New Book Reveals Secret Meaning of Neo-Nazi Codes - 06/27/2011

If you were at a German soccer game and saw fans holding up the numbers 14 and 88 in cardboard numerals, you might imagine them to be, say, the shirt numbers of fans' favorite players. But you'd be wrong. In fact, the numbers hold a much more sinister meaning: They are actually neo-Nazi symbols.

It's just one example of how right-wing extremists in Germany use hidden codes to get around a legal ban on Nazi symbols such as the swastika. Very few people know the real meaning of such codes, says Michael Weiss, a German expert on right-wing extremism.

Very few people know the real meaning of such codes, says Michael Weiss, a German expert on right-wing extremism who is one of the authors of the brochure. Nordic-style symbols, as seen on the back of this man's jacket and as a tattoo on his arm, are also popular with right-wing extremists.

Openly Nazi symbols such as the swastika are banned in Germany. Neo-Nazis get around the law by using secret combinations of letter and numbers such as 14 and 88. A new book, "Das Versteckspiel" ("Hide and Seek"), explains the meaning of such codes. Here, a right-wing extremism with tattoos including the number 14 and the "white power" fist logo.

Here, a right-wing extremist in Berlin wears a shirt featuring the inscription "Frontbann 24," the name of an organization that was banned in 2009. The name is inspired by a Nazi organization that was founded in 1924.

The ancient symbol of the triskelion is also used by right-wing extremists. The clothing label Fred Perry, which made the polo shirt seen here, has long been popular with skinheads of all political persuasions and is worn by some German neo-Nazis. The firm has taken pains to distance itself from the scene.

The number 8 is also a common neo-Nazi symbol. Extremists use it to stand in for the letter H, for Hitler. Here the combination spells out the word "hate." Max H8 is a German streetwear label.

Some neo-Nazis have co-opted imagery previously used by the left-wing. The flag symbols here looks similar to those used by German anti-fascists.

The demonstrator holding the bullhorn is sporting the Black Sun or sunwheel symbol, which is popular with neo-Nazis, on his vest (2006 photo). The man on the right appears to have pieces of adhesive tape on his hoodie, which he could be using to conceal banned symbols.

Some neo-Nazis have taken to wearing the kaffiyeh scarf (seen on the right), a symbol of Palestinian nationalism, "as a symbol of struggle against Israel," says Weiss.

 Here, a right-wing extremist (holding flag) has clearly been inspired by Adolf Hitler's personal look. The man next to him is wearing a T-shirt from the clothing firm Masterrace Europe, whose products are worn by neo-Nazis.

Thor Steinar is one of several German clothing labels associated with neo-Nazis.

 Thor Steinar is one of several German clothing labels associated with neo-Nazis.

 ... to these left-wing demonstrators protesting against a neo-Nazi rally in Dresden.

Weiss, who has been researching right-wing clothing and symbols for 10 years, is one of the authors of a new brochure titled "Das Versteckspiel" ("Hide and Seek"). The publication, which is aimed at teachers, social workers and youth group leaders, is designed to raise awareness of right-wing codes, which are often displayed at football games. "We want the soccer teams and the major fan clubs to be able to recognize the codes," Weiss told SPIEGEL.

Secret Codes 'Everywhere'

The brochure, which is published by a Berlin-based anti-racism group, Agentur für Soziale Perspektiven, lists 150 codes that are used by right-wing extremists, including certain clothing labels such as Thor Steinar and letter and number combinations. According to Weiss, the number 14 is a reference to the so-called "14 Words," a phrase coined by the American white separatist David Lane ("We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children"). The meaning behind "88" -- often found in conjunction with 14 -- is slightly more complicated. Here, the number eight stands for the eighth letter of the alphabet, forming "HH" -- an abbreviation for "Heil Hitler," a phrase which is banned in Germany. Similarly, the number 28 signifies "BH," standing for "Blood and Honour," a far-right network that was banned in Germany in 2000.

The secret code numbers can be found "everywhere," says Weiss, including on license plates, tattoos and on signs at football games. "There are fans who travel 400 kilometers (250 miles) to a game just to hold up the four numbers that form 1488," he says.

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, estimated that in 2009 -- the most recent year for which figures are available -- there were 195 far-right organizations in the country with around 26,000 members. The agency can shut down Kameradschaften, gangs or brotherhoods which are deemed violent. But many other groups in the neo-Nazi scene -- such as rock bands with suggestive lyrics or clothing companies with coded symbols -- often fly under the legal radar, provided they don't openly display symbols like swastikas or explicitly support Adolf Hitler or his party.

