Heraus!
The smell of fire and the blare of ambulances and police vans has filled the day here in Goettingen. Today was my first time witnessing a large scale political march, and the subsequent demonstrations againist such a march. All the EAP students received numerous e-mails from our directors warning againist going into town today because of possible threats of violence. But please, can you really expect a group of foreign college students to not want to see what a political demonstration is like here? ...especially when the march is by the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands: Neonazis.
"Patriotic" music screeched down Weender Landstrasse, and as the slowmoving vehicles passed, one could hear a faceless voice shouting fascist rhetoric. Kate and I sort of didn't know what was going on, and it took us awhile to find where the actual march was, because all the streets were blocked. There were hordes of people lining the street, most just watching, but definite numbers yelling things like "Nazis 'raus!" and blowing whistles. (I took a short video on my camera that I can send to anyone interested. Also, check out the spooky NPD-Goettingen website.) This is a university town, so I think its safe to assume that no one was supporting the march. When we finally got to a place where we could see, we were towards the end of the line, so most of what I could see were the literally thousands of policewo/men. We were all talking about the impending march last night at Trou (a bar), and David was saying that he had read that 4,000 police were supposed to be deployed today. So I didn't actually see that many Nazis in the march, I am not sure if that is because they were too walled in by the police, or if it was because we were towards the end of the march.
Kate and I didn't ride down into town until two this afternoon, but Jacky had called me earlier in the day from downtown, so I knew a little about what was going on. She said she hadn't really witnessed much violence, but that the police kept chasing people away, and that the side streets were lined with burning dumpsters. I didn't really see much violence either, though I was startled a few times when we were standing on the side of the street watching, because down Weender Landstrasse (one of the main streets here in Goettingen) people would apparently cross the line, and then a segment of police would burst through the crowd and chase after people. When I say cross the line, I am meaning that people were getting too hostile towards the marchers, throwing things or shouting too much. It probably seems strange that the bystanders were the ones getting tackled and pinned to the ground, but the NPD (Nazi Party) got approval to march in Goettingen, and anyone againist the march had to keep their peace, or else they were the ones breaking the law. Standing all around us were people (mostly males) dressed all or mostly in black, hoods up and knuckles clenched. I didn't figure out who these people were until I was walking my bike home (it was impossible to ride through the masses of people just standing around) and I heard my name being called, and turned around to see Sean. A fellow Californian, he had been downtown all day, and had walked behind the anarchist march/demonstration. Then it clicked that the people in black were the anarchists. Signs I had seen around town saying "No Cops, No Nazis" finally made some sense.
Walking home the charred remnants of the dumpsters lined Robert Koch Strasse. The afternoon was such a strange experience. Masses of people standing around just waiting for something, masses of people shouting and blowing whistles, people in apartment buildings that lined the main street blasting music and hanging signs out their windows, the largest amount of police I have ever seen in my entire life. People were holding Pace flags, numerous sorts of "Nazis raus" signs (trnsl: Nazis out), and the Israeli flag. When we stood on Weender watching, a slow procession of armed policemen and Neonazis in between the walls of green uniforms in front of us, people milling nervously behind us- the tension was palpable. At any moment I was expecting to turn to see a rumble behind me.
The whole Nazi issue here in Germany is sort of perplexing: its not all that surprising that the National Socialists exist yet as a minority (mainly because it has been ruled unconstitutional to abolish the party, apparently they have been trying for a good while), but I was surprised when I came here just by how much I heard about it. Around town there is graffiti along the lines of "Nazis heraus!", and now today with the march... its weird. Before I left home I endured all the wellworn Nazi-Germany jokes that were never really ever funny, but I was surprised to find it still an issue here in Germany. Granted, Germany is not even a century away from her lowest moment in history, but there has been so much turmoil in the world since then that I just figured it would be seen as more, ah, thats in the past (sort of like slavery in the US, there are still the definite racial tensions, but...). I think I've heard more about it since I've been here because there was an election in September, and some major issues dealt with then and still now involve some foreigner-hatred that is well known to be part of the Neonazi rhetoric. Mainly I am referring to the growing unemployment crisis in Germany (average 8% in the West, 18% in the East), though I am sure there are more. I am not really confident enough in my knowledge of politics and German current events to write more about this, though I am interested. Ask me about it some other time.
But thats just this afternoon. After standing around for awhile at the march, Kate and I rode into the Innenstadt, where I got some groceries and picked up the third German dictionary to add to my collection. It feels sort of ridiculous to have so many, but one is "pocket-sized" for carrying around, one is a hefty English-German, German-English that I bought in the States, and the one I bought today is one recommended by a couple of my professors. Its a "Deutsch als Fremdsprache" dictionary, which means that it is all in German, so you can look up a German word and get a German definition, but it is still made for foreigners. Earlier today I cleaned the Abstellraum (loosely translated, store room?) with Lars, as my semesterly "hall duty". Yesterday Kate, Kai, Keinst and I spent literally all day in transit to and from Kassel, an oyster of a city whose sole pearl for us lay in the outskirts of town- Ikea! It would have been nice to go there when I first moved in here, it would have been nice if I had more money, and most importantly- it would have been nice to not have to lug all our purchases back via bus, train, and then a long walk with our bikes, but so it was. I bought a chair cushion, a hamper, a candle and a largish rug to cover up my bare, cold and usually gross lineoleum floor. On Thursday I FINALLY cleaned my room for really the first time since I've been here. Other than that... I finished up the episodes of The OC: Season I (stop judging me) that I hadn't seen at Colina's place, and hung out with people downtown at bars and stuff. This past week my eternal and undying love for Pommes has been cemented. The German word Pommes comes from the French les pommes frites, which as good Americans you know as "freedom fries." Enjoy that one.
