"They've totally betrayed us," the locals say.

The small village of Petersdorf in Brandenburg is to receive 500 migrants despite having only 600 inhabitants. Local residents are outraged and feel helpless. But the case is not unique in Germany.

Petersdorf, near the spa town of Bad Saarow, is a favorite weekend spot for Berliners because of its thermal baths, restaurants and beautiful views of the local lake, Scharmutzelsee, RMX News reports.

But just outside the settlement, an old military barracks is now being converted into a hostel to house hundreds of migrants.

Du kannst inzwischen in ein beliebiges Dorf des Landes fahren und triffst schockierte Anwohner, die sich nie gewünscht haben, Flüchtlingscontainer vor der eigenen Haustür zu haben, aber sehr wohl welche bekommen. Ortsbesuch in Petersdorf, wo am Sonntag gewählt wird. @niusde_ pic.twitter.com/7yhcKcfmXu

— Jan A. Karon (@jannibal_) September 20, 2024

In total, 500 migrants will be housed in the shelter.

Although the local council unanimously voted down the migrant centre a year ago, renovation work is underway, which means that once the migrants arrive, there will be almost as many migrants as there are local residents.

Na fotce vidíte kontejnerovou ubytovnu pro migranty, která bude mít 506 míst. Už je částečně obsazená. Vzniká v lese mezi obcí Petersdorf a městem Fürstenwalde jihovýchodně od Berlína.

Ubytovna vzniká ve správním území obce Petersdorf, která má 596 obyvatel. 506 migrantů… pic.twitter.com/ziaoB7LKU0

— Robert Kotzian (@RobertKotzian) November 2, 2024

German newspaper Welt reports that several other small towns have suffered a similar fate over the years, including Upahl, Dabel, Seeth and Bernkastel-Kues, and „in every instance there was trouble”.

The problem, in many cases, was due to no proper assessment as to whether the social services and infrastructure, including sewage, would be able to cope with the new arrivals. This is the exact situation in Bad Saarow and Petersdorf. The local mayor of Petersdorf, Thomas Schoppe, told the local newspaper Märkische Oderzeitung that the containers were already being built „when the local council was still discussing the issue”.

In his view,

„we have been completely betrayed”.

Voters within the settlement are also angry, while others are simply disappointed. Residents told a Welt reporter that they had no idea how buses, kindergartens and other services would cope with the sudden influx of migrants, while others said they „don’t want foreigners in the area at all”.

In Brandenburg, where the village is located, the right-wing Alternative for Germany (AfD) party won nearly 30 per cent of the vote in the last state elections. The AfD says the Petersdorf case is another example of how immigration is transforming communities. The party’s Oder-Spree group said,

The inhabitants of Petersdorf and Bad Asaarow are in shock. These are gigantic numbers that reflect the scale of migration: according to the Federal Statistical Office, more than 8 million foreigners have migrated to Germany since 2005… This is a particularly cruel move here again in the Oder-Spree district. In Petersdorf, between Furstenwalde and Bad Saarow, container villages have been set up. A total of 500 migrants are to be accommodated in the middle of the forest on the site of the former Fuchsbau barracks. This would double the population. Locals say, „This is a far cry from democracy.”