‘They call us Nazis’: inside the wealthy German town where the far right is on the rise
‘They call us Nazis’: inside the wealthy German town where the far right is on the rise
Counter rallies in Kaufbeuren show split between supporters of AfD and locals who acknowledge the Bavarian town’s Nazi past
Counter rallies in Kaufbeuren show split between supporters of AfD and locals who acknowledge the Bavarian town’s Nazi past
Soaring church spires, the 1,000-year-old town centre unblemished by second world war bombing or graffiti, snow-capped Alps in the middle distance – Kaufbeuren, in Bavaria, can count many blessings.
Unemployment is in the low single digits, the Luftwaffe backed away from plans to move its training school for Eurofighter and Tornado jet technicians elsewhere and crime is at a historic low.
However, as voters prepare to elect a new European parliament next month, deep-seated fears have gripped a significant share of the electorate in one of the most affluent pockets of Europe’s top economy and delivered it to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).
The bond between the party and its voters appears unshaken even by a cascade of recent scandals. The AfD’s lead candidate for the election, Maximilian Krah, was forced by his party leadership on Wednesday to resign from its board and stop campaigning after he told Italy’s La Repubblica that the SS, the Nazi paramilitary force which ran the death camps, were not all criminals and could only be judged on the basis of “individual guilt”.
“It’s a catastrophe – the worst government we ever had,” said civil servant Manuela, 55, who was from a neighbouring town and, like most of the AfD supporters, declined to give her surname. She brought her teenage daughter to the rally. Despite the low rates of violent crime, she said her family no longer felt safe on the streets due to “Islamists”.
Anti-AfD activists booed and whistled from the sidelines as Krah addressed the rally. Manuela said: “They call us Nazis just because we’re patriots. The world laughs at us because no country is as dumb as Germany, with our exaggerated tolerance and diversity. They’ve been telling us for decades we should carry this guilt, and so we should rescue the whole world and be its dole office.”
Hey Manuela from paragraph two, you should talk to Manuela from paragraph one.
Also... Manuela. Is that a German name?
Manuela is a very German name, so much so a German rapper actually made a song about it.
But of course its origin isn't Germanic at all. Which I doubt people with such convictions care about.
Manuela or Manuéla is a feminine Portuguese, Spanish and Italian given name. The name is a variant of the masculine "Manuel", which is in turn derived from the Hebrew name "Emanuel", meaning "God is with us".[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuela_(given_name)
Sounds like that German rapper doesn't believe in German purity.
Edit: I posted this before the person above edited their post.
It's as German as Mercedes is!
Well you see consistency is a requirement for my opponents. \s
Hey Manuela from paragraph two, you should talk to Manuela from paragraph one.
Pointing out that this idiocy only works with a massive amount of cognitive dissonance is nothing new...
If youre a german citizen and you're far-right , you're as nazi as it gets
Like the recent event in Sylt. You can easily find the Nazi sympathisers wherever the rich gather.
More so in the lower classes. Handymen and the likes.
"they call us nazis" - literal nazis
Isn't Nazi anything super illegal in Germany?
Yes. But the state still has to prove that what you did was a) a Nazi thing and b) that you either knew or should have known it was so.
So if you show the Hitler salute, you'll be arrested and fined. If you give a speech in which you suggest that immigrants need to learn "the liberating power of work" (referencing the Motto of Auschwitz "Arbeit macht Frei" "Work makes Free") that is totally fine.
The German right wingers usually knew to ride the edge, ie not show illegal symbols or do illegal chants while still making it obvious. But they’re getting more cheeky because of all the encouragement from Russia, Trump, Musk, etc.
Saying bad things about israel is super illegal in Germany. Actual antisemitism isn't.
This is not true. All forms of antisemitic speech are prohibited in Germany, and it is enforced.
Yes, German authorities have been silencing pro-Palestine protesters, and falsely imply that they are being antisemitic. It's an assault against free speech and human rights.
No, this does not mean that whatever hyperbolic thing you say about Germany in response must be true.
Yeah. Nazi is the wrong word. The AfD people make politics in favor of Russia and China. Traitor is a better word.
The NSDAP had no issues working with Russia, as long as it was in their interest.
That guy taking a selfie definitely is a so called “Russo-German”, ie a Russian person with German ancestors. Germany (unfortunately) allowed many of these people to obtain German citizenship with no real background check. Now it turns out that a majority of them love Putin and look down on Western values. These jokers all vote far-right and even drive around with huge “Z” symbols on their 4th hand Audis.
