What Germany's Lack of Race Data Means During a Pandemic

"What do you think the rate of Covid-19 is for us?" This is the question that many Black people living in Berlin asked me at the beginning of March 2020. The answer: We don't know. Unlike other countries, notably the United States and the United Kingdom, the German government does not record racial identity information in official documents and statistics. Due to the country's history with the Holocaust, calling Rasse (race) by its name has long been contested.