Racism Behind the Anti-Fascist Facade in Germany

The German left’s actions don’t match their words. While they’re quick to declare their fight against fascism and support for marginalized communities, their behavior tells a different story. At the recent Hand in Hand demonstration, meant to oppose the far-right, Palestinians and other important voices were left out and mistreated. This shows a serious issue: their supposed fight against fascism is being undermined by their own exclusion and bias. Students of Palestine Leipzig and Queer Liberation Leipzig offer a closer look at what’s really going on.

When Resistance Falls Short:

Two days ago, the AFD topped the Thuringia state elections and placed a close second in Saxony, making a coalition government without them challenging.

The Hand in Hand mass demonstration against fascism took place last week and also earlier this year. Despite its grandeur and impressive turnout, the rise of the far-right, now codified into political power, occurred all the same. How did we get here?

A Comment on the Fractured German Left: 

On the Palestinian block at the Hand in Hand mass demonstration one week before the elections. 

 "Leipzig ist bunt" (Leipzig is colorful) is written in big, multicolored letters on a cardboard sign, which is held up while the march proceeds in silence. Behind that sign, and behind many more blocks, there is a void—intentionally—left around the Palestinian block, which is mainly composed of immigrants and refugees. The block chants, "SPD finanziert, Israel bombardiert" (SPD finances, Israel bombs). This is the striking image of the German left today, the German left that was present at the anti-fascist march on the 25th of August. 

On the 30th of August, Hand in Hand released a statement addressing the participation of that Palestinian block at the mass demo. The statement notes that the group's participation is "not invited" and highlights the efforts of the staff to adjust to the presence of pro-Palestine participants. The statement concludes: "we're happy we could bring people together in the fight against the rise of the right," while simultaneously disabling the comment section under that specific post. 

 As part of that block, including Students for Palestine Leipzig, Queer Liberation Leipzig, and many others from our community of antifascists, refugees, migrants, and Palestine solidarity, we would like the opportunity to comment, as is customary in a democracy. 

  It is notable that at an anti-fascist march organized by the prominent parties of the German left, they did not extend their invitation to the pro-Palestine movement. This is notable, although not surprising: as a recent article in Taz, "Linke in Sachsen: Warum nicht nebeneinander?" (Left in Saxony: Why Not Side by Side?), points out, many in the German left feel that the "Palestine question" is too divisive an issue that impedes the fight against rising fascism and the return of Nazi rhetoric.

It is self-evident that support for a settler colonial government that upholds an apartheid regime, occupies indigenous land in violation of UN resolutions, and whose members engage openly in dehumanizing rhetoric to justify the genocide they are currently perpetrating is antithetical to any leftist position or ideal. 

 The cognitive dissonance necessary to reconcile these irreconcilable positions has produced some of the scenes we witnessed that day, with some members of the wider community showing up and building our block, leaving us touched when people from the mass demo joined us to walk side by side and chant with us, while others engaged in open hostility, often accompanied by racist remarks. From the beginning, members of the block were harassed, accused of antisemitism, and called "Nazis" and "terror supporters" by other participants of the demo.  

In the face of this level of vitriol, it should be difficult for any intellectually honest person to accept as sincere the grandiose speeches and public declarations about acceptance and the welcoming of immigrants in Germany, a rhetoric that can only ring hollow when confronted with people's actions. The individuals who chanted "refugees are welcome" are the same people who, when faced with those refugees during a demonstration against fascism, wanted nothing to do with them. 

Our block was feared, excluded, and met with hostility. In the context of the genocide committed by the Israeli occupation, which is financed and supported by Germany, those who chant "Refugees are welcome" do not want to see Palestinians and Arabs; they do not want to hear their language. Arabic is feared, questioned, and assumed to be a threat.

The current image of the German left is one that wishes to give speeches but does not engage with the voices of people; that wants to feel good about the rhetoric but does not act accordingly. They want to join the march and hold multicolored signs while remaining in their white liberal bubble. They want to talk about refugees on stage, while the large screen next to them only translates German into English and French. They want to ban the Palestinian flag from the demonstration, while the European Union flag is waved without any protests.

Following the same brand of performative activism, the ban on country flags was presented by the organizers as "unifying." This line of reasoning ignores the very painful history of flag banning as a tool of colonial powers to repress the right to self-determination of indigenous populations, not least the Palestinians. The Palestinian flag was banned under Israeli occupation from 1967 to 1993. The Palestinian flag continues to be held in contempt.

In January 2023, Ben Gvir, the israeli security minister, ordered the police to ban the flag in public spaces. The fact that a flag ban can feel "unifying" for some people is a product of the privilege of not understanding the deep-rooted wounds of colonization. This is a perspective the German left could learn to comprehend if they actually spoke with the people they claim to represent. 

In the same way, the fascist crackdown against the Palestinian movement, which has been continuously intensifying, is brushed aside or even celebrated. The last few months have seen an escalation of repressive tactics employed by the German government to suppress public opinion, from home searches of prominent members of the movement—including Jewish ones—to the criminalization of speech and the increase in the ferocity of police brutality against peaceful demonstrators. This too is fascism. This too threatens the foundation of a democratic Germany.

Yet the German left chooses to remain irresponsible so as not to engage with the unspoken reality: that their unshakable and unconditional support for Israel is steeped in anti-Arab racism and the dehumanization of the Palestinian people, which is incompatible with leftist ideology.

This chosen apathy is perfectly demonstrated by staff members at the Amnesty International tent, who were unaware of reports produced by their own organization regarding the crimes of the occupation and the Israeli apartheid regime. 

The unspeakable truth is that the German left needs to recognize their racism and their support for a fascist and racist government abroad if their fight against both racism and fascism is to mean anything.

So long as the SPD and others choose to finance the genocide, choose to cover their ears to the voices of marginalized communities, and leave them uninvited while claiming to speak for them, the German left will remain weak and divided in the face of fascism. The fault will not lie with the immigrants. 

On January 21st, so-called antifascists violently kicked out migrants, refugees and the rest of the Palestine solidarity community from a mass demo by Leipzig Nimmt Platz: against AfD and right extremism. 

                                            This article is also available on the linktr on queerliberationleipzig’s bio