreported cases is probably up to 75 percent higher than shown in the bundle.

The omission of many investigative steps leaves room for the suspicion that something is being covered up, says Annette.

Detlef Zander, representative of those affected, is not surprised by the parallels.

"The Protestant Church emerged from the Catholic Church - it comes from the same swamp."

  • Read the whole story here: EKD abuse study reveals conditions similar to those in the Catholic Church 

2. Experience the voice!

At the beginning of the week, Neven Subotić, former professional footballer for Borussia Dortmund, sat

on the train and observed a woman talking on the phone.

Not in German.

Subotić heard a man say to her: 'Stop, otherwise we will deport you.' The footballer told the woman that this man was not from Germany.

She is Germany.

And he told SPIEGEL that the protests showed how many other people there are who see things similarly to him.

Enlarge image

Six out of nine: Neven Subotić, Mehmet Daimagüler, Sara Nuru, Jasmin Shakeri, Felor Badenberg, Alon Meyer

Photo: [M] DER SPIEGEL;

Photos: Ralf Rottmann / Funke Photo Services / IMAGO;

Martin Schutt/dpa;

gbrci / Future Image / IMAGO;

Jason Harrell/dpa;

Sebastian Gollnow / dpa;

teutopress / IMAGO

Subotić is one of many prominent voices who are worried about this country.

About their country.

People with a migration history who see Germany as their home.

And those who are now asking themselves: How threatened is it actually?

How threatened am I?

Since the dubious secret meeting between AfD and CDU politicians with right-wing extremists and entrepreneurs in Potsdam, where deportation fantasies were exchanged, something has changed in Germany.

People affected by racism feel fear that the neo-Nazis' simulation games could become reality.

People who have not previously experienced racism are slowly waking up and showing solidarity by taking to the streets en masse and speaking out against unconstitutional thought experiments.

But Mehmet Daimagüler, 56, son of Turkish immigrants and lawyer who has repeatedly represented victims of racist violence and Holocaust survivors in concentration camp proceedings, gets to the point: “If we want to preserve our democracy, then we need both: people who the streets walking, and voters standing at the polls on election day.

Many elections will take place this year, first the local and European elections, then three state elections in the fall.

Then at the latest it will become clear how powerful the protests actually are.

It doesn't look like a trend reversal yet.

The AfD remains the second strongest force after the Union and only loses marginal percentage points.

And amid the wave of protests against right-wing extremism, the AfD is hoping for its second district administrator position in the Saale-Orla district in eastern Thuringia.

On Sunday, AfD candidate Uwe Thrum and CDU man Christian Herrgott will face each other in a runoff election.

In the first round of voting two weeks ago, Thrum received 45.7 percent of the vote, well ahead of Herrgott, who achieved 33.3 percent.

This gives the AfD the chance to appoint the second district administrator in Germany after Robert Sesselmann in Sonneberg.

  • Read the whole story here: “I’m afraid for our country” 

3. Form an opinion

The train drivers' union (GDL) has been on strike since yesterday.

And that until Monday, six days in a row, longer than ever before in the history of the railway.

This affects not only long-distance and regional trains, but also the S-Bahn in large cities.

GDL boss Claus Weselsky believes the population is on the side of the strikers.

"It is not the published opinion that reflects how people feel about this strike, but rather public opinion," Weselsky said at a rally in Stuttgart.

Enlarge image

Train driver Jonas Wagner next to a train: “I would have gone on strike immediately”

Photo: Jonas Wagner

It's not entirely clear to me how accurately Weselsky measures public opinion.

In any case, he did not include my daughters and many commuters all over Germany in forming his opinion.

Of course you can say: Let them see how they get to school for four days (you don't want to read the parents' WhatsApp group about that, I swear!) is for a higher goal.

My colleague Serafin Reiber also thinks that it would be too easy to blame Claus Weselsky alone for the standstill, even if the GdL may be primarily responsible for the escalation of the collective bargaining dispute at the weekend.

In Serafin's opinion, it would be much more important to finally deal with the reasons for the blind anger of many train drivers towards the company.

If 97 percent of GDL train drivers vote for a strike because they are dissatisfied with their working conditions, the railway cannot have done everything right.

Jonas Wagner, 22, tells my colleague Martin U. Müller in an interview what makes him, um, so mad.

Wagner is a train driver for Deutsche Bahn in regional transport based in Schwerin.

