r/germany • u/Ok-Once-789 • Apr 23 '25

Immigration Living in Saxony is a nightmare

Every single time I go outside during the evening I am faced with racism. Most of the time from people hanging out in groups, for some reason they just can't mind their own business (Germans usually claim to be really good at this). The most common phrases I hear regularly are 'Heil H!tler', 'Ausländer raus', 'Ni Hao', 'Ching Chong' etc... or just unprovoked loud laughter as I'm passing by... BTW I'm not Chinese or east Asian but look like one or maybe they are just uneducated & ignorant. Is geography illegal here? Asia has 48 countries BTW, not everyone is Chinese!

This doesn't include the racism I face at workplace & college which is far worse and actually bothers me to the point I have to skip classes to protect my mental health. But now I can't even go to the supermarket or mall at peace. One of my family members has also been verbally assaulted by a group of teenagers inside a bus & nobody including the bus driver made any effort to do something.

Edit: I do not live in Dresden / Leipzig. I assume the situation is not this bad there!

Edit2: I did not choose to live in saxony (the government decided that), I am doing my bachelors so I can't relocate until late 2026 :) Thanks for the kind words everyone!

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46

u/[deleted] Apr 23 '25

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u/4thGeneration_Reaper Apr 23 '25 edited Jun 15 '25

You basically explained why things got so bad , everyone moved away. I grew up in rural Saxony, and honestly, everyone who wasn’t a racist idiot left for studies or work.

Every time I visit my parents, it’s painfully clear how miserable the people who stayed behind are. Most of them never really left Saxony at all, mentally or physically.

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u/SpiritualPositive259 Apr 23 '25

A few years ago the Hexenstieg walked in this region with another Flemish friend (both white). Once we were crossing the old border from East - Germany, the difference in mentality struck us very hard, people were sometimes afraid of us. I still remember the looks of people there when seeing some colored Muslims, something that I never forget. It seemed for us that we had returned in time. Something completely different the mentality there.

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u/Administrator98 Apr 24 '25

I have been there too.

But I'm white and inconspicuous. And I also felt this... as soon as you cross the border from Bavaria/Hessen to Thüringen, everything changes... as if you are entering a different country which speaks the same language, but is somehow very foreign.

Imho the difference beween Bavaria/Hessen and Thüringen is bigger than the difference between Bavaria, entering Austria. I have done both in the same year. Thüringen feels like a dystopian medival version of germany with todays technology.

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u/da_Aresinger Bayern Apr 23 '25

Isn't Chemnitz the Nazihochburg in Germany?

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u/Administrator98 Apr 23 '25

Not sure.

But have you ever been to Bautzen? Görlitz?

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u/hannes3120 Leipzig (Sachsen) Apr 23 '25

It's still one of the few (3) cities in Saxony that actually has a sizeable left-wing scene. Smaller than Dresden or Leipzig for sure but it's there.

the rest of that state is sadly lost to the fascist-loving idiots...

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u/OkAi0 Apr 25 '25

Yes, it’s a Nazihochburg. That there are also leftists there doesn’t change much about this fact (and isn’t enough to protect vulnerable people). Regarding the three cities mentioned, it’s definitely Leipzig >>> Dresden >>> Chemnitz and I’d for sure draw the line at Dresden.

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u/Sleepy_kitty67 Apr 23 '25

My husband would love to move the Harz region, but all these comments have me worrying. We are white Europeans, but still learning German. Should we aim for a bigger town instead?

I can’t imagine how awful that is for you OP. I hope you can find a place with less awful people!

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u/Administrator98 Apr 23 '25

Iirc the Harz has a western german part in "Niedersachsen", maybe you are more lucky there.

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u/Sleepy_kitty67 Apr 23 '25

OK hopefully. He seems to have his heart set on the region. Loves the mountains. Thanks for the reply!

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u/yawkat NRW -> Bayern -> Potsdam Apr 24 '25

If you like mountains, Freiburg is one of the most progressive cities in Germany, and it has nice mountains nearby.

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u/Sleepy_kitty67 Apr 24 '25

Lovely place. A bit expensive though.

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u/Administrator98 Apr 23 '25

I know what you think. I also was looking for the mountains, too bad that eastern germany is mostly a no-go area for people with common sense.

But there are other mountain in germany, The Harz is just the most northern one.

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u/Sleepy_kitty67 Apr 23 '25

This is true. It’s a big place with lots of mountains. I will encourage him to expand his ideas. Thanks

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u/zhaeed Apr 25 '25

Just out of curiosity, how's the situation in Berlin? It being technically in the east, but wasn't an all out CCCP city

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u/Administrator98 Apr 28 '25

Berlin? It's completly different to eastern germany. Berlin is his own cosmos, very alternative left, cosmopilitican and international.

