Status: 07/22/2021 4:17 p.m.
Help is urgently needed in the flood areas – but currents such as the “lateral thinkers” movement are also trying to take advantage of this emergency. The police and the federal government warn of false reports and dubious appeals for donations.
In the areas destroyed by the floods in Rhineland-Palatinate and North Rhine-Westphalia, salvage and clean-up work is ongoing. Federal states, organizations, but also private individuals offer their support. However, the offers of help do not always come from reputable sources.
So there are calls for donations circulating on social media channels, behind which there are apparently supporters of the extremist part of the “lateral thinker” scene, such as the SWR reported. The ENT doctor Bodo Schiffmann, who has already been investigated for sedition, has set up such a donation account into which around half a million euros are said to have already been deposited.
Lateral thinkers and right-wing extremists in disaster areas as “helpers” on the go
Monika Anthes / Christian Saathoff, SWR, night magazine 12:20 a.m., July 22, 2021
Federal government refers to official information offer
In a written statement, the Federal Ministry of the Interior expressly warned against participating in such fundraising campaigns:
It is advised to use a wide range of information to find out about possibilities for effective aid and to only take part in fundraising campaigns that are organized by official aid organizations.
Just like the Federal Ministry of the Interior, the spokeswoman for the federal government, Ulrike Demmer, called on official websites and authorized social media channels to find out about current operations as well as ways to help and donate.
At the same time, on its website, the federal government warned not only of dubious appeals for donations but also of false reports that were spread about the situation in the regions affected by the flood.
Police oppose false reports
One of these reports says, for example, that the police and aid organizations are already starting to reduce their workforce on site. The police in Koblenz announced that in the Ahrweiler district in Rhineland-Palatinate, which was particularly hard hit by the disaster, there were vehicles on the road that had spread this message via loudspeaker. The cars were labeled “Peace Vehicle”. At a press conference on Thursday, the police again emphasized that no emergency services would be withdrawn from the regions.
The activities of the “lateral thinkers” scene, but also of right-wing extremist groups in connection with the flood disaster are being observed by the police, a spokesman assured the news agency dpa: “If people from this spectrum present themselves in public, we cannot ignore them . We are evaluating it from the police. ”
Authorities close family center
The association “Parents Stand Up” is also suspected of representing the extremist views of the “lateral thinkers”. In the past, members of the association had mobilized against vaccinating children against the coronavirus or against wearing protective masks. In Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler, the association had opened a family center in a primary school and offered childcare.
The responsible state youth welfare office closed the center. On the one hand, the authorities referred to the inadequate conditions such as the lack of electricity and water supply in the primary school. On the other hand, Detlef Placzek, President of the State Youth Welfare Office, emphasized: “Despite all the hardship that prevails on site, children must be looked after by qualified staff.”
Green group leader speaks of “shameless” approach
The leader of the Greens in the Bundestag, Konstantin von Notz, sharply condemned the appearance of the “lateral thinkers” supporters in the flood areas. “The fact that lateral thinkers, Reich citizens, Holocaust deniers and other right-wing extremists try to celebrate their personal day X in the face of the suffering of the people and the tragedy of the flood is simply shameless,” he told the editorial network Germany. Obstructing the emergency services and deliberately weakening state infrastructures is not only counterproductive, but also punishable under certain circumstances.