Now I am going to make some food and try to get some work done before tonight's partly Californian sponsered Halloween party in the Fettenraum here in the Siedlung.
"Patriotic" music screeched down Weender Landstrasse, and as the slowmoving vehicles passed, one could hear a faceless voice shouting fascist rhetoric. Kate and I sort of didn't know what was going on, and it took us awhile to find where the actual march was, because all the streets were blocked. There were hordes of people lining the street, most just watching, but definite numbers yelling things like "Nazis 'raus!" and blowing whistles. (I took a short video on my camera that I can send to anyone interested. Also, check out the spooky NPD-Goettingen website.) This is a university town, so I think its safe to assume that no one was supporting the march. When we finally got to a place where we could see, we were towards the end of the line, so most of what I could see were the literally thousands of policewo/men. We were all talking about the impending march last night at Trou (a bar), and David was saying that he had read that 4,000 police were supposed to be deployed today. So I didn't actually see that many Nazis in the march, I am not sure if that is because they were too walled in by the police, or if it was because we were towards the end of the march.
Kate and I didn't ride down into town until two this afternoon, but Jacky had called me earlier in the day from downtown, so I knew a little about what was going on. She said she hadn't really witnessed much violence, but that the police kept chasing people away, and that the side streets were lined with burning dumpsters. I didn't really see much violence either, though I was startled a few times when we were standing on the side of the street watching, because down Weender Landstrasse (one of the main streets here in Goettingen) people would apparently cross the line, and then a segment of police would burst through the crowd and chase after people. When I say cross the line, I am meaning that people were getting too hostile towards the marchers, throwing things or shouting too much. It probably seems strange that the bystanders were the ones getting tackled and pinned to the ground, but the NPD (Nazi Party) got approval to march in Goettingen, and anyone againist the march had to keep their peace, or else they were the ones breaking the law. Standing all around us were people (mostly males) dressed all or mostly in black, hoods up and knuckles clenched. I didn't figure out who these people were until I was walking my bike home (it was impossible to ride through the masses of people just standing around) and I heard my name being called, and turned around to see Sean. A fellow Californian, he had been downtown all day, and had walked behind the anarchist march/demonstration. Then it clicked that the people in black were the anarchists. Signs I had seen around town saying "No Cops, No Nazis" finally made some sense.
Walking home the charred remnants of the dumpsters lined Robert Koch Strasse. The afternoon was such a strange experience. Masses of people standing around just waiting for something, masses of people shouting and blowing whistles, people in apartment buildings that lined the main street blasting music and hanging signs out their windows, the largest amount of police I have ever seen in my entire life. People were holding Pace flags, numerous sorts of "Nazis raus" signs (trnsl: Nazis out), and the Israeli flag. When we stood on Weender watching, a slow procession of armed policemen and Neonazis in between the walls of green uniforms in front of us, people milling nervously behind us- the tension was palpable. At any moment I was expecting to turn to see a rumble behind me.
The whole Nazi issue here in Germany is sort of perplexing: its not all that surprising that the National Socialists exist yet as a minority (mainly because it has been ruled unconstitutional to abolish the party, apparently they have been trying for a good while), but I was surprised when I came here just by how much I heard about it. Around town there is graffiti along the lines of "Nazis heraus!", and now today with the march... its weird. Before I left home I endured all the wellworn Nazi-Germany jokes that were never really ever funny, but I was surprised to find it still an issue here in Germany. Granted, Germany is not even a century away from her lowest moment in history, but there has been so much turmoil in the world since then that I just figured it would be seen as more, ah, thats in the past (sort of like slavery in the US, there are still the definite racial tensions, but...). I think I've heard more about it since I've been here because there was an election in September, and some major issues dealt with then and still now involve some foreigner-hatred that is well known to be part of the Neonazi rhetoric. Mainly I am referring to the growing unemployment crisis in Germany (average 8% in the West, 18% in the East), though I am sure there are more. I am not really confident enough in my knowledge of politics and German current events to write more about this, though I am interested. Ask me about it some other time.
But thats just this afternoon. After standing around for awhile at the march, Kate and I rode into the Innenstadt, where I got some groceries and picked up the third German dictionary to add to my collection. It feels sort of ridiculous to have so many, but one is "pocket-sized" for carrying around, one is a hefty English-German, German-English that I bought in the States, and the one I bought today is one recommended by a couple of my professors. Its a "Deutsch als Fremdsprache" dictionary, which means that it is all in German, so you can look up a German word and get a German definition, but it is still made for foreigners. Earlier today I cleaned the Abstellraum (loosely translated, store room?) with Lars, as my semesterly "hall duty". Yesterday Kate, Kai, Keinst and I spent literally all day in transit to and from Kassel, an oyster of a city whose sole pearl for us lay in the outskirts of town- Ikea! It would have been nice to go there when I first moved in here, it would have been nice if I had more money, and most importantly- it would have been nice to not have to lug all our purchases back via bus, train, and then a long walk with our bikes, but so it was. I bought a chair cushion, a hamper, a candle and a largish rug to cover up my bare, cold and usually gross lineoleum floor. On Thursday I FINALLY cleaned my room for really the first time since I've been here. Other than that... I finished up the episodes of The OC: Season I (stop judging me) that I hadn't seen at Colina's place, and hung out with people downtown at bars and stuff. This past week my eternal and undying love for Pommes has been cemented. The German word Pommes comes from the French les pommes frites, which as good Americans you know as "freedom fries." Enjoy that one.
Now I am going to make some food and try to get some work done before tonight's partly Californian sponsered Halloween party in the Fettenraum here in the Siedlung.
posted by Meredesu at 3:35 PM
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