Ethnonationalist mob violence in Chemnitz demonstrates far right strength

The slogan “We are the people!” (Wir sind das Volk!) was one of the iconic protest chants of the 1989 ‘peaceful revolution’. It helped seal the fate of the crumbling regime of East Germany’s Socialist Unity Party (SED), ultimately paving the way for German reunification. Since 2015, the chant has been heard again; and again…

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German charity excludes ‘foreigners’ from food distribution, sparking accusations of racism

A German charity organisation distributing food to the poor has been accused of racist bias after one of its branches excluded “foreigners” from its distribution activities. The organisation in question, named Tafel, essentially functions as a food bank, giving away groceries for free to the needy. Founded in 1993, the organisation has steadily grown, along…

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Documentary on young German-Syrian couple causes stir in Germany, giving free rein to xenophobic outbursts

For more than two decades, Germany’s public broadcasters ARD and ZDF have jointly operated KiKA, a channel aiming at a young audience aged three to thirteen. The TV channel – whose acronym stands for “children’s channel” – has led a relatively quiet life for most of its existence. For the past two weeks, however, it…

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After ultra-nationalist independence day march, German religious leaders look to Poland with anxiety

Saturday, 11 November, marked the 99th anniversary of Polish independence. After successive partitions had awarded ever greater chunks of Polish territory to Russia, Austria, and Prussia; Poland ceased to exist as a political entity in 1795, to re-emerge as an independent state only in 1918. Independence day parade calls for white Europe To commemorate the…

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Returnees, unaccounted combatants, child jihadists: Germany struggles with the ‘foreign fighter’ phenomenon

Ever since the Islamic State group began to lose the territories it had so spectacularly conquered during 2013 and 2014, analysts and policy-makers in the West have warned of potential large-scale return movements of so-called ‘foreign fighters’. 40,000 ‘foreign fighters’ Although the term ‘foreign fighter’ is vacuous with respect to international law, it still permeates…

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