Have Yourself a Merry Little Anschlag

German of the day: Anschlag. That means attack.

It’s the Islamist way to say Merry Christmas!

Security hiked at Cologne Cathedral for Christmas amid attack threat – German police said on Saturday they were heightening security at Cologne Cathedral following indications of an attack planned for New Year’s Eve and in the wake of government warnings in recent weeks about the rising threat of Islamist violence.

The police said in a statement they would use tracker dogs to check the cathedral after evening mass and then close it off. On Sunday, Christmas Eve, they would carry out a security check on all visitors, and recommended they get to services early.

German of the day: “Wer nicht hören will, muss fühlen”

That means those who refuse to listen shall feel the consequences.

The established, traditional political parties in Germany are still refusing to listen to the electorate. Their voters have had it. With the migrant madness, for one thing. And with crazy Green utopia (highest energy prices in Europe and climbing), for another. And if these parties won’t listen, then voters have no other choice but to vote for a party that will.

Alice Weidel’s hard-right politics is winning over Germans.

Our Berlin bureau chief sits down with the increasingly popular co-leader of the Alternative for Germany, the furthest-right of the country’s seven main political parties.

German of the day: Aufstand

That means insurrection.

The Germans just had to have one of their own, of course. And I wouldn’t have thought it possible, but their insurrection was even more ridiculous than ours was. 27 old farts were going to “overthrow the German government.” Silly old farts too, They didn’t even know that Germany doesn’t have a government. Or that when it does it just overthrows itself.

Germany charges 27 suspects over Reichsbürger coup plot – German prosecutors have charged 27 suspects after carrying out raids against the far-right Reichsbürger movement last year.

For the first time after a series of raids last year, federal prosecutors in Germany on Tuesday brought charges linked to an alleged coup plot hatched by members of the far-right “Reichsbürger” movement… Also charged was the entrepreneur and aristocrat Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, who is alleged to have been the ringleader.

German of the day: Wärmepumpe

That means heat pump.

You know, the warming device that needs government subsidies to get anyone to install it (promised subsidies that will now no longer be offered)?

German heat pump rollout at risk as government suspends climate subsidies – Move could also undermine nine funding programmes, covering schemes from energy efficient homes to cargo bikes provision.

Nine funding programmes, covering everything from energy efficient homes to cargo bikes for commercial use, are now on hold as Olaf Scholz’s coalition government seeks to make savings of about €17bn (£15bn).

The government was thrown into a quandary last month over how to finance its ambitious environmental and industrial transformation programme (KTF) when the country’s highest court blocked its attempts to switch €60bn of pandemic-era borrowing to pay for it.

German of the day: Loser

That means loser. It also means losers (in plural).

US and Germany risk owning Ukraine’s stalling war effort – The onus is on European allies to step up support and chart a path for Kyiv towards Nato and EU membership.

More than 50 countries are supporting Ukraine in its defence against Russia’s full-scale invasion. Yet Ukraine’s existential struggle in Europe’s largest war since 1945 currently hinges mainly on two countries. US leadership, as well as financial and material support for Kyiv, have been essential to Ukraine’s survival. Germany is its second largest supplier of weapons and money, far ahead of the rest of the field. 

German of the day: Zusammenbruch

That means collapse.

German homebuilding collapse threatens wider economic damage – Once-thriving residential construction industry has slumped, posing drag on EU’s largest economy.

Across Germany, homebuilders are facing such a sharp reversal in their fortunes that the downturn in residential construction is threatening to have broader repercussions across Europe’s largest economy.

Many have declared themselves insolvent, dampening Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s target of building 400,000 new homes a year to tackle a housing affordability crisis in several of the country’s largest cities.

“War” is the past tense of is

In German. “Was,” in English.

So that headline down there doesn’t make much sense – in my mind. The German army was never “was ready” and never will be.

Germany aims for a ‘war-ready’ military – It’s the most momentous shift in German defense priorities since 2011.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is forcing Germany to turn its military into a powerful and well-financed fighting force focused on defending the country and NATO allies, Germany’s chancellor said on Friday.

“Today, nobody can seriously doubt what we in Germany have been avoiding for a long time, namely that we need a powerful Bundeswehr,” Olaf Scholz said on the second day of a political-military conference presenting the deep change in Berlin’s strategic thinking.

“Our peace order is in danger,” he warned, also mentioning the war between Hamas and Israel and adding that Germany needs “a long-term, permanent change of course.”

German of the day: Kriegstüchtig

That means fit for war.

The German army. Today. Fit for war? A small town police force in US-Amerika maybe, but the Bundeswehr? It’ll never happen and everybody here knows it. How ridiculous.

German military must be ‘fit for war’ – German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius has said that the country’s military must become combat-ready quickly. But that will require a major long-term overhaul, and experts doubt that will be easy.

Defense Minister Boris Pistorius warned on Sunday night that in the current global situation, Germany needed to be prepared for war and able to defend the country. But that required a fundamental re-think about what the Bundeswehr was for.

German of the day: Grenzkontrolle

That means border control.

You know, like increased German border controls in “border-free” Europe? If even the Germans are finally starting to get it you know how bad it’s got.

Germany prepares to widen stationary border checks – Germany is expected to notify the EU about plans to introduce fixed border checks on the Polish, Czech Republic and Swiss borders. Previously, this had only been possible at the Austrian frontier.

The German Interior Ministry is expected to register stationary border controls with Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland with the European Commission in light of a high number of refugees entering Germany.

German of the day: “Invasion Vibes”

OK, it’s English. But still.

Elon Musk Attacks Germany Over Its Migrant Rescues, Cites ‘Invasion Vibes’ – Tesla CEO Elon Musk took to X to scrutinize a German humanitarian group conducting a rescue operation in the Mediterranean Sea, suggesting such operations and their transport of rescued immigrants to Italy are a violation of the country’s sovereignty…

Musk said he doubted the majority of the German public supported the operations, claiming they are “surely” violations of Italy’s sovereignty and saying they had “invasion vibes.”