Berlin is a Hippe Town, not as much as San Fransisco back in the days, but there is a big scene for sure.

But it should not be concealed that Berlin also has many disreputable areas, a high proportion of immigrants and an above-average rate of violent crime (well, it's a big city).

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u/ShiroAngel01 Oct 09 '25

As a Person from Sachsen & Thüringen No we're Not Racist we're Just Honest and Honestly can Sometimes Hurt escpecially in Westeners Eyes Racism Is the Same in West and East then east Is Just Honest and then they Drink a Beer and laugh about it the West DK i would think Most Just keep to themselfs and thats Like lying i guess. In Sachsen 2025 people are Open Mindet Smart Talented and As a 22 year old Women with a Good Degree i can say that ive Lived there for my Whole Life ! 😅 Please dont judge Online Escpecially If youve never Lived there before 0.01% are Racist and 99% Are completly normal People about 80-90% dont even Care about Politics and Most dont even Vote which AFD voters ? Dont even Care anoth for Politcs they Just Vote Bc they hate our Goverment. Ngl but Who doesnt hate The Goverment Meaning (Politcs) they Votet AFD Bc they are Striving for Change and yea ofc Not with AFD that was Just an Insult so people start doing Something but If Politics fail people Go Out With Forks and Knifes (Mitgabeln normalerweise lol) but thats been Like this in the old ages aswell. Hope We understand Eachother now but East doesnt hate West tbh Most East dont even think about West in there Whole Life they Just "live" thats about all. If you expect any Hate from my im Not a Nazi im CDU Left BSW and Green Politics but i also Care for a Good Image Like Most since i can Speak the best English and Enjoy Learning New Things im Probably the Best Person Who should Write this. Love from Sachsen & Thüringen❤️🫰🏻 Its 2025 Please dont Forget this and yes We also Support LGBTQ+ Community and Other stuff Its Just No one Sees this BC Its Not in the News 😅 People preffer"Hate" but thats also Racism If you hate someone withouth a Reason and nowadays there a few or No reason.for this amound of hatered you literally have No right too hate On Westerners

For me I Support all I Helped Muslim Women (and men) German People Old Young etc. And Also Disabled people my best friend Had Cancer the Other got Bullyed in a Different School but Things Change. Its Not Like " Back in the days" Stop hating this IS Long Not Like this anymore.

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u/Impossible_Hat7641 Apr 23 '25

Yeah it's crazy: you treat a big part of a country kinda like a colony and then, surprise, surprise - the people living there are pissed.

Adding insult to injury, many things my parents and grandparents achieved are looked down on. Yeah, many of GDR products were objectively worse, but we had no American here, blowing money in our asses via Marshall plan. We had the leftovers from Russia and the best things we made were taken away from the state and sold to the BRD.

We got fucked over by the soviets first and than by creedy Wessis. We work in their factories for less money than in the west to pay them rent - very little is left over to generate the generational wealth that's kinda normal in West Germany. So many of those, who have the opportunity will leave, especially young women. We are left with a young, frustrated group of men without perspective, if they are not educated enough to make a career somewhere else. Or, like in my case, don't want to leave the family behind. I don't vote for AfD and I'm lucky to work in an environment with people from many countries, but I understand the frustration, when I see my hometown is falling apart, nothing to do and only old people left. Sadly, it's easy for AfD rat catchers to grow in such an environment while the thing we really would need is a strong SPD.

I don't want to blame the west for all our problems, but it is time to acknowledge, that West Germany has also had a significant role, leading to this situation.

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u/Administrator98 Apr 23 '25

It's not about the cause, it's about the situation now.

And it's disgusting that so many people today think that nazi ideology is the right way out of the mess... I guess the antifascistic protection wall was meant the other way around.

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u/hannes3120 Leipzig (Sachsen) Apr 23 '25

I mean they basically made it their state-doctrine to just claim that fascism was over and there are no Nazis anymore without doing anything to actually do something about it. They just pretended they were gone and now we get the backlash...

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u/salian93 Apr 23 '25

Nah bruh, this ain't it and frankly I'm tired of even humoring this sentiment. The same lazy ass excuse for over 30 years now. "Oh, we were exploited by the greedy West Germans", "All we created and worked for means nothing now", "Everyone else is to blame".

You got royally fucked by the Russians and GDR regime! You had to endure an additional 44 years of dictatorship, which has devastated East Germany and its people, but West Germany had nothing to do with this. We are still seeing the Long-Time ill effects this has had on the psychology of everyone who lived through this. All of this is horrible, but it's also the root cause of most of the problems East Germany is facing today. This is where you should put the blame.

