{"id":368,"date":"2007-11-02T04:52:47","date_gmt":"2007-11-02T08:52:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/2007\/11\/02\/letter-from-munich-338\/"},"modified":"2007-12-13T09:40:38","modified_gmt":"2007-12-13T13:40:38","slug":"letter-from-munich-338","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/2007\/11\/02\/letter-from-munich-338\/","title":{"rendered":"Letter from Munich 338"},"content":{"rendered":"

Letter from Munich – the Joseph Affair \u2013 338<\/strong><\/p>\n

EINE DEUTSCHE FASSUNG STEHT WEITER UNTEN. (German translation below \u2013 German language character set required for correct display.)<\/p>\n

Dusseldorf, 2 November 2007<\/p>\n

Dear Mr. Graf, dear friends,<\/p>\n

Neo-Nazis and their Sympathizers in Berlin \u2013 Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Note: The relevance of this article lies in the fact that what happens in Berlin can also happen in Saxony, in Sebnitz. It can have happened, at least beneath the surface, at the time of Joseph\u2019s death.)<\/p>\n

\u201cModerator\u2019s Introduction: \u2018In the recent Berlin city elections, the German neo-Nazi political party, the \u201cNationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands\u201d (NPD), presented itself as being close to the people and oriented toward social services. At various information kiosks, party members discussed unemployment and the new law governing unemployment benefits and other relief payments. However, their leading candidate, Eckart Braeuniger, maintains contact with neo-Nazis who are prepared to use violence. Our reporters Alexander Kobylinski and Caroline Walter show us the NPD\u2019s real face\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cDuring the recent election campaign in Berlin, the two mainstream political parties in Germany, the CDU and the SPD, were somewhat surprised when right-wing extremist shock troops shook up their campaign events.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe neo-Nazis even beat up one campaign volunteer.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the Browns \u2013 the neo-Nazis \u2013 are no longer out to get just foreigners in Germany, they\u2019re also after the political parties that form the basis of German democracy. However, at their own neo-Nazi campaign kiosks they present themselves to the voters not as skinheads but as courteous gentlemen with courteous arguments.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat these gentlemen are really planning, though, can be learned only through visiting party meetings. Our journalists report this evening on the double strategy of Germany\u2019s neo-Nazi party, the NPD.<\/p>\n

\u201cUdo Voigt, Party Chairman of the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD): \u2019Whoever has Berlin, has Germany as well. That\u2019s my personal view, and this campaign in Berlin is very important for the NPD, because we want to establish ourselves now in some of the town councils and then from these town councils, at the next election, we want to take over the Berlin Chamber of Deputies\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt their information kiosks, conservatively dressed neo-Nazi NPD candidates discuss unemployment and the new German welfare law. But not everyone believes what they\u2019re saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cWoman: There are right-wing extremists here who beat up children.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell-Dressed Neo-Nazi Party Member: That\u2019s nonsense. What are \u2018right-wing extremists\u2019? Do I look like a right-wing extremist?<\/p>\n

\u201cWoman: Well, no.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell-Dressed Neo-Nazi Party Member: There, you see? And I\u2019ve been in the party for forty-five years.<\/p>\n

\u201dWoman: Yes, but today there are members of your party who think Hitler was an angel.<\/p>\n

\u201cUdo Voigt, Chairman of the neo-Nazi Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD): \u2018We are a modern political party; we want to shape the future; we have no interest in reawakening the past.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cNo interest in the past? Some weeks ago, we attended the NPD \u2018Summer Festival\u2019 in Dresden. Thousands of neo-Nazis meet like this every year to celebrate. And at events like this one, when without an election campaign going on, the NPD no longer appears so blandly middle-class.<\/p>\n

\u201cJuergen Rieger, a self-confessed neo-Nazi, tells us things that the NPD doesn\u2019t want to say openly during an election campaign.<\/p>\n

\u201cJuergen Rieger, Lawyer: \u2018Germany was strongest when it was Greater Germany in 1938. With that strength it was able to hold out against practically the entire world for six years\u2019.<\/p>\n

\u201cJOURNALIST\u2019S VOICE-OVER: Here in the tents of the neo-Nazi \u2018Summer Festival\u2019 you can find everything there is about Hitler and the Waffen-SS. The Third Reich lives again at this \u2018festival,\u2019 and the Third Reich is what the NPD\u2019s favorite theme really is. They\u2019ve even invited a former member of the Waffen-SS as their guest of honor, and he\u2019s given a hero\u2019s welcome.<\/p>\n

