Expropriations for refugees – the constantly fueled fear

Pensioners who are supposedly being thrown out of a retirement home, halls being broken into by the fire brigade - video snippets from reports that are often used to stir up panic about expropriation and at the same time hatred towards refugees, and all of this for clicks and likes.
But such videos and posts are often grossly manipulated and facts are left out, because real estate cannot be expropriated that easily!

One-sided videos and reports

It's annoying enough when a newspaper that likes to arouse curiosity with huge headlines reports quite one-sidedly in a video article about refugees and accommodation and only shows negative comments, including the former ÖVP party chairman Sebastian Kurz and the federal spokesman for the AfD , Bernd Lucke, has his say (see HERE ).

It becomes even more annoying when a YouTuber takes excerpts from the above video, shows them in a shortened form and also makes baseless claims without any legal basis in order to cause even more unrest and of course to get clicks, likes and even more clicks for their homepage ( look here ).

The videos give the impression that expropriation of real estate is now possible at any time and shows, as an example, a retirement home in Oberschweinbach, on the ground floor of which Ukrainian refugees will actually move in. But only negative opinions are explicitly shown and many facts are simply swept under the carpet in order to maintain the outrage.

Adding fuel to the fire is a tweet (see HERE ), which luridly claims “ It’s starting. Confiscation, expropriation and, from 2024, burden equalization ,” but shows a video from 2015, which is intended to suggest that a hall was expropriated. The dpa colleagues (see HERE ) looked into this and explained that the hall had already been sold to the city, but the owner had not been available to unlock the hall.

Xenophobic threatening calls and hate messages against the nursing home

“Thanks” to the tabloid’s one-sided video report and the video from the “landlord’s diary,” the managers of the “Haus am Klostergarten” retirement home in the Spielberg district of Oberschweinbach can now deal with hateful calls, threatening emails and insulting attacks on social media. That won't bother that newspaper and the YouTuber, they have their clicks.

An article in the Süddeutsche Zeitung (see HERE ) mentions some points that didn't make it into the videos above. Logical, because they are not suitable for outrage:

• The senior citizens who live there have nothing against it, but in some cases they expressly welcome the help for war refugees
• Mayor Norbert Riepl emphasizes that the residents of Oberschweinbach are also helpful and that there is a welcoming culture
• The 15 people who still lived on the ground floor and their relatives expressly agreed to the move to the first and second floors
• A move to the two upper floors was planned anyway for reasons of more efficient care
• There should be no overlap between the two living areas - the rooms on the ground floor are accessible via a separate entrance

Of course, there are also fears and critical voices, and it is also a huge challenge for the community to accommodate many refugees. However, the general mood is positive among the mayor, the residents of the nursing home and the citizens.

Expropriations are not so easy to accomplish

What is striking about articles, videos and comments on expropriations is that the legal basis is either not mentioned at all or only mentioned very marginally. This also makes sense (from the perspective of the disseminators), as they allow the claims to collapse like a house of cards.

The nasty catchphrase “expropriation” works very well and raises fears of having to leave the apartment because of refugees - which, however, not happen! Let's just take a look at the regulations on expropriations:

As the brokerage company “ Homeday ” explains, expropriations are a common procedure in Germany and are even anchored in the Basic Law ( Article 14 GG ). But there are some regulations for expropriations, so a property is not simply taken away, but compensation must be offered in accordance with the property value.

In order for an expropriation to be legal, certain requirements must be met:

• A federal or state law must serve as the basis for expropriation.
• Serious efforts must be made in advance to acquire the property through regular channels.
• It must be credibly proven that the property will be needed for the planned purpose in the foreseeable future.
• If possible, suitable replacement land must be offered as compensation.

In general, expropriations are only possible as a last resort. Nobody will have their property or apartment taken away from Holterdipolter, let alone have to move. The latter fear in particular is fueled by the example of the old people's home, as it gives the impression that the residents only had to move to the upper floors because of the refugees, even though this was planned anyway.

Conclusion

The fear-mongering about possible expropriations has been pushed forward by relevant parties again and again since 2015. Fear of loss and hatred of the government and refugees are growing as a result, but there has never been a major wave of expropriation, even though the wave of refugees at the time presented many districts and communities with major challenges.

These challenges also exist from refugees from Ukraine, which is why relevant circles would like to take advantage of this and spread uncertainty that is part of their daily business. But when you look at it soberly, it only makes them less credible.

Article image: YouTube

Also interesting: A video is shared on Facebook that shows a violent police operation.
Apparently this was an incident during a demonstration against rising energy prices. – Police violence against demonstrators because of rising energy prices?