Police investigate neo-Nazi slogans at celebration in Burgenland district

In Last weekend, xenophobic slogans were shouted at parties in Saxony-Anhalt to music. As the Burgenland district police station told MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT, two reports have been filed following the racist chants in Leißling in the Burgenland district. According to a spokeswoman, the videos are being viewed and further reports will be filed officially.

A video obtained by MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT shows several party guests singing racist lyrics in unison in a marquee in Leißling. One man also gave the Hitler salute.

In the Weißenfels district, the traditional “egg begging” was celebrated, a custom in which evil winter spirits are to be expelled. At the party on Saturday evening, a hit by Gigi D’Agostinoto whose music the xenophobic slogans were shouted. The police were called.

According to MDR information, a young man who had expressed his displeasure at what happened at the party was beaten up. According to a police spokeswoman, the man did not file a complaint out of fear.

The local council and the local history association of Leißling have distanced themselves from racist chants in their village. The town of Weißenfels, to which Leißling belongs, announced this on Wednesday. The incident was condemned. There is no place for Nazis in Leißling, they said.

Saxony-Anhalt’s Prime Minister Reiner Haseloff called for action against right-wing extremist ideology in view of the incident. “This is generally absurd. Sylt must not be replicated elsewhere. The consequences must be drawn and imitators must expect social resistance from all citizens,” he told MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT.

Criticism also came from the district administrator of the Burgenland district, Götz Ulrich (CDU). He told MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT: “For me, this is disgusting and unacceptable and it needs to be addressed.” A traditional festival in which the entire village community takes part is being discredited as a result.

The mayor of Weißenfels, Martin Papke (CDU), also strongly condemned the racist incident at the Leisslinger egg begging. The fact that racists are putting the traditional festival in a bad light is appalling, Papke said on Monday. “Anyone who utters xenophobic slogans and makes a Hitler salute must face the consequences. I hope that the investigating authorities take tough action here.”

Since November, a total of six such cases have been registered in Saxony-Anhalt, where inflammatory slogans were shouted to the melody of well-known songs, the Interior Ministry said in response to a query from MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT. Accordingly, the first case in Magdeburg was reported on November 15, 2023 via social networks. Eleven days later, this reportedly happened at a dance event in Zerbst in the Anhalt-Bitterfeld district. On New Year’s Day, slogans were sung along to at a private party in Brücken-Hackpfüffel in the Mansfeld-Südharz district.

Most recently, such an incident was reported in Halle. How A police spokeswoman told MDR SACHSEN-ANHALT that five young men between the ages of 18 and 19 were walking around the Galgenberg gorge with a jukebox on Saturday. According to the spokeswoman, they also played the song and sang along. The young people’s personal details were recorded. State security is investigating on suspicion of incitement to hatred.

The police in Magdeburg are also investigating this issue. Two men are said to have shouted the slogans from a car near the cathedral. The police then identified the vehicle and searched it for possible audio recordings. The mobile phones were confiscated, it was reported. An investigation has been launched against the 22 and 27 year old men on suspicion of incitement to hatred.

At the Pentecost weekend, numerous young people had a party caused a stir nationwide on the North Sea island of SyltThey had loudly sung the slogan “Germany for the Germans, foreigners out” to the D’Agostino pop hit “L’Amour toujours”.

MDR (T. Ries, D. Jacobs, T. Schwarz, N. Düsekow, Julia Heundorf, Maximilian Fürstenberg, Kalina Bunk), first published on May 27, 2024