\u201cHerbert Schweiger, former member of the Waffen-SS: \u2018The reason we volunteered for the Waffen SS at that time was not only because we were emotionally moved to do it, it was also a question of an inner conviction.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cBut during their recent election campaign, the NPD neo-Nazis were deliberately silent about such convictions. Eckart Braeuniger, one of the Leading NPD candidates in Berlin maintains contact with neo-Nazis who are ready to use violence. He\u2019s rehearsed a few sentences, though, for the average voter.\u201d<\/p>\n

(To be continued)<\/p>\n

Source: Kobylinski, Alexander and Walter, Caroline, \u201eBiedermann und Brandstifter: Was die NPD vor der Berlin-Wahl verschweigt\u201c, \u201eKontraste\u201c-Sendung vom 14.09.2006, Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg<\/p>\n

Sincerely yours,<\/p>\n

Robert John Bennett<\/p>\n

Ernst-Gnoss-Strasse 22<\/p>\n

40219 Dusseldorf<\/p>\n

Germany<\/p>\n

Telephone: +49 211 586 4847<\/p>\n

Mobile: +49 152 0285 4626<\/p>\n

E-Mail: rjbennett@post.harvard.edu<\/p>\n

Kantelberg-Abdulla E-Mail: majoskant@t-online.de<\/p>\n

Websites: http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/MunichLetters<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/Germany2\/<\/p>\n

——————————————————–<\/p>\n

Since many recipients of this letter may read German more easily than they read English, the following is the author\u2019s translation of the above letter. Please note that word-processing programs outside of German-speaking countries may not display all of the letters of the German alphabet correctly.<\/p>\n

Alle Briefe aus M\u00fcnchen sind abrufbar:<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/MunichLetters<\/p>\n

D\u00fcsseldorf, den 2. November 2007<\/p>\n

Sehr geehrter Herr Graf, sehr geehrte Freunde,<\/p>\n

Neonazis und ihre Sympathisanten in Berlin \u2013 Teile 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 und 7 (Bemerkung: Die Relevanz dieses Artikels liegt darin, dass das, was in Berlin passiert, kann auch in Sachsen, in Sebnitz, passieren. Es kann passiert sein, mindestens unterschwellig, zur Zeit des Todes Josephs.)<\/p>\n

\u201eDie NPD pr\u00e4sentiert sich im Berliner Wahlkampf b\u00fcrgernah und sozial. An den Infost\u00e4nden sprechen sie \u00fcber Arbeitslosigkeit und Hartz IV. Aber der Spitzenkandidat Eckart Br\u00e4uniger zum Beispiel pflegt Kontakt zu gewaltbereiten Neonazis. Alexander Kobylinski und Caroline Walter zeigen das wahre Gesicht der NPD.<\/p>\n

Wahlkampf in Berlin. SPD und CDU waren ziemlich \u00fcberrascht, als rechtsextremistische St\u00f6rtrupps ihre Wahlveranstaltungen aufmischten.<\/p>\n

Einen Wahlhelfer haben die sogar zusammen geschlagen. Die Braunen machen nicht nur Jagd auf Fremde, sondern auch auf demokratische Parteien. An den Wahlst\u00e4nden treffen die W\u00e4hler nicht auf Glatzen, sondern auf artige Herren von der NPD mit artigen Argumenten. Was die Herren tats\u00e4chlich vorhaben, das erf\u00e4hrt nur, wer ihre Parteiveranstaltungen besucht. Alexander Kobylinski und Caroline Walter \u00fcber die Doppelstrategie der NPD.<\/p>\n

Udo Voigt (NPD), Parteivorsitzender: ,Wer Berlin hat, der hat auch Deutschland, ist meine pers\u00f6nliche Auffassung und f\u00fcr die NPD ist das ein sehr wichtiger Wahlkampf, denn wir wollen uns in diesem Wahlkampf in einigen Rathh\u00e4usern festsetzen und von diesen Rathh\u00e4usern heraus bei der n\u00e4chsten Wahl das Abgeordnetenhaus erobern\u2019.”<\/p>\n