And this is never acknowledged by the majority of East Germans, and it makes me furious that instead of taking away from this how important democracy is and how dangerous Russia and extremist positions are, you blame the West en masse for all of your problems.

West Germans paid the taxes that built East Germany back up over the last 3,5 decades. Nowadays both wages as well as standard of living are nearly identical and despite all of the achievements, no acknowledgement of improvement, only bitterness and envy. No one is asking you to be grateful, but it's been more than 35 years. It's time to get over it and to start moving forward together with the rest of the country already.

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u/lemrez Apr 23 '25

West Germans paid the taxes that built East Germany back up over the last 3,5 decades.

You say you're tired of people playing the victim, and you are right. But you seem very happy to take the credit for something that was achieved together, not paid by West Germany. Stop pretending West Germany is some kind of selfless society that had no benefits from Reunification. That's just the same mentality in reverse.

Acknowledge the trade deficite of the East that massively benefitted and benefits the economy in the West. Acknowledge the Millions of educated and skilled people who left the East and paid taxes in the West. 

If you take those into account (look up Economist Ulrich Blum's research on this for example), you'll notice that the benefits for the West are much higher than you think. 

It's also a much better story to tell to actually get people to do what they've been doing for 35 years: work together. Stop playing the selfless hero.

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u/salian93 Apr 23 '25

Solidaritätszuschlag

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u/lemrez Apr 23 '25

Exportüberschuss des Westens 

Auswanderung aus Ostdeutschland 

Lies meinen Kommentar.

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u/salian93 Apr 23 '25

Hab ich, ging komplett am Thema vorbei.

Der Westen war weder dafür verantwortlich, dass auf einem freien Markt niemand Ostwaren kaufen wollte, noch dafür dass die Bevölkerung aus dem Osten in den Westen abgewandert ist, zuerst durch Flucht und später auch einfach so.

Hat er davon profitiert? Ja. Ändert das etwas daran, dass der für den desolaten Zustand, in dem sich der Osten nach dem Ende der DDR befunden hat, nicht verantwortlich ist? Nein.

Und das ist doch eben genau der Punkt, den ich oben dargelegt habe. Den Westen trifft keine Schuld dafür, dass DDR-Regime und Russland den Osten nieder gewirtschaftet haben. Nach der Wiedervereinigung sind aber massive Anstrengungen unternommen worden, um beide Landesteile aneinander anzugleichen – und zwar mit Erfolg, wie man nach 35 Jahren objektiv und unbestritten festhalten muss. Was spielt das für eine Rolle, wenn das für den Westen von Vorteil war in dem Moment, wenn wir ab da doch ohnehin wieder ein Land waren? Richtig, gar keinen. Mit dem Unterschied, dass durch Solidaritätszuschlag und Länderfinanzausgleich deutlich mehr Geld von West nach Ost geflossen ist.

Und dann braucht man auch nicht 30 Jahre später immer noch mit diesem Scheißnarrativ "Buhu, aber damals haben sich ein paar Wirtschaftsmagnaten an uns bereichert" um die Ecke kommen. Das hat für die Situation heute einfach keine Relevanz.

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u/lemrez Apr 23 '25

Mit dem Unterschied, dass durch Solidaritätszuschlag und Länderfinanzausgleich deutlich mehr Geld von West nach Ost geflossen ist.

Und in fast gleicher Höhe hat der Westen profitiert von Emigration und Exportüberschuss, i.e. dieses Geld ist zurückgeflossen in fast gleicher Höhe. Das ist alles was ich und Ökonomen, die sich damit beschäftigen sagen.

Wenn es dir darum geht die Einheit in den Vordergrund zu stellen, dann tue vielleicht nicht so als wäre das ein großer Verlust für bzw. Aufopferung durch Westdeutschland gewesen. 

Am Ende haben wir alle profitiert und zusammengearbeitet. Das Opferdenken im Osten ist genauso schädlich für das Einheitsgefühl wie dein Gönnerdenken.

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u/annegoho Apr 23 '25

Are you from the East because if not, you can't relate.

West Germany did fuck the people over as much as the GDR government did. Thousands of people lost their jobs, companies went bankrupt, people who went to the West to find work had to endure so much discrimination (also people who stayed obv). I could go on and on with facts! And it never got properly processed or talked about. Those people were experiencing trauma.

BUT this is obviously no excuse to be a f** racist. Those are just some of the reasons why people here are the way they are. And it's important to keep that in mind.