Issue no. 60, March 2010
5,875 subscribers from civil society, politics and the media

This is the new newsletter of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation with current news from the foundation, the CURA Victims' Support Fund and the websites www.mut-gegen-rechte-gewalt.de ("Stand Up Against Neo-Nazi Violence") and www.netz-gegen-nazis.de.

Dear Readers,

Many classic painters tried to impart as much symbolism as possible through the situation depicted in their paintings. The composition chosen by the painter – be it manifestly or encoded, foreground or background, with dramatic lighting or left in the dark – relates significant history in just an instant of time. While standing in front of the baroque Zwinger Palace in Dresden, those classic paintings came to my mind, the good and bad ones, many of which bring joy to art lovers today. And I asked myself if there could be a symbolic moment that adequately reflects the situation on the 65th anniversary of the destruction of Dresden.

Christians had gathered on the square in front of the Zwinger for a prayer of peace, a human chain intended to encircle the old part of the city was starting to form itself in front of the town hall, and on the opposite shore of the Elbe River young people blocked train tracks and streets to prevent the Nazis from marching anywhere. It was the first time that – despite suppression and ideological disputes about the question of who was to blame for the war and destruction as well as commemoration of the victims of the past – attention was drawn to the present danger. In our painting, the few thousand Nazis who were surrounded at the Neustädter station and shouted impatiently to start their march are not very frightening. Actually, they do not pose a real threat to democracy today, neither with respect to the number of followers nor ideology.

Nonetheless, they are a threat. In the town of Zossen, the House of Democracy was burned down, almost every day we hear about attacks on persons and projects opposing right-wing extremism, and the number of direct threats made by phone calls, letters and on websites is increasing steadily. They attack refugees, immigrants or blacks. They intimidate persons who stand up against racism, which, at some bizarre level, has almost become normality. They view themselves as racial judges and systematically differentiate between groups, categorizing them by their value to live. They propagate this difference and they injure or kill people for this reason. And, in doing so, they always refer to history and maintain that the Germans are the real victims. To this end, they make use of the general new anti-imperialistic mood spreading through society in connection with which many conservatives as well as followers of the left-wing believe that the destruction of Dresden by the Allied forces is the evil omen of an „American-Zionist“ new world order, where the events of today are equated to the crimes of the Nazis.

The new Nazis are dangerous because they horribly obscure the picture that stretches from the depths of history to the doors of the town hall, from where the mayor found it hard to speak about those who “started that calamitous war”. And, more than anything else, they are dangerous when their attacks are belittled or even worse equated to left-wing extremist violence. That is absurd because it is does not reflect reality, but only serves as ideological appeasement. At any rate, there was no left-wing violence in Dresden. The fact that none occurred can also be attributed to the circumspect behavior of the police and their smart strategy which let all opponents of the Nazis on both shores of the river share in the success. The situation could have escalated. For this reason, we would like to thank the police – they will have a special place in our painting.

Above the Zwinger Palace and the Semper Opera House we see, among the many people who are beginning to understand how history and the present are interconnected, a priest in his robe which, contrary to the instructions of his bishop, he wears with dignity, the mayor who is surprised at the large number of people who are ready to recognize the causes and consequences of the war, the young woman from the SPD party who sits down on the train tracks to prevent the Nazis from coming to Dresden by train, some masked demonstrators who are upset that the police cannot distinguish them from the Nazis because they already are similar in too many respects, and the chairperson of the Jewish community, who is relieved because the Nazis will not walk past her synagogue this year. In between we see a policeman holding a radio set to his ear, while keeping an eye on everything and staying relatively clam.

It was a success. With some light and some shadow – against the background of the picturesque silhouette of Dresden, which, like no other city, has become the venue for the struggle for a new understanding of history. The new Nazis did not fall from the sky, they are nourished by the blurred understanding of history and remembrance. This forms the basis for their violence. It is time for clarity and not for ideological debates. We don’t have time for that anymore

Sincerely,
Anetta Kahane

The largest march of old and new Nazis in Europe after the end of the Second World War did not take place. On 13 February numerous initiatives successfully prevented the march. The 5,000 neo-Nazis had to stay at the Neustädter train station in Dresden. Large groups of opposing groups had organized various activities, such as the chain of people, the ecumenical peace marches and the blockades: 20,000 people came to show their opposition to the revision of history propagated by the neo-Nazis. On their way home, many far-right demonstrators vented their frustration: In Pirna, for example, they attacked an office of the SPD party, which also houses the office of the initiative “Aktion Zivilcourage”. Already now the neo-Nazis are preparing for their march next year. How should society react?

