Neo-Nazis Reportedly Take Over East German Village

[Growler]

Can a German national clarify a question for me? I thought it was illegal in Deutschland for someone to even be associated with the NSDAP?

[Kongo Otto]

Originally Posted by Growler

Can a German national clarify a question for me? I thought it was illegal in Deutschland for someone to even be associated with the NSDAP?

The NSDAP is still illegal in germany, but there are many other small Neo Nazi Parties like the NPD or the DVU. There is not just one Neo Nazi Parti here, but there are not so many as the media always claims. Here in Bavaria when 50 Nazis show up, mostly there ist twice as much cops at the scene.

[Growler]

Vielen dank, Kongo. I was under the impression that anything that could even remotely be associated with Hitlerian Nazism was verboten. Clearly, I was mistaken - I appreciate your help!

[Skybird]

Neonazism and antisemitism is on the rise again in Germany, as is left extremism too. Especially in Eastern Germany, there are more thna just Jarmel, more villages and small towns, where Neonazis have taken over control, even have become the dominant political faction town withz shares of around one third, and I seem to remember that in some very few villages they even have the support of a majority of local villagers, but this I quote from memory and am not totally certain that it does not fool me.

Crime associated with right extremism still has the edge over crime associated with lkeft extremism, but the balance is shifting rapidly. Last year, right-winged crime has been found to decvline a little bit, while leftist crime has doubled.

With many areas especially in the East being disconnected from any economic perspective and sopcial developement for a diversity of reasons, the East is a strong breeding ground for extremism. Nazism, Leftism/Communism and Islamism are the three dominating representatives of this trend. the onme thing they all have in common is a strong anti-Israel and anti-USA bias and a strong antisemitic sentiment.

[Schroeder]

Originally Posted by Growler

Vielen dank, Kongo. I was under the impression that anything that could even remotely be associated with Hitlerian Nazism was verboten. Clearly, I was mistaken - I appreciate your help!

It is. They always have to watch their words and symbols they use. It's a balance between freedom of speech and protection against the Nazi ideology.

[Growler]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

It is. They always have to watch their words and symbols they use. It's a balance between freedom of speech and protection against the Nazi ideology.

Can you explore this further for me, Schroeder? Are the guys being called NeoNazi flagrantly violating the law, or using a legal hole to avoid prosecution? I would think that any resurgence of something approximating "power" in the hands of people like this would be cracked down upon very swiftly, yet it appears not to be the case.

[Schroeder]

As I said, it's a difficult act of balancing. As long as they don't use swastikas and keep their rhetoric free of direct Nazi propaganda there is nothing the law can do against them. That's the downside of freedom of speech. They still do have the same view of the world as the original Nazis but have to hide it behind nicer words and other symbols as the original Nazis. They always try to get as close to the border of what's legal and sound as much as the "originals" as possible without violating laws. Sometimes however they do cross the line and that's when they can be prosecuted. For example for inciting hatred against minorities, glorifying / denying the holocaust (they should really finally make up their minds about that... ), direct praise for nazi leaders etc.

[Growler]

Originally Posted by Schroeder

As I said, it's a difficult act of balancing. As long as they don't use swastikas and keep their rhetoric free of direct Nazi propaganda there is nothing the law can do against them. That's the downside of freedom of speech. They still do have the same view of the world as the original Nazis but have to hide it behind nicer words and other symbols as the original Nazis. They always try to get as close to the border of what's legal and sound as much as the "originals" as possible without violating laws. Sometimes however they do cross the line and that's when they can be prosecuted. For example for inciting hatred against minorities, glorifying / denying the holocaust (they should really finally make up their minds about that... ), direct praise for nazi leaders etc.

Ok, I think I follow. Same thing as here in the states with groups like the KKK - we KNOW you're a bunch of basic thugs, but you've yet to actually cross the line to thuggery, so we have to let you be. And when a member of your group DOES cross, we'll treat that member as the lawbreaker, rather than the group as a whole.