Borrowing Symbols

The number of codes has increased since the first edition of the brochure was published in 2001. That publication only listed around 100 symbols. "The image of neo-Nazis is much more diverse today," says Weiss. Right-wing extremists used to wear bomber jackets and have skinheads, he explains, but now their style incorporates elements from pop and rock culture. "Now they have piercings," he says.

Similarly, old symbols are given new meanings, Weiss explains, giving the example of the kaffiyeh scarf, a symbol of Palestinian nationalism. "That is used nowadays simply as a symbol of struggle against Israel," says Weiss, pointing out that neo-Nazis ignore the broader meaning of the garment when they co-opt it as a symbol.

The increasingly diverse image of right-wing extremists mean that neo-Nazis can often blend in at left-wing demonstrations or in a sports stadium, Weiss explains. "The problem is that many of these people no longer stand out."

Source: Spiegel

Neo-Nazi Victim Battling to the Death - 09/29/2006

By Roman Heflik in Birmingham

Noel Martin plans to take his own life in less than a year. Just over 10 years ago, a neo-Nazi attack left him paralyzed from the neck down. He plans to fight right-wing extremists to the very end.

Noel Martin has already chosen July 23, 2007 to be the day he dies. On that evening, his pulse will gradually slow down until it stops completely. He has decided to die as a result of a lethal blend of drugs -- administered in Switzerland by Dignitas, an organization that offers its clients medically assisted suicide.

Noel Martin has only 297 days left. But time, he says, is also limited for the neo-Nazis who ruined his life.

Martin publicly announced his decision in June, 10 years after the attack that left him paralyzed and destroyed his will to live. He plans to celebrate his last birthday -- he'll be 48 –- and then drink the cocktail that will put him out of his misery.

He has 297 days left.

The attack occurred on June 16, 1996 in Mahlow, a town in the former East German state of Brandenburg where the dark-skinned, Jamaican-born Briton was employed as a construction worker. A stone crashed through the windshield of his car and Martin's car veered off the road. He remembers seeing a tree careening towards him and jerking the steering wheel.

And then, a thud. Darkness.

When Martin woke up, he was lying on his back. He heard a voice. "Can you feel my hand on your leg?" it asked him. "But you're not touching my leg," Martin replied.

"I am not a part of life. I just exist"

Two young Germans, Sandro R. and Mario P., had thrown a lump of concrete at Martin's car. They were 17 and 24 years old at the time and their motive was "explicit xenophobia," as a court later determined. They were sentenced to five and eight years in prison. Noel Martin never got an apology, but by now he doesn't care any more. "It would be a waste of time. God will take care of them," he says, "life will take care of them." Both of his attackers are now free. But Martin is still imprisoned –- in his own body.

The attack left Noel Martin paralyzed from the neck down. "I am not a part of life," he says, 10 years and three months later, "I just exist." At home in Birmingham, he leans his heavy head against the headrest of his giant wheelchair. He fixes his weary eyes on his interviewer. "Everything has to be figured out by your head. It's torture, mental torture," he sighs. Martin will never be able to move his arms or legs again and he'll never be able to feel what his fingertips touch. He'll never have sex again, never go to the toilet by himself. Nor will he ever feel his own heartbeat.

Martin feels comparatively happy this afternoon. He was up at 8:00 and it only took until noon for him to be washed, massaged, and dressed.

Mornings aren't always this easy. Sometimes his ulcers bleed and bleed, until his dark face goes ashen and his eyes fall shut from sheer exhaustion. Sometimes his nurses slap his face to wake him up again. They have to slap his face –- that's the only part of his body that Noel Martin can still feel.

Losing control of your body hurts

On this particular afternoon, the idea of death seems absurd. Warm rays of sun shine through the garden window, casting patterns of light on the living room carpet. He looks around at the gilt moulding between the high ceiling and the green walls, at the heavy wooden furniture, the red leather couch and his television. There's a little fire place built into one wall. His huge old desk is covered with photo albums and sheets of paper. Dozens of birthday cards line the cornice along the wall. The room is full of life. This is Martin's kingdom. This is where he spends almost every day.