More information under: www.mut-gegen-rechte-gewalt.de/news/meldungen/ist-jetzt-alles-gut/

December 2010 marks the 20th anniversary of the death of Amadeu Antonio Kiowa. The Angolan worker was brutally beat by a mob of racist youths in the town of Eberswalde (Brandenburg) on 24 November 1990. He died of his injuries on 6 December. The Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which is named for Kiowa, has been working together closely with the town of Eberswalde and the initiatives there. Many things have gotten better. Far-right incidents are publicized and discussed, people active for civil society can speak out. The far-right scene has lost some of its capability for action; nevertheless, it is still a problem in Eberswalde. The most striking example of this is the shop at the eastern end of the town, which, amongst other things, carries Thor Steinar products, a brand very popular among neo-Nazis. Up until now it hasn’t been noticed much by the public, however.

The report is available under:

The failed neo-Nazi march on 13 February in Dresden was followed by angry far-right responses. Amongst other things, threatening letters, to which a match was attached, were sent to people who had signed the petition "Dresden Nazifrei". The Nazi attacks culminated in an arson attack on a member of “Alternatives Kultur- und Bildungszentrum e.V. in Pirna”, which strives to publicize far-right extreme structures in Saxony. Not much was left of the car after the fire department had finally extinguished the fire. It was completely destroyed. In its initial reaction, the Victim Support Fund promised Euro 500. This donation as well as others, such as for the projects described below, are possible only with your help. Thank you so much for your support.

This year’s International Week Against Racism has the motto „Everyone is different, everyone is equal“ and will start on 15 March. The United Nations want to commemorate the massacre of Sharpeville, when South African police opened fire on a crowd of peaceful demonstrators on 21 March 1960. In response, several thousand events speaking out against racism have been organized throughout Europe between 15-28 March. All actions are based on the „Universal Declaration of Human Rights“ of the United Nations. Consequently, people of all nations are to come together to bring life to the declaration. Within the scope of the Action Week, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation is promoting several project days at schools involved in the campaign „Schule ohne Rassismus – Schule mit Courage“ and striving to oppose racism. In connection with the foundation’s cooperation with „Laut gegen Nazis“, it is also supporting the Action Week in Saarbrücken, which is being organized from 15-28 March together with Café Exodus, the Youth Center Försterstrasse and the Youth Division Saar of DGB (Confederation of German Trade Unions).

More information about the weeks against racism under: www.amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de/aktuelles/wochen-gegen-rassismus-2010/

In her recently published book „Rechtsextremismus in Deutschland und Europa“, Britta Schellenberg states that „right-wing radicals have arrived in the 21st century“. Her research, which was supported by the Schwarzkopf Foundation Young Europe, found that neo-Nazi groups have formed in all European countries, and they are starting to form networks: e.g. they are organizing international festivals or forming parliamentary groups in the EU Parliament. The contributions in the book describe the different forms of Nazism in the individual countries, e.g. the Polish „Liga Polskich Rodzin“. In particular, however, common elements, such as intellectual European right-wing extremism, are discussed and counter-strategies are presented. The Europe-wide spread of the neo-Nazi scene must not be ignored. For this reason, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, together with the Federal Center for Political Education, supported the publication of the book „Rechtsextremismus in Deutschland und Europa“.

More information under:

Two days after presenting the “Goldene Kamera” to German actor Joachim Fuchsberger, he is sitting in the conference room of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. Together with Brother Keepers, Ade Bantu, Tyran Ricketts, Quietstorm and many others, Harry Belafonte asks clear-cut questions. How widespread is racism in Germany and who is doing something against it? Which efforts of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation have been successful? He explains that he considers racism a worldwide problem, prevalent also in Africa or the USA. He is shocked about the fact that there are so-called „No-Go-Areas“ for Blacks and other people who do not fit into the world view of Nazis. He underscores that artists and musicians have a responsibility to publicly speak out against racism and other forms of suppression. Timo Reinfrank, Amadeu Antonio Foundation, was very happy about Belafonte’s visit: „We are honored that Harry Belafonte came to our foundation. His support encourages us and many others to continue our efforts against racism. Artists have a great responsibility. Harry Belafonte takes this responsibility very seriously.“

Pictures of the visit can be viewed under:

Besides the social networking websites SchülerVZ, StudiVZ and MeinVZ, the VZ Group not only is the market leader among the social networking websites in Germany, it also has been supporting „www.Netz-gegen-Nazis.de“ from the beginning. Now the cooperation is being expanded. Up until now there were groups interested in certain topics in SchülerVZ, and texts by Netz-gegen-Nazis.de were introduced to these groups for discussion. In March Netz-gegen-Nazis.de, Mut-gegen-rechte-Gewalt.de and the Amadeu Antonio Foundation will be given a special profile on all VZ networks. Thus, it will be easier to find us - users can add the foundation and its Internet portals as a statement on their „What I like“ list and be informed about current activities as well as reports. So, visit us in the VZ networks!