An den Infost\u00e4nden sprechen die NPD-Kandidaten \u00fcber Arbeitslosigkeit und Hartz IV. Aber nicht jeder glaubt ihnen das.<\/p>\n

B\u00fcrgerin: Hier hat Rechtsradikale und die verkloppen Kinder.<\/p>\n

NPD-Mitglieder: So\u2019n Quatsch! Was sind Rechtsradikale? Sehe ich aus wie ein Rechtsradikaler?<\/p>\n

B\u00fcrgerin: N\u00f6.<\/p>\n

NPD-Mitglied: Na sehen Sie, ich bin seit 45 Jahren dabei.<\/p>\n

B\u00fcrgerin: Ja aber es gibt heute noch in eurer Partei Mitglieder, die glauben, Hitler war ein Engel.<\/p>\n

Udo Voigt (NPD), Parteivorsitzender: ,Wir sind eine moderne Partei, wir wollen die Zukunft gestalten und wir haben also kein Interesse daran, eine Vergangenheit wieder zu erwecken.\u2019<\/p>\n

Kein Interesse an der Vergangenheit? Wir waren vor wenigen Wochen auf dem Sommerfest der NPD in Dresden. Tausende Rechtsextreme treffen sich jedes Jahr zum Feiern. Au\u00dferhalb des Wahlkampfes ist bei der NPD nichts mehr b\u00fcrgerlich.<\/p>\n

Eingeladen auch J\u00fcrgen Rieger, bekannter Rechtsextremist, er spricht aus, was die NPD im Wahlkampf nicht offen sagen will.<\/p>\n

J\u00fcrgen Rieger, Rechtsanwalt: \u201aDeutschland war am st\u00e4rksten als es Gro\u00dfdeutschland war 1938 und mit dieser St\u00e4rke gelang es uns sechs Jahre lang gegen fast die ganze Welt durchzuhalten.\u2019<\/p>\n

In den Zelten findet sich alles rund um Hitler und die Waffen-SS. Das Dritte Reich: hier lebt es wieder auf, das eigentliche Lieblingsthema der NPD. Ein ehemaliger Waffen-SS-Mann ist Ehrengast. Einer wie er wird hier als Held verehrt.<\/p>\n

Herbert Schweiger, ehemaliges Mitglied der Waffen-SS: \u201aWarum wir uns zur Waffen-SS freiwillig gemeldet haben, in der damaligen Zeit, war ja nicht nur eine emotionale Frage, sondern eine Frage der inneren \u00dcberzeugung.\u2019<\/p>\n

Doch im NPD-Wahlkampf werden solche \u00dcberzeugungen bewusst verschwiegen. Ein Berliner Spitzenkandidat: Eckart Br\u00e4uniger. Er pflegt Kontakt zu gewaltbereiten Neonazis. F\u00fcr den W\u00e4hler hat er einstudierte S\u00e4tze parat.”<\/p>\n

(Fortsetzung folgt.)<\/p>\n

Quelle: Kobylinski, Alexander und Walter, Caroline, \u201eBiedermann und Brandstifter: Was die NPD vor der Berlin-Wahl verschweigt\u201c, \u201eKontraste\u201c-Sendung vom 14.09.2006, Rundfunk Berlin Brandenburg<\/p>\n

Mit freundlichen Gr\u00fc\u00dfen<\/p>\n

Robert John Bennet<\/p>\n

Ernst-Gnoss-Strasse 22<\/p>\n

40219 Dusseldorf<\/p>\n

Germany<\/p>\n

Telephone: +49 211 586 4847<\/p>\n

Mobile: +49 152 0285 4626<\/p>\n

E-Mail: rjbennett@post.harvard.edu<\/p>\n

Kantelberg-Abdulla E-Mail: majoskant@t-online.de<\/p>\n

Websites: http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/MunichLetters<\/p>\n

http:\/\/blogs.law.harvard.edu\/Germany2\/<\/p>\n

============================<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Letter from Munich – the Joseph Affair \u2013 338 EINE DEUTSCHE FASSUNG STEHT WEITER UNTEN. (German translation below \u2013 German language character set required for correct display.) Dusseldorf, 2 November 2007 Dear Mr. Graf, dear friends, Neo-Nazis and their Sympathizers in Berlin \u2013 Parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 (Note: The relevance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":167,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/167"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.blogs.harvard.edu\/munichletters\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}