Goal: open-mindedness, diversity and tolerance
How can open-mindedness, diversity and tolerance be made visible in Neubrandenburg? This question has been under discussion for some time. On 23 July 2025, a Citizens' Jury submitted its recommendations on this issue to the city council.
At the top of the participants' wish list is the desire for barrier-free, inclusive public spaces, for example through better seating, family-friendly toilets and intergenerational sports facilities in the cultural park. The planned swimming pool is also to be designed to meet the needs of people with different requirements, from family cabins to a variety of swimming times and rules.
Expanding youth participation, strengthening mini-publics
Another focus is on social participation. Among other things, the participants propose further expanding youth participation and strengthening mini-publics and neighbourhood dialogues. Welcome offers for new residents should be expanded, volunteer work promoted and additional meeting formats such as neighbourhood festivals or randomly selected sports teams organised.
Information also plays an important role: a well-maintained calendar of events, a WhatsApp channel, a city app and multilingual information could help to make the district more ‘visible’ – for locals and visitors alike.
‘It's a shame it's over’
The participants in the Citizens' Jury were satisfied with the process. ‘It was a good opportunity to exchange ideas, hear other opinions and see things from a different perspective,’ explained one jury member. Another member ‘found the meetings and the other participants very interesting. The result leaves me feeling open and hopeful about the future of the city.’
A third participant said it was ‘a shame it's over. There are still many issues to be addressed, and the city should do something like this more often.’ There was also some criticism: ‘The issues of open-mindedness and migration could have been dealt with more intensively,’ said one jury member.
25 jury members
The mini-public brought together 25 randomly selected people from the city. At the end of April 2025, 285 people aged 16 and over were randomly selected from the register of residents of the four-gate city of Neubrandenburg and invited to participate in the mini-public.
From the 36 applications submitted by those selected, a group was put together that reflects the city's population as accurately as possible in terms of age, gender, place of residence and nationality. Citizens' Jury members received an expense allowance of €150 for their participation.
Three sessions
Until 1 July 2025, the participants worked together and discussed important issues. The Citizens' Jury met three times. At the beginning of the meetings, the members of the mini-public received short, easy-to-understand presentations that introduced the topic and clarified any open questions. No one needed to have any special prior knowledge.
Afterwards, the participants exchanged their experiences, views and ideas in small groups in a protected, non-public setting. The discussions were moderated so that everyone had a chance to speak.
The city administration and city council will now discuss whether and how the proposals made by the mini-public can be implemented.
Support group
An accompanying group was formed to prepare for the Citizens' Jury. It was made up of representatives from all political parties in the city council, the city administration, the local partnership for democracy and the Mecklenburgische Seenplatte-Süd job centre. The group's task was to define the framework for the mini-public.
The entire process was also accompanied by an independent team from the ‘Citizens' assemblies for M-V’ project run by the Initiative Zukunftshandeln (Initiative for Future Action) of fint e.V. and funded by the Partnership for Democracy NB as part of the federal programme ‘Demokratie leben!’ (Live Democracy!).
Dispute over rainbow flag
The Citizens' Jury was triggered by the removal of a rainbow flag from a flagpole on the station forecourt. A rainbow flag symbolically features the same colours as a rainbow. It is also considered a sign of tolerance and acceptance of diversity in lifestyles. Since the 1970s, the flag has been a symbol of lesbian and gay pride and of the diversity of lesbian and gay lifestyles.
The decision to remove the flag was initiated by councillor Tim Großmüller (Stabile Bürger Neubrandenburg). The Neubrandenburg entrepreneur had requested that the rainbow flag not be flown on any of the three flagpoles on the station forecourt.
‘Maintaining political neutrality’
Großmüller justified his request by stating that there had been several criminal offences in connection with the rainbow flag in the past, including theft and the subsequent hoisting of prohibited swastika flags. To prevent incidents like these, the flag should be removed.
In addition, public buildings should maintain political neutrality and not send controversial symbols or signals, according to the reasoning behind his motion. Furthermore, the city coat of arms of Neubrandenburg has no place on the rainbow flag and should not be used in this context. This contradicts the purpose and meaning of the coat of arms, which represents all citizens of the city.
The AfD, members of the Projekt NB faction and the Bündnis Sahra Wagenknecht (BSW)/Bürger für Neubrandenburg (BfN) alliance helped secure a majority for the motion.
Criticism of the decision
After the decision, criticism of the resolution was voiced. Against the backdrop of attacks on the Queer NB association's centre, its chairman Marcel Spittel said he hoped ‘that we will experience solidarity in the city. But now the city council has also passed a resolution that restricts queer visibility.’
Markus Rahmstorf, who left the right-wing scene in Neubrandenburg, also expressed criticism. He said the rainbow flag was a symbol of a cosmopolitan city and a sign of solidarity for sexual diversity. He could not understand the city council's decision that the rainbow flag should no longer be displayed publicly at the train station. He considered the two cases in which the rainbow flags were replaced by swastika flags to be an attack on democracy.
Mayor resigned
The openly gay mayor, Silvio Witt, announced his resignation the day after the city council's decision. He explained that, in his view, it was no longer about the issue itself, but almost entirely about personal matters. He spoke of ‘a lot of pressure being exerted’ and of the impact on his ‘husband, family and friends’. He wanted to protect his private life. Witt would have remained in office until 2029.
A cross-party alliance in the city council had therefore instructed the city administration on 13 November 2024 to develop a concept for a open-mindedness, diverse and tolerant Neubrandenburg. The city administration had responded by proposing the establishment of a Citizens' Jury. On 23 January 2025, the main committee of the city council voted in favour of such a mini-public.