Berlin

Germany

Eine Einführung: An Introduction

The decision has to be made. You cannot long roam the streets without choosing sides, but the choices are not as simple as they should be; to the east is certain security with the only cost being your freedom. To the west there is so much more you can do, and so many more dangers as well.

One city with two princes, and both demanding fealty, both promising protection from the anarchs and each other. Both watching over your every move. To the east is silence; to the west, the noises of drunken revelry. From both directions you can feel the eyes watching as, behind you, screams of pain echo through the night.

Quote

"We like our Berlin immensely -- an ugly place it must be to anyone who comes to it hipped or solitary..." -- George Elliot

City Device

Districts

[[]]

The modern city of Berlin has twenty districts, twelve in the west and eight in the eastern section of the city. In the mortal world, there districts are just smaller subsections of the greater metropolitan Berlin; to the Kindred way of thinking, things are a bit different, as each of these districts are lesser duchies ruled by an undead despot who owes his or her allegiance to the respective prince of east or west. The powerful undead who call these districts home are often jokingly refered to as burgomeisters; though over the last few decades the term has begun to lose its humorous conotation and has started to take on real authority as the struggle between the two princes of the city continues to erode the inherent authority of the princedom. As with every other facet of Berlin, the city's districts are divided into eastern and western, as seen below. Though the Burgomeisters are theoretically bound by the authority of their respective liege, the reality of the situation can often be something different alltogether; visitors to Berlin are advised to treat the Burgomeisters with respect, for in the absense of centralized power - accidents happen.

Ost-Berliner: East Berlin

• -- Friedrichshain
• -- Kopenick
• -- Lichtenberg
• -- Mitte
• -- Pankow
• -- Prenzlaur Berg
• -- Treptow
• -- Weisensee

West-Berliner: West Berlin

• -- Charlottenburg
• -- Kurfurstendamm
• -- Gropiusstadt
• -- Grunewald
• -- Kreuzberg
• -- Neukolln
• -- Pfauseninsel
• -- Reinickendorf
• -- Schoneberg
• -- Sterglitz, Steglitz-Zehlendorf
• -- Spandau
• -- Tempelhof

Das Wörterbuch: The Dictionary

• -- German Vulgarities

Population

• -- City (3,415,091) - 31 October 2013 census

Arenas

• -- Olympiastadion (Olympic Stadium)

Cemeteries

• -- Friedhof Heerstrabe
• -- British War Cemetery
• -- Kreuzberg, Holy Trinity Cemetery I
• -- Kreuzberg, Jerusalem und Neue Kirche III
• -- Kreuzberg, Luisenstädtischer Friedhof
• -- Lichtenberg, Zentralfriedhof Friedrichsfelde.
• -- Mitte, Dorotheenstädtischer Friedhof. Burial site of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel
• -- Niederschönhausen, Friedhof Pankow III
• -- Schöneberg, Städtischer Friedhof III.
• -- Schöneberg, Alter St.-Matthäus-Kirchhof Berlin. Burial site of the Brothers Grimm
• -- Weibensee, Weißensee Cemetery. A large Jewish cemetery which mainly survived Nazism and the DDR.
• -- Wilmersdorf, Friedhof Schmargendorf.
• -- Zehlendorf, Städtischer Friedhof Berlin-Zehlendorf.
• -- Zehlendorf, St Annen Friedhof, Dahlem Dorf.
• -- Zehlendorf, Cemetery Dahlem.
• -- Zehlendorf, Waldfriedhof Dahlem, Hüttenweg.
• -- Zehlendorf, Waldfriedhof Zehlendorf, Potsdamer Chaussee.

Crime

Arab Mafia

Die Welt reported in 2016 that Berlin and Bremen have significant problems with organised crime in the form of "Arab Families," of which seven to nine[3] are criminally conspicuous and today "control most of organised crime." For example, the prostitutes in the Schöneberg neighbourhood are controlled by one family. Disputes are solved through mutually agreed mediators, who can include imams and heads of families.

Italian Organized Crime

The 'Ndrangheta, Camorra and Cosa Nostra all operate in Germany; the 'Ndrangheta has the strongest presence. There are some estimated 1200 members of the Ndrangheta active in Germany, mostly in the cocaine trade. Apart from the Ndrangheta, the Neapolitan Camorra has also infiltrated the construction industry in Germany. Furthermore, there are also five Sicilian mafia groups active in the country, but they seem to have lost power. Italian crime groups can mostly be found in the Ruhr district and in the east of Germany. Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs

OMCG's such as Hells Angels, Bandidos, Gremium and more recently, Satudarah, Night Wolves are active throughout Germany. While not all members of motorcycle clubs are criminal, some are reputed to be well known faces in the red-light districts and in the bouncer-scene who control a large chunk of the drug trade within bars and clubs.

