Neo-Nazi violence on rise in Germany
Pastor Dale Morgan
Neo-Nazi violence on rise in Germany *
By Stefan Berg, Markus Deggerich and Sven Röbel
Der Spiegel, Germany
Arson attacks and racist assaults by right-wing extremists are part of
everyday life in parts of Germany. Authorities are concerned that the
country's neo-Nazi scene is becoming increasingly violent.
The arsonists came on the night before Adolf Hitler's birthday. After
attempting to burn down an Asian fast-food stand on a square in front of
the train station in Blankenfelde, a town in the eastern German state of
Brandenburg, they turned their attention to the adjacent doner kebab
stand owned by Haci D., 39. The fire quickly burned through the wooden
side wall and engulfed the entire stand. By daybreak on April 20, Haci
D. had lost his livelihood.
Neo-Nazis have long been a problem in Germany. But there are now signs
that the especially violent among them are becoming better organized.
Haci D. had tried repeatedly to get insurance to cover his business but
hadn't managed to find a company that would take him on. Fire insurance
for a Turkish doner kebab stand in Brandenburg? Officially, says Haci
D., the insurance companies cited "construction risks" as their reason
for rejecting his applications.
These "construction risks" now affect the very foundation of a society
in which right-wing extremist violence has become normal. "Right-wing
extremism is part of everyday life and only attracts attention when the
crimes are especially horrific," says Wolfgang Thierse, the Social
Democrat vice-president of the lower house of the German parliament, the
Bundestag.
The statistics are alarming. In 2007, the number of reported arson
attacks committed by right-wing extremists climbed to 24 from 18 in the
previous year. The targets are foreigners, including immigrants'
mosques, cars and cafés.
"These are crimes that pose a threat to public safety and that could
lead to people getting killed," warns Heinz Fromm, president of
Germany's domestic intelligence service. The upward trend seems to be
continuing this year. The numbers in March were higher than they had
been in years. Throughout Germany, the police documented a total of
1,311 right-wing extremist and racist crimes, an increase of 458 over
the year-earlier month. The incidents included 72 acts of violence, the
government said in response to an inquiry from the Left Party vice
president of the Bundestag, Petra Pau.
New Trend of "Anarchist Nationalists"
Intelligence agents have identified a new, right-wing extremist
phenomenon: so-called anarchist nationalists who are "significantly more
likely to commit acts of violence against political rivals and the
police." After the May riots in Hamburg, the police are keenly aware of
the threat posed by this new group of extremist thugs. In Hamburg, they
joined in the fray wearing the same black outfits and showing a similar
level of aggression as leftist anarchists. It took a massive police
effort to prevent the situation from spinning out of control. What
happened in Hamburg, says Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble, a
Christian Democrat, attests to a "new quality."
The anarchist nationalists number about 400 people, or roughly 10
percent of Germany's neo-Nazi community. They constitute the advance
guard of a broader violent movement which is making inroads into western
Germany. The movement has long since established itself in the east
where it feels unassailable and in some areas has come to dominate
everyday life.
Last year the highest number of arson attacks by neo-Nazis were
committed in the eastern state of Brandenburg, especially in the
vicinity of the city of Cottbus, where four foreign-owned businesses
were attacked in October of 2007 alone. Investigators speculate that an
organized structure was behind the apparently concerted series of attacks.
But while the risk of such attacks is growing, the public is paying less
attention to them. "Right-wing extremists haven't become more harmless,"
says Anetta Kahane of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation Against Right-Wing
Extremism, "it's just that our perception or the problem has changed."
Kahane has noticed a growing "culture of becoming accustomed and of
fatigue" which is enabling right-wing extremists to become openly
aggressive.
Frankfurt an der Oder, an eastern city on the German-Polish border, is a
place where right-wing violence has developed into an everyday
phenomenon. Paradoxically, the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD)
failed to capture a single seat in recent municipal elections.
Nevertheless, the city administration and police are aware of a the
local far-right scene's potential for violence. The "Sportlerklause," a
local sports bar catering to neo-Nazi thugs, was shut down. The city is
home to precisely the kind of environment that worries the authorities:
a dangerous hooligan scene surrounding the local football club, FFC
Viktoria.
Police estimate that the group counts 40 to 50 violence-prone right-wing
extremists, and they have struck repeatedly. In the past, the NPD
recruited its bodyguards from among these football fans -- now, however,
the group seems to be organizing on its own. There are even photos
showing the radical football fans giving the Hitler salute with SS
skull-and-crossbones patches on their clothing.
Assaults and Intimidation
A few days ago, masked men attacked yet again, assaulting students in
front of a club in Frankfurt an der Oder. The doormen at the club
alerted the police and managed to prevent the incident from escalating
beyond kicks and blows. Seven suspects were arrested, all of them part
of the far-right community. But because no one displayed the Hitler
salute or shouted slogans like "Leftists Out!" during the nighttime
incident, it is unlikely to be documented as a far-right attack.
