Mob attack in Germany sparks outrage
Posted: Wednesday, August 22, 2007 2:04 PM
Filed Under:
Mainz, Germany
By Andy Eckardt, NBC News Producer
A mob attack on eight Indians who were chased through a small eastern German town on Sunday, as onlookers shouted slurs, has sent shock waves through the country.
Photos of victims' beaten-up faces and reports that the crowd of about 50 people threw stones and chanted, "Foreigners out!" as the Indians were chased through the town of Muegeln reminded many of the gruesome images from the country's dark Nazi past.
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| AFP - Getty Images |
| Kulvir Singh, one of the Indians injured in the attack speaks to the press. |
And – once again – it has stirred a fierce debate about racism and xenophobia in Germany that is
making front-page news and
triggering comments from all political levels.
Critics say that a lingering anti-foreigner sentiment in parts of German society is being ignored. A representative from Germany's Jewish Council argued on Wednesday that the country is lacking a coordinated "nationwide action plan" when it comes to right-wing extremism.
The German government was quick to condemn Sunday's attack, fearing that the developments could tarnish the country’s image.
"The worse Germany's reputation becomes, the fewer people who we need for our progress and prosperity will come here," said Wolfgang Thierse, vice president of Germany's lower house of parliament.
Meanwhile, the mayor of Muegeln has repeatedly denied that there is far-right extremism in his town.
However, eastern Germany has experienced sporadic racist attacks on foreigners since reunification in 1990. The economically depressed region is a breeding ground for anti-foreign sentiments – particularly because during communist times the government often treated the small numbers of foreigners as outcasts of society.
The eastern state of Saxony – where the recent attacks took place – is a stronghold of the extreme right-wing National Democratic Party (NPD), which gained 9 percent of the votes in state elections in 2004 and is now represented in the state parliament of Dresden.
Despite the fact that there are a number of nationwide projects against right-wing extremism – funded by the German government with nearly $26 million this year – there is a clear need for a strategy to combat racism that also reaches the communal level.
A recent study commissioned by Germany's Green party examined two communities – one in eastern Germany and one in the southwestern state of Bavaria – which found that feelings of racism, anti-Semitism and hostility to democracy are widespread in both regions.
In Muegeln, a police investigation is underway to determine whether the attack was indeed racially motivated and who the main culprits were. But the shameful fact remains that none of the German locals helped to protect the foreigners.