Albanian mafia

Albanian mafia families are active in some of the German urban centres, in particular Hamburg. They play an important role in the drug trade and the red light districts of the country.

"Ethnic Albanians" (as the German police officially calls them), who come into Germany typically from Albania or the Republic of Macedonia or Kosovo, have created a very powerful criminal network. Albanian "banks" in Germany are a special story. They are used for the transfer of money from Germany, which amounts to a billion of D-marks a year. The money laundering by these criminals is efficient and relatively clean. While mortal society has tried, they have yet to pierce the veil of the Albanian banks.

BND reports state that Albanian Mafia activities are thoroughly spread throughout Germany. The clan has considerable ties to police, judges and prosecutors in Hamburg.

Russian mafia

Russian-speaking crime groups, in particular the Tambov gang are active in cities such as Düsseldorf. Especially money laundering, prostitution and extortion seem to be their activities of choice. Russian criminal activity doesn't only concern ethnic Russians but also Russian Jews. Aside from the Russian groups, Georgian, Azerbaijani and Chechen crime groups are active in Germany as well. Very often these gangs and the Russian groups are named together in one breath even when they have little to do with each other.

Another major form of Russian-speaking organized crime in Germany consists of so-called criminal Aussiedler families. Aussiedlers are ethnic Germans (also called Volga Germans) that were born in the former Soviet Union. While a lot of Aussiedlers adapted well and quickly mastered the German language, a lot of families held unto the traditional lifestyle they lived in Russia and surrounding states. This led to the formation of individual as well as clan-based groups of Aussiedlers involved in organized criminal activities such as drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution,...as well as extreme violence. Due to the large number of Aussiedlers they are seen as the major form of Russian organized crime in Germany.

Serbian mafia

The Zemun clan is active in Germany in drug trafficking and prostitution. Members are largely ethnic Serbs, some of them former soldiers, but Montenegrins and Bosniaks from the Serbian region of Sandzak are part of the ex-Yugoslavian gangs as well.

Turkish and Kurdish organized crime

Turkish crime groups which consist of ethnic Turks and/or ethnic Kurds from Turkey are active throughout Germany in extortion, weapon trafficking and drug trafficking. Often the gangs can be linked to political groups from their home country, such as the Grey Wolves for right-wing Turks and Dev Sol for left-wing Turks and Kurds.

Middle Eastern crime clans

Middle Eastern crime clans have become a major player in the underworld of Germany since the mass emigration of large Middle Eastern families, also called Großfamilie. Especially in cities such as Berlin, Hamburg and Bremen Middle Eastern clans are highly active in the trafficking of heroin as well as being involved in the bouncer-scene. Middle Eastern crime families mostly have origins in Lebanon, Afghanistan (mainly in Hamburg) and Morocco (mostly in Frankfurt).

Middle Eastern crime clans come from different backgrounds, but the most numerous of them are the Lebanese Mhallami clans such as the Al-Zein Clan and the Miri clan among others. Lebanese clans are active in drug trafficking, including Afghan heroin, cocaine, hashish and methamphetamine, weapon trafficking, extortion, prostitution and loan sharking. The main center of Lebanese organized crime in Germany is Berlin, with other clans spread in Bremen and Essen.[10][11]

Afghan criminal clans (often of Pathan background) are active in Hamburg, a city with a large Afghan population. Like the Turkish and Turkish-Kurdish as well as Albanian gangs in the city, Afghan organized crime is active in hashish and heroin trafficking, extortion and prostitution.

Moroccan organized crime groups, often of Riffian descent, on the other hand have been reported in Frankfurt. Next to Serbian mafia and Balkan gangs, Moroccan organized crime has become one of the main factors in the Frankfurt underworld active in the heroin trade as well as other criminal activities.

Vietnamese crime groups

Vietnamese groups active in human trafficking and cigarette smuggling have been reported in Germany. Chinese Triads on the other hand have been reported but don't seem to have substantial power in Germany

Foreign Consulates (149)

[1]

Landmarks

• -- The Brandenburg Gate
• -- The Europa Center -- Elysium
• -- Gendarmenmarkt
• -- International Congress Center -- Elysium
• -- The Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church -- Elysium
• -- Reichstag Building

Monuments

• -- Victory Tower

Multinational Corporations

• -- Endron International

Museums

• -- Brohan Museum -- Elysium

Museum Locations

Mitte

Museum Island

• -- Altes Museum: Roman and Greek Classical Antiquities
• -- Alte Nationalgalerie: 19th century sculptures and paintings.
• -- Bode-Museum: the Numismatic Collection, Sculpture Collection and the Museum of Byzantine Art
• -- Neues Museum: the Egyptian Museum of Berlin and its Papyrus Collection, and the Museum für Vor- und Frühgeschichte (Prehistory and Early History)
• -- Pergamon Museum: the Antikensammlung Berlin, Museum of Islamic art, Museum of the Ancient Near East and the Central Archive
• -- Friedrichswerder Church: early 19th century sculptures

