How the crisis hits the middle class

Crisis, what crisis? On Germany’s most popular holiday island, Sylt, there is not much to see of deprivation and abstinence in these October days. While elsewhere people with a small budget turn down their heating for fear of high additional payments or look for special offers in the supermarket, in Westerland time seems to stand still.

At Gosch on Friedrichstraße, you can still treat yourself to white wine or something sparkling at lunchtime, as the hotels are fully booked despite the steep prices. Is the crisis only affecting the poor?

No, says Helmut Schleweis, head of the German Savings Banks and Giro Association. “The crisis and the loss of prosperity are affecting the middle class, which was not used to taking advantage of transfer payments and which in some cases refused,” Schleweis recently warned at a bank conference.