Following the release of figures which reveal almost four in ten children under five have foreign roots, Michael Paulwitz says the demographic change will be the death of Germany’s welfare state. The journalist and historian predicts that “hard struggles” over resources will take place when ethnic Germans are a minority, and that native Germans “will inevitably lose out”. Mr Paulwitz’ article follows the release on Friday of official figures from the Federal Statistics Office. While they show 21 per cent of the total population currently have a migrant background he notes that such people are disproportionately represented in the younger age cohorts. One in three people aged under 18 who are resident in Germany have foreign roots, and the number jumps to 36 per cent among people under five. This, he ominously points out, “allows one to appreciate where [Germany] is headed”. Mr Paulwitz points to the demographics of Berlin, where people with a migration background comprise 30 per cent of residents. Mr Paulwitz also mentions that ethnic Germans are already minority in the district centre and many of the surrounding central districts. With these trends in mind, he observes: “First in the cities, later throughout the country, ethnic Germans are to