In the previous article, the author told you about a series of issues related to prostitutes and red light districts in various countries, such as Lithuania, Japan and other countries. In fact, red light districts and prostitutes in these countries are semi-legal. Only 2 countries in the world have legalized prostitutes and red light districts. Germany and the Netherlands, especially Germany. Since the full legalization of prostitutes and red light districts, many women from Eastern Europe have entered Germany. Why is this happening? Today we will talk about this.
First of all, let's talk about the specific situation in Germany. Germany is a European power and one of the developed countries in the world. With a total population of over 83.2 million, Germany is one of the most populous countries in Europe. Germany's economy is very strong and it is one of the world leaders. In 2020, Germany's economy was about $3.78 trillion, the largest among European countries, and more than $1 trillion higher than the United Kingdom and France.
Among the countries of the world, Germany's economy ranks fourth in the world, after the United States, China and Japan. This is despite India's ambitious development plans, which aims to become the world's third largest economy by 2025. But judging by the current situation, the possibility of realizing this plan is comparable to "building an aircraft carrier". Among European countries, Germany, the United Kingdom and France have always been known as the "three speakers of parliament". After all, the three great powers are standard world powers.
Among them, Germany has the strongest comprehensive strength. Germany, for example, is in many ways even expected to be number one in the world. But because it was a defeated country, Germany was severely limited in the military sphere. Of course, everything has advantages and disadvantages. Since it does not need to have a large defense budget, the German economy is developing rapidly. In fact, Germany was not a great power at that time. Germany's predecessor was the Kingdom of Prussia. Of course, before the rise of Prussia, Britain and France staged a famous century-old struggle for hegemony.
At the end of the 19th century, with the rapid rise of the Kingdom of Prussia, it defeated a number of European powers such as Austria and France. In 1871, Germany was founded. This story is interesting, I will tell you later. After the founding of Germany, it has developed rapidly in all aspects and ranks among the top in the world in many fields. Largely driven by the Second Industrial Revolution, Germany even caught up with Britain and France in many areas. In 1905, Germany's economy surpassed that of Britain.
Note that in terms of the economy as a whole alone, Germany's overall national strength is still inferior to that of the United Kingdom. At this time, Germany under Wilhelm II had a somewhat "self-centered" attitude. In this regard, Germany is far less intelligent than the United States at the same time. As early as 1895, the economy of the United States surpassed that of the United Kingdom. However, the United States has no intention of competing with Britain for hegemony and has always adopted a strategy of quietly making money. Instead, Germany was bent on competing with Britain for hegemony.
At that time, the two sides also engaged in a naval competition. In order to counter the rise of Germany, Britain quickly enlisted France and Tsarist Russia to form the Entente camp to limit German expansion. In response, Germany made overtures to Austria-Hungary and Italy in support of the Allied camp. These were the European countries before the First World War. After the First World War, Germany was restricted in all respects and its strength was greatly damaged. So much so that Germany was reluctant to do this and had a strong sense of retaliation.
In 1939, World War II broke out. After World War II, both Germany and Britain and France were badly damaged and there were ruins everywhere. After World War II, the Western bloc, led by the United States, fought a tense Cold War with the eastern bloc led by the Soviet Union. Relying on the forces of Germany, Britain and France was no longer enough to fight the USSR. Under these circumstances, the United States quickly launched the "Marshall Plan" to provide large-scale assistance to Western European countries such as Britain, France and Germany.
Germany, in particular, was on the front line against the USSR. Thanks to American economic aid, Germany gradually regained its strength. Although Germany was defeated in the war, its industrial system is intact and it has a large number of scientific researchers and skilled workers. With the liberalization of capital investment and various regulations in the United States, Germany seized the good opportunity of the third technological revolution, and the country's economy continued to develop rapidly. By the mid-to-late 70s of the 20th century, the total economic output of Germany (West Germany) had surpassed that of the Soviet Union and ranked second in the world.
Of course, after the early 80s of the 20th century, Japan suddenly appeared and surpassed Germany. Of course, for now, Germany remains one of the great powers in Europe and the world. Let's get back to business and talk about prostitutes and Germany's red light district. In different countries of the world, three completely different ways of dealing with prostitutes and red light districts have emerged: completely legal, semi-legal and completely illegal.
In most countries around the world, prostitutes and red light districts are completely illegal and fall within the scope of severe repression by police authorities. Countries in West and East Asia, in particular, have been hit very hard. In more than 10 countries, including Japan, Australia, Lithuania, prostitutes and red light districts are semi-legal. What is semi-legal? Red light districts must be established in designated areas, must be registered, and must not be near residential areas and studios. Prostitutes require regular medical examinations and cannot "work" outside the designated area.
If it exceeds the prescribed area, it is illegal. There are only two countries in the world where prostitutes and red light districts are completely legal: Germany and the Netherlands. Due to various historical reasons in old Europe, after 1927 Germany issued a very strange decree. In Germany, prostitutes are legal, but the various red light districts are illegal. That is, the industry of prostitutes can exist, but there cannot be a special red light district. It's funny. After 1927, prostitutes met men in coffee shops, bookstores, stadiums and other specific places throughout Germany. In 1997, the famous "café case" accelerated the legalization of prostitutes in German brothels. At that time, prostitutes were often with men in cafes and on the street. After being discovered by the German police, the café's business license was revoked in 1999. The café owner was not convinced and began to appeal. In December 2000, the court ruled in favour of the café owner.
The case set off a chain reaction. In 2002, Germany issued a new decree to fully legalize prostitutes and red light districts, and began to allow the establishment of red light districts. Organizations in the red light district must register, register, and pay taxes. Prostitutes are required to undergo regular medical examinations and are entitled to social security and various benefits. For example, prostitutes may also include Germany's minimum wage. In other words, the red light district has become a "legal" industry in Germany.
Since the legalization of prostitutes in Germany, the number of red light districts in Germany has sprung up. According to the statistics of various institutions in the United States, there are more than 3,000 large and small red light district institutions in Germany. Among them, there are more than 500 in Berlin, the capital of Germany. The total number of prostitutes in Germany has also increased in tandem, with the total number of prostitutes exceeding 400,000. Due to the lack of prior consideration in many aspects such as the location of the red light district, some chain problems have been created.
Being too close to residential areas and schools has sparked opposition and joint protests from some German parents, as it has too much impact on children's development and teenagers' learning. After the 90s of the 20th century, due to the economic downturn in Eastern European countries, a large number of Eastern European women went to Germany to play. According to Germany's own statistics, less than a third of all prostitutes in Germany belong to German women. More than two-thirds of the remaining are essentially from Eastern Europe or elsewhere.
So the question is, what are the benefits after Germany began to legalize prostitutes and red light districts? According to the regulations, red light districts must pay a monthly "special tax", which is much higher than other businesses or industries. In recent years, Germany's red light districts have paid more than 20 billion euros in taxes annually. Of course, in the past year or so, due to the impact of the epidemic, sales have fallen sharply. Some smaller red light districts are closed or continuously closed.
As for the income of prostitutes in Germany, they can reach 10,000 to 20,000 euros per month, which is actually much higher than that of the average white collar worker in Germany. There are many more stories and questions about Germany. The author will tell you slowly in future articles.