Two men get into a tram depot at night, drive a tram, film themselves and even let passengers board. The public prosecutor’s office is extremely relaxed.
Braunschweig – which is probably unknown to most readers – is a haven of the uninhibited laissez faire, the unleashed freedom of development, so that it must be a real celebration for all FDP supporters. The state authority in the Lower Saxon city, that could be read from a report by the NDR these days, is extremely mild. Two young men get into the tram company’s depot at night, seize a tram, drive through the city, film themselves and even let passengers board. And what is the prosecution doing? Nothing.
There was no barrier and the tram was not locked, so the act was neither burglary nor theft, according to the public prosecutor. The trip itself is not punishable, there was little going on at night, so there was no dangerous intervention in rail traffic. No official permit is required to control the tram, and there is no “public interest” to accuse the whole thing of trespassing, says the senior public prosecutor. The two 23-year-olds may still be prosecuted for “unauthorized passenger transport”. But that’s just an offence.
Now, before crooks, smugglers and smugglers all set off for Braunschweig, a few tips for other cities to be able to keep up appropriately in the competition for the capital of libertinism: In future, eating white sausages will be allowed in Munich after noon, in Düsseldorf’s old town it will be on From now on, Kölsch will also be served at the counters and “Grüß Gott” can now be said as a greeting in Berliner Spätis. Long live freedom!
Read previous episodes of the column here. You can find more good news here.