Democratic Underground Latest Greatest Lobby Journals Search Options Help Login
Google

Neo-Nazis ready to 'step on gas'

Printer-friendly format Printer-friendly format
Printer-friendly format Email this thread to a friend
Printer-friendly format Bookmark this thread
This topic is archived.
Home » Discuss » General Discussion Donate to DU
 
BackToThe60s Donating Member (266 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 01:30 AM
Original message
Neo-Nazis ready to 'step on gas'
Source: y net news

BERLIN – Just a month before the Berlin state elections, the German capital has been flooded with posters issued by the far-Right National Democratic Party (NPD) with the shocking slogan: "Step on gas."

The election ad shows party leader Udo Voigt sitting on a motorcycle, wearing a black leather jacket (a popular piece of clothing among Neo-Nazis due to its resemblance of SS uniform), with the words "Gas geben!" – literally translated as "give gas".

Voigt hopes to be elected to the Berlin council for the first time. His party representatives are already members of local councils in neighborhoods across the German capital.

Naturally, the allegedly innocent slogan contains a horrifying association with the gas chambers in which the Nazis killed millions of people, most of them Jews, during World War II. The ad has sparked angry reactions all across the German political spectrum, and some officials said they were looking into the possibility of launching criminal proceedings against the neo-Nazi party.

Read more: http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4108552,00.html



I'm wondering if this shitbag Voigt might be related to one of our own asswipes.....

Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
murielm99 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 01:37 AM
Response to Original message
1. I thought it was illegal to have a neo-nazi party
in Germany. Am I wrong about that?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Tunkamerica Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 02:33 AM
Response to Reply #1
3. I think it's illegal to use the swastika or other Nazi symbology
but to have a far right political party that doesn't explicitly say they are pro-nazi is legal.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BackToThe60s Donating Member (266 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 06:21 AM
Response to Reply #3
5. I do believe that's right
There also exist laws against expressions of antisemitism. But the NPD could argue that "give gas" refers only to getting the motorbike moving or some such bullshit.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DFW Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 07:46 AM
Response to Reply #5
12. That is correct. I live there much of the year, am married to a German
Edited on Mon Aug-15-11 07:49 AM by DFW
Nazi symbolism and the name are forbidden, but far right views are not.

As to where they get their inspiration (no idea about funding), when the first far right party
was founded in 1983 by an ex-SS officer, they looked around for a name they could use legally.
They found one in the USA: Die Republikaner. This is not a joke. Look them up. Die Republikaner
were a little too over the top even for the Germans, plus when they came on the scene, the young
survivors of World War II were mostly still alive. Not so much now 30 years later. The NPD was
always more careful not cross the line, and can step up and claim the far right's leadership now
that Die Republikaner have faded away (would that ours would do likewise).

"Gas geben" is used as a common expression in everyday speech, and usually just means "speed up."
It is also used where we might say, "get a move on," or "get the lead out." No matter what one
might read into it (or what an evil propagandist might purposely have in mind), there is no way
they can be legally pursued for using such a common expression when connected with a vehicle.

As for black leather jackets, they are popular with lots of motorbike riders of all stripes in
Germany. It's cold and windy there a lot of the year (too much for this Texan!), and unless it's
a long SS-style coat (impractical for a motorcycle), not too much can be read into that. Even
Bernie Sanders wears a suit and tie at formal functions.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Judi Lynn Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 01:57 AM
Response to Original message
2. Hope sanity will gain the upper hand this time in Germany.
http://www.morgenpost.de.nyud.net:8090/multimedia/archive/00341/b_udovoigt_BM_Berli_341027b.jpg http://iflizwerequeen.com.nyud.net:8090/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/Screen-shot-2011-08-11-at-3.19.37-PM.png

It's so late in history for this kind of evil hatred which we usually associate with ignorance and stupidity and desperately bad breeding, inbreeding, degeneration.

