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121-591: Löcknitz lies within the Western Pomerania (Vorpommern) part of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , and thus the historic region of Pomerania . The river Randow flows through the municipality, specifically along the south and east of the main town. The Löcknitzer See lies south east to the town. Löcknitz is located 12 km (7 mi) west of the German-Polish border, 25 km (16 mi) west of Szczecin , and 14 km (9 mi) east of Pasewalk ,

242-462: A "collective security system with Russia's involvement", to which Scholz said that this is an example of minimum criteria to govern which is not negotiable. The Left's lead candidates stated that those demands are a tribute to the party's historic anti-imperialist roots rather than reflecting ambitions to govern at the federal level and a discussion on the future of NATO is also being led by centrists such as France's Emmanuel Macron . The party struck

363-464: A Danish fleet led by Roskilde archbishop Absalon sacked Rügen . The Arkona temple was sieged and destroyed. After this main temple's fall, Rügen's capitol Charenza ( Venzer Burgwall ) capitulated, all other temples were given to the Danes for destruction and Jaromar I, Prince of Rügen became a Danish vassal. The Rani then converted to Christianity. From Rügen, which still had a strong navy and army,

484-506: A boon for an effective power-sharing deal: since all three parties already call for a wealth tax, for example, it's unclear what policy Die Linke could sell its supporters as a win even if were to get its hands on the coveted labour ministry." Both the SPD and the Greens did not speak much on the subject but did not rule it out in public, although in private they were more sceptics. One SPD delegate

605-475: A change in leadership, with Katja Kipping and Bernd Riexinger stepping down after nine years as party co-leaders. They were succeeded by Janine Wissler and Susanne Hennig-Wellsow at a party conference held digitally on 27 February 2021. Wissler is considered a member of the party's left wing, formerly aligned with the Socialist Left faction, while Hennig-Wellsow is considered a moderate and part of

726-457: A decline of 2.3 percentage points. The Left suffered their worst showing since their official formation in 2007, failing to cross the 5% electoral threshold by just over one-tenth of a percentage point. The party was nonetheless entitled to full proportional representation, as it won three direct constituencies . With a fifth grand coalition being dismissed by both the CDU/CSU and the SPD,

847-408: A four-year term; these seats are distributed between the sixteen German states in proportion to the states' number of eligible voters. Each voter can cast two votes: a constituency vote (first vote) and a state party list vote (second vote). Based solely on the first votes, 299 members are elected in single-member constituencies by first-past-the-post voting. The second votes are used to produce

968-404: A further complication, the borders of the eponymous administrative units have been drawn disregarding mostly the historical ones. The Polish unit called województwo zachodniopomorskie ( West Pomeranian Voivodeship ) includes the whole Polish part of Hither Pomerania, but only the western two-thirds of Farther Pomerania, with the remaining easternmost one-third ( Słupsk , Ustka , Miastko ) forming

1089-623: A local referendum. The Federal Returning Officer felt compelled to request a report from the State Returning Officer Petra Michaelis. In some polling stations ballot papers were missing or ran out and could not be delivered on the same day due to the Berlin marathon . Ballot papers (of which there were 115 different variants in Berlin) and postal voting documents were also swapped. Many votes were cast long after

1210-480: A part of the neighbouring województwo pomorskie ( Pomeranian Voivodeship ). On the other hand, it stretches far more south than the historical region, to include the northern part of the historical Neumark ( Dębno , Chojna , Trzcińsko-Zdrój , Myślibórz , Nowogródek Pomorski , Lipiany , Barlinek , Pełczyce , Suchań , Choszczno , Recz , Drawno ), as well as a strip the historical Greater Poland ( Tuczno , Człopa , Mirosławiec , Wałcz , Czaplinek ), or even

1331-588: A party congress in January 2018 a majority of the party's delegates voted to support the coalition talks. The text of the final agreement was agreed to by the CDU/CSU and the SPD on 7 February, though was conditioned on the approval of a majority of the SPD's party membership. The 463,723 members of the SPD voted to approve or reject the deal from 20 February to 2 March, with the result announced on 4 March. A total of 78.39% of members cast valid votes, of which 66.02% voted in favor of another grand coalition. Merkel

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1452-526: A party must receive more second votes nationwide than the electoral threshold of 5%. This requirement is waived for parties winning at least three single-member constituencies. As result of this waiver, parties have benefited on three occasions, such as the DP in the 1957 West German federal election and the PDS in the 1994 German federal election . Parties representing recognized national minorities are exempt from

1573-613: A proportional number of seats for parties, first in the states, and then in the Bundestag. Seats are allocated using the Sainte-Laguë method . If a party wins fewer constituency seats in a state than its second votes would entitle it to, it receives additional seats from the relevant state list. Parties can file lists in every single state under certain conditions, such as a fixed number of supporting signatures. Parties can receive second votes only in those states in which they have filed

1694-467: A result of the Schengen Agreement , 15% (around 495 people) and 250 pupils (around half) in the town were Polish as of 2019. In 2012, Poles made up only 7% of the population. The current mayor of Löcknitz is Detlef Ebert ( CDU ). Ebert ran in the 2019 mayoral elections unopposed and received 1003 (78.6%) yes votes. The municipal council consists of 13 members (12 CDU , 1 AfD ) elected on

1815-574: A result of the repeat election, the FDP lost a seat in Berlin, resulting in the size of the Bundestag being reduced from 736 to 735 members. The SPD, Greens, and The Left each lost a seat in Berlin, while gaining one in Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, and Hesse respectively, thus keeping the total number of seats won by those parties unchanged. The SPD had their best result since 2005 at 25%; it

