With the right hand, the Hitler salute is indicated. With the left hand, the beard. Young people in a party mood are shouting “Foreigners out” slogans into their cell phone cameras. No one around them seems to be bothered by this. A xenophobic incident in a discotheque on Sylt has raised the question of the extent to which it has brought a broad social problem to light and increased concerns about democracy.
Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier expressed concern at the weekend about “the brutalization of political manners”. The events in the Internet video gave cause for concern “because it is obviously not just the marginalized, the left behind who are becoming radicalized, but rather it is a radicalization that is also taking place at least in parts of the middle of society,” said Steinmeier at a democracy festival in Bonn.
Videos like the one from Sylt have been circulating on the internet over the past few months. But what makes Sylt so controversial is the fact that young people appear to be from the wealthy, middle-class milieu. No stereotype, no frustrated East German, who is often used as a symbol of xenophobia and right-wing extremism. The Pony Club, where the young people sang racist chants, is located on the so-called Whiskey Mile in Kampen. This is where German wealth is at home.
Misanthropic ideology is apparently part of pop culture
The men and women are completely unashamed and exuberant as they shout xenophobic chants into their cell phone cameras. Right-wing extremist slogans have apparently become party entertainment. The Federal Government’s anti-Semitism commissioner, Felix Klein, is shocked by the footage and told the German editorial network: “Not because I am surprised by the existence of such a misanthropic ideology, but because it has clearly become part of pop culture and socially acceptable in a milieu that should be aware that foreigners make a significant contribution to our prosperity.”
Right-wing extremist attitudes are increasing in Germany. This is the result of the Mitte study presented in autumn 2023, which surveys the attitudes of the middle of society every two years on behalf of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is close to the SPD. According to the study, around 16 percent of respondents in 2022/2023 stated that they had xenophobic attitudes – a significant increase compared to previous surveys.
“The incident on Sylt is an exception because in middle-class circles racism is usually expressed more subtly and with more sensitivity,” says Timo Reinfrank, managing director of the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which campaigns against right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism. According to Reinfrank, racism remains within the framework of social desirability and does not have to be made explicit. “But everyone understands what is meant: in the past it was the uncle with the Nazi slogans at the family party, today it is the discussion about how high the proportion of non-German students is in the schoolyard and whether it is still justifiable to send your own child there.”
At the weekend there were again “foreigners out” slogans
The Sylt party-goers have already suffered the first consequences: some have lost their jobs, and the state security service is investigating for incitement and the use of anti-constitutional symbols. Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) also distanced himself in a calm but clear tone: “Such slogans are disgusting, they are unacceptable,” he said on Friday in Berlin. “And there can be no mistaking that. And that is why it is right that all of our activities are aimed at preventing this from becoming a thing that spreads.”
They don’t seem to have been very successful in preventing this. Another case came to light at the weekend in which people chanted xenophobic slogans. Similar to what happened on Sylt, two men are said to have shouted “Foreigners out” to the song “L’Amour Toujours” by Gigi D’Agostino at a folk festival in Erlangen on Friday evening. The Erlangen Criminal Investigation Department has now begun investigations in cooperation with the Nuremberg-Fürth public prosecutor’s office.
While the democracy festival is being celebrated this weekend to mark the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law, with its values such as tolerance and human dignity, there is growing concern in Germany that these values are being undermined. With regard to the celebrations, Economics Minister Robert Habeck (The Greens) told the newspapers of the Funke media group that Germany has managed to become a strong democracy built on respect and plurality. “It is our job to protect that.”