Young people from all over the GDR met in the dilapidated houses in the Prenzlauer Berg and neighboring East Berlin districts in the 1980s. What they had in common was that their alertness had taken them to the walls enclosing a dead-beat system. They had ideas about what could be changed, not only in their city, and so they came together to form an illegal opposition. The exhibition “Legality for the Opposition! An Exhibition about the Search for the Ideal Form of Political Participation” provides a view of the exciting and important time before the political turning point. The exhibition is a project of Initiative Bürgerstiftung Prenzlauer Berg and the Amadeu Antonio Foundation in cooperation with the Office for Culture and Education – Museumsverbund Pankow. It is being supported by the Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft e.V. The exhibition was made possible through the support of the Stiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur, a government-funded organization examining and reappraising the Communist dictatorship in East Germany. Admission is free. Various guided tours through the exhibition and workshops, in particular for school classes, can be booked under the following phone number: 0174-9529964.

For more information, go to: www.amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de/aktuelles/ausstellung-legalitaet/

The Federal Association of German Foundations has founded the "Forum Engagementförderung". It is designed as a networking platform for experts and decision-makers from foundations. The objective is to dissipate the results of discussions to as many foundations as possible and motivate other organizations to find ways of promoting engagement. The first "Forum Engagementförderung" will be held on 4 and 5 March 2010 in Hamburg. One of the speakers will be Doris Elfert from the Community Foundation Weimar.

Information about the program available under: www.stiftung.org/engagementfoerderung

One year ago, the campaign „Uni ohne Arndt“ was called into life by students at the University of Greifswald. In May 1933, Hermann Göring ordered that the University of Greifswald be named after Ernst Moritz Arndt. Following a short interrruption after 1945, the name was revived on the occasion of the university’s 500th anniversary in 1956. Arndt’s racist and anti-Semitic opinions went well with National-Socialist ideology. However, Arndt does not go well with a cosmopolitan and tolerant university in the 21st century. All in all, the initiative proposing to abolish the name was progressing well. However, a damper was put on the initiative when 49.9% of the students at the university voted to retain the name. Besides students favoring the supplement of Arndt’s name, this also included students in favor of a different name for the university. Thus, the success of the initiative has not been decided yet: on 17 March the Senate will decide about withdrawing the name. The NPD already has spoken out in favor of Ernst Moritz Arndt.

For up-to-date news about the initiative, go to: http://jabbusch.tose.de/uniohnearndt/updates/

“United against right-wing extremism in East and West” is the title of a conference organized by the Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation in cooperation with the Amadeu Antonio Foundation. Far-right extremism is a problem concerning all of us in Germany. Almost twenty years after the reunification of Germany, there are numerous projects and initiatives actively striving to eliminate right-wing extremism, both in eastern and western Germany. The conference hopes to strengthen contacts between the people active in these initiatives and projects. Thus, there will be a forum of discussion groups and working groups to exchange experiences and discuss issues. The conference will be held from 19-21 March in the Theodor Heuss Academy in Gummersbach.

For more information and registration, please contact: konstanze.ameer@amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de

Copyright (c) 2010
Copy deadline: 28 February 2010

Amadeu Antonio Foundation
Patron: Vice-President of the German Bundestag Wolfgang Thierse

info@amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de
www.amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de
Linienstrasse 139
10115 Berlin
Tel.: 030. 240 886 10
Fax: 030. 240 886 22

Account of Amadeu Antonio Stiftung:
Deutsche Bank Bensheim
Account number: 030 331 300
BIC: DEUTDEFF 509
IBAN: DE 91 509 700 04

Should you have any questions about the utilization of donations, please don’t hesitate to contact us at any time.

Editorial team: Tilman Tzschoppe and Christian Spiegelberg. Contributions: Konstanze Ameer, Berit Lusebrink, Anetta Kahane, Andrés Nader, Heike Radvan, Simone Rafael, Timo Reinfrank (resppnsible) and Sarah Schulz. Many thanks to Virginia Schildhauer for translating the newsletter.

You want to make a change by supporting young and committed initiatives to stand against racism and neo-Nazism? Why not make a donation to the Amadeu Antonio Foundation?