New Year's Eve in Germany

A year ago the world media was rocked by stories of the sexual assaults committed by Muslim refugees in Cologne, Germany. Despite the best police efforts to cover up the story, it was reported widely. Angela Merkel’s open arms policy seemed to be an obvious failure.

This year, however, we have read fewer such reports. It may be that the situation is under control. It may be that we have seen so many stories about migrant assaults that we have simply become numb to them. This is not a good thing.

Of course, it might also be the case that the German government has improved its ability to censor the news. After all, the German people will go to the polls this year to vote for or against Merkel. We would not want their minds to be distressed by facts.

For those who prefer to stay informed, the London Express has the story.

First, from Hamburg:

In Hamburg, 14 women were the victims of sex attacks, as more than 45,000 people celebrated New Year’s Eve in the city.

Police said the suspected attackers, including migrants, grabbed their victim’s crotches. Ten people have been arrested in connection with the sexual assaults.

Officers said three Syrians, three Iraqis, two Afghans, one Eritrean and one German were arrested in connection with the sexual assaults in Große Freiheit and Beatles Square.

Firefighters and police were called out to more than 2,000 incidents during the celebrations.

In Augsburg:

Elsewhere in Germany, police in Augsburg launched investigations into several sex attacks as chaos ripped through the Bavarian town on New Year’s Eve.

Around 150 people celebrated the New Year in Augsburger Königsplatz with police reports of migrants firing rockets into the crowd.

Police arrested a 22-year-old Syrian for firing a rocket toward people standing next to him.

Three young men from Iraq and Syria were banned from the square after firing rockets at several people, police said.

And in Dortmund:

In Dortmund five police officers were injured in the chaos which saw police arrest dozens of men.

A gang of around 1,000, which included groups of migrants, crowded in front of Dortmund’s main train station and Leeds Square.

Officers set up no-go zones near the station and town’s main square with reports of drunk men aggressively approaching police.

Photos and video from the mayhem show smoke flares being thrown into the crowd as troublemakers ignored police warnings from the square’s town speakers.

Of course, Merkel is now promising to do a better job. Now that she has allowed her country to be flooded by more migrants than it can contain, that seems to be the emptiest of promises.