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”.

    • chillhelm@lemmy.worldEnglish
      41·
      5 months ago

      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.

    • suction@lemmy.worldEnglish
      3·
      5 months ago

      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.

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldEnglish
      1020·
      5 months ago

      Saying bad things about israel is super illegal in Germany. Actual antisemitism isn’t.

      • Todd Bonzalez@lemm.eeEnglish
        181·
        5 months ago

        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.

        • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldEnglish
          133·
          5 months ago

          Literal NeoNazi parties are rising up while a doctor from Gaza trying to give a lecture gets an EU wide ban. The double standard is clear as day.

          • cows_are_underrated@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
            51·
            5 months ago

            I’m not sure we want someone who said, that if he could he would have crossed the border(slaughtering civilians) is someone you want in Europe.

              • cows_are_underrated@discuss.tchncs.deEnglish
                41·
                5 months ago

                I wasn’t able to find the same Quote in a more reliable source, but I was able to find about 6 difference Websites quoting Abbu Sitta with this. The Quote also was(if I remember right) why he was denied(unlawfully) Entrance into Germany and France. https://www.plands.org/en/articles-speeches/articles/2024/i-could-have-been-one-of-those-who-broke-through-the-siege-on-october-7

                I will try to find a more Serious source and link it then.

                Edit: sadly i was only able to find a german Article regarding the palestina conference and why it had been stopped by the police: https://taz.de/Palaestina-Kongress-in-Berlin-aufgeloest/!6004209/

                In the Article they say the following:

                Grund für die Polizei, den Video-Vortrag von Abu Sitta abzubrechen, war offenbar ein Blog-Beitrag des 87-jährigen vom Januar. Darin hatte dieser geschrieben, wäre er jünger, hätte er einer derjenigen sein können, die am 7. Oktober die Blockade des Gazastreifens durchbrachen. Beim Überfall der islamistischen Hamas waren etwa 1.200 Menschen in Israel getötet worden. Als Redner war Sitta allerdings schon seit Monaten angekündigt, sein Vortrag also alles andere als überraschend. Dennoch griff die Polizei mit voller Härte durch, als sei akute Gefahr im Verzug.

                Translation:

                The reason for for the police to stop Abu Sitta’s video presentation was apparently a blog post a blog post by the 87-year-old in January. In it he had written had written that if he had been younger, he could have been one of those who who broke through the blockade of the Gaza Strip on October 7. During the attack attack by the Islamist Hamas killed around 1,200 people in Israel. were killed in Israel. However, Sitta had already been announced as a speaker for months, so his speech was anything but surprising. Nevertheless, the police cracked down as if there was imminent danger.

        • Ooops@kbin.social
          12·
          5 months ago

          and falsely imply that they are being

          antisemitic

          No, in the majority of cases this is not a false implication but a documented fact. And even if they are not antisemites themselves those people are always happy to stand side-by-side with antisemites if those amplify their messaging, but out of the completely wrong reasons.