1936-465: A sincere dialogue with the leaders of the main political parties before the elections and the establishment of a citizens' convention to decide on ambitious measures for the climate. During the deadly 2021 floods, while visiting Erftstadt on 18 July, the CDU/CSU lead candidate Armin Laschet was caught laughing on camera and making jokes while President Frank-Walter Steinmeier was speaking. Laschet

2057-563: A small area of Hither Pomerania including Szczecin – the region's principal city – and Świnoujście was transferred along with Farther Pomerania to Poland, and formed part of the Szczecin Voivodeship . The bulk of Vorpommern became part of the newly constituted Land (state) of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern . The word "Vorpommern" was deleted from the state's name at the insistence of the Soviet military administration in 1947 and

2178-533: A small part of Pomerelia ( Biały Bór ). As a consequence, the common understanding of the term West Pomerania has recently started to shift towards this current administrative extent. Similarly, borders of the German districts Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald deviate from the historical ones in numerous locations. The name Pomorze Przednie , Przedpomorze  – corresponding to Hither/Fore Pomerania German: Vorpommern  –

2299-653: A small portion in north-western Poland , at the southern coast of the Baltic Sea . Western Pomerania's boundaries have changed through the centuries as it belonged to various countries such as the Duchy of Pomerania (later part of the Holy Roman Empire ), Denmark, Sweden, as well as Prussia which incorporated it as the Province of Pomerania . Today, the region embraces the whole area of Pomerania west of

2420-444: A state list. If a party, by winning single-member constituencies in one state, receives more seats than it would be entitled to according to its second vote share in that state, the excess seats become known as overhang seats ; to avoid negative vote weight , those overhang seats are compensated for in the other states, restoring proportionality according to second votes cast nationwide. To qualify for proportional seat distribution,

2541-508: A taboo due to being a democratic successor of East Germany's ruling party, and for its pacifist and anti-militarist stance, and could be seen as following examples in Spain and Sweden. A traffic light coalition (SPD–FDP–Greens) was seen as the more likely scenario but a R2G coalition, which would be favoured by the left-wing leadership and rank-and-file party members, was not excluded if coalition talks with FDP fail due minimum wage increase or

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2662-408: Is an administrative entity subordinate only to the state level. Consideration was given during an unsuccessful district reform project in 1994 to restoring the old boundary, but this was not implemented. The Ribnitz, Marlow and Fischland area of Vorpommern-Rügen were historically part of Mecklenburg. The old western boundary line was preserved in the division between the two Protestant church bodies of

2783-428: Is called or a state of defence is declared. Under this rule, the 2021 federal election had to take place on a Sunday between 29 August and 24 October (inclusive), as the previous 19th Bundestag had held its first sitting on 24 October 2017. The President of Germany sets the exact date for the election. On 9 December 2020, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier ordered the election to be held on 26 September 2021. For

2904-571: Is nowadays used in Polish almost exclusively when referring to the part located in Germany, while its usage in the full (historical German) meaning is limited to exact translations of German texts. It is also referred to as Pomorze Wołogoskie (Wolgast Pomerania). The major feature of Western Pomerania is its long Baltic Sea and lagoons coastline. Typical is a distinct "double coast", whereby offshore islands separate lagoons (so-called bodden ) from

3025-428: Is represented by Erik von Malottki ( SPD ), elected during the 2021 federal election . The mass immigration of Poles into Löcknitz has also caused some problems and gave rise to an anti-Polish sentiment as well as German nationalism in the town. For instance, there have been incidents of Polish license plates being vandalized. The far-right National Democratic Party of Germany has enjoyed some popularity in

3146-577: The 2018 Bavarian state election , Seehofer was replaced as CSU leader by new Bavarian Minister-President Markus Söder at a party conference in January 2019, while he retained his position as Interior Minister in the Fourth Merkel cabinet. In October 2018, Merkel announced that she would resign as leader of the CDU at the party's conference in December 2018 and step down as Chancellor of Germany at

3267-454: The 2019 European Parliament election . She resigned on 2 June 2019, precipitating a leadership election for the SPD. Progressive candidates Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken defeated the more moderate candidates Olaf Scholz and Klara Geywitz , and were elected co-leaders by the party's membership. Their election raised prospects of the coalition government collapsing and early elections being called, although Reuters reported that

3388-462: The COVID-19 pandemic . The election was held in January 2021, with Armin Laschet , incumbent Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia , winning with 52.8% of delegate votes. Merz was his main opponent at 47.2%. The other party in the coalition government, the SPD, also had leadership instability. Following their worst general election result since 1945, at the beginning of the new government

3509-910: The Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Mecklenburg and the Pomeranian Evangelical Church prior to their absorption into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany . The Polish part encompasses the cities with powiat rights of Szczecin and Świnoujscie, the entire Police County , Gmina Goleniów in Goleniów County , as well as the part of Kamień County located on the island of Wolin ( Gmina Międzyzdroje , western part of Gmina Wolin and western part of Gmina Dziwnów ). There are four cities in

3630-733: The Fischland-Darß-Zingst peninsula and the islands of Hiddensee , Rügen , Usedom and Wolin . The old Hanseatic towns are also popular tourist destinations due to their brick gothic medieval architecture , downtown Stralsund is a UNESCO World Heritage Site . Stralsund, Greifswald and Wolgast also have a shipyard industry, the Volkswerft in Stralsund and the Peenewerft in Wolgast produce large ships, while

3751-635: The HanseYachts shipyard in Greifswald is specialized in building yachts . In Mukran near Sassnitz on Rügen, there is an international ferry terminal linking Western Pomerania to Sweden, Denmark, Lithuania and other oversee countries. An industrial complex northeast of Lubmin near Greifswald includes a shut-down nuclear power plant which is being deconstructed, and the Nord Stream 1 gas pipeline which come ashore at this site. In Greifswald,

