Chemnitz has to democracy verächtern face

the city seemed to have recovered somewhat from the rights riots of 2018. Now pay homage to football fans, public a neo-Nazi.

Ulrike Nimz, 1983 born in Rostock and studied German, sociology and journalism. For five years she worked as a reporter at the Free press in Chemnitz. Since 2015 she writes for the Süddeutsche Zeitung. 2018 return in the East as a correspondent for Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Potato chips, horror movies, and loves the sea.

There were disturbing scenes that took place last Saturday on the sidelines of a football game Chemnitzer FC. In the stadium at the Gellert road was commemorated with a minute of silence, with black banners, pyrotechnics and a portrait on the display panel of a deceased Fans.

Just: Thomas Haller wasn't just a football fan. He was the founder of the infamous Hooligan group "HooNaRa". The Name is a political statement: He is for Hooligans, Nazis, racists. The group of widely used, especially in the 90s, the years of fear, it is considered to be responsible for various excesses of violence. There are contacts with the supporters-the environment of the NSU. In Secret, Thomas Haller has in Chemnitz, however, do not act: With the Security company that bears his name, as he secured in the past, large-scale events, among other things, the Chemnitz city and football matches of Chemnitzer FC.

With the staging in the stadium, the local neo-Nazi scene demonstrates once again her Power. Once more, it has managed to occupy the public space and to send the message: This city belongs to us. A week before the start of the process to the violent death of Daniel H. Chemnitz would have been able to pass something worse.

the city seemed to have recovered from the maelstrom of events, she was in the last year. After the death of the 35-Year-old extreme from all over Germany gathered Right in the city. In between, however, families with children, Chemnitz. The pictures of Hitler salute and firecrackers throws went around the world. The demonstrations had their origin in the heart of the hooligan scene.

"didn't we agree that the Hitler greeting is okay?"

Since then, many Federal politicians have travelled to Chemnitz to signal support. Only a week ago, the Chancellor visited without notice the Basketball second division Niners Chemnitz. Maybe it's because she knows that athletes are role models even more than politicians, that a successful Team can give a Region of self-consciousness. The visit was a well-intentioned gesture, but the individual Gestures are not enough alone. All must now get up and make it clear that the public space is a public good and not a propaganda stage for the extreme Right.

stadiums are the centres of Gravity of urban life. Where all the layers meet. Regardless of political preferences, all have 90 minutes of something in common: you wish for the victory of their team. That a football club reveals its social responsibility, it does not condone this Ritual is abused, it shows two things. Of a part of the urban society it is not felt apparently as a border crossing to pay homage to a man who appeared open to the extreme right. And it also shows that the city stands in its Efforts, something like restore a state of normality, yet at the very beginning.

a Few days after the riots in the summer of Saxony's Prime Minister, Michael Kretschmer was abused at the stadium of Chemnitzer FC and booed. Like a beast of prey tamer, he stood there and asked: "didn't we agree that the Hitler greeting is okay?"

The city can not provide this minimum consensus is again questioned. You must show that democracy despiser of lead the word. Now that sponsors will terminate their support, local politicians are talking loudly, it's a start. Even more effective would it be if in the future the Fans of "skies were blue" clear that the Association and definitively exclude. To fill the stadium and the streets with a very different, peaceful activities, is the task of all Democrats. In Chemnitz and elsewhere.