Christof Winter, a 25-year-old student, has documented countless
incidents in Frankfurt, including attacks in broad daylight and fights
in discotheques, as well as the omnipresent slogans and symbols in
graffiti painted onto buildings. Winter knows many of the right-wing
extremists by name. He prefers to ride his bicycle through the city
instead of taking the streetcar. He also avoids discotheques. The
neo-Nazis know him, just as they keep an eye on Katja Herrlich, 34, an
attorney who has collaborated with Winter in his research. Herrlich says
that she has felt threatened many times. She is already accustomed to
local neo-Nazis addressing her by her first name on the street, saying
innocuous-sounding things like, "Hey there, Katja." The message they
seek to convey, she says, is that they know where to find her.
Uwe Adler, 36, of a citizens' alliance against right-wing extremism in
Weimar in the eastern state of Thuringia, reports similar experiences.
He belongs to the city's committee on youth affairs and once noticed two
neo-Nazis known to local authorities sitting in the back of the room
during a public meeting. They appeared to be taking copious notes on a
discussion of problems among Weimar youth. "Right-wing extremists have
embarked on a process of normalization in the country's cities and
towns," says Adler. Some groups have even sponsored waste pickup
campaigns in local forests, under the guise of "protecting the
environment to protect the homeland."
The far-right is trying to reinvent itself as champion of ordinary
citizens. "Social awareness can only be national awareness" is the new
slogan devised by right-wing anti-capitalists. By laying claim to social
issues, the neo-Nazis are trying to make violence against "freeloaders"
and dissenters socially acceptable. "Wherever the state and civil
society are retreating, right-wing extremists are filling the void,"
says Anetta Kahane of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation.
Brass Knuckles and Ski Masks
The strategy of intimidation is working. In cities like Weimar, people
like activist Uwe Adler are still able to find supporters for their
citizens' alliance, "although the numbers have declined." In April, the
group managed to block a neo-Nazi march in Weimar, the city of German
poets Goethe and Schiller. But, says Adler, when he recently visited the
nearby town of Apolda, "the fear was almost palpable." Skinheads who
knew him by name stood in front of the assembly hall where Adler had
gone to launch a citizens' alliance, and they filmed people as they
entered the building.
The Neo-Nazis have long been a problem in Germany. But there are now
signs that the especially violent among them are becoming better organized.
Neo-Nazis have long been a problem in Germany. But there are now signs
that the especially violent among them are becoming better organized.
outcome of the meeting was sobering. According to Adler, it is difficult
to find "any ordinary citizens who are willing to occasionally man an
information booth on right-wing extremism in the downtown area." Some,
he says, "are afraid, while others are either indifferent or secretly
sympathize with the neo-Nazis." His parents became concerned when
right-wing extremist Web sites began featuring his photo, along with his
name and address, as if he were a wanted criminal.
The testimony in a trial currently underway in the eastern city of
Dresden has shed light on some of the neo-Nazis' intimidation tactics.
The defendants are members of "Sturm 34," a gang that has since been
banned. Peter E., 24, a former "driver" with the group, provided
horrifying insights into the thugs' modus operandi. According to his
testimony, roughly 50 youths gathered under an old German imperial war
flag, a symbol for neo-Nazis, in the town of Mittweida in 2006 to mark
the founding of the group. Then one of the defendants, Alexander G.,
nicknamed "Stormer," climbed onto a table and loudly proclaimed the
establishment of Sturm 34. The gang's gear included gloves filled with
sand to increase the impact of blows and, according to Peter E., brass
knuckles and ski masks.
Hunt Down Its Victims
Sturm 34 soon put its preparations into practice. In one instance, the
gang attacked a camping site in Mittweida, and in another they targeted
a pavilion where a local festival was underway. According to
investigators, up to 30 members would arrive in cars, arrange themselves
in a military formation and attack. The group would also systematically
hunt down its victims in car chases.
Although Sturm 34 is now officially disbanded, far-right violence is
alive and kicking in the region. Early this year, skinheads in four cars
attacked five young men from a town called Geringswalde as they were
driving home. When they were forced to stop their car, several masked
men jumped out of the cars and attacked them with baseball bats and clubs.
The right-wing extremists have been especially effective at spreading
fear among Turks, says Kenan Kolat of the Turkish Community in Germany,
a group which campaigns for immigrant rights, doner kebab stands are
seen as an especially easy target. This, in turn, has created a market
niche in the insurance business. Because German insurance companies are
refusing to provide fire insurance for people like Haci D., small,
specialized providers have contacted the Turkish community association
to offer fire protection and alarm systems. The representatives sell
their services to local Turkish businesses by maintaining that an alarm
system will ensure that "the same thing doesn't happen to you."
On a visit to the western city of Solingen last week to commemorate the
15th anniversary of a deadly arson attack on a Turkish family, Kolat was
able to get a firsthand look at what life can be like for Turkish
immigrants threatened by right-wing extremist violence. On May 29, 1993,
four men from the local skinhead community set a fire in the entrance of
a house owned by the Turkish Genç family. Two women and three girls died
in the incident.
The survivors remained in Solingen, where they built a new house --
surrounded by a fence and protected by 24-hour video surveillance.
Translated from the German by Christopher Sultan