Merlijn Schoonenboom
MERLIJN SCHOONENBOOM is a Dutch journalist. He is a correspondent in Germany for De Volkskrant. He was formerly art editor for the same newspaper as well as for De Morgen.
Updated: 3 April 2012
Sources and authors
By Merlijn Schoonenboom
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Germany: Oberhausen, the “Greece of the Ruhr”
3 April 2012154 9 De Volkskrant Amsterdam
Located in the ancient heart of the economic miracle, now in decline, this city in the Ruhr has the biggest debts in Germany. The blame can be laid at the door of severe austerity policies and the cost of solidarity with the former GDR. Just weeks before regional elections, it’s a contribution that’s now being questioned.