Germany greets refugees with help and kindness at Munich central station

But the mood has not been universally welcoming, especially in the former communist east. Some commentators doubt Germany’s capacity to accommodate so many new people – and wonder what long-term impact they might have on the country’s infrastructure and finances, not to mention its European cultural identity.
On Wednesday, the conservative Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung asked if the “heterogenous crowds” from diverse backgrounds could really be transformed into “constitutionally loyal” citizens and taxpayers. Meanwhile, in Der Spiegel, a leading Catholic cardinal, Reinhard Marx, blamed “internet culture” for spreading anti-foreigner hostility among “modernisation’s losers”.
The attitude towards refugees in Eisenhüttenstadt is distinctly mixed. Built in the early 1950s, the city was known as Stalinstadt, or Stalin City, from 1953-1961. It was meant as a showcase of idealistic socialist urban planning. Its main street – once Lenin Avenue, now Linden Avenue – still has a distinctly GDR feel, with monumental tower blocs overlooking a wide cobbled boulevard. Its modern name means ironworks city.
Since the demise of the Berlin Wall, however, the town has fallen on hard times. The population has halved from 53,000 to 27,000. Many have left for the more prosperous west. Eisenhüttenstadt’s steel factory is still in business, its giant towers visible from the GDR theme-park-like centre. But its workforce has shrivelled from 10,000 to 3,500.
Those who grew up in the post-war era call themselves “Stalin City-ers”. Many are sceptical about their new neighbours who, after a long trek from Syria, find themselves living in a rustic province next to the Polish border. “We don’t need more foreigners. There have to be limits,” Bernd, 56 – who declined to give his second name – said, standing on the edge of the anti-refugee gathering.

Bernd said he was not a Nazi or a “radical” and had voted at the last election for Die Linke, Germany’s hard-left party. He worked with Russians and Poles but now worried that the retirement age would be raised from 63 to 67.
“Merkel is neglecting her own people. She is obsessed by refugees,” he said. He added that he did not have sympathy with young Syrians fleeing conscription: “I did my military service in the GDR, guarding the green [non-Berlin] border with West Germany. We stopped criminals from escaping to the other side.” He added: “I never deserted.”