Neo-Nazis On Rise in Germany
As can be expected from Germany, Neo-Nazism is becoming increasingly influential and active. As the SPIEGEL points out, ‘arson attacks and racist assaults by right-wing extremists are part of everyday life in parts of Germany’ today.
One of the people who suffered due to neo-Nazi violence is Haci D., who run a döner kebab stand in Blankenfelde. Neo-Nazis ‘celebrated’ Hitler’s birthday by burning it to the ground. On 20 April, Haci had lost his livelihood.
And why? Because he isn’t white, nor German by birth. He’s a Turkish immigrant, and neo-Nazis aren’t very fond of those.
Haci had tried to get an insurance for his kebab stand, but insurance companies told him no. The reason? Kebab stands are likely to fall victim to neo-Nazis. Neo-Nazi violence has become so ‘normal’ that insurance companies already refuse to insure foreigners.
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
(more…) 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.
And they’re not only attacking foreigners; they’re also attacking and intimidating progressives. They are trying to take entire neighborhoods and villages over and, at this moment, their strategy seems to be working.
I’ve said this numerous times in the past, but I will say it again: Nazism, hatred for others, is such an integral part of German culture, and history, that I don’t quite see how they will ever be able to rid themselves of it. No, the danger of radicalism will always exist in Germany. It has something to do with the national psyche.
