Recent assaults spark national debate over Germany’s increasingly raw political climate, with some seeing echoes of its dark history.
One politician ruthlessly beaten while hanging campaign posters. Another assaulted in a public library. Yet another, pushed and spat on by suspects who were part of a group of people allegedly calling out “Heil Hitler.”
A string of violent attacks on politicians in Germany — including a brutal assault on a member of the European Parliament in Dresden — has shaken many and sparked a national debate over the increasingly raw political climate in the country, with some drawing comparisons to the kind of political violence that accompanied the rise of the Nazis.
Recent attacks on politicians are “reminiscent of the darkest chapter in German history,” said Hendrik Wüst, the conservative premier of North Rhine-Westphalia, in an interview on German public television.
It’s not. Well, the SA (who got purged that night) is relevant because they were the literal brownshirts, the NSDAP’s goons on Weimar Republic streets. Lot of political violence going on back in the days. The Nazis had the SA, the communists the Rotfront, Socdems were part of a wider alliance and the nationalists/monarchists also had one.
Right-wing stochastic terrorism has been simmering on low flame for a long time, if you want a more direct parallel I’d point you to the NSU.
Agitation-wise I think this time around CDU and FDP are the main culprits, especially when it comes to stuff being done to Green politicians. Their rhetoric is pouring petrol on various conspiracy narratives. I’ll just leave this here (there’s English subtitles).
You’re preaching to the choir. I very frequently call them Blauhemden and already explained the stochastic terrorism aspects of it.
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I’ll just leave this here
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