What a leader this pig would make.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
aquart Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 03:12 AM
Response to Original message
4. How are they linked to La Rouche?
Edited on Mon Aug-15-11 03:20 AM by aquart
On edit: because someone I know derives most of her income from working for La Rouchies and also seems to have a wide acquaintance among Germany's neo-nazis. That and her interesting itinerary has led her to report a pattern of routine hassling at airports when she flies now.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
customerserviceguy Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 06:21 AM
Response to Original message
6. No doubt, they're going for the previous association
between Nazis and gas...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
BackToThe60s Donating Member (266 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 07:41 AM
Response to Reply #6
10. Absolutely
They can hide behind technicals, but I'm not that big a believer in "coincidence."
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
vim876 Donating Member (268 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 10:22 AM
Response to Reply #10
21. "Coincidence"
is different than "ignorant stupidity." While it's entirely possible it's on purpose, it's also entirely possible these guys are just idiots. They ARE far-right-wingers, after all.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Mosaic Donating Member (851 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 06:52 AM
Response to Original message
7. US troops in Germany
Sometimes I realize the wisdom of keeping the troops in ol' Germany.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DFW Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 08:06 AM
Response to Reply #7
14. Very much so
Old habits die hard. Truman and Eisenhower knew full well the mentality we had fought against
in World War II, and knew how fanatical the last of the Nazis were. Our troops were, especially
in the beginning, a big inhibition to any re-organizing of the Nazis in the postwar period. We
may not have been able to count on the war-weary Germans to combat any resurgence, but Nazi
holdouts knew full well (especially after Nürnberg) that we would act. Too many lower-level
Nazis were able to fade back into civil service and government, but it took decades before
any of them dared utter any such sentiments in public. A very biting "comedy" on postwar
Germany is Billy Wilder's (himself a refugee from the Nazis) "One, Two, Three" with James
Cagney and Horst Buchholz.

Ironically, in the name of "tolerance," many German governments since, in an effort to go the
opposite way of the Nazis, have looked the other way, and had a justice system that often let
off violent criminals with just a warning, so they were free to continue what they were doing,
and tell their friends there was no danger (Belgium, Holland and France were this way as well).
Logically enough, in countries with high quotas of immigration, both from Eastern Europe as well
as Islamic countries, this spawned a natural backlash of hate. The greater percentage of foreigners
who committed violent crimes with impunity, the greater the nourishment for far right movements
in countries previously known for their tolerance.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Duende azul Donating Member (608 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 09:46 AM
Response to Reply #14
18. Do I smell some rw talking points?
Edited on Mon Aug-15-11 10:43 AM by Duende azul
"foreigners who committed violent crimes with impunity" ? Wtf?

That´s a dubious assertion. You need to back that up with some data.
Lots of the alleged illegal activities are simply status related. "illegal" immigrants (without papers) have committed an infraction with merely being in the wrong place. That may distort some statistics.
Add to the equation racial profiling by the police, class issues (poverty), and the picture starts to change.

It´s one of the favourite right-wing memes to penetrate deep in societies.
Add to that the antiislamism d`jour and you`ll find astounding alliances: nationalistic pro-war conservatives, racists, pro israel leftwingers and antiislamic rightwingers in the same boat. Dangerous mix. That seems to be the mainstream sentiment also, at least the MSM propagated meme.
The die hard nazis are as antisemitic as ever, but they keep their profile low, trying to unite against the common enemy, the muslims (norway may ring a bell).
Of course you´ll also find antiisrael nazis cheering up Hamas.
It´s a fucked up mix.
And the corporate masters laughing all the way to the bank.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DFW Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 07:23 PM
Response to Reply #18
24. I "need" to back it up?
I live with it, I don't need to back up anything. I'm the one who gets sick seeing groups
like the NPD and the Vlaamse Blok arise from obscurity before my eyes because not enough
was done to prevent them from acquiring new blood. My wife's dad was drafted off his farm
at age 17 only to come back from the Russian front at age 18 minus a leg, and I lost
relatives on my side of the family from 1938-1945. I don't "need" to furnish you with
anything, and I get enough RW talking points shoved in my face every week in Brussels
to make even the most fervent teabagger puke. I don't need accusations of being RW myself
from some armchair wannabe on this board, and those who have known me for a long time or
have met me in person know full well where my sentiments lie.

By the way, the NPD idiots in present-day Germany don't bother much with anti-semitism.
Their grandfathers did enough of a job 70 years ago so as to eliminate too many Jews to make
mass anti-semitism a full-time occupation. They concentrate on Turks, Arabs and Southeastern
Europeans, as the NPD jerks are in essence cowards (as right wing extremists tend to be), and
pick on targets that are both plentiful and in plain sight.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Odin2005 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 08:27 AM
Response to Reply #7
15. I thought the same thing.
I would much rather use our troops to protect Europe then to allow them to re-militarize. I don't WANT them to re-militarize.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Duende azul Donating Member (608 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 10:01 AM
Response to Reply #15
19. Well, that ship has sailed.
Edited on Mon Aug-15-11 10:02 AM by Duende azul
First the US wanted them to remilitarize against the Soviets.
And now their military is wanted to contribute to the empire`s global endeavours. Clinton just asked them to do more. And remember when the germans not wanted to bomb Libya? They got an earful...
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
kentauros Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 07:15 AM
Response to Original message
8. So, everyone should fart at them,
or in their general direction :)
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
EvilMonsanto Donating Member (145 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 07:23 AM
Response to Original message
9. I hate the prefix Neo
Anyhow
I hate Neo everything but Nazis????
really????

