Home / Series / DW Documentaries / Aired Order / Season 2026 / Episode 78

Homelessness in Berlin - Life and survival on the streets

Anyone walking through Berlin will come across people experiencing homelessness. Some have temporary shelter in emergency housing, while others sleep in doorways, on the streets, or on makeshift beds underneath bridges. Berlin has one of Germany’s largest unhoused populations. According to estimates, more than 50,000 people in the city lack permanent housing, and around 6,000 of them live permanently on the streets. The reasons for homelessness vary, from poverty, misfortune, and eviction, to debt, addiction, and criminality. Some try to make ends meet by selling what are known as street newspapers. Others have been living in the same public spaces for years, and are well-known in their neighborhoods, though not always well-liked. This documentary follows Bülent, Daniel and Manni, three men who grew up in Berlin and now find themselves without a home. Six days a week, Bülent sells newspapers outside a shopping center in the city's Moabit district.

English
  • Originally Aired June 2, 2026
  • Runtime 28 minutes
  • Network Deutsche Welle TV
  • Created October 10, 2026 by
    andresflower
  • Modified October 10, 2026 by
    andresflower