His wheelchair is in the middle of the room. His nurses have dressed him in black trousers and a casual black sweater. His roundish paunch protrudes underneath the sweater. "I used to be fit," Martin says. "I used to run in the mornings. Then I would do sit-ups. I did kung-fu and boxing too." Today he's plagued by chills and hot flashes. His broad shoulders have gone slack. He still has some control over his right shoulder –- which allows him to operate his wheelchair with a joystick and use his phone. Apart from that, Martin needs the assistance of his eight nurses for everything else.

They keep an eye on him 24 hours a day. Even now, a small woman with a blonde ponytail is standing in the doorway. "Cath, give me some wine please," Martin says. The nurse reaches him a glass of chilled white wine. He drinks it through a straw. "Good. Give me a cigarette please," he says. Cathy puts one in his mouth and lights it. Martin takes a drag. Then Cathy removes the cigarette from his mouth –- until he wants to take another drag.

This constant dependence on other people is agony for Martin. "I can never be alone." The self-confident man suffers from his loss of control. Suddenly he twists his face into a grimace –- he can't stand it anymore. "Cath, scratch please." The nurse wipes his face with a towel. This will happen about 10 times before the afternoon is over.

"You can't suffer every day of your life"

Jacqueline, his strong-willed wife, used to take care of him. She died of cancer six years ago. Two days before she passed away, they married at Jacqueline's sickbed -- after having lived together for 18 years. Martin says he spent 36 hours with her after their marriage before she fell into a coma. "I miss her every day," he says. His voice, which normally sounds so resolute, cracks. He can see her grave outside in the garden.

After the attack, he promised Jacqueline to try and hold on for eight years. On the evening of July 23, 2007, 11 years will have passed since the event that changed his life forever.

Martin's announcement that he plans to commit suicide has caused an uproar. The phone rang constantly for days. "The only one who didn't call was God," he jokes. Countless journalists asked him for an interview and outraged Christians urged him not to commit such a sin. But Martin says he doesn't need their advice. "Cath, cigarette please." He takes a deep drag and says that "99 percent of them" would already have "ended it all" years ago, in his situation. What does he think about other handicapped people who want to "end it all"? "Suffering is individual," he replies. "And you can't suffer every day." No, he says, he's not afraid to die. "No one escapes death anyway." He seems relaxed now –- almost cheerful. These are thoughts he has often thought.

Neo-Nazis are already celebrating the imminent death of the man they despise in their Internet forums. After all, the attack gave rise to an unprecedented campaign against xenophobia. Citizens in Mahlow spontaneously started up a local project called "Tolerant Mahlow." Martin returned to the city in 2001 and he called on its citizens to continue to stand up for the rights of others. He also established a charitable foundation against xenophobia.

Right-wing extremists, for their part, see it as a provocation that he is still alive. One of their Internet forums features a post by a neo-Nazi urging Martin to burn himself alive on a market square, noting that this would save money. The author of the post adds that he would be "happy to donate the gasoline." What does Martin think about the neo-Nazis? "Foolish people who know nothing about life. They love white skin, but they lie down in the sun to get a tan." He says to let them talk –- after all, there is such a thing as freedom of speech. "I wasn't afraid of them then, and I'm not afraid of them now," he says.

Noel Martin hasn't yet turned his back on life

Black people still aren't safe in Brandenburg today, 10 years after the attack on Noel Martin. "The government should make sure everyone can go wherever they want and be safe," he says. Martin knows how far-reaching the problem is. The first time he heard the word "nigger" was decades ago, back home, in the British industrial town of Birmingham.

And so Martin wants to make the most of the time that's left before the evening of July 23, 2007. His nurses, Cathy and Charity, spread out sheets of paper on the carpet. Martin discusses his appointments with the two nurses and makes a few phone calls. He hasn't turned his back on life yet. He's working on his book and in October he has a meeting with Brandenburg's governor, Matthias Platzeck in London. Later, he wants to return to Mahlow another time.

"I want to tell people they should stop apologizing for their past. They should just teach their children the value of life," he says. He's sure to receive public attention now –- and Martin is using it to support his foundation and other projects.

The right-wing extremists may well celebrate his death as a late triumph, but Noel Martin takes a very different view. "I have some bad news for those people," Martin says. He raises his head and his voice as if he were preparing to give a speech: "Of the 6 billion people in the world, 5 billion are people of color. Sooner or later they'll all mix." He grins. "Who knows? Maybe the children of these Nazis will marry a black man or a black woman one day?"

He likes the idea. The Nazis are running out of time –- with or without Noel Martin.

