Hamburg shuts refugee centre amid safety concerns and backlash

Hamburg's refugee centre closes abruptly, leaving residents in limbo

Revelations from Left Party Inquiry Show Abrupt Closure of Refugee Shelter

This emerges from the government's response to a minor interpellation by the Left Party (Die Linke). According to the documents, the last residents left the facility on January 23, yet Hamburg's Interior Authority only informed the Altona district assembly of the closure four days later.

Carola Ensslen, refugee policy spokesperson for the Left Party faction in the Hamburg Parliament, has sharply criticized the move. She argues that the need for renovations did not arise overnight. "The relocation should have been planned well in advance," she told our website. "This kind of back-and-forth is extremely exhausting for those affected."

The Kaltenkirchener Straße initial reception center had been in operation since 2016. As recently as November 2023, 120 people—primarily women and their children—were living there. Now, 40 residents have been transferred to a mixed-gender reception facility, while four chemotherapy patients were moved to accommodation near the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE). The shelter's eight LGBTQ+ residents were also relocated to standard public follow-up housing.

Vulnerable Residents Forced to Move Twice in Three Weeks

Those identified by the Interior Authority as having "special medical and protection needs" were made to relocate twice within three weeks. They, too, were placed in mixed-gender reception centers. While they were initially supported by familiar staff from Kaltenkirchener Straße for the first two weeks after the move, that assistance has since ended.

The closure has also affected 13 schoolchildren, who were relocated with their families to other facilities. Three of them were uprooted from their established social environments.

A press statement condemns the transfer of vulnerable individuals to sites lacking trained personnel, where they are now forced to live alongside cisgender men and share communal sanitation facilities. The statement warns that this endangers their safety and reflects a lack of planning and consideration.

"I am absolutely appalled by the sudden closure of this protective shelter," Ensslen said. "The women and children housed there have endured horrific experiences. They need stability, special protection, and healthcare to recover and build a consistent daily routine."

The Left Party faction points to the Istanbul Convention, which obliges the Senate to prevent and combat gender-based violence—including providing appropriate accommodation for vulnerable refugees during initial reception. Ensslen describes the relocation of affected individuals to unprotected spaces as a breach of trust. The Left Party has demanded that the Senate establish a new protective shelter as soon as possible.

Reopening Remains Uncertain

In response to the Left Party's inquiry about whether displaced residents would return after renovations, the Senate provided no definitive answer. Due to the extensive work required, no statement can yet be made about the building's future use, as planning remains incomplete.

When pressed, the Interior Authority cited "no longer guaranteed operational safety" and called the decision unavoidable. It remains unclear why renovations are proceeding if a decision on reopening has not yet been made.

As early as 2018, the Interior Authority had sought to close the shelter, justifying the move—before the influx of refugees fleeing the Ukraine war—by predicting that capacity would no longer be needed. At the time, then-Social Affairs Senator Melanie Leonhard (SPD) had reportedly assured the Hamburger Abendblatt that alternative solutions would be found for the women. Today, that promise appears forgotten.