The case of Ralph Boes has gained a lot of public attention in Germany recently. Boes, a longtime beneficiary of the German social support system “ALG-II” – also known as “HartzIV”–and an activist against the sanctions of this system, provoked the responsible German state agency until he was sanctioned at the beginning of November. His benefits were reduced by 90 percent, from €374.00 per month to only €37.40 per month. With only this much left, he saw himself as forced to starve.
Boes refused any private help in order to demonstrate the consequences of the sanctions policy. In 2012, Germany imposed more than 1,000,000 sanctions. This number represents an increase of about 38 percent compared to 2009. In more than two-thirds of these cases, the reason for the sanction is failure to appear.
After 26 days, the authority recognized a formal error, and Boes received the full amount of his benefits again.
More information about Boes can be found here:
https://wir-sind-boes.de/presse.html
More information about rising sanctions can be found here:
https://www.sueddeutsche.de/wirtschaft/neuer-rekord-jobcenter-verhaengen-mehr-als-eine-million-hartz-iv-sanktionen-1.1527783
An article about Boes in English can be found here:
https://www.vice.com/read/hunger-strike-against-the-welfare-state