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3872-468: The NPD's youth wing JN are glued to an advertising column in front of the train station . Western Pomerania Historical Western Pomerania , also called Cispomerania, Fore Pomerania , Front Pomerania or Hither Pomerania ( German : Vorpommern ; Polish : Pomorze Przednie ), is the western extremity of the historic region of Pomerania , located mostly in north-eastern Germany , with

3993-688: The Oder River , small bridgeheads east of the river, as well as the islands in the Szczecin Lagoon . Its majority forms part of Germany and has been divided between the states of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg , with the cities of Stralsund and Greifswald , as well as towns such as Ribnitz-Damgarten (Damgarten only), Bergen auf Rügen ( Rügen Island), Anklam , Wolgast , Demmin , Pasewalk , Grimmen , Sassnitz (Rügen Island), Ueckermünde , Torgelow , Barth , and Gartz . The cities of Szczecin and Świnoujście , as well as

4114-895: The Pane (Peene) River, the Redarians around the temple of Rethra , the Wollinians on the isle of Wolin , the Tollensians around the Tollense River and the Ukrainians around the Uecker River in the Uckermark . The collective term Liutizians also covers some of these tribes, as they allied in the late 10th century to secure their sovereignty. The Lutician alliances headquarters were at Rethra, where delegates from

4235-669: The Police County , the part of Kamień County located on the island of Wolin ( Gmina Międzyzdroje , western part of Gmina Wolin including the town, and western part of Gmina Dziwnów ), as well as Gmina Goleniów in Goleniów County . 54°05′00″N 13°23′00″E  /  54.0833°N 13.3833°E  / 54.0833; 13.3833 2021 German federal election Fourth Merkel cabinet CDU/CSU – SPD Scholz cabinet SPD – Greens – FDP Federal elections were held in Germany on 26 September 2021 to elect

4356-518: The Schengen Agreement , the population of Löcknitz has been growing, as rates and costs of land acquisition are lower than in Poland. Many commuters to Szczecin live in Löcknitz and the first economic investments were made in Löcknitz by Polish enterprises, supported by the Löcknitz administration. As of 2019, the town's population was 15% Polish . The population of Löcknitz is 3,253 as of 2019. As

4477-618: The University of Greifswald runs several institutions and the major hospitals of the region. Also, Greifswald is the site of innovative scientific research, like the Wendelstein physics research center and biotechnology enterprises, most notably the federal Friedrich Loeffler Institute for animal diseases like BSE . Away from the coastal tourist resorts, the rural areas of Western Pomerania have often maintained an agricultural character. A study published on 18 May 2009 revealed that

4598-461: The ' big lie ', it became a big issue in Germany, sometimes bigger than the pandemic, because far-right groups and the AfD are carefully monitoring the success Trump is having with this narrative." The table below lists the parliamentary groups of the 19th Bundestag . After the election of Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia , Armin Laschet as federal CDU chairman in January 2021, he became

4719-467: The 12th century and 13th century, Western Pomerania changed from a pagan and Slavic to a Christian and German country ( Ostsiedlung ). The Slavs ( Wends ) were first excluded from the villages and privileges of the German settlers. They later merged with the German majority. Western Pomerania then was part of the Duchy of Pomerania , the areas north of the Peene River ( Principality of Rugia ) joined

4840-509: The 2017 election, but from mid-2018 to mid-2021 were ranked as 2nd in polls, even first in spring of 2021. Thus, for the first time, three-way major debates were held, dubbed "Triell". Four-way debates were held with the leaders of the smaller parties that were part of the parliament. Trackers of voting intentions and other election-related polling: Although the vote share of the South Schleswig Voters' Association (0.12%)

4961-590: The 5th century. By the 6th and 7th century, West Slavic people populated the region. If they met a substantial Rugian population and whether and/or how these were assimilated by the Slavs is not known. The Slavic inhabitants, also referred to as part of the Wilzen/ Veleti , diverged into several small tribes, listed from Northwest to Southeast: The Rujanes or Rani around Rügen , the Circipanes around

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5082-412: The CDU and CSU threaten to split over asylum seeker policy. Interior Minister and CSU leader Horst Seehofer threatened to undercut Merkel's authority by closing German borders for asylum seekers registered in another European Union (EU) country. The split, eventually repaired following a summit with EU countries, threatened to bring down the government. Following his party's historically low result in

5203-455: The CDU/CSU for the next three years. The party had its best ever showings at the 2019 European Parliament election, 2020 Hamburg state election , and 2021 Baden-Württemberg state election . They briefly polled in first place during two brief periods, first after the 2019 European Parliament election and again after the nomination of chancellor candidates in April 2021. The Left also underwent

5324-460: The CDU/CSU having pledged not to work with either the AfD or The Left before the federal election, the only remaining option for a majority government was a Jamaica coalition consisting of the CDU/CSU, FDP , and the Greens . Exploratory talks between the parties were held over the next six weeks, though the FDP withdrew from the negotiations on 20 November, citing irreconcilable differences between

5445-701: The Consulate of Poland, arrested by the Gestapo . During the war, Germany operated the Stalag II-C, Stalag 322, Stalag Luft I and Stalag Luft II prisoner-of-war camps for British, American, French , Belgian, Serbian and Soviet POWs with numerous forced labour subcamps in the region. The Polish resistance movement was active in Szczecin and conducted espionage of the Kriegsmarine , infiltrated

