Fight Against the Right (German: Kampf gegen Rechts) is an ideological, government-funded program in Germany whose stated purpose is to fight far-right politics. Its supporters consider it to be an essential part of Fortified Democracy and a national interest.
Contents
History
On October 2, 2000 two Arab immigrants committed an arson attack against the New Synagogue in Düsseldorf with three Molotov cocktails. The material damage was limited, but the attack was seen as a moral catastrophe in Germany, because of the country’s past. Although the perpetrators remained unknown for over two months, most media suspected the attack was done by German Far-right antisemites. The following day, Paul Spiegel, the leader of the Central Council of Jews in Germany (Zentralrat der Juden in Deutschland), called for a clear sign of solidarity with the Jews. German chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) responded to Spiegel’s demand, and called upon the public for an “uprising of the decent” against Far-rightism. As a result, numerous demonstrations and chains of lights were arranged all-around Germany, and the red-green government started the state campaign of Fight Against The Right.
The perpetrators, a 20-year-old Palestinian, and a 19-year-old Moroccan, were identified and arrested on December 6, 2000. Both admitted they wanted to protest against the Israeli occupation policy through the attack, since they saw a boy on TV who was shot while in his father's arms by the IDF in Gaza on September 22, 2000. The killing took place on a crossroads in public and was filmed, so the pictures were spread and attracted attention all over the world. Later investigation of this incident raised controversy, with split opinions regarding the responsibility for the child's death, and the authenticity of the video.
Although it ultimately emerged that the prepatrators were not German Far-rightists, this was never seen as a cause to end the campaign.
Distribution
Notable organizations which receive support or are supporting the Fight Against The Right include the German Federal Agency for Civic Education, the German Football Association, the Evangelical Church in Germany, several Roman Catholic Churches in Germany, and the SPD owned information service View to the Right.
Fight Against The Right is usually done via various media services. It is already used in kindergarten and school. There are more than 4,500 different programs supported by the campaign. The campaign is therefore sometimes criticized to be nontransparent.
Funding
Fight Against The Right is funded by the German government. Each year, a total of 24 million Euros of tax money goes to the program. The campaign is supported by all parties of the German parliament. However, the way of support varies among the parties. While the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and the Free Democratic Party (FDP) favor to keep the Status quo, the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), the Greens and the Left Party call for an increase of 50 million Euro to fund the campaign.
Criticism
The campaign is accused by right-wing Conservatives, classical liberals, and libertarians to be riddled with Leftist biased propaganda. Some even accuse it to be connected to Far-left politics, since many programs, like the View to the Right, have linked to far-left websites (of whom many are observed by the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) on their homepages in the past. Because the campaign usually doesn’t make a distinction between Right-wing politics and Far-right politics, the term right-wing (Rechts) got a very bad reputation in Germany. In the German public, “right-wing” is often wrongly deemed to be equal with National Socialism. Therefore, established parties and politicians usually avoid to call themselves “right-wingers”. The campaign is therefore accused to not only fight Far-rightists but the whole political Right. This has led to the criticism that Fight Against The Right doesn’t actually defend democracy, but spreads an undemocratic atmosphere by fighting and outlawing a whole Political spectrum.
In September 2009, the state-funded, anti-right-wing Amadeu Antonio Foundation took action against Pro Life activities. The German Pro Life organization Bundesverband Lebensrecht (BVL; "Federal Association of the Right to Life") arranged a silent protest against abortion in Berlin under the slogan "1.000 Crosses for the Life". The Amadeu Antonio Foundation regards Abortion and Feminism as indispensable parts of Democracy. Therefore, the BVL's opposition to Abortion and Feminism is accused by the foundation to be "anti-democratic", "christian fundamentalist", "reactionary", and "extreme right". The foundation also describes the BVL's support for the traditional family (father, mother, child) as "Völkisch". To counter the BVL's Pro Life protest, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation arranged an anti-demonstration under the slogan "1.000 Crosses into the Spree". During the demonstration, the counter-protesters threw Christian Crosses into the Spree, insulted the silent protesters, and made loud noises through drumbeats, whistles, and calling to disturb them. The counter-protesters also burned a Bible on the Bebelplatz, where the Nazi book burnings took place in 1933. The Amadeu Antonio Foundation, as a state-funded organization, was later criticized for the behavior of its counter-protesters, and for putting Pro Life activists on the same level as violent Neo-Nazis.
In June 2012, the German trade union ver.di arranged a nationwide activity to protest against the selling of right-wing newspapers like the Junge Freiheit in magazine stands. The activity was funded by the trade union’s money from the state sector. The activists looked for right-wing newspapers in the stands and asked the salesmen to stop selling them. If they refused, the activists started to protest against the magazine stand outside in order to pressure the salesmen to remove the newspapers. The activity was therefore criticized to be undemocratic and unlawful because trade unions are obligated to be politically neutral by the law.
Democracy Avowal
In early 2011, German Federal Minister of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth Kristina Schröder (CDU) introduced a new bill, according to which government-funded anti-right-wing programs have to prove that they recognize the Liberal Democratic Constitution of the German Federal Republic. Schröder argued that this law shall prevent Far-leftists from engaging in the campaign. The new law was heavily criticized by the SPD, the Greens, the Left Party, and many representatives of the campaign itself. They argued that it would be outrageous to require the campaign activists to prove their loyalty to the Liberal Democratic principles of the Constitution, as it would put them under "general suspicion". An association which had lost its public funding, because it refused explicitly pledge to abide by the principles of the constitution, sued against the state and federal government. The administrative court of Dresden declared on April 25, 2012 the law too vague and therefore unconstitutional.