Source:  Spiegel

Indians Express Concern about Visiting Germany - 08/29/2007

The attacks on eight Indians in eastern Germany 10 days ago shocked many back home. Now the German embassy in New Dehli is being inundated with calls from prospective visitors to Germany who want to know what risks they face.

Following the vicious attack on eight of their compatriots in eastern Germany just over a week ago, Indians planning a visit to Germany are concerned about the risks they may be facing. Many have been contacting the German embassy in New Dehli to find out exactly where so-called "No-Go" areas they should avoid are located.

Their anxiety follows events in Mügeln, a town in the Eastern German state of Saxony, on Aug. 19, when eight Indians were chased and attacked by a mob of over 50 people shouting "Foreigners Out!" during a street party. The eight men eventually found refuge in a pizzeria, but the crowd broke inside and began beating them. It took 70 police to disperse the crowds.

Mügeln was the scene of an attack on eight Indians on Aug. 19. Now their compatriots want to know where else to avoid in Germany.

In the aftermath of these ugly scenes the Indian government expressed its alarm to the Berlin government. "We have requested that the German authorities take action to address this issue and prevent future incidents of the kind," Indian Foreign Ministry spokesman Navtej Sarna said in a statement last week.

Volker Kauder, the parliamentary leader of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats, is currently in New Dehli for talks with the Indian government and he admitted that the events in Mügeln were viewed with much concern there. Speaking to the Rheinsiche Post newspaper he said: "Our embassy has received many inquires about where the so-called 'No-Go' areas for foreign visitors are in Germany." Kauder pointed out that Indians are, however, making an effort not to play up the incident: "The Indians recognize that these events in Mügeln are not the rule in Germany." Kauder added that Chancellor Merkel's clear condemnation of the attacks had done a lot to calm the situation.

According to Saxony's state prosecutor, 82 witnesses have so far been interviewed in connection with the Mügeln attack and the police confirmed on Tuesday that they are investigating seven suspects. The state police chief Bernd Merbitz told the Associated Press that the actions had not been committed by a particular extreme-right group. Nonetheless, he said, the chanting of slogans such as "Foreigners Out!" and "Germany for Germans" constituted a xenophobic criminal offence.

The incident has prompted some politicians, including the leader of the Social Democrats Kurt Beck, to call for the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) to be banned. A 2003 bid to do exactly that failed due to strict legal obstacles to banning political parties in Germany. Since then the NPD has managed to enter two state parliaments in eastern Germany: Saxony in 2004, with 9.2 percent of the vote, and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania in 2006 with 7.3 percent.

Source: http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,502654,00.html

Mügeln Mayor Slammed for Trivializing Racist Attack - 08/31/2007

Two weeks after eight Indians were attacked by a mob in the Eastern German town of Mügeln, its mayor can't see what all the fuss is about. Leading politicians are shocked that he continues to downplay the incident and there are calls for his resignation.

The reverberations following the racist attack on eight Indians in the Eastern German town of Mügeln two weeks ago are still being felt in Germany. Politicians from across the spectrum reacted with anger after Mügeln Mayor Gotthard Deuse complained that a media campaign had been whipped up against the town and criticized leading politicians for their "malicious" comments. His own party, the business friendly Free Democrats, is distancing itself from him and there are calls for him to resign.

Mügeln Mayor Gotthard Deuse feels his town is the victim of a poisonous media campaign. As far as he is concerned there's no right-wing extremism in the town.

There was widespread revulsion in Germany and beyond after eight Indian men were chased through the streets of Mügeln by a mob of 50 people on Aug. 19. The men took refuge in a pizzeria as the crowd chanted "Foreigners Out!" and "Germany for Germans," before breaking in and beating up the men inside.

In a classic example of pouring oil onto the fire Deuse, in an interview given to the right-wing Young Freedom newspaper, complained about the rush to judge his town in what he called a "media campaign." He completely denied that there was a problem with right-wing extremism in the town and accused politicians like Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee -- who is also responsible for overseeing development in former East Germany, of making uninformed "populist" comments about the attacks.

Tiefensee had already warned against belittling the events in Mügeln and he hit back at Deuse on Friday, telling the Rheinische Post that "citizens and groups had to be courageous in tackling extreme-right tendencies. Looking away and downplaying the problem is exactly the wrong thing to do."

Tiefensee pointed out that the radical right was stronger in the former East Germany than it was in the West. "There is an historic lack of exposure to immigration and cultural diversity," he said, while admitting that the difficult job market plays a role in radicalization. But the Social Democrat politician insisted that this didn’t justify "threats and acts of violence against foreigners or anyone else."

