Tübingen confronts Neo-Nazis with sunflowers, baby carriages and balloons...
What a fantastic place to live.
A short time ago, it became known that the so-called Young National Democrats, a group of what are essentially neo-Nazis, was going to have a demonstration here in Tübingen. The city council tried to prevent it, but there were no legal means of stopping the demo from going forward. So instead, the city and people of Tübingen decided on a counter-demonstration. Quickly, the forces of societal self-organization kicked into motion and literally dozens of projects and ideas were underway.
When Saturday finally came, I went into town with my son to see what was going on. It was unbelievable. We had missed the central demonstration at the market square and the political speeches, but the "Citizens' Festival," as it was being called, was in full swing. There were anti-fascist and "autonomous" groups of youth near the train station which made it look like Tübingen was gearing for a fight. But further into town, everyone was out and about. There were stands and activities by political parties, Greenpeace, churches, unions, choirs, the German-American-Institute, and other organizations. There was street basketball, a moon bounce, singing, musicians, sidewalk cafes, etc. There was a strong police presence, but so far, it didn't look like they had anything to do. On our return home about noon, we detoured past the train station. That is where the Nazis were still "hiding" and lots of people - hundreds, thousands - had shown up to "greet" them.
It did not have the look of a normal political confrontation. The demonstrators were everyone. It was a total demographic reflection of the city, not a mob of angry youth or a chorus of striking doctors or anything else at all unitary. There were lots and lots of "normal" people: old people, parents with their small children, baby buggies, toddlers up on shoulders carrying balloons, some "leftist"-looking youth, students, etc. There was a percussion group raising a storm with their drums. There were banners against Nazis and pro-tolerance. There were sunflowers. There were red and black flags, including the flag of the Marxist Leninist German Communist Party. There was a Christian banner as well and an Israeli flag! It was simply unbelievable.
Someone was exhorting the people in the crowd to not engage in violent acts when the police took down the barrier and the Nazis marched out. We were supposed to be especially careful for all the children nearby!
We had to go and didn't see what came of it. A witness later told us that he saw about 15 Nazis later that day, standing in a small bunch, surrounding by hundreds of normal people. According to the news, there were about 230 Nazis total - vs. about 10,000 counter-demonstrators. The encounter at the train station took the form of purely verbal altercations and nobody was hurt.
The Nazis had known Tübingen to be what they call a "white area" - an area where they have no influence. They came to show themselvse and exert influence. My suspicion is that they only discovered how totally hopeless their cause is in Tübingen.
Here are some pictures of the counter-demonstration at the train station. Click to enlarge:
Links:
The main link for pictures, videos and news in German is: http://www.tagblatt.de/index.php?artikel_id=35642979
See lots of pictures at http://www.tagblatt.de/index.php?artikel_id=35642863
A short time ago, it became known that the so-called Young National Democrats, a group of what are essentially neo-Nazis, was going to have a demonstration here in Tübingen. The city council tried to prevent it, but there were no legal means of stopping the demo from going forward. So instead, the city and people of Tübingen decided on a counter-demonstration. Quickly, the forces of societal self-organization kicked into motion and literally dozens of projects and ideas were underway.
When Saturday finally came, I went into town with my son to see what was going on. It was unbelievable. We had missed the central demonstration at the market square and the political speeches, but the "Citizens' Festival," as it was being called, was in full swing. There were anti-fascist and "autonomous" groups of youth near the train station which made it look like Tübingen was gearing for a fight. But further into town, everyone was out and about. There were stands and activities by political parties, Greenpeace, churches, unions, choirs, the German-American-Institute, and other organizations. There was street basketball, a moon bounce, singing, musicians, sidewalk cafes, etc. There was a strong police presence, but so far, it didn't look like they had anything to do. On our return home about noon, we detoured past the train station. That is where the Nazis were still "hiding" and lots of people - hundreds, thousands - had shown up to "greet" them.
It did not have the look of a normal political confrontation. The demonstrators were everyone. It was a total demographic reflection of the city, not a mob of angry youth or a chorus of striking doctors or anything else at all unitary. There were lots and lots of "normal" people: old people, parents with their small children, baby buggies, toddlers up on shoulders carrying balloons, some "leftist"-looking youth, students, etc. There was a percussion group raising a storm with their drums. There were banners against Nazis and pro-tolerance. There were sunflowers. There were red and black flags, including the flag of the Marxist Leninist German Communist Party. There was a Christian banner as well and an Israeli flag! It was simply unbelievable.
Someone was exhorting the people in the crowd to not engage in violent acts when the police took down the barrier and the Nazis marched out. We were supposed to be especially careful for all the children nearby!
We had to go and didn't see what came of it. A witness later told us that he saw about 15 Nazis later that day, standing in a small bunch, surrounding by hundreds of normal people. According to the news, there were about 230 Nazis total - vs. about 10,000 counter-demonstrators. The encounter at the train station took the form of purely verbal altercations and nobody was hurt.
The Nazis had known Tübingen to be what they call a "white area" - an area where they have no influence. They came to show themselvse and exert influence. My suspicion is that they only discovered how totally hopeless their cause is in Tübingen.
Here are some pictures of the counter-demonstration at the train station. Click to enlarge:
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Links:
The main link for pictures, videos and news in German is: http://www.tagblatt.de/index.php?artikel_id=35642979
See lots of pictures at http://www.tagblatt.de/index.php?artikel_id=35642863
mhatlie - 23. Jul, 14:48 Topic: Tübingen http://hatlie.twoday.net/stories/4097834/
