WHEN Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, made her case in August that the country could manage its record inflow of refugees, she added an exhortation. “German thoroughness is super,” she said, “but now German flexibility is needed.” A snigger went through the room; Germans rarely consider flexibility a national virtue. Yet they are doing admirably.
Between 800,000 and 1.5m refugees will arrive in Germany this year, straining every part of Germany’s usually orderly administration. The problems begin in the processing centres where asylum seekers are registered. Many are overwhelmed, leaving some refugees unrecorded and raising fears that terrorists may enter. The federal government wants to hire thousands of staff, but training them takes time.
The next challenge is housing. “Terrible,” is how Michaela Vogelreuther describes the situation in the Bavarian city of Fürth, where she is in charge of accommodating refugees. When its reception center filled up, she added satellite facilities in surrounding towns and requisitioned a gymnasium. Schoolchildren must now…