Fire Destroys Youth Club in Gardelegen Five Days Before State Election

In the early hours of September 2, a fire destroyed the youth club "Mood" and the headquarters of "Kulturwerk Ost" (KWO) in Gardelegen, located in the Altmark region of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The volunteer fire department was alerted at 2:20 a.m. and found the building already engulfed; only fragments of the exterior walls and a pottery kiln survived the blaze. The club, described as a flagship project for the region, was a "second home" to local youth, who gathered weeping at the scene. As investigators deployed sniffer dogs, triumphant posts circulated online, fueling suspicions of arson. The fire occurred just five days before the state election in Saxony-Anhalt, raising concerns about political motives. The loss of the facility has devastated the community, and the cause remains under investigation. Further details are available in the current issue of the publication.