Deuse, who has been mayor of Mügeln for the past 17 years, had already insisted that there was no far-right scene in the town. In his interview he complained about the "poisonous" attacks on the town and accused some politicians of not knowing what they were talking about and of being either ignorant or "deliberately malicious." He regretted that Germans were not allowed show their own national pride and said "I am proud to be a German."

Leading politicians from the Social Democrats (SPD) and Green Party have demanded Deuse resign as mayor, while his party has tried to distance itself from the mayor and his remarks.

SPD member Sebastian Edathy, who is chairman of the parliamentary domestic affairs committee told the Mitteldeutsche Zeitung "Mr. Deuse should ask himself whether he can be of any more use in his position. I have my doubts." Green Party parliamentary leader Renate Künast declared: "The mayor of Mügeln has to go!" The Left Party's deputy parliamentary leader Bodo Ramelow said that he had the impression that the mayor was "xenophobic deep down."

As for the FDP, General Secretary Dirk Niebel said Deuse is responsible for his own words and insisted: "There can be no relativization when it comes to acts of violence and xenophobic attitudes. That is the basis of an open-minded and tolerant society for all democrats."

Source: Spiegel

Neo-Nazis Attack Theater Group in Eastern German Town - 06/12/2007

A group of actors were beaten up by neo-Nazis in the eastern German city of Halberstadt and have accused the police of being slow to respond. The region's premier says he is appalled by the attack.

A group of actors who were attacked and injured by neo-Nazis in the eastern city of Halberstadt on Friday night have accused the police of handling their case too hesitantly.

The theater group of 14 actors were on their way to a pub after a debut performance on Friday when they were attacked and beaten up by eight far-right youths. Several of the victims had teeth knocked out and required medical treatment for broken noses, injured ribs and jaws and eye injuries.

Far-right extremists attacked the actors because one of them had a punk hairstyle, newspaper reports said.

Police failed to arrest the 22-year-old main assailant even though he returned to the scene while the victims were being questioned, a regional government official said. "The man was checked by police but released before they found out about his prior convictions," Rüdiger Erben, interior ministry secretary for the state of Saxony-Anhalt, told Mitteldeutsche Zeitung newspaper.

The man, a known neo-Nazi, was arrested again on Sunday evening. Police are still searching for seven other assailants.

A number of people witnessed the attack and did nothing to help. The theater group had just finished a performance of the "Rocky Horror Picture Show" and one of the actors had a punk hairstyle in keeping with his role. That appears to have been enough to provoke the neo-Nazis they came across, newspaper reports said.

The premier of Saxony-Anhalt, Wolfgang Böhmer, said he was appalled by the case.

"It's a sad fact that far-right extremists are becoming increasingly brutal. If people are attacked and injured just because of their appearance it's an appalling crime," Böhmer said.

Source: Spiegel

Family Escapes Small Town Xenophobia - 04/05/2008

By Philipp Wittrock in Rudolstadt

Insulted, spat at and attacked -- by ordinary Germans. Unable to bear the daily racism, a pastor's family fled from a small town in eastern Germany back to the their former home in the west.

Sometime last year, Miriam Neuschäfer, who has dark skin because her mother is Indian, decided it was time to record the daily instances of racism she and her family were suffering. The 32-year-old mother of five and wife of a German clergyman wrote down her encounters with the citizens of Rudolstadt, a small town in the eastern German state of Thuringia.

"It helped me work through it," she says, "and some day I want the children to understand everything that happened to us."

A slight woman, Neuschäfer sits at her kitchen table, flipping through the yellow file. She constantly shakes her head. Ten pages filled with black writing. She has more just like it in a drawer -- perhaps 50, she estimates.

Reiner Neuschäfer with his five children. The mother, Miriam, is half Indian.

When she first started she would write in full sentences but ended up just jotting down bullet points. The files are a disturbing account of the events that drove the family out of Rudolstadt after spending almost eight years trying and failing to get on with the locals. They have moved back to western Germany, to the town of Erkelenz in the Rhineland where they are not subject to daily abuse.

She could no longer stand the racism, the hostile comments from everyday citizens, the feeling that she was hated in her own country. "It was an escape," she says. "It was a matter of survival."

