Hanno Hauenstein

1 week ago | hannohauenstein.substack.com | Hanno Hauenstein

Germany has a new government. Friedrich Merz was just confirmed as the country’s 10th postwar chancellor – though only narrowly. The confirmation followed an embarrassing first-round failure in the Bundestag; nearly 20 coalition MPs withheld their votes in a secret ballot. Merz – a former lobbyist and the CDU’s right-wing counterpoint to Angela Merkel’s open-border legacy – barely scraped through on the second attempt, securing 325 votes (just nine above the needed minimum).

1 week ago | hannohauenstein.substack.com | Hanno Hauenstein

This is an edited version of an essay originally published in the German print edition of Jacobin. You can read the German piece online here. At this point, there can be little doubt: after a year and a half of the most extreme military offensive of the 21st century, evidence is mounting that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian population in Gaza – with German support.

2 weeks ago | hannohauenstein.substack.com | Hanno Hauenstein

On Easter Sunday, 21-year-old Lorenz A. was shot and killed by police in Oldenburg. Lorenz, a young Black man, had been denied entry to a local nightclub – allegedly because of his clothing. In the confrontation that followed with the club’s security, he used pepper spray and fled the scene. According to the Oldenburg public prosecutor, Lorenz used pepper spray again during a confrontation with police officers shortly afterward. The prosecutor also claims that he threatened his pursuers with a knife.

3 weeks ago | medico.de | Hanno Hauenstein

Ende März versammelten sich im Norden Gazas Hunderte Menschen zu öffentlichen Protesten. Die Demonstrierenden warfen der De-Facto-Regierung Korruption und Gleichgültigkeit gegenüber den zivilen Opfern der israelischen Militäroffensive vor. Auslöser der Protestwelle war das Scheitern der Waffenruhe – und Israels Wiederaufnahme von Luftangriffen, bei denen erneut Hunderte Zivilist:innen getötet worden waren.

3 weeks ago | hannohauenstein.substack.com | Hanno Hauenstein

A few months ago, medico international organized a journalist trip to Namibia. The organization supports the representative bodies of the Ovaherero (OTA) and Nama (NTLA), whose communities continue to fight for justice for Germany’s colonial genocide. On the ground, I spoke with descendants of survivors, visited medico’s local partners, and took a closer look at neocolonial ventures – like the German-backed push for green hydrogen.