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Fight fascism with fascism?

  • 11-10-2004 2:53pm
    #1
    pickarooney
    Moderators, Arts Moderators Posts: 35,731 Mod ✭✭✭✭


    An article in The Register (no need to, er, register) describes the punishment of a guy whose website featured links to neo-nazi sites. Irrespective of the fact that the website featuring the links was itself devoid of content designed to incite racial hatred, do you think Germany is being unnecessarily heavy-handed in dealing with the hatemongers?
    Obviously it's a hugely sensitive issue in Germany, but is "not talking about it" really the way to deal with a dark past and sombre present?


Comments

  • #2
    bobbyjoe
    Closed Accounts Posts: 798 ✭✭✭bobbyjoe


    Don't think they were very heavy handed.
    300 euro fine isn't exactly locking the guy up and throwing away the key.

    Article says he was guilty of
    "aiding and abetting access" to material published by people "inciting racial hatred [and] denying the Holocaust" - a criminal offence in Germany.

    I can see why thats a criminal offence there, I'd say their pretty sensitive about it.

    Don't think the Germans have a lets not talk about it policy the article says there are exemptions for
    "Documentary is for museums or exhibitions,"research, education or reporting,"


  • #3
    mycroft
    Closed Accounts Posts: 2,862 ✭✭✭mycroft


    See here was me thinking you'd have a post about AFA and the more vibrant anti nazi groups who used violence to shut down neo nazi meetings.

    Using the law is entirely acceptable, if the german's where going to fascist about it they'd ban the internet, arrest the guy, and chuck him into labour camp for twenty years.

    As for German reaction to Neo Nazis, the whole "Don't mention the war". The generation that grew up after the war, had to deal with realising that their fathers and mothers were either complicent, or stood idly by when one of the greatest crimes againist humanity was commited, the collective psyche guilt and repression is difficult to speak about. Certain german artists, writers, performers etc have spoken and worked through the themes, but one only has to look at german popular culture to see that they're still working through it.

    For example this year, now is the first time Hitler has appeared in a german film. He's been shown as a shadow, a voice, in archive, but no actor has ever appeared as Hitler until now. It's very telling, about the german's people's mindset.


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