In a country where it's illegal to deny the holocaust in public?
Nazis????

I always try to understand my opposition but I never understood Nazis, KKK or white supremacists.
There's just no logic, it's just senseless purposeless hate
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Confusious Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 07:41 AM
Response to Reply #9
11. I watched to much Star Trek, so I have to say this

Who ever said the Human race was logical?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
bigworld Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 07:50 AM
Response to Original message
13. If they truly meant gasoline, wouldn't they have used the word "Benzin" ?
Any native German speakers here want to comment?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
greiner3 Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 08:51 AM
Response to Original message
16. So when the US Right Wing Jewish Talking Heads;
Espouse their hatred of anything but Conservatism are they promoting Conservatism and the Neo-Natzi parties in other countries?

Does no one else see the irony?
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Duende azul Donating Member (608 posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 09:14 AM
Response to Original message
17. Legally it`s forbidden
Edited on Mon Aug-15-11 09:14 AM by Duende azul
to reenact the nazi party. But they tend to find ways around, always pushing the limit.

There have been attempts to declare the NPD illegal. Since lots of their members or their stooges were caught in criminal activities.
The attempt failed some years ago because the court couldn`t tell the members from the police informants in the party. And the police and the german homeland security wouldn`t tell who belonged to them (Ironically german homeland security goes by the name "federal constitution protection"). Maybe out of fear, criminal activities directly instigated and committed by these folks might see the daylight.

Reminds one of the FBI informants in certain islamistic cells in the US.

That went pretty high up the party hierarchy. If I recall correctly, there where party boards and chapters whith a majority of police informants and secret agents.

So the neo-nazi party is still there. A constant reminder to progressives and the left, that the corporate masters have more options to fight dissent.

In various city and and state parlaments there are elected neo-nazis. And right wing attitudes have penetrated deep in the political mainstream.
One of the intend fruits of the totalitarism meme.
Neo-nazi manifestations are regularly protected by the Police against counterprotests. With regional differences, more and more people people get involved in stopping nazi marches. Coalitions of people of different stripes are forming.
To counter these, some of the federal states ramp up surveillance and repression.
So, at this time, it`s a mixed bag.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Jkid Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 10:05 AM
Response to Original message
20. I hope they step on the gas towards a trainwreck
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
AntiFascist Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 01:03 PM
Response to Original message
22. At least they are still considered 'far right'....

unlike the propaganda coming out of the Tea Party that would make Joseph Goebbels proud.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Dawson Leery Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 01:09 PM
Response to Original message
23. The German Tea Party.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
UTUSN Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 09:04 PM
Response to Original message
25. GO for it, A-holes, so the rest of us world can STOMP your f***ING asses!1 n/t
Edited on Mon Aug-15-11 09:05 PM by UTUSN
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
Initech Donating Member (1000+ posts) Send PM | Profile | Ignore Mon Aug-15-11 09:15 PM
Response to Original message
26. The tea party is spreading its' disease to other parts of the globe.
Printer Friendly | Permalink |  | Top
 
DU AdBot (1000+ posts) Click to send private message to this author Click to view 
this author's profile Click to add 
this author to your buddy list Click to add 
this author to your Ignore list Thu May 02nd 2024, 12:25 AM
Response to Original message
Advertisements [?]
 Top

Home » Discuss » General Discussion Donate to DU

Powered by DCForum+ Version 1.1 Copyright 1997-2002 DCScripts.com
Software has been extensively modified by the DU administrators


Important Notices: By participating on this discussion board, visitors agree to abide by the rules outlined on our Rules page. Messages posted on the Democratic Underground Discussion Forums are the opinions of the individuals who post them, and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Democratic Underground, LLC.

Home  |  Discussion Forums  |  Journals |  Store  |  Donate

About DU  |  Contact Us  |  Privacy Policy

Got a message for Democratic Underground? Click here to send us a message.

© 2001 - 2011 Democratic Underground, LLC