Right-wing violence in schools

2023-05-13 09:32:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

In the eastern German state of Brandenburg, around 150 students, teachers and parents protested on Tuesday, May 9, against right-wing violence. "The issue of racism, sexism and homophobia in schools affects us all," teacher Max Teske told the protesters. "It's a threat to the whole society."

Teske and his colleague Laura Nikel attracted a lot of attention from the German public with their letter at the end of April. In it, they reported on far-right music in schools, Nazi crosses in school inventory and insults in school hallways.

"Some foreign and tolerant students in our school are facing isolation, bullying and threats of violence", say the teachers of a primary and secondary school near the city of Cottbus. They say they no longer want to be silent about this phenomenon and will ask for more social workers, more teacher training courses and the implementation of some projects to promote democracy in schools.

Right-wing violence in schools

More than 500 victims of right-wing violence

"Unfortunately, these are not isolated cases, but only the tip of the iceberg," Hajke Klefner told DW. The number of children and young people who have become victims of anti-Semitic and racist attacks has doubled in 2022. Centers for assistance to victims of violence have registered more than 520 cases in which children and young people have been physically injured."

The total number of cases per year can also be seen from statistical data.

Right-wing violence in schools

A total of 2,871 victims were registered. Of these, almost 2,100 children and young people are victims of right-wing, racist and anti-Semitic attacks - around 700 more than a year ago. The increase in cases of politically motivated violence, which is observed in current police statistics, includes not only physical attacks, but also criminal acts such as insults.

Fear of attacks

That's "just part of a really dramatic reality," Klefner says. In reality, the number of attacks is probably much higher. "We know many cases where victims say they are afraid to speak openly about it, because the perpetrators live in the neighborhood, they are afraid they will be accused of being guilty themselves.

Attacks of this type often have long-term consequences for victims, Klefner says. As an example, he mentions an eight-year-old boy who was insulted, pushed and kicked by a 71-year-old man in a swimming pool in Thuringia in February 2022. "Because of this attack, the child is still in distress, he is very scared and in therapy. The family rightly fears that they are no longer safe. They say: "We don't know when we will meet the next man or woman who will insult, discriminate or even physically hurt us for racist reasons."

Threats at summer camp

In Heidese, not far from Berlin, last Sunday, May 7, the police managed to prevent insults and threats from turning into physical injuries. A class of a Berlin school, mostly of migrant origin, was preparing for a maths exam in a camp. According to reports, on Sunday evening, some young people insulted the students of the tenth grade because of their background and threatened them with violence. Under the protection of the police, the students and their teachers left the camp.

Right-wing violence in schools

"It's a really important signal that this class found the courage to share their experiences with right-wing threats, right-wing violence and racism," says Heike Klefner of the Victims' Counseling Association. "That's the only way to really change anything."

Residence permit for victims of right-wing violence?

Klefner calls on German Interior Minister Nancy Faeser to provide residence permits for those affected by racist and anti-Semitic violence. "This humanitarian right of residence would enable those who were attacked to be available as witnesses throughout the duration of the criminal proceedings. And this would be a clear signal that the rule of law is on the side of those who are attacked .” In 2021, the Left Party presented a corresponding bill in parliament, but did not receive majority support.

The interior minister called the incident at the camp "terrible". "It was also terrible that those who were attacked had to make concessions," Faeser noted, presenting the latest data on politically motivated violence in Germany on Tuesday. She called for a full investigation to prevent something like this from happening again. Meanwhile, the Security Service is investigating hate speech and threats.

Right-wing violence in schools

Experiences and their treatment

According to the Berlin Senate for Education, the affected students and their parents have already been offered psychological support meetings on Monday, May 8. "It is important that all students and teachers have the opportunity to talk about what they have experienced with people they trust and, if they wish, with trained psychologists and counselors about the uncertainty, fear and ongoing sense of vulnerability that can accompany such an experience - especially for those affected by family migration or the experience of flight," says Klefner.

Right-wing violence in schools

Reports of right-wing violence remind some observers of the 1990s, when a wave of racially motivated attacks in Germany sparked fear and terror. Then, as now, according to statistics, the risk of becoming a victim of such an attack was higher in the East German states than in the West.

Heike Klefner, however, sees an important difference: "Ten, twenty or thirty years ago, the focus was not on the experiences of those who were attacked and injured." This is different in reporting now. "It was very necessary," says Klefner, "because those who are affected by this problem very often feel that their perspective, their experiences are not believed but they are doubted." Those affected by right-wing violence often trust only the people who work in Victims' Counseling Centers./ DW