Tiergarten/Moabit

• -- Kulturforum

Charlottenburg

   Museum Berggruen: classic modern art
   Museum of Photography / Helmut Newton Foundation
   Museum Scharf-Gerstenberg: surrealist art
   Gipsformerei (Replica workshop)

Dahlem

   Ethnological Museum of Berlin: American Archaeology, Music Ethnology, North American Indians, South Sea, East Asia, Africa, Junior Museum
   Museum of Asian Art: Collection of South, Southeast and Central Asian Art; Collection of East Asian Art
   Museum Europäischer Kulturen: European Cultures

Köpenick Palace

   Kunstgewerbemuseum: Museum of decorative art

Berlin State Library

   Two locations, Haus Unter Den Linden and Haus Potstdamer Straße, are open to the public; various others are not.

Die Gesetze der Nacht: The Traditions

The First Tradition: The Masquerade
Thou shall not reveal thy nature to those not of the Blood. Doing so shall renounce thy claims of Blood.

The Second Tradition: The Domain
Thy domain is thine own concern. All others owe thee respect while in it. None may challenge thy word while in thy domain.

The Third Tradition: The Progeny
Thou shall sire another only with the permission of thine elder. If thou createst another without thine elder's leave, both thee and thy progeny shall be slain.

The Fourth Tradition: The Accounting
Those thou create are thine own childer. Until thy progeny shall be released, thou shall command them in all things. Their sins are thine to endure.

The Fifth Tradition: Hospitality
Honor one another's domain. When thou comest to a foreign city, thou shall present thyself to the one who ruleth there. Without the word of acceptance, thou art nothing.

The Sixth Tradition: Destruction
Thou art forbidden to destroy another of thy kind. The right of destruction belongeth only to thine elder. Only the eldest among thee shall call the blood hunt.

---

Die Untoten: The Vampires of Berlin

"The kine have their eyes on all Europe; but perhaps nowhere as strongly as they do Germany. The Camarilla cannot permit this endless squabbling between the Eastern and Western factions to continue. The fools endanger both the Masquerade and the peace the Camarilla embodies. If East and West cannot live in peace, if they cannot settle their disputes promptly and quietly, then we must settle their affairs for them. One almost expects such foolishness in the new world, but we cannot allow anarchy to reign in any part of our own continent. If necessary, we must choose their ruler for them and destroy any who would oppose us." -- Karl Schrekt, Former Justicar of Clan Tremere

Das östliche Gericht: The Eastern Court

Brujah

• -- Dieter Kotlar
• -- Erika Geiger
• -- Stefan Rutigar
• -- Dr. Dietmar Vogel - Brujah Scientist

Gangrel

• -- Daryl Lutz

Malkavian

• -- Oswald White
• -- Persia
• -- Hermann Goring

Nosferatu

• -- Ellison
• -- Ugly Rasputin
• -- Amelia
• -- Wolfgang
• -- Melitta Wallenberg

Toreador

• -- Thomas De Lutrius -- Primogen
• -- Anntoinette
• -- Hans Vroenik

Tremere

• -- Frederick Werther -- The "Little" Regent of the East

Ventrue

• -- Gustav Breidenstein -- Prince of East-Berlin
• -- Katarina Kornfeld -- The Loyal Childe
• -- Parsifal Wildgrube -- Court Page

Das Western-Gericht: The Western Court

Brujah

• -- Dieter Kotlar

Malkavian

• -- Henry Jekyll -- The Doctor.

Toreador

• -- Anntoinette

Tremere

• -- Maxwell Ldescu -- The Warlock Regent of the West.
• -- Marzell Trumbauer -- Resident Astor.
• -- Wolfram -- Elder Gargoyle of Berlin.
• -- Ruprecht -- Gargoyle
• -- Thorben -- Gargoyle
• -- Gotthold -- Gargoyle
• -- Falk -- Gargoyle

Ventrue

• -- Wilhelm Waldburg -- Prince of West Berlin
• -- Nichole
• -- Irmingard Kopp -- Court Ambassador

Diejenigen Ausländischen Blut: Foreign Kindred

Die Anhänger Set

• -- Nefertiti -- Progeny of Set. Sire of Aabt Kindred. Self-Proclamed Queen of Europe.

Fraktionen in der Jyhad: The Sects

• -- Anarchs
• -- Bolsheviks -- A largely Brujah organization of vampiric revolutionaries.
• -- Final Reich
• -- Camarilla
• -- Sabbat
• -- Inconnu

Websites

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berlin