5566-714: The Danish put pressure on Pomerania. Bogislaw I duke of Pomerania made his duchy a part of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE) in 1181, after he had allied with Henry the Lion since 1164. But the new alliance did not prevent the Danes from successfully raiding and in 1186 conquering all of Pomerania. Danish rule ended when in 1227 the Danish navy was defeated in Bornhöved by the Germans, Pomerania except for Rügen (until 1345 with

5687-486: The FDP and the Greens were considered kingmakers . On 23 November, following complex coalition talks, the SPD, FDP and Greens formalized an agreement to form a traffic light coalition , which was approved by all three parties. Olaf Scholz and his cabinet were elected by the Bundestag on 8 December. Irregularities in Berlin led to repeat elections in February 2023 (state) and February 2024 (federal) . The result of

5808-530: The Greens after the failed Jamaica negotiations, and Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck were elected as their successors in January 2018. Dissatisfaction with the SPD and the federal government saw a rise in Greens' polling numbers throughout 2018. They scored record results in the Bavarian and Hessian state elections in October and subsequently surpassed the SPD in public opinion, settling in second behind

5929-641: The Peene River and Wolin , which is assumed to be identical with Vineta and Jomsborg . Important pagan temple sites were Arkona and Rethra. Other local strongholds were Dimin ( Demmin ) in the Circipan and Stetin ( Szczecin ) in the Pomeranian area. At the beginning of the second millennium, western Pomeranian tribes were surrounded by the expanding states of Denmark in the North, Piast Poland in

6050-529: The Polish districts of the region had a population of about 520,000 in 2012 (cities of Szczecin , Świnoujście and Police County combined). So overall, about 1 million people live in the historical region of Western Pomerania today. The German prefix Vor- denotes a location closer to the speaker, and is the equivalent of " Fore "/" Front "/" Hither " in English and Anterior / Citerior / Cis- in Latin (with

6171-633: The Pomeranian duke, who appointed the castellans . These castellanies were converted from their pagan to Christian religion in Usedom , 1128. Except for the Rani living North of the Ryck River and Demmin , all western Pomeranian territories had become united and Christian. Wartislaw's dependency on Poland loosened in the following years and, in 1135 with the death of Polish king Boleslaw III , Wartislaw's duchy regained independence. About ten years later, he

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6292-864: The Southeast and the German Holy Roman Empire in the Southwest. While the eastward expansion of the latter could be halted for some time by a Slavic uprising of the Southern ( Heveller ) and Western ( Obotrites ) neighbors of the western Pomeranian tribes, which even was supported by the Liutizian alliance, the Pomeranians East of the Oder River were conquered by the Polish state in the late 10th century and remained vassals of

6413-411: The Stone Ages. Around 600 years BC, the area of what is today Löcknitz was settled by the Ukrani Slavs in the void left by the retreating Germanic tribes . The name, which is of Slavic origin, likely evolved out of either the word "Locheniza" or "Lokenitz", roughly translating to "ditch depression" or "swamp hole". Löcknitz was first mentioned in 1212. Around that time, the Slavic gord Lokenitza

6534-458: The anti-NATO demand from its immediate policy measures and Janine Wissler responded that foreign policy was more than NATO. Gregor Gysi , a member of the left wing of the party, stated that such demands are more of a vision, are not to be implemented as soon as possible, and should not be seen as inflexible preconditions for a left-wing coalition. As significant issues remain, attempts among willing delegates from both parties have been made over

6655-421: The campaign. However, even at their historic poll lows around 14%, Olaf Scholz had a significantly higher personal approval rating than both his party and the other Chancellor candidates Laschet and Baerbock. After the extreme personal unpopularity, resulting from gaffes and scandal, meant that first Baerbock and then Laschet floundered, the SPD surprisingly took the lead, for the first time since early 2017, in

6776-417: The city of Szczecin , consisting mostly of large housing estates , thus having along with the resort locality of Trzebież a semi-urban character, in spite of neither holding town rights nor being seats of a municipality, and despite being several-fold more populated than the seats of the respective municipalities that they are parts of. You can sort this complete table of cities and towns by clicking one of

6897-415: The closest German city. Administratively, the municipality is a part of the Amt Löcknitz-Penkun , of which it is the seat, within the Vorpommern-Greifswald district. Löcknitz is located in the area of the former Urstromtal which formed roughly 20,000 years BC , which formed as the glacial masses of the Ice age retreated from the region. Ancient graves and artifacts found in the area date back to

7018-474: The corresponding antonyms in German, English and Latin being Hinter- , " Hinder "/" Rear "/" Farther " and Posterior / Ulterior / Trans- , respectively). Historically the name "Hither Pomerania" has been used, but in modern English the German region is more commonly called "Western Pomerania" or by its native name. The formerly widespread local dialect term is Low German : Vörpommern . The name Pomerania comes from Slavic po more , which means "land by

7139-443: The decline of already deeply embattled and unpopular leader Andrea Nahles . When the unpopular and little-known SPD leaders Norbert Walter-Borjans and Saskia Esken nominated moderate Olaf Scholz , whom they had unexpectedly defeated in the 2019 leadership election , as Chancellor candidate in August 2020, they were widely mocked. The SPD sat at a distant third place in the polls and stayed there until their sudden surge late in

7260-505: The duchy in 1325. From that time onwards, the region shares a common history with Farther Pomerania . Pomerania came under Swedish military control in 1630 during the Thirty Years' War . Swedish sovereignty over Vorpommern, including Stettin, was confirmed by the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and the Treaty of Stettin (1653) , and from that time onwards much of the region formed Swedish Pomerania . Possession of this region remained an issue of conflict in European politics and Swedish rule

