Carl Bolle School in Berlin-Moabit: Education Senator admits to having deceived the House of Representatives
Günther-Wünsch initially claimed she hadn't read a teacher's plea for help until May. Now she admits she had already received it in December. The opposition is facing sharp criticism.
Berlin's Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch (CDU) has admitted to misinforming parliament. Contrary to her statement of June 12, she apparently received the call for help from a teacher who was allegedly threatened by students at his school because of his homosexuality as early as December 2024. Not in May, as the senator had previously stated.
The case concerns homosexual teacher Oziel Inácio-Stech, who complained to the administration about discrimination at the Carl Bolle School in Berlin-Moabit . Extensive documentation shows that he has been subjected to insults and abuse by Muslim students for years because of his sexual orientation.
In a letter from his lawyer dated December 4, 2024, to the senator, he described serious allegations he had made against, among others, the school administration and the head of the school supervisory authority in Berlin-Mitte, Detlev Thietz. He also reported the possible drug abuse of another teacher. In an email , the lawyer wrote that the letter was a "reprimand for the bias of your employee Thietz."
Both letters were addressed directly to Günther-Wünsch. However, the senator did not respond to them, but instead had the case handled by the very man against whom the complaint had been directed: Detlev Thietz from the school inspectorate. Thietz, in turn, denied the allegations and declared himself impartial. No further investigation was conducted. Inácio-Stech received a brief response in January stating that there was no evidence of discrimination based on his homosexuality.
At the beginning of June, Günther-Wünsch emphasized to the Education Committee that she had thoroughly examined the case and that it was being distorted in the media. There could be no talk of "systemic failure." On June 12, she stated that she had only read the lawyer's letter in May. On June 20, she reversed her stance: "In connection with the incident at the Carl Bolle School, the re-examination of the files I requested on June 20, 2025, revealed that I had personally received the letter dated December 4, 2024." Günther-Wünsch expressed regret that she had initially not remembered this.
Many unanswered questions – and criticism from the oppositionSeveral questions now arise in this case. How exactly did the senator investigate the case? Why did she appoint the very same employee to handle a complaint directed against him in December? Did the employee inform his superiors in the education administration about the incident? Did everyone conclude that there was no discrimination – or did the obviously biased employee decide this unilaterally? So far, the senator and the Berlin-Mitte school inspectorate have remained silent on these questions, citing the case as a "personnel matter." Criticism is now growing louder from the opposition. Green Party parliamentary group leader Bettina Jarasch said: "The fact that Education Senator Katharina Günther-Wünsch is now trying to explain away her failure in the case of the bullied teacher Oziel Inácio-Stech with two half-baked sentences to the media is a sign of bad form!" The bare minimum is "a genuine apology to the person affected and an appropriate handling of his complaint." Green Party education expert Louis Krüger added that Günther-Wünsch must now actively clarify all the connections and processes within her department. "Who bears what responsibility?"
Max Landero (SPD), State Secretary for Integration, spoke of a structural failure. "The teacher needed help and support," he said in the Education Committee on Thursday.
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