The Return of German Nationalism

“...the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country...”  - Herman Goering

The Socialist Party has always warned that the danger of describing the state-capitalism, a centralised command economy, as socialism and that its inevitable failure would create confusion and a backlash against the socialist idea. 

We can see this development in the former East Germany. The more eastward you go, the more neo-Nazis you may encounter. The Germany’s Eastern region has turned out to be a stronghold of AfD ultra-nationalism. In September 2019, two Eastern German states –Brandenburg and Saxony– held elections. Germany’s right-wing extremist party, the AfD, (Alternative für Deutschland) tripled its previous result in Saxony (from 9.7% to 27.5%) and doubled its earlier outcome in Brandenburg (from 12.2% to 23.5%). 

The AfD has decisively increased its popularity. Political commentators are busy debating whether the AfD is right-wing or neo-Nazi. AfD presents itself as just another populist part of concerned citizens, concerned, that is, with the need for Germanic culture” needs to be defended against a flood of refugees and migrants. Their politics of fear works very well and even better when mixed with racism. Xenophobia is linked to a falsely perceived rise in crime. The 'good old days' were the days with no foreigners and everything worked well.

The AfD seeks promote a race struggle whereby Germans are encouraged to believe that they need to defend themselves against non-Germans and their Christian European (read Aryan) culture. The enemy is no longer just the Jew but now includes the Muslim. The AfD are intent upon reinforcing Fortress Europe and demands more border police to man the walls and with the authority to shoot to any refugee crossing into Germany.

Yet the problems of the working class in the former GDR are real. Thirty years ago, about 100,000 people worked in coal mining, today it is less then 10,000 with no jobs replacing those lost and are now threatened by changes in Germany’s environment policies. After re-unification many state institutions declined or vanished altogether. Factories closed, those jobs that remained were low-paid, youth centres became empty, transportation declined, skilled professionals relocated to the higher paying west, leaving behind an economically waste-land and an atmosphere of bitterness and resentment. Real misery sowed the seeds of disillusionment with politics and a rise in apathy. Feeling neglected by democracy, many began to believe in conspiracy fantasies such as globalism promoted by the right-wing ideologies. Many voted AfD as the hoped-for party of change which gained support from the anger and helplessness. 

AfD promises a strong state that takes care of you. This is the thing Germans in the East were accustomed to having and expect, compared to their German counterparts in the West

The next state election is scheduled for Thuringia (27th October 2019) – home of AfD-Führer Björn Höcke.

Adapted from this article
https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/10/02/eastern-germans-voting-nazism-again/