7381-409: The duo would seek to achieve agreement from the CDU/CSU on increasing public spending rather than allow the government to collapse. In August 2020, the party appointed Merkel's deputy Vice-Chancellor Scholz as its candidate for chancellor at the election, despite him having lost to Walter-Borjans and Esken in the party leadership election. Cem Özdemir and Simone Peter stood down as co-leaders of

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7502-426: The dynasty of Piasts until 1007, had to pay tribute to the Poles after 1042, and were conquered again in 1121. In spite of his surrender or even with military help from the succeeding Poles, the Pomeranian duke Wartislaw I of the House of Griffins successfully started conquering the areas west of his burgh in Szczecin the years after 1121. These lands were considerably weakened by previous warfare: The coast

7623-481: The election. Scholz, who served as Mayor of Hamburg from 2011 to 2018, unsuccessfully sought the SPD leadership in the 2019 leadership election . Scholz was formally elected at a party conference on 8–9 May 2021, supported by 96% of delegates. The AfD's lead candidates were chosen via a membership vote held from 17 to 24 May 2021. The ticket of party co-chairman Tino Chrupalla and Bundestag co-leader Alice Weidel were elected with 71% of votes; they were opposed by

7744-401: The electoral threshold. As of 2021, these minorities are the Danish , Frisians , Sorbs , and Romani people . The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany and the Federal Election Act provides that federal elections must be held on a Sunday or on a federal holiday no earlier than 46 and no later than 48 months after the first sitting of the preceding session, unless a snap election

7865-427: The end of July, 56 per cent of Germans believed that the floods made it "even more important than before" to combat climate change, and 73 per cent believed the government was not doing enough in this area; only the AfD's supporters were overwhelmingly of the opposite opinion. Following those events, six people under the age of 30 began a hunger strike in front of the Reichstag building at the end of August. They demanded

7986-404: The entire state of Mecklenburg was abolished by East Germany (German Democratic Republic, GDR) in 1952. The Pomeranian districts were made part of the GDR's Bezirk Rostock (coastal region) and Bezirk Neubrandenburg , with a small area around Gartz becoming part of Bezirk Frankfurt/Oder . The 1945–1952 state was reconstituted, with minor border adjustments, as Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at

8107-446: The federal election. The Left announced Janine Wissler and Dietmar Bartsch as their co-lead candidates on 2 May 2021. Wissler was elected federal party co-leader earlier in the year alongside Susanne Hennig-Wellsow , who chose not to seek the co-lead candidacy. Bartsch had co-chaired The Left's Bundestag group since 2015, and was previously co-lead candidate in the 2017 federal election. Wissler and Bartsch were formally selected by

8228-513: The federal repeat election meant that the FDP lost a seat in the Bundestag, while 3 other seats were moved from Berlin to different states. The 2017 federal election was held after a four-year grand coalition between the CDU/CSU and the SPD . Though the CDU/CSU remained the biggest parliamentary group, both it and the SPD suffered significant losses. The SPD leadership, recognising the party's unsatisfactory performance after four years in government, announced that it would go into opposition. With

8349-404: The forthcoming election, following poor results at state elections for the CSU in Bavaria and for the CDU in Hesse . Merkel's allegedly preferred candidate for the party leadership, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer , narrowly defeated Friedrich Merz , who had been a rival of Merkel around 2002 and had left politics in 2009 criticising her decisions and leadership. Kramp-Karrenbauer struggled to unify

8470-580: The fourth time since 2009 , the 2021 federal election was observed by OSCE , providing four experts from three OSCE states. The Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS) found that false claims of voter fraud had become commonplace on Telegram in Germany, with accusations against Dominion Voting Systems being common despite the company's technology not being used in German elections. CeMAS researcher Miro Dittrich said, "We have seen far-right actors try to claim election fraud since at least 2016, but it didn't take off. When Trump started telling

8591-414: The independent allied tribes held their meetings. Whether or not the Rani were part of the Veleti or later the Lutizians is disputed. The Slavic tribes referred to as Pomeranians settled east of the Oder River. In this era, large mixed Slavic and Scandinavian settlements were built at the natural havens of the bay-rich coast, the most important of which were Ralswiek (Rügen), Altes Lager Menzlin at

8712-526: The largest party for the first time since 2002 . The ruling CDU/CSU , which had led a grand coalition with the SPD since 2013 , recorded their worst ever result with 24.1%, a significant decline from 32.9% in 2017 . Alliance 90/The Greens achieved their best result in history at 14.7%, while the Free Democratic Party (FDP) made small gains and finished on 11.4%. The Alternative for Germany (AfD) fell from third to fifth place with 10.4%,

8833-518: The last Rugian duke's death) fell to the HRE. The Rügen and Pomerania dukes called in many German settlers and aristocrats to resettle parts of their duchies devastated in the wars before and to settle new areas by turning woodland into fields. Settlers came from North German Lower Saxony. Some settlers from the Harz mountains in central Germany settled near Stettin. Cities and monasteries were founded. Between

8954-445: The latter of them covering the area known as Dreikaiserbäder (three emperors baths) consisting of the former municipalities of Ahlbeck , Bansin and Heringsdorf. Towns in the Polish part include Police , Goleniów , Wolin , Międzyzdroje , Nowe Warpno , and the left-bank part of Dziwnów . In addition, the highly populated villages of Mierzyn , Przecław , Warzymice and Bezrzecze constitute in fact direct residential extensions of

9075-433: The local German industry, distributed underground Polish press, and facilitated escapes of Polish and British POWs who fled from German POW camps via the city's port to neutral Sweden (see also: Poland–Sweden relations ). In the final stages of the war, in 1945, German-perpetrated death marches of Allied POWs from Stalag XX-B and Stalag Luft IV passed through the region. At the end of World War II in 1945,

