this post was submitted on 26 May 2024
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Counter rallies in Kaufbeuren show split between supporters of AfD and locals who acknowledge the Bavarian town’s Nazi past

Soaring church spires, the 1,000-year-old town centre unblemished by second world war bombing or graffiti, snow-capped Alps in the middle distance – Kaufbeuren, in Bavaria, can count many blessings.

Unemployment is in the low single digits, the Luftwaffe backed away from plans to move its training school for Eurofighter and Tornado jet technicians elsewhere and crime is at a historic low.

However, as voters prepare to elect a new European parliament next month, deep-seated fears have gripped a significant share of the electorate in one of the most affluent pockets of Europe’s top economy and delivered it to the far-right Alternative für Deutschland (AfD).

The bond between the party and its voters appears unshaken even by a cascade of recent scandals. The AfD’s lead candidate for the election, Maximilian Krah, was forced by his party leadership on Wednesday to resign from its board and stop campaigning after he told Italy’s La Repubblica that the SS, the Nazi paramilitary force which ran the death camps, were not all criminals and could only be judged on the basis of “individual guilt”.

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[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 67 points 5 months ago (4 children)

“It’s a catastrophe – the worst government we ever had,” said civil servant Manuela, 55, who was from a neighbouring town and, like most of the AfD supporters, declined to give her surname. She brought her teenage daughter to the rally. Despite the low rates of violent crime, she said her family no longer felt safe on the streets due to “Islamists”.

Anti-AfD activists booed and whistled from the sidelines as Krah addressed the rally. Manuela said: “They call us Nazis just because we’re patriots. The world laughs at us because no country is as dumb as Germany, with our exaggerated tolerance and diversity. They’ve been telling us for decades we should carry this guilt, and so we should rescue the whole world and be its dole office.”

Hey Manuela from paragraph two, you should talk to Manuela from paragraph one.

Also... Manuela. Is that a German name?

[–] CitizenKong@lemmy.world 44 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago) (2 children)

Manuela is a very German name, so much so a German rapper actually made a song about it.

But of course its origin isn't Germanic at all. Which I doubt people with such convictions care about.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 30 points 5 months ago* (last edited 5 months ago)

Manuela or Manuéla is a feminine Portuguese, Spanish and Italian given name. The name is a variant of the masculine "Manuel", which is in turn derived from the Hebrew name "Emanuel", meaning "God is with us".[1]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manuela_(given_name)

Sounds like that German rapper doesn't believe in German purity.

Edit: I posted this before the person above edited their post.

[–] AnUnusualRelic@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

It's as German as Mercedes is!

[–] originalfrozenbanana@lemm.ee 7 points 5 months ago

Well you see consistency is a requirement for my opponents. \s

[–] atomicorange@lemmy.world 4 points 5 months ago (5 children)

Yep, I know a Manuela from Germany!

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[–] Ooops@kbin.social 4 points 5 months ago

Hey Manuela from paragraph two, you should talk to Manuela from paragraph one.

Pointing out that this idiocy only works with a massive amount of cognitive dissonance is nothing new...

[–] tsonfeir@lemmy.world 49 points 5 months ago (1 children)

If it quacks like a Nazi…

[–] Jackhammer_Joe@lemmy.world 16 points 5 months ago (4 children)

... and walks like a Nazi...

[–] Papergeist@lemmy.world 20 points 5 months ago

You gotta punch it in the nose!

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[–] TIMMAY@lemmy.world 46 points 5 months ago

If youre a german citizen and you're far-right , you're as nazi as it gets

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 36 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Like the recent event in Sylt. You can easily find the Nazi sympathisers wherever the rich gather.

[–] suction@lemmy.world 2 points 5 months ago

More so in the lower classes. Handymen and the likes.

[–] cupcakezealot@lemmy.blahaj.zone 21 points 5 months ago

"they call us nazis" - literal nazis

[–] knightmare1147@lemmy.world 18 points 5 months ago (9 children)

Isn't Nazi anything super illegal in Germany?

[–] chillhelm@lemmy.world 41 points 5 months ago

Yes. But the state still has to prove that what you did was a) a Nazi thing and b) that you either knew or should have known it was so.

So if you show the Hitler salute, you'll be arrested and fined. If you give a speech in which you suggest that immigrants need to learn "the liberating power of work" (referencing the Motto of Auschwitz "Arbeit macht Frei" "Work makes Free") that is totally fine.

[–] suction@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

The German right wingers usually knew to ride the edge, ie not show illegal symbols or do illegal chants while still making it obvious. But they’re getting more cheeky because of all the encouragement from Russia, Trump, Musk, etc.

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[–] lemmytellyousomething@lemmy.dbzer0.com 13 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yeah. Nazi is the wrong word. The AfD people make politics in favor of Russia and China. Traitor is a better word.

[–] DarthFrodo@lemmy.world 24 points 5 months ago

The NSDAP had no issues working with Russia, as long as it was in their interest.

[–] suction@lemmy.world 12 points 5 months ago (2 children)

That guy taking a selfie definitely is a so called “Russo-German”, ie a Russian person with German ancestors. Germany (unfortunately) allowed many of these people to obtain German citizenship with no real background check. Now it turns out that a majority of them love Putin and look down on Western values. These jokers all vote far-right and even drive around with huge “Z” symbols on their 4th hand Audis.

[–] Justas@sh.itjust.works 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

Yep, in their mind Russia is great and is the future. Meanwhile, countries west of them are decadent and temporary.

[–] suction@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago

...while they enjoy the freedoms and economic opportunities, and in the case of Germany, high-grade social security of those Western countries they hate so much.

[–] Miaou@jlai.lu 2 points 5 months ago (1 children)

There are enough Nazis in Germany without having to blame a minority of Russian born ones tbh

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[–] MilitantAtheist@lemmy.world 6 points 5 months ago

BJ has entered the chat.

[–] Allero 4 points 5 months ago (1 children)

To be fair, not all right-wingers are Nazis and it's not helpful to draw them as equals.

But right-wingers can and do use Nazis when they are useful to their political goals, which is still to rip us off.

Not all right-wingers are Nazis. Doesn't mean they're not evil.

[–] yournamehere@lemm.ee 13 points 5 months ago (1 children)

it is germany. name ONE righwinger that isnt a nazi.

[–] suction@lemmy.world 3 points 5 months ago (2 children)
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