STERN survey
The majority of East Germans are demanding checkpoints on the border with Poland
Traffic is still flowing unimpeded across the bridge from Frankfurt/Oder to Slubice. But now, due to the increasing number of refugees, the reintroduction of stationary controls at the border between Germany and Poland is being discussed.
© Jürgen Ritter/Imago / Imago Images
The question divides the country: Should stationary controls be reintroduced at the border with Poland because of the increasing number of refugees? At least the younger generation has a clear opinion.
Germans are divided on the issue of reintroducing stationary controls at the border with Poland. As a Forsa survey for the star revealed, 44 percent are in favor of fixed controls and 52 percent are against it. Four percent have no clear opinion. At 52 percent, the proportion of supporters in eastern Germany is particularly high. Because of the increasing number of refugees arriving in Germany via Belarus and Poland, the CDU interior ministers from Brandenburg and Saxony are calling for stationary border controls to be reintroduced. Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) rejects fixed checkpoints because of the consequences for companies and commuters, but has announced that surveillance along the border will be increased.
The poll results show how differently party supporters think about the issue. While just 12 percent of Green voters are in favor of fixed border controls and 85 percent are against it, the attitude of AfD supporters is exactly the opposite: 87 percent support the reintroduction of stationary border controls, only six percent reject them. The other parties are in between: SPD (65 percent) and FDP (55 percent) have opponents, while Union voters are just a little in favor of supporters (52 percent).
It is also striking how strongly the question polarizes the different age groups: 52 percent of Germans who are 45 years of age or older would like fixed controls at the border with Poland. In contrast, unrestricted travel is apparently very important to the group of 18 to 29-year-olds: only 26 percent support stationary border controls, 71 percent reject them.
The data was collected by the market and opinion research institute forsa for the RTL Group Germany on June 1 and 2, 2023. Database: 1,001 respondents. Statistical error tolerance: +/- 3 percentage points.