9196-587: The members of the 20th Bundestag . State elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern were also held. Incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel , first elected in 2005 , chose not to run again, marking the first time that an incumbent Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany did not seek re-election. With 25.7% of total votes, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) recorded their best result since 2005, and emerged as

9317-528: The narrower sense, the designation may also refer to the western part of the area only, alternatively called for precision Pomorze Szczecińskie ( Szczecin Pomerania), encompassing the entire German Pomerania combined with the Polish part of the historical Middle Pomerania up to Rega . In such case, the remainder of Farther Pomerania is called Pomorze Środkowe ( contemporary Middle Pomerania ) or Pomorze Koszalińsko-Słupskie (Koszalin-Słupsk Pomerania). As

9438-493: The nearby mainland, roughly matching the administrative districts of Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald , though those districts' boundaries with Mecklenburg proper do not match the pre-1945 demarcation. The region is mentioned in the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania state constitution as one of the two constituting regions of the state with the right to form a Landschaftsverband , which

9559-428: The official end of voting at 6 p.m, the last after 8 p.m. when the outcome was already being forecast. At least one polling station was closed due to missing documents. In at least 16 Berlin polling stations, basic election data did not match (including impossible voter turnouts of over 100%). On 29 September 2021, Michaelis announced her resignation and that of her deputy. In 2022, the 2021 Berlin state election

9680-559: The open sea, forming a unique landscape. The islands Kirr , Hiddensee , Ummanz , Dänholm , Rügen , Öhe , Riems , Vilm , Greifswalder Oie , Usedom , Karsibór and Wolin , as well as the islands of the city of Szczecin are located in Western Pomerania. The largest city in Western Pomerania is Szczecin on the Polish side and Stralsund on the German side. Today it is still an important town economically. The towns of Stralsund and Greifswald together, after Rostock, are

9801-494: The parties on migration and energy policies. Chancellor Angela Merkel consulted with President Frank-Walter Steinmeier , who implored all parties to reconsider in order to avoid fresh elections. The SPD and their leader Martin Schulz indicated their willingness to enter into discussions for another coalition government with the CDU/CSU. The SPD leadership voted to enter into exploratory discussion on 15 December 2017 and at

9922-502: The party elected Andrea Nahles as their leader in April 2018. Nahles had already been elected leader of the SPD parliamentary group after the federal election in September when the party still planned to go into opposition. She was unsuccessful in improving the party's stock with the electorate as it continued to slide in opinion polls and was for the first time in history well beaten by the centre-left party Alliance 90/The Greens at

10043-463: The party executive on 8–9 May, receiving 87% of the votes. Due to their rise in national opinion polling since 2018, the Greens were expected to forgo the traditional dual lead-candidacy in favour of selecting a single chancellor candidate. Party co-leaders Annalena Baerbock and Robert Habeck were considered the only plausible candidates. Baerbock was announced as chancellor candidate on 19 April. Both Baerbock and Habeck were co-lead candidates for

10164-652: The party ran a list in the indicated state. The number in each box indicates how many direct candidates the party ran in the indicated state. In July 2021, the respective state electoral committees rejected the lists of the AfD in Bremen and the Greens in Saarland . The AfD list was rejected for formal reasons, while the Green list in Saarland was declared invalid due to a controversial nomination process, in which one third of

10285-399: The party's election campaign. A total of 47 parties and lists were approved to run in the 2021 federal election, including the seven which won seats in the 19th Bundestag. Of these, 40 ran party lists in at least one state, while 7 ran only direct candidates. In addition, 196 independent candidates ran in the various direct constituencies. In the table below, green shading indicates that

10406-527: The party's liberal and conservative factions, and in February 2020, when she failed to lead the Thuringia state CDU towards a solution of the government crisis there, she announced her intention to withdraw her interest in running as the CDU nominee for chancellor at the election and step down as party leader. A party convention to elect a new leader was scheduled for April but was repeatedly delayed due to

10527-474: The party's pragmatic wing. Both support their party's participation in federal government, particularly Hennig-Wellsow, who played a major role in the red–red–green coalition government of The Left, the SPD, and the Greens in the state of Thuringia . Germany uses the mixed-member proportional representation system, a system of proportional representation combined with elements of first-past-the-post voting . The Bundestag has 598 nominal members, elected for

10648-400: The police closed down a facility in Löcknitz where neo-Nazis had combined several garages into a single large hall which was used as a meeting place as well as for the organisation of far-right concerts , which up to 200 people attended. The hall was closed due to building code/ zoning violations and a large bonfire that was spotted at the building. During the search, the owners resisted

10769-413: The police, which resulted in three officers being injured. Dirk Bahlmann ( NPD ), who used to be a member of the municipal council, is recognized as the leader of neo-Nazi activities in the town. Allegedly there exists a group of 20 to 25 neo-Nazis around Bahlmann named "Nationales Bündnis Löcknitz" (National Association Löcknitz) which organizes far-right activities in the town. Several worn-out posters of

10890-571: The presumptive CDU nominee for the Union's joint chancellor candidacy. Laschet was challenged by Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Söder of the CSU, who consistently polled well among voters and had been discussed as a potential candidate since mid-2020. As the contest intensified in March/April 2021, Söder was backed by the CSU as well as some state and local CDU associations, while Laschet received

11011-399: The region, namely Szczecin and Świnoujście on the Polish side, as well as Stralsund and Greifswald on the German side of the border. Major towns in the German part of the region include Bergen auf Rügen , Demmin , Anklam , Wolgast and Pasewalk . The municipalities of Binz , Zingst , Zinnowitz and Heringsdorf do not have town rights, but are in fact semi-urban localities, with

