Nazism becomes trendy again

29 September 2007
Die Welt, Germany

Translation

Ronald S. Lauder

It is not surprising that Jews are more sensitive than others with regards to increasing anti-Semitism and right-wing extremism. Despite the horrors of the Holocaust and many efforts to educate people, right-wing extremism in Europe just does not want to disappear. Moreover, we witness today a tacit alliance between violent skinheads in the streets and ideologues who seek to enter the parliaments.

In Hungary, the leaders of an extreme-right party recently swore in their paramilitary guard outside the presidential palace. Their symbols and rhetoric resemble those of Hungarian fascists during WWII, the very people who rounded up Jews to send to the Nazi death camps. In the Serb city of Novi Sad, local authorities authorized the march of violent ultra-Nationalists and neo-Nazis. It is the place where 65 years ago, the Nazis massacred 800 Jews and 400 Serbs.

These are just two examples for how shamelessly right-wing extremism presents itself today publicly, unhindered by government and society. The uniforms of these new right-wing extremists closely resemble those of the Nazis, and the discourse and presentation deployed by these people makes it plain to everybody that Nazi ideology is en vogue again in certain circles. Unfortunately, the so-called ”silent majority” in society very often turns a blind eye on this because it is not considered that threatening after all.

No democratic state must allow those groups to threaten the rule of law. Governments are compelled uphold the state’s monopoly on force and not surrender it to paramilitary organizations, not just with respect to actual violence, or the threat of it, but also for the potential force represented by certain organizations. Its message is plain to everybody: Wait and see, and once the moment has come we will rid society again of  the Jews, of foreigners and all other “strangers”. These ideologues receive support from pseudo-democratic, extreme-right politicians who always seek to justify their hate messages by referring to freedom of speech.

In Germany, we also witness a close cooperation between these groups, who are aiming at widening their scope for political maneuver. Besides the tough prosecution of the perpetrators of hate crimes, of Holocaust deniers and of hate preachers, the strengthening of education and information is key to fighting back right-wing extremism. This is all the more crucial as each year there are less Shoah survivors amongst us, and ignorance about the Holocaust is increasing.

To right-wing extremists, world Jewry is the main culprit of all things evil in our globalized world. But can a people numbering a mere 13 million really dominate this world of 6 billion inhabitants? The Iranian president is only one of the many people who say such nonsense. If these claims were not so dangerous and destructive for so many people, as a Jew one could almost feel honored about so much faith in our people’s intelligence.

To survive the pressures that exist in today’s world, one needs a solid set of values. Most people want to live in security, stability and have a perspective in life. They want their political system to function properly, and their political representatives to govern in their interest. There is apparently a deficit in this respect in some European countries; again Hungary and Serbia could serve as examples for that.

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