Neuschäfer grew up in the Lower Rhine region of Germany, studied theology and speaks perfect German. Her husband, Reiner Andreas Neuschäfer, 40, is a pastor. In 2000, he was offered the position as schools administrator for the southern Thuringia region.

It was an attractive job, and the family had no qualms about moving east. The Neuschäfers and their two young children moved to Rudolstadt, a former royal retreat in a pretty valley near Erfurt. It's a small town with 25,000 residents. A family would find its footing and make new friends in a place like this, they thought.

But the Neuschäfers remained strangers in Thuringia.

From the beginning, says Reiner, the family sensed major "cultural differences." They found it hard to get to know people and the few friends they did make had also come from western Germany. They felt isolated. But they didn't lose heart. Perhaps, they thought, they had just misread the local character. After all, even native Thuringians admit they have a tendency to be grumpy and aren't the easiest people to please.

It will work out in the end, thought the Neuschäfers. But it didn't. In fact, things started to get worse.

The Neuschäfers began to sense something more profound than just cool distance. "We could sit here for hours, and I could just keep coming up with examples," says Miriam, as she browses through her accounts of hate and animosity.

"Your Skin Isn't Right"

The alarm bells first went off in 2002 during a conversation with the kindergarten teacher of Jannik, the oldest son, who is now 10 years old. The conversation suddenly turned to the issue of integration. "Your skin isn't right," the other children said to him. It got so bad that Jannik tried to scrub his skin white with a coarse brush.

According to the parents, when Jannik went to grade school later, the teasing continued. "Mom, what's a nigger?" the young boy asked at home. His classmates had taunted him, saying: "You are this brown because you rubbed shit all over yourself." One day, nine school mates reportedly beat Jannik up on the playground so badly that Reiner called the police. The school administration scolded the small boys who had roughed him up.

The second-oldest daughter, Fenja, who is now eight, also came home with stories of being bullied. And the mother, Miriam, had her own harassment experiences, too. She recalls how an elderly gentleman in a supermarket said: "Amazing the kind of people they let shop here" as she and her children walked past. "Go back to the jungle!" she remembers another man yelling at her once. She was in a parking lot and hadn't closed her car door fast enough for his liking as he tried to pull his car into the adjacent spot.

Less Than Helpful Authorities

It wasn't long before just being stared at by people started to get to Miriam. "I just kept my eyes on the ground and counted the paving stones, she says. It wasn't long before she stopped venturing out of her house on her own.

Even when she was accompanied with her large and powerfully built husband or with the few friends they had, Miriam and the children sensed people's animosity. Whenever the family showed up at a busy playground, it would empty out abruptly. "In glorious sunshine," according to the mother. One day a teenager spat at her as she walked through a park with an acquaintance, she says.

"Spat at? I can't imagine that," says Georg Eger, the deputy mayor, vigorously shaking his head in his office on the second floor of the Rudolstadt town hall. He raises his finger and continues: "I even rule that out." City spokesman Michael Wagner tries to soften that categoric statement a little. Of course, one can't vouch for every single citizen, he says.

There's a whole lot of head shaking in Rudolstadt's town hall these days. "We've been steamrolled," Eger says. Steamrolled by reports about the Neuschäfers' flight from the xenophobia of some of Rudolstadt's inhabitants.

Crisis management is what is called for now, says the spokesman. He adds that he is drafting a public statement by the city in response to the matter. Every sentence counts. The example of Mügeln made that clear. In that small town in Saxony, in August 2007, a drunken mob attacked a group of Indian men after a confrontation at a street festival. The group shouted racist taunts, but Mügeln's mayor played down the problem and blamed the violence on visitors from out of town.

Fear of the Mügeln Effect

Like Mügeln, Rudolstadt is worried about its reputation. In recent years the city has fought an uphill battle to improve its image. In 1992, after 2,000 neo-Nazis marched here in memory of Hitler's deputy Rudolf Hess, the town was labelled a bastion of the far right. Today, Rudolstadt's inhabitants proudly point out that the town is home to Germany's largest world music festival, which draws 10,000 people from all over the world each year.

Now the town's administration fears its reputation is slipping again. The mayor's office has received hundreds of hate e-mails. Their message: "We won't be returning to Rudolstadt."

The town has to walk a fine line. It has to fight against the blanket judgment that it is a nest of xenophobia, but it must also avoid publicly dismissing the Neuschäfers' claims as being made-up stories. At times, the latter is particularly hard. The deputy mayor speaks of "schoolyard scuffles." The mayor intends to meet Reiner Neuschäfer soon to clear up the matter as soon as possible. Until then, he'll ask around about something that he never cared to hear about before. He'll talk to the police, who confirm the Neuschäfers filed two legal complaints. And he'll talk with the school, which is currently defending itself against the accusation that it didn't do enough to help.