11132-562: The same date. The last municipal election took place on 26 May 2019. 13 members were elected to the council. The following candidates were elected: The last mayoral election happened on 26 May 2019, the same day as the municipal council election. Only one candidate, Detlef Ebert ( CDU ), was up for election and ran unopposed. The results are as follows: Löcknitz is part of the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte I – Vorpommern-Greifswald II federal electoral constituency and

11253-462: The sea". The adjective for the region is (Western) Pomeranian (German: pommersch , Polish : pomorski ), inhabitants are called (Western) Pomeranians (German: Pommern , Polish: Pomorzanie ). The Polish names for the historical region, Pomorze Zachodnie (Western Pomerania) or Pomorze Nadodrzańskie ( Oder Pomerania), have usually been applied to the entire narrower Pomerania, including Farther Pomerania , but excluding Pomerelia . In

11374-492: The seat of outgoing chancellor Angela Merkel . It was also the first time they won any single-member constituency seats in Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia since 2005. The SPD had been written off by many political observers due to longtime internal quarrels and poor performances in prior elections, even those in early 2021. In the 2019 European Parliament election , they dropped to a historic low 15.8%, accelerating

11495-542: The second largest centres of population in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. In addition the region has the highest population density of the four planning regions in the state. Western Pomerania has several national parks: Another region in Western Pomerania under extensive conservation protection is the Peene Valley . German Vorpommern is understood today as comprising the islands of Rügen and Usedom and

11616-675: The southernmost fragment ( Amt Gartz (Oder) ) remains part of the Uckermark district within Brandenburg . In 2012, the Pomeranian Evangelical Church merged with the Mecklenburgian and Northalbingian Evangelical Churches. Since the administrative reform of 1999, the Polish part is located within the West Pomeranian Voivodeship and encompasses the cities with powiat rights Szczecin and Świnoujście ,

11737-531: The spread of the Christian faith. In 1124, he invited Otto von Bamberg to mission in his duchy east of the Oder River. By 1128, Wartislaw I had expanded his duchy west to the County of Gützkow and Circipania and south to the Uckermark . He invited Otto von Bamberg again to mission in these pagan areas West of the Oder River, too. The former Liutizian principalities were turned into castellanies subordinate to

11858-529: The state delegates were excluded from the nomination convention. Both state parties filed motions against the rulings. The federal electoral committee dismissed the motion of the Saarland Greens, while the AfD list in Bremen was permitted to run in the elections. The Green Party will thus not be eligible for the proportional vote in Saarland for the first time in the party's history. The federal election

11979-453: The support of most of the CDU. The two men failed to come to an agreement by the given deadline of 19 April, leading the federal CDU board to hold an impromptu meeting to break the deadlock. The board voted 31 to 9 in favour of Laschet. After the vote, Söder announced his support for Laschet as chancellor candidate. On 10 August 2020, the SPD nominated incumbent Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Olaf Scholz as their lead candidate for

12100-548: The ticket of former German Air Force lieutenant-general Joachim Wundrak and MdB Joana Cotar , who won 24%. 14,815 votes were cast, corresponding to a turnout of 48%. On 21 March 2021, the FDP association in North Rhine-Westphalia elected federal chairman Christian Lindner as top candidate for the party list in that state. He was re-elected as chairman on 14 May, winning 93% of votes with no opponent. The vote also served to confirm him as lead candidate for

12221-501: The time of German reunification in 1990. Vorpommern is a constitutional region of the state, yet not an administrative entity. After the administrative reforms of September 2011, the bulk of Western Pomerania is within the districts of Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald ; however, some west central areas including Demmin and Altentreptow are within Mecklenburgische Seenplatte district, while

12342-459: The town, holding two seats in the municipal council between 2009 and 2019. The NPD played into anti-Polish sentiments by displaying the slogan "Stop the Polish invasion!" ( German : "Poleninvasion stoppen!") on posters in the village during the 2009 election. In June 2011, a 20-meter long inscription, attributed to the NPD, appeared in the town with the text "Poles out. Germany for the Germans". In 2020,

12463-496: The towns of Police , Goleniów , Wolin , Międzyzdroje , Nowe Warpno , and (the left-bank part of) Dziwnów are part of Poland. The German part forms about one-third of the present-day north-eastern state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania , while the Polish part constitutes the westernmost border areas of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship . German Western Pomerania had a population of about 470,000 in 2012 (districts of Vorpommern-Rügen and Vorpommern-Greifswald combined) – while

12584-517: The upper columns. The list does not include the former town of Dąbie , which currently is a neighbourhood of Szczecin; it also does not include the Brandenburgian city of Schwedt whose parts located north of Wesel , acquired in contemporary times, belong to historic Western Pomerania. Popular tourist resorts can be found all along the Baltic beaches of the Pomeranian part (Darß-Zingst) of

12705-609: The wealth situation of people in Vorpommern is on a mean range in Germany, with 27% of the population regarded as indigent – that is living with below 60% of an average German income. In prehistoric times, the area was inhabited by megalith cultures. In the first half of the first millennium, the East Germanic Rugians are reported in the area, who are known to later set up a kingdom far South in Pannonia in

12826-446: The wealth tax. For the first time since 2002 , the four major television broadcasters (public services ZDF and ARD with its regional networks, and commercial networks RTL and ProSieben / Sat.1 ) did not hold a joint television debate of the major candidates from CDU/CSU and SPD. Separate debates were previously prevented by incumbent chancellor Merkel, who in 2021 did not run for re-election. The Greens had only finished 6th in