Yep, in their mind Russia is great and is the future. Meanwhile, countries west of them are decadent and temporary.
...while they enjoy the freedoms and economic opportunities, and in the case of Germany, high-grade social security of those Western countries they hate so much.
There are enough Nazis in Germany without having to blame a minority of Russian born ones tbh
Minority or not, they are a huge problem because Putin is using Russian minorities in other countries as a pretext to invade claiming they're being unfairly treated. That's a separate problem from them being Neonazis, of course, but it adds up. And they are not only Neo-Nazi followers, but agitators, so they are more guilty than your run-of-the-mill AfD NPC.
It's better we have them put under extreme scrutiny, similar to the other Neonazi groups which are being observed by the authorities.
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To be fair, not all right-wingers are Nazis and it's not helpful to draw them as equals.
But right-wingers can and do use Nazis when they are useful to their political goals, which is still to rip us off.
Not all right-wingers are Nazis. Doesn't mean they're not evil.
As someone who is white, but 0% German, I wonder how things would be if I traveled to Germany and spent some time living in that country. I read another article on Lemmy that said Germans were in a bar, chanting “Germany for the Germans. Foreigners out.” I’ve been called “Nazi” plenty of times on Lemmy because people have disagreed with my views on things like the war in Gaza. I wonder if Germans would think I was just another German there, or if they’d want me to leave.
Its like in most western countries in my experience.
If you go into a bar in any decent sized city, nobody will bat an eye no matter who you are or what you look like. Once you go to the countryside or into specific bars run by assholes, it gets less clear. Thats not to say all country side people are nazis, but just more conservative on average.
Also being able to speak the local language usually makes people accept you much quicker wherever you go in the world.
Also being able to speak the local language usually makes people accept you much quicker wherever you go in the world.
As someone bilingual who lives in a non-english speaking country, this has gotten me into many places that other english speaking foreigners have missed out on. People love it when you speak their own language to them, even if you aren’t completely fluent.
Also being able to speak the local language usually makes people accept you much quicker wherever you go in the world.
This is triply true for Germany if you speak the local variety, or at least have a noticeable local accent.
Hey I'm a white immigrant in Germany! I was accepted as a waitress in the shooting club events in German villages and also in Karneval tents so it's possible. But then there's always one drunk old German suggesting I just moved here for the social systems.
The longer all the other parties bury their head in the sand about immigration the more the far right gains votes.
It's one of the biggest issues for people in the West but the left like to pretend none of the real negatives exist.
Would be good to see a left leaning party care about immigration.
You know that immigration is a net positive for every western nation right? People coming to a country wanting to make a new life contribute to a its society and economy. They also help populations keep growing as birthrates are falling. It would be nice to see these sorts of arguments made more though, if that's what you mean?
You say that, but have you lived it? I go to anti-AfD protests but I'm still sick of having to walk through neighborhoods where all the women are in headscarves and the teenagers and young men always trying to grope and rob you. There's an ugly side to immigration that the left does not want to address.
You know that immigration is a net positive for every western nation right?
That's an intentionally misleading statement and is said in bad faith because you can use some stats to make it look like it is good but the full picture can tell a completely different story. But some people like this narrative and stick with it no matter what.
It depends what you value. If you only care about increasing GDP, keeping business strong by reducing wages, increasing population and increasing rent and land values then yes. Though GDP has been shown to decrease even with record high immigration so that's great.
If you care about GDP per capita, or even better Discretionary income then no. If you care about crime the or tax contribution then governments that have released the data show some countries are much better than others.
You can say all these XXXjobs are filled because we don't have enough at home. But the issue is we don't hire enough, there aren't enough places to fill the jobs so we are forced to get foreigners in from our own policies. Wouldn't we we better educating and investing in our own people, rather than giving the job they want and can do to another person? If you value culture immigration can be bad.
It's such a varied topic but the left has a mantra:
"Immigration is good from any country in the world and if you have any reservations what so ever you're racist".
Nothing else matters. The conversation is so horrifically closed down by the left that anyone that thinks lowering immigration is good for the country has to look at the fair right.
And that is why you do not use things like calling someone a Nazi inflationary. It has the exact opposite effect.
if being incorrectly called a nazi makes you be a nazi, you weren't incorrectly called a nazi.