Street Rutli / Rutlistrasse

A school in the Berlin district of Neukolln, where the majority of inhabitants are immigrants was in the spring of this year in the media spotlight. The board of teachers sent to the senate a letter requesting that the school should be shut down, as they were unable to control the situation any more. They lost charge of the students. Control was seized by the students, mainly descendants of Turkish and Arabic immigrants.

According to media reports, the discontented youngsters were aggressive. They were labelled as the rowdiest students in Germany. The authorities reacted very late, only when the situation was beyond a pivotal point. They had to send the police to the school and promise greater assistance to the teachers. The Senate refused the request for closing the school. The Rütli School is not the only school in Germany with such problems. Among the issues, which need to be addressed are the functioning of the educational system and problems with the integration of second generation immigrants. The debate moved from the school to the German parliament. The German situation was in the spotlight of all media sectors also due to the events in France in the autumn of 2005. The public became aware of the serious threat of violence by the discontented inhabitants of these ghettoized areas. The situation in Berlin has calmed down for now. Apparently! But for how long? How did Rütli Street look this September at the beginning of the new school year?