The right-wing mob won't get us down
Sebastian Krumbiegel from Leipzig recently received right-wing threats before an event. In March, neo-Nazis loitered at the venue of a reading by Zwickau activist Jakob Springfeld. Here they report on how they felt - and why they continue to campaign against the right.
Last Friday, I, Sebastian, read from my book at the "Boddenhus" in Greifswald. A few days earlier, I had received right-wing threats. There was also talk of a right-wing demonstration in front of the venue. I've seen this kind of thing in the past. But now there was talk of canceling the event. That was a new dimension for me.
In March, I, Jakob, read from my book in Bautzen. Shortly before the start, about a dozen neo-Nazis, some of them wearing masks, stood in front of the youth center. The reading could only take place under police protection. At the end, I was escorted to the station by security so that I could get home safely.
What does that feel like? Like Germany in 2023, namely threatening. And we're only at risk because we're campaigning against the rise of far-right parties in the country. Our aim is to show that not only neo-Nazis live in the east, but that there is a civil society that stands up to them.
The queasy feeling
We are separated by a few decades of life experience. We are saddened to realize time and again that our experiences are nevertheless frighteningly similar: The older of the two of us (57) experienced the baseball bat years in Leipzig in the early 1990s, the younger (21) experienced violence from neo-Nazis in Zwickau, the city where the right-wing extremist NSU murder gang last went into hiding before being exposed.
We know the queasy feeling of running away from right-wing thugs, the fear in your bones when your mind rattles with what could happen if ... But we both also know what it's like to say hours later or the next day: Nope, we won't let them get us down.
We have long been fighting - each in our own way - against the extreme right and for democracy, human rights and a pluralistic society in Saxony and elsewhere. And we will continue to do so. Even if it often hurts and, we have to say, becomes more dangerous. And yes, it is anything but nice to work in this constantly threatening situation - whether in the form of music, readings or political work.
Hate is not an opinion
But if we let the right-wing mob dictate what we democrats do or don't do, then that would be the beginning of the end of our country as we know it. What is at stake here is nothing less than the great good of freedom of art and opinion. It is about the crossroads at which our democracy turns and whether it will survive the coming year in all parts of this country. When we think about the poll results of the AfD and other far-right parties in the three state elections in the east, we feel quite different.
The threats before and during some of our readings are just the tip of the iceberg. We are grateful that the public offers us protection, especially through the media. Others are not so lucky in these hate-filled times, they get lost in the crowd. Attacks on refugees are on the rise. This year there have already been significantly more than in 2022, as police statistics show. At the same time, we are experiencing attacks on synagogues and rampant anti-Semitism. Hatred of people of the Jewish faith is spreading.
Especially now, we need to keep up the fight and keep making it clear: Hate is not an opinion. Hate is and leads to even worse crimes. Anyone who tolerates the intolerant and equates them with democrats has no idea about history or has not recognized the signs of the times. Or, in the worst case, is himself an enemy of our free democratic basic order.
East Germany as a place of democracy
Many people reading this will now be thinking: AfD politicians are also being attacked. But we, who have written this article, are getting the hate from the right. Again and again. We know about the bloody trail of right-wing violence from reunification to the present day. It shows a continuity that feels increasingly intimidating and frustrating: especially for people who are active in rural areas, particularly in regions of Saxony where one vote for the Greens is matched by dozens for far-right parties. But giving up is not an option. Not even and especially not in Saxony.
We are defending eastern Germany as a place of democracy. Even where the AfD receives more than 30 percent support, not everything is on the right. In Zwickau, Leipzig, Magdeburg, Schwerin, Prenzlau, Greifswald, Erfurt - everywhere in the East there are many people with their hearts in the right place. People whose work is often neglected in public discourse. Unfortunately.
So that all of them, including the two of us, can continue to get involved and so that we do not constantly experience "blue miracles" in the coming years, we must call the threat by its name and finally bring much, much, much more democratic accents to the marketplaces, cultural centers and cities. And we appeal to everyone to protect ourselves and democracy. It's not enough just to think that the AfD is terrible. Everyone has to do something.
In any case, we will not allow ourselves to be bent and will continue to read from our books, make music and organize protests. Whether in Greifswald or Bautzen: We won't run away. We will stay there. And if necessary, we'll come back.
In the face of ongoing right-wing extremism and threats, East Germany has become a hotbed for democratic activism. As seen in cases like Sebastian Krumbiegel's right-wing threats before an event in Greifswald and Jakob Springfeld's anti-Semitic encounter with neo-Nazis in Bautzen, activists continue to push back against hate and intolerance. Their resolve to stand up against right-wing extremism, such as anti-Semitism, is a testament to the enduring spirit of democracy in East Germany.
Source: www.ntv.de