12947-403: The years on how such issues could be solved in a coalition; the solution of an internal vote preceding foreign policies votes, such as foreign deployments, on a case-by-case analysis was deemed to be unworkable by many in the SPD. The Greens see foreign policy differences with The Left as big as financial and debt disagreements with the FDP. The Left joining the federal government would have broken

13068-594: Was a period marked by the ravages of warfare. A part of the region south of the Peene river ( Old Western Pomerania ) came under Prussian sovereignty after the Stockholm peace treaty in 1720 . Under the Treaty of Kiel , the remnants of Swedish Pomerania ( New Western Pomerania ) were briefly transferred to Denmark in 1814, but the 1815 Congress of Vienna ceded the territory to Prussia. From 1815, all of Western Pomerania

13189-583: Was also the first time since 2002 that they emerged as the largest party in the Bundestag . For the first time since 2002, the SPD swept all single-member constituency seats in the states of Brandenburg and Saarland , where they defeated cabinet ministers Peter Altmaier and Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer . They also won all constituencies in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern for the first time, including Vorpommern-Rügen – Vorpommern-Greifswald I ,

13310-450: Was broad agreement among left-leaning parties on issues such as climate change, education, finance, health, and higher taxes for the rich, and The Left being more pro-European than similar left-wing parties like La France Insoumise , while issues of disagreement were foreign policy and security. Writing for The Guardian , Philip Oltermann commented: "Paradoxically, some Social Democrats see such commonalities as an obstacle rather than

13431-406: Was constructed of wood and posts. Said fort would be taken over by the Germans around the year 1400 and be converted into a castle of masonry named Castrum Locenize . The castle governed not only the settlement it stood in, but also the fields, woods, and settlements ( Plöwen , Bismark , Bergholz ) surrounding it. Due to being located on the border between Pomerania and Brandenburg , Löcknitz

13552-412: Was declared invalid, to be replaced by the February 2023 Berlin repeat state election . Decision making on the federal level took even longer. In late 2023, a repeat of the federal election was ordered in 455 of 2,256 Berlin precincts. The result of the repeat election on 11 February 2024 replaced the original result in those precincts, resulting in the overall result of the election being recalculated. As

13673-451: Was heavily criticized, despite his apology saying: "It was stupid and shouldn't have happened and I regret it." Both the CDU/CSU and Laschet's ratings suffered heavily in opinion polls and the SPD took the lead. During the campaign, Scholz rejected tax cuts for the rich as immoral, pledged to "increase taxes on the wealthy, spend on cleaner technology and expand social programs", and a minimum wage increase to 12 euros. In general, there

13794-480: Was impacted by incumbent chancellor Angela Merkel 's decision not to run again, and candidates to present themselves as the natural successor to Merkel. The 2021 European floods , with at least 184 deaths in western parts of Germany, put the climate issue back on the agenda in July. The SPD called for "everything to be done to stop global warming," while the CDU/CSU wanted to "speed up climate protection measures". By

13915-654: Was integrated into the Prussian Province of Pomerania , administered as the Region of Stralsund (New Western Pomerania) and Region of Stettin (the old Western Pomeranian region). Stralsund was fused into Stettin in 1932. From May to September 1939, before and during the German invasion of Poland , which started World War II , Polish people in the region, particularly in Szczecin, were targeted by Nazi repressions, with Polish organizations attacked and Polish leaders, activists, entrepreneurs, and even some staff of

14036-517: Was quoted as saying: "To prepare the ground for a robust and functioning coalition, you need to make sure that no one walks out of talks looking like a loser. That's difficult enough with two, but it becomes even more difficult when you have three partners." Oltermann posited that The Left could see entering federal government as "a final chance to reverse the party's decline, even if it means moving some of its red lines of old." In its election manifesto, The Left called for abolishing NATO in favour of

14157-578: Was raided by the Danes , which destroyed Jomsborg in 1043, shifting the power in the Oder delta South to Pomeranian Stettin. Rethra was raided and devastated by the Germans in winter 1068/69, the Lutizian alliance fell apart, and instead the Lutizian tribes started fighting against each other (" Liutizischer Bruderkrieg ", Liutizian civil war). Wartislaw's aim was not only the expansion of his duchy, but also

14278-605: Was slain by pagans near Stolpe . Stolpe Abbey was erected at this site by Wartislaw's successor, Ratibor I . The 1147 Wendish Crusade initiated by the Holy Roman Empire ended when the Demmin and Stettin citizens persuaded the crusaders that they were already Christians. By the middle of the 12th century, the Principality of Rügen in northwestern Pomerania remained the last pagan state in Central Europe. In 1168,

14399-486: Was very contested and was frequently involved in battles as well as border changes. Since 1992 the bilingual German-Polish Gymnasium is visited by pupils from Germany (526 in 2008) and Poland (161), leading to the German Abitur as well as to the Polish matura . In 2008 the certificates were handed over by the foreign ministers of both countries Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Radosław Sikorski . Since Poland joined

14520-478: Was voted in by the Bundestag for a fourth term as chancellor on 14 March, with 364 votes for, 315 against, 9 abstentions, and 4 invalid votes, just 9 more votes than the 355 needed for a majority. The new government was officially referred to as the Fourth Merkel cabinet . Merkel's final government was subject to intense instability. The 2018 German government crisis saw the longstanding alliance between

14641-494: Was well below the 5% electoral threshold, due to its status of being representative of a recognised minority group (Danes and Frisians), an exception in federal law allowed the party to win one party-list seat. Incumbents are denoted in bold and followed by (I) . In Berlin , vote casting and counting was not simple as the federal election was on the same day as the Berlin Marathon , the 2021 Berlin state election and

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