Black, red and gold balaclavas
Police investigate meeting with Nazi symbols in Eschede
22.06.2024, 15:38
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An Algiz rune is burned on a farm in Eschede. Some of the spectators are wearing black, red and gold balaclavas. They are carrying out a torchlight march. What a research collective captures in pictures is now a matter for the police. But they also notice that different rules apply on private property.
After a party by suspected right-wing extremists on a farm in Eschede in the Celle district, the police are investigating whether criminal offenses have occurred. According to the information available so far, around 50 participants were there, a police spokeswoman said. “It went on until late Saturday evening,” she said of the event last weekend. She pointed out that it was an event on private property. “Different regulations apply there,” she said.
After a Report from the daily newspaper “taz” Neo-Nazis from all over Germany met last weekend for a solstice celebration. According to reports, the meeting was organized by the Young Nationalists, the party youth organization of the former NPD, which is now called Die Heimat. The newspaper published Photos of a research collectivein which some men and women are wearing black, red and gold balaclavas. They are standing around a fire with torches. According to the report, there were rituals and symbols that date back to the Nazi era. For example, a four-meter-tall wooden cross in the shape of an Algiz rune, which stood for the SS organization Lebensborn in National Socialism, was burned at a campfire. The background and authenticity of the photos could not initially be verified. The use of the Algiz rune in an obvious Nazi context is usually punishable.
Right-wing extremists have been gathering on the farm near Eschede for many years, for example at so-called solstice celebrations or harvest celebrations. The farm belongs to the Die Heimat party. The police regularly patrol the area to get an idea of what is going on, said a police spokeswoman.
Demonstrations against right-wing extremism
Various organizations regularly call for protests against the events on the farm. “We will not accept the right-wing extremist activities here in Eschede,” said Lower Saxony’s Prime Minister Stephan Weil of the SPD at a demonstration in October 2023.
The Südheide network against right-wing extremism called for a rally on Saturday afternoon. The former regional bishop and EKD council chairwoman Margot Käßmann was announced as the speaker. The police expected around 200 participants.
People from many different areas, such as politics, trade unions, churches and other organizations, are taking part in the demonstrations against right-wing extremism. “It is a clear sign that the vast majority of our society unequivocally rejects right-wing extremist ideas,” it said. The meeting of right-wing extremists on the farm was originally expected to take place this weekend – which is why the alliance had planned the demonstration.