Germany Moves to Curb Protests Near Holocaust Memorial Sites

In a move to limit neo-Nazi rallies during the upcoming 60th anniversary of the end of World War II, the lower house of the German Parliament voted Friday to tighten restrictions on gatherings around landmarks honoring Holocaust victims.

The move came amid government fears of a resurgence of right-wing extremism. Immigration and high unemployment have allowed radical messages to resonate, especially in the Dresden region, where far-right parties won 12 seats in the state legislature last year.

“A broad majority of the [parliament] has given the victims of the Nazi regime a clear signal: Germany will remain vigilant even 60 years after Auschwitz,” Silke Stokar von Neuforn, a Green Party member, said after the vote. The legislation was supported by all major parties and is virtually assured of passing the upper house of Parliament next week.

Under the measure, which was appended to an existing law, demonstrations near monuments marking the Holocaust will be restricted and protesters who glorify Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich will be jailed.

“To think of right-wing extremist groups demonstrating in front of memorials for victims of Nazi crimes, either endorsing, denying or playing down these crimes against humanity, is unbearable,” German Interior Minister Otto Schily said recently while lobbying for the law.

Much of the debate on the bill arose because of the new Holocaust memorial scheduled to open near the Parliament building in early May. The memorial consists of 2,711 steles that stretch over a plot of land the size of two football fields. The steles have anti-graffiti coating, but officials fear the site, next to the Brandenburg Gate, may be a prime target for neo-Nazis.

Last month, the right-wing National Democratic Party, or NPD, and other extremist groups organized a march in Dresden that drew about 5,000 followers. It turned into the largest neo-Nazi rally in years and reflected the radical right’s aim of transforming the city, which was bombed into ruins in 1945 by Allied warplanes, into a symbol for reigniting nationalist passions.

Marchers held banners proclaiming that the bombing of Dresden was a holocaust against the German people.

Anger and disenchantment over unemployment and welfare cuts pushed by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder are helping radical parties. Germany’s jobless rate is 12.6%, the highest since the Nazi Party came to power in the 1930s. Unemployment in some eastern areas of the country is about 30%, and pressure is growing on Schroeder’s coalition government. He announced this week that he would hold a summit with opposition leaders on improving the economy.

Germans have long been at odds over the country’s Nazi history and laws protecting free speech. An attempt to ban the NPD two years ago was rejected by the Constitutional Court after it was disclosed that government informants had improperly infiltrated the party.

In a separate case, however, the high court on Thursday upheld a 2003 judgment in the conviction of three musicians with the radical rock band Landser for lyrics promoting hatred of Jews.

The provision passed Friday is another legal refinement to ensure that Holocaust victims are not dishonored.

But some legislators say the language is weak and destined to be repealed. Others see it as an unwise gambit that will draw more attention, and possible credence, to right-wing causes.

“We have to realize that the NPD is never more popular than during the times we attempt to ban them,” said Guido Westerwelle of the Free Democrats. “Imagine if the right radical sue and win. This will be yet another success for extremists.”

Instead of infringing on free speech, the government should concentrate on “the youth and creating jobs. This is the best program to fight right-wing radicalism,” he said.

However, Interior Minister Schily wanted a tougher law and a wider ban on demonstrations.

“Laws on demonstrations are one thing, civil courage is another,” he said after the vote. “I think it’s important that the democratic public gathers at [Brandenburg Gate] on May 8 so that the neo-Nazis don’t have any room to move.”

Dieter Wiefelspuetz, a Social Democrat and expert on internal security, said the new amendment was “not an easy answer, but it sharpens the instruments of a powerful democracy.”