Berlin versus tourists

Community meetings in Kreuzberg – a working class area to the west with a large Turkish population, favoured by visitors on weekend breaks – flew banners reading, “Help! The tourists are coming!” One alternative magazine urged its readers to “steal their mobile phones and wallets as you walk by their café tables, burn their cars, smash their hotel windows, drop rubbish, throw stuff at tourist buses”.The grievances are varied: tourists rattle their wheelie cases over the cobblestones early in the morning, and change the nature of clubs by taking pictures of each other on mobile phones.The resentment springs from an enduring counter-culture. During the Cold War, West Berlin attracted dissidents because the government exempted citizens from military service. It duly became a pressure cooker of politics. The fall of the Wall meant two very different cultures – and sets of incomes – were thrown together. In the old East, there is resentment as yuppies move in.And there’s likely to be more to moan about. Berlin had over nine millionvisitors in 2010, a 10% increase on the previous year. But the city needs them. The destruction and division of Berlin left it with virtually no industry. Companies like Siemens relocated to Bavaria. Berlin needs the money – your money.