For the first time since the World War II, a factory in Wedding is set to produce deadly weapons. The plant belongs to Rheinmetall, one of Germany's biggest munitions manufacturers, and a company whose stocks have risen enormously since Germany reversed its longstanding reluctance to send arms into active conflict zones. Germany and Rheinmetall have also long been among the more significant suppliers of lethal weapons and military equipment to Israel, arms they continue to send despite the war in Gaza – a conflict characterised by a UN Commission of Inquiry as a genocide.
Today, however, protestors are attempting to put a halt to production before it can even begin.
HEIST is a worker-owned online magazine, founded by writers and editors who after years working across Berlin's media landscape believed something essential was missing.
Anyone living here has felt a growing gap between the city as it actually is and the version being served up by mainstream outlets. We experienced that disconnect firsthand. We saw political censorship shape coverage decisions and felt the weight of billionaire ownership land directly on our work. It reached a point where we could either keep going along with it, or try to build something better.
That's why we created HEIST.
And look at you: scrolling, clicking, squinting at blurred text just to get a little further. If you'll go to that much effort to read HEIST, you can surely give us one email. That's the whole price, and the rest of the story is right behind it.
Real journalism costs money. We commission the hard-hitting, well-reported, long-form work everyone wants to read but nobody seems to publish anymore.
The future of this city is still in the balance. We intend to be part of that struggle. We hope that you'll join us.