The Neuschäfers say they aren't bitter, that this is not about stigmatizing eastern Germany or Rudolstadt. They did not seek out the publicity. The story of their flight from Thuringia leaked out gradually, reaching the press by coincidence.

Miriam and her children finally moved to Erkelenz last October. At first it was just intended as a vacation, as rest and recuperation. But it became an "act of liberation". They found they couldn't bring themselves to return to Rudolstadt.

Miriam and her children Jannik, Fenja, Ronja, Jarrit and Jannis Neuschäfer are enjoying life in their former home. Their father is still looking for a job back in the Rhineland. For now, every weekend he drives the 430 kilometers (267 miles) between Erkelenz, where he spends time with his family, and Rudolstadt, where he sleeps during the week on a mattress in their empty flat.

At the moment, he is on vacation. Next Tuesday, he will drive back to Thuringia for the first time since the accusations of racism were made public. He has "mixed feelings" about the looming trip, he says. He knows "it could be a gauntlet."

Source: Spiegel

Neo-Nazi Shooting Spree - 07/17/2007

A gang of right-wing extremists invaded a beach in Eastern Germany on Sunday, shouting racist abuse at day-trippers, making the banned Hitler salute and shooting a submachine gun into the air.

It was a perfect afternoon to go to the lake. Finally, after weeks of cold and rain, Germany on the weekend was bathed in warm sunlight. A Sunday at the water was just the thing.

But day-trippers relaxing by the Krakower See in the Eastern German state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania got a bit more than they bargained for on Sunday. A horde of right-wing extremists arrived on the scene shouting racist slogans, making the banned Hitler salute -- and shooting a submachine gun into the air. Beach bathers were terrified by the seeming invasion.

Neo-Nazis have become a lasting problem in some parts of Eastern Germany.

According to the police, six men and one woman drove to the lake in a pick-up truck where they yelled racists slogans and verbally abused the families bathing there, most of whom were ethnic Germans who had moved to Germany from Eastern Europe following the collapse of communism. Such immigrants, many of whom speak only poor German despite their background, are often targeted by right-wing radicals.

The extremists some of whom were drunk, then shot a submachine gun into the air at least 17 times, according to the police. The ordeal only came to an end when a few of the men at the beach succeeded in overpowering the neo-Nazis and holding them down until the police arrived.

The seven suspects, who range in age from 21 to 29, were charged with breaking firearms law and making the banned Hitler salute.

The state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania is something of a stronghold for the extreme right. Germany's far-right National Democratic Party (NPD) won 7.3 percent in elections there in September 2006, crossing the 5 percent threshold and securing six seats in the state legislature. And there has been a number of incidents of neo-Nazis insulting or attacking holiday-makers in the state in recent years.

Racism Warning Has German Hackles Raised - 05/18/2006

On Wednesday, a former government spokesman said black visitors to Germany should be careful where they go in the country. His remarks have drawn criticism -- and support.

It doesn't take much to try Germany's patience in the weeks leading up to the World Cup soccer championships. Nerves are especially raw when it comes to comments and incidents that cast doubt on the country's hospitality and its openness to the millions of international guests expected to descend on the country in June. On Wednesday and Thursday, that sensitivity was laid bare for all to see.

Former government spokesman Uwe-Karsten Heye says some parts of Germany are dangerous for foreigners.

A former government spokesman on Wednesday suggested that dark-skinned visitors to Germany should consider avoiding the eastern part of the country where racism runs high. "There are small and medium-sized towns in Brandenburg, as well as elsewhere, which I would advise a visitor of another skin colour to avoid going to," said Uwe-Karsten Heye, who now leads an anti-racism organization called "Show Your Color." "It is possible he wouldn't get out alive."

The comments came as part of an interview with the public radio station Deutschlandradio Kultur about how right-wing extremism and racism can be combated in Germany. Heye also said there was an increasing tendency in the country to look the other way when it comes to right-wing violence. His comments about "no-go" areas in Germany came as a response to a question about whether tourists from Togo or the Ivory Coast should feel comfortable travelling anywhere in Germany.