Transport should go by rail in an environmentally friendly way, but the infrastructure is so dilapidated, says Wagner.

»I often take trains on the high-speed line to Hamburg.

The route is so congested that traffic often breaks down.

The line to Berlin is no longer maintained because they want to build something bigger there in 2025.

Switches fail.

Distant signals announce a stop even though the main signal is on the move.

I have to brake because I don't know what's going on.

If you report this in accordance with the regulations, it will be dismissed: it has been like this for years.

That’s frustrating!”

The railway board members are to receive almost five million euros in bonus payments for 2022.

Safe for outstanding performance.

By the way, Ole, Mia's dad, is taking my daughters to school tomorrow.

Thanks Ole!

  • Read the whole story here: “We are insulted and spit on” 

What else is important today?

  • This is how Germans would vote right now:

    Here you will find a constantly updated summary of the Sunday questions from the major survey institutes in Germany.

  • The number of flu cases is increasing significantly:

    The flu wave is driving up the number of illnesses in Germany, affecting all age groups.

    RSV infections also remain a problem.

  • The shortage of teachers in primary schools will probably soon be overcome:

    Positive news from the German education system has been rather rare recently.

    A forecast from the Bertelsmann Foundation gives some hope: the shortage of teachers in the primary sector will soon be a thing of the past.

  • Tariff expert warns GDL of a "media disaster":

    With the train drivers' six-day strike, the GDL wants to force the railway management to make concessions.

    But experts and politicians warn: the train drivers' union's tough course is risky.

  • Renate Künast wins in court against Meta:

    The Frankfurt Higher Regional Court obliges Facebook to do more against defamatory posts.

    The Green Party politician Renate Künast had sued.

    The ruling could have far-reaching consequences.

What we recommend today at SPIEGEL+

  • This is what thoughts look like:

    When people think, they maneuver through mental worlds.

    With the help of magnetic resonance imaging, Max Planck researchers in Leipzig watch them.

  • Bayer is planning a cultural revolution for 17,000 managers:

    The pharmaceutical company Bayer was the pride of German industry, but now it is in a deep crisis.

    A 1,300-page set of rules was supposed to solve the problems.

    But CEO Anderson wants a completely different company. 

  • How the courageous Mala Zimetbaum humiliated the SS with a bloody slap in the face:

    She saved fellow prisoners, smuggled medicine - and humiliated her henchmen in Auschwitz with a unique gesture.

    Nevertheless, Mala Zimetbaum is almost forgotten, just like other Jewish resisters.

    That needs to change .

  • What cannot be wiped away at Bayern:

    Union coach Nenad Bjelica reaches into Leroy Sané's face - this incident was the focus of FC Bayern's catch-up game.

    But the excitement surrounding it couldn't hide what the Munich team is currently lacking.

Which is less important today

Enlarge image

Photo: Swen Pförtner / picture alliance / dpa

Laughing match:

The singer and presenter

Ina Müller

, 58, together with Elyas M'Barek and Otto Waalkes, is one of the new candidates for the successful comedy format "LOL: Last One Laughing".

The rules of the game: Anyone who laughs twice at all sorts of gags is thrown out.

Whoever laughs last wins prize money of 50,000 euros – for a good cause.

Mini concave mirror

You can find the entire concave mirror here.

Cartoon of the day

And tonight?

Could you look at the “Daily Topics” – and maybe see them with different eyes?

The ARD news magazine has recently been moderated by Jessy Wellmer.

Yes, they knew that.

But did you also know that she was born in Güstrow and only recently “came out” after a long career as a sports reporter.

As an East German?

She has since heard from colleagues in the West as well as from old acquaintances in the East: “Man, you made a career in television in the West, and now you dare to publicly discuss your origins?

You did it, don’t ruin it for yourself.”

In a SPIEGEL conversation that my colleague Christian Buß and I had, the journalist spoke very authentically about how it hurts her that East and West still view each other with suspicion.

And why she believes that the East finds itself in a constant role of justification: “Why didn’t you rebel against the system?

Why don't you still know any better?

Because of this pressure, people defiantly begin to legitimize the old life - and with it Putin, the current leader of the former brother state.

  • Read the whole conversation here: “West German friends give me the feeling: It’s nice that you’re here, but you were never the child I wanted.” 


I wish you a good read and a nice evening.

Warm regards


, Janko Tietz, Head of Germany/Panorama Department