After the racist shouting of several of their party guests, the operators of the affected bar on Sylt defended their behavior at the time of the scandal, but have since taken legal action. “If our staff had witnessed such behavior at any time, we would have reacted immediately. We would have immediately informed the police and filed a criminal complaint. We have now been able to do that,” wrote the operators of the well-known restaurant “Pony” in the posh holiday resort of Kampen on Instagram on Saturday nightThe persons in question have been identified and reported.
“We do not tolerate this deeply antisocial behavior. We never have and we never will. That is why we are now taking action against it with all means at our disposal,” the operators said. They are still shocked and deeply dismayed. “Racism and fascism have no place in our society.”
:Champagne, party and open racism
Right-wing slogans, Nazi gestures – and all of this while celebrating in an elite circle: How a party video from the island of Sylt is causing an uproar across the country.
Habeck: “Disgusting insults” like those on Sylt must have no place
Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck expressed his dismay at the racist yelling. The scenes were disturbing and absolutely unacceptable, the Green politician told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group. “Anyone who acts like that, excludes people and shouts fascist slogans is attacking what holds our country together.” With a view to the celebrations for the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law, Habeck said that Germany had managed to become a strong democracy built on respect and plurality. “It is our job to protect that. Such disgusting harassment must have no place.”
CDU federal chairman Friedrich Merz also strongly condemned the video. “What is actually going on in these people’s heads? It can no longer be explained by alcohol consumption,” he said on Saturday at a CDU Brandenburg party conference in Potsdam for the state election. “What happened there can no longer be justified or explained anywhere. It is completely unacceptable that something like this is happening.”
Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (both SPD) had already spoken out on Friday. Scholz described the slogans as “disgusting” and “unacceptable”. Faeser told the newspapers of the Funke Media Group: “Anyone who shouts Nazi slogans like ‘Germany for the Germans, foreigners out’ is a disgrace for Germany.”
SPD withdraws Insta post, Gigi D’Agostino speaks out
The SPD also wanted to take a stand against the party roaring with an Instagram post – but was met with incomprehension and criticism and finally corrected itself. In reference to the slogans shouted there, the party had originally written on the platform under a black, red and gold banner: “Germany for the Germans who defend our democracy.” After a large number of negative reactions, the post was deleted. The party apologized.
DJ Gigi D’Agostino also commented. In a statement on Saturday, he said that his song is all about love. It is about “a wonderful, big and intense feeling that connects people.” Another central theme is the joy of the beauty of being together. He did not mention the incident on Sylt in his statement. He emphasized that he is not on social media.
Racist chants also at shooting festival in Lower Saxony
The “Rotes Kliff” club in the upscale town of Kampen also reported a “racism incident” at Pentecost. The people involved were expelled from the club and are now banned from the premises, the operators wrote on Instagram.
But Sylt is not an isolated case. In recent months there have been repeated incidents in which Nazi slogans were shouted to the song – for example in Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. On Friday it was also announced that a similar incident had also occurred in Lower Saxony at Pentecost. Racist slogans were also shouted at the shooting festival in Löningen near Vechta, including to “L’amour Toujours”. Witnesses who filmed what happened reported the incident to the police. State security is now investigating this case as well.
The Bunnen shooting club distanced itself from the incident on Instagram. The club is diverse and welcomes everyone. The incident should be further investigated.
Expert sees normalization of right-wing extremist content
From the point of view of expert Pia Lamberty, the Sylt video with the racist slogans shows a normalization of right-wing extremist content in society. “Without any form of opposition, social norms are simply broken,” says the co-director of the Center for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (Cemas), which investigates radicalization tendencies and conspiracy theories on the Internet. “People can express extreme slogans in public without hesitation.” The song “L’amour toujours” is now increasingly linked to the racist slogans, says Lamberty. “That does something to the brain.” In this way, right-wing extremists have managed to gain acceptance of such slogans in wider society.
For the Cemas expert, the case makes it clear: “Right-wing extremism is not just a problem that you see in East Germany or among people with lower incomes, but also among higher classes.” The main threat to those affected is the structural power that these people could potentially exercise. The video shows: “Racism also comes from people who have studied at universities or are in management positions.” Right-wing extremism and racist attitudes are something that can be found throughout society. In Lamberty’s view, those affected by racism could avoid places in the long term where racist statements are made without being contradicted, as in the current case.