But by specifically mentioning Brandenburg, the eastern German state surrounding Berlin, Heye ensured a swift reaction. The governor of Brandenburg, Matthias Platzeck, called Heye's statements an "unjustifiable slandering of entire regions within Brandenburg." The state's Interior Minister Jörg Schönbohm demanded Heye's resignation from "Show Your Color." And even the Turkish-German parliamentarian Ekin Deligöz from the Green Party warned against overstating things. "That's want they want," he said referring to right-wing extremists. "They want foreigners to stay home and not even to come to Germany in the first place."

The uproar comes just weeks after an apparently racist attack against an Ethiopian-German in the Brandenburg state capital of Potsdam, just outside of Berlin. Almost a month after the attack, the victim remains in hospital with severe head injuries. Earlier this week, reports of a racist attack on an Italian in Berlin once again stirred up opprobrium, though it was later revealed that the alleged victim may have invented the incident.

And most are willing to admit that there are parts of Germany with a very real problem with racism. Daniel Cohn-Bendit, a Green Party representative in the European Parliament, came to Heye's defense by saying: "The reality is school classes with many immigrant children question whether it is safe to go to Brandenburg or Mecklenburg-West Pomerania" -- another state in eastern Germany -- "for camping trips."

Yonas Endrias, a member of Germany's African Council, likewise supported Heye. "None of us blacks would go on an outing in Brandenburg," he said. "There is also racism in western Germany, but as a black person, the chances of being attacked in an eastern German village are much higher." Following the Potsdam attack in April, the Africa Council spoke of areas in eastern Germany which blacks should avoid.

On Thursday, as a reponse to the furor, Heye clarified his remarks by saying he didn't intend to single out Brandenburg. He also praised the state's extensive efforts to combat right-wing extremism. But he didn't back down. "We cannot make it the responsibility of the victims to decide how to defend themselves from racism and anti-Semitism," he wrote in a statement for the online version of Vorwärts, a Social Democrat Party publication which he edits. "This is the responsibility of the pluralistic society. Unfortunately, the tendency to look away has increased."

Source: Spiegel

Indians Attacked by Crowd at Street Party - 08/20/2007

A group of eight Indians was attacked by a mob at a street party in eastern Germany on the weekend. All were injured, one seriously. The police deny there was a political motive behind the attack despite calls of "foreigners out."

Despite a mob's calls of "foreigners out," police are denying there was a far-right motive behind an attack on a group of Indians in eastern Germany this weekend.

The eight men were attacked by a mob of around 50 Germans at a street party in the early hours of Sunday in the small town of Mügeln in the eastern German state of Saxony. The trigger for the violence was a brawl on the dance floor in a party tent shortly before 1 a.m., police said. The reason for the brawl was not yet clear.

Singh Gorvinda was one of the Indians injured in the attack.

The Indians left the tent where the dance was being held but were then attacked by the mob, which chased them across the town's market place until they took shelter in a pizzeria run by an Indian. The owner let them in, but the mob tried to kick in the doors of the restaurants as a large crowd looked on. The restaurant owner's car was also seriously damaged.

Seventy police officers were called in to restore order. Fourteen people were injured in the incident, including the eight Indians, four of the attackers and two police officers. One of the Indians and one of the attackers were taken to hospital for treatment. Two of the attackers, aged 21 and 23, were arrested on Saturday night but later released. The police have set up a task force to investigate the incident.

In remarks to the German news agency DDP Monday, a police spokeswoman in Leipzig denied there was a neo-Nazi motive behind the attack, despite eye-witnesses accounts of people calling for "foreigners out."

There were reports Monday that the police had been warned in advance of the attack but had done nothing to prevent it. Mayor Gotthard Deuse told the German news station N24 that there had been warnings of possible problems at the street party. However, the police spokeswoman denied this, saying that the warning in question had been sent to a youth club in the town, warning of a robbery. This had "absolutely nothing to do" with the attacks, the spokeswoman said. The mayor said there were no neo-Nazis in the town and that, if the incident did have a far-right motive, it was most likely caused by people from outside the city.

Some of the men were merchants living in the area, police said. "They just wanted to take part in the celebrations," a police spokesman told the Associated Press.

Attacks on foreigners are far from unusual in eastern German states such as Saxony, where there are concerns that far-right groups are gaining in strength and taking on institutional roles in some places. The far-right, neo-Nazi National Democratic Party (NPD) holds several seats in Saxony's state assembly, having won over 9 percent of the vote in the 2004 state election.

Source: Spiegel