Xenophobic Rhetoric
An anti-Semitic caricature of the owner of the social network Facebook M. Zuckerberg was published in the newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" on February 25, 2015.
Xenophobic rhetoric was related to local elections, as well as the European Elections. Radicals from the National Democratic Party and the Alternative for Germany party actively used anti-migrant rhetoric. In Lower Saxony, NDP conducted a campaign under the slogan “2030 – minority in your own country”. In Hamburg, NDP campaigned for “Money for your Grandmother, not gypsies”.
Mainstream parties often borrow nationalist rhetoric, seeking to attract nationalist voters. For example, on November 24, Minister of Internal Affairs in Saxony, Markus Ulbig announced the establishment of a special police department for migrant crime, trying to appeal to the followers of the popular Pegida movement. In early December, Deputy Chair of the Christian Democratic Union party, Julia Klekner proposed the ban on hijab in public places, similar to the French policy.
On December 8, it was reported that the Christian Social Union (part of the ruling coalition) proposed “encouraging immigrants” to speak German at home. A local newspaper in Frankfurt published an article, accusing “black people” of selling drugs in parks. The article in August was accompanied by an extensive media campaign about “migrant crime”.
Anti-Semitic rhetoric has also been noted. On Febriuary 25, renowned national newspaper "Süddeutsche Zeitung" published an article about Facebook’s takeover of the messenger service "WhatsApp" accompanied by an anti-Semitic caricature in style of NS-Propaganda-Paper “Der Stürmer”, which was then discussed numerously afterwards.
In September, Hagen department of the Social Democratic Party of Germany made a Facebook post about “Zionist control” over German media.
On September 30, it was reported that member of Brandenburg parliament from Alternative for Germany party posted an anti-Semitic cartoon online.
In October, member of the Baden-Wurttemberg parliament from SDPG posted a film about the Rothschild family on Facebook. The film, presented in 1930s Nazi propaganda style, caused a public scandal, after which she was forced to delete the film and apologise.
In mid-September, participant in a reality show “The Big Brother” made an anti-Semitic joke. The broadcasting company aired the episode, despite multiple objections. A scandal erupted on the German social networks in April around racist remarks towards a black participant of the popular TV show “Germany’s Next Top Model”. The 18-year-old Aminata from Bergisch Gladbach stated that she will not remove racist comments from her Facebook page “to let everybody see what is the case with racism in Germany in 2014”.
On July 10, a study by Markus End showed that Germany continues to have a problem of antiziganism (anti-Roma sentiments). Television and press continues to use racist themes when reporting on Roma problems in Germany. On August 15, it was reported that social networks have become the chief instrument for promoting the extreme right. Nationalist activists hide their posts under popular titles, attracting more views. More than 70% of 5 500 cases of incitement to hatred was found on Facebook, Twitter or YouTube.
Politicians from the "Alternative for Germany" party repeatedly used racist statements in 2017. Given that the "Alternative" since September 2017 is represented in the Bundestag, its representatives are headed by the committees of the German parliament, we can talk about this party as part of the legislative power of the State.
Alexander Gauland, who at that time headed the list of AfG in federal elections, later co-chairman of the party and the faction of AfG in the Bundestag, during the pre-election speech in Aisfelde (Thuringia) in August 2017, commented on the words of the Social Democratic politician with Turkish roots Aidan Ezoguz about "the impossibility of identifying a specific German culture, except by the principle of language": "This is said by a Turkish woman living in Germany. Invite her to Aisfeld and tell her what a particular German culture is. She will never come here again, and then, thank God, we can recycle it in Anatolia." Gauland used the German word "entsorgen", which is not applied to people, but is most commonly used in the designation of garbage disposal. (Later, the politician could not remember the fact of using this particular word.) Further, after applause, Gauland declared: "We want to take our Germany. And, dear friends, this is a creeping seizure of our land. It used to be called an invasion. This creeping seizure, we must cohesively resist."
Marcus Frohmayer, Chief of the "Youth Alternative", continued Gahland's thought: "We must resolve ourselves to ask ourselves the principal question: why migrants, who obviously do not like us, can not simply go to the country of origin? As a friend of all people, I would send ladies in the person of Aidan Jezeguz or Sawsan Hebley (a politician of the SPD of Palestinian origin - DS) on leave for 365 days in Anatolia or Ramallah. They are closer to those cultural layers where they came from, or their parents, than to our Basic Law. "
A few weeks later, Gauland stressed that he would continue to follow the views expressed. In May, another senior AfG politician, André Poggenburg, at that time the leader of the party organization in Saxony-Anhalt and the chairman of the AfG faction in the local Landtag, published in the chat the traditional neo-Nazi slogan "Germany for the Germans." In response to the accusations, the politician said: "Naturally, the country should belong to those who have long been living in it."
The leader of AfG in Thuringia, Bjorn Hecke, named in January a monument to the dead Jews, located in the center of Berlin, a "monument of disgrace". Thus, AfG introduces racism into the public domain and in fact makes it "acceptable" in society."
