Critically assess the extent to which the German Republikaner have embraced racism since unification

In Western Europe today, most people live in multi-ethnic societies, societies which would hopefully break down the barriers of xenophobia and racism which devastated Europe in the fist half of the century. It would hopefully lead to better understanding and tolerance of other people's cultures and end all ideas about a hierarchy of races. This, however, has not been the case. In the economic climate since German reunification, the presence of immigrants has only led to greater resentment and hostility. These feelings and fears have been picked upon by the Republikaner, who have made the firm belief in biological racial superiority the core of their political programme. To understand the extent to which the party embrace racism, it is important to examine racist thought and immigration in Germany today, and the Republikaner's response to it.

Racist ideas have been with us since the late middle ages, but racist arguments were bolstered in the nineteenth century by the arrival of supposed scientific evidence. Science was to give racism an appearance of factual superior reasoning. It provided it with credibility. It should be remembered that theses racial theories were based on Social Darwinism, a belief in a hierarchy of races where the strongest survive. This was a twisted interpretation of Darwin's Origins of the Species, which was an examination of different species in the biological world. It should be noted that in Darwin's work, all races are of one species. Nevertheless, this crude form of scientific racism was to be the cornerstone of Hitler's Nazi state, as it is with the Republikaner's policies today.

Before we examine the Republikaner, we must first address the situation with immigration in Germany today. Since 1890 Germany has had an influx of immigrants and foreign workers. The Poles, for example were welcomed to Germany during the industrial revolution. Germany has always had a need for new labour, and with the closing down of the borders with Eastern Europe in the 1960s, this need led to an influx of Southern Europeans and Turks. There may not be a similar need for labour now, but the German economy proves to be a strong attraction to those familiar with weaker economies.

The Turkish community now makes up more than a quarter of the foreigners in Germany. They have been at the forefront of racist action, for Islam makes their minority very visible compared to other European immigrants. The problem is that both the Germans and the Turks have strong ethno-centrist cultures, which makes acceptance and tolerance very difficult to those " rejecting anything perceived as alien."* In a country where there is no specific anti-racist legislation, the Turks have been failed to be protected against discrimination and violence. This is why in recent years Turks have often been the victims of ...

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This resentment has been especially high in Berlin, where the number of immigrants is the highest for a German city. In certain boroughs, Turks make up 30% of the school population. It is in these inner city areas, where you find unemployment, housing shortages and overcrowded schools, that the Republikaner are at their strongest.

To presume that is only the Turks and those with noticeable ethnic differences that meet with hostility, however would be wrong. In recent years West Germany has had to deal with record numbers of East German immigrants, known as "Umseidler", along with a growing number of ethnic German resettles, known as "Aussiedler", from Eastern Europe.

By the end of 1989, 370 000 Aussiedler and 345 000 Umsiedler had entered Germany that year. Most of them were under forty-five years of age and in industry or a learned trade. This has led to increased competition for jobs in a society where unemployment is rising and competition for housing. These immigrants are competing directly with the occupational groups that make up the core of Republikaner support, for they "are primarily motivated by fear and resentment."*

Racism in contemporary Germany then is a very complex issue. It is not only connected with biological racism, but it is also bound up with resentment and fear of losing a job, but do the Republikaner embrace both kinds of racism?

The Republikaner were founded in 1983, led up until recently by Franz Schonhuber. Although it is the most well known far right party, "this organisation is in fact only the tip of a very large extreme right iceberg in West Germany."* Other groups include the Deutsch Volks Union (DVU), which commands large media sources. The D.V.U. was able to mail over twenty-four million homes during the 1989 European elections. There are also various terrorist groups that organise and take part in the sort of racist attacks that I have already mentioned. These include the Freiheitliche Deusch Arbeiter Partei (FAP) and the Nationalistiche Front. The Republikaner has tried to disclaim links with such violent groups, just as in the U.K. the B.N.P. has tried to break links with groups like Combat 18. This has tended to only be a public front, as members of such organisations can often be found marshalling Republikaner rallies, just as Combat 18 members do in Britain. The Republikaner are trying to get the sort of respectability and electoral credibility enjoyed by Jean Marrie Le Pen in France.

In the 1989 municiple elections for West Berlin the Republikaner picked up more than 90 000 votes, 7.5% of the electorate. In the European elections of June 1989 they received 7.1%, giving them six seats in Strassbourg. This can be seen as an overall rising tide of radical right wing populism in Europe, with the F.N. doing considerably well in the European elections, in France.

The Republikaner polices, which have brought them success in municiple and European elections in the late 1980s, are similar to those found around Europe in various radical far right parties. Its objectives call for strict law and order to combat crime, a return to traditional values and morals in the light of Aids, historical revisionism, or Holocaust denial and "the protection of natural and cultural identity allegedly threatened by third world immigrants, foreign workers and refugees."* In other words the protection of Germany's culture entails stricter immigration laws, the removal of social security and political rights and finally repatriation. The Republikaner policies also show a close resemblance to Hitler's Nazi state in that it has fixed beliefs in subordination of trade unions to the state, compulsory training for girls for the role of mother and wife, and obviously a belief in state censorship.

The question of German identity has always been at the centre of the Republikaner's policies. They were to seize the question of unification of the two Germanys in the 1980s, arguing it would bring peace and stability to Europe and a strong unified nation free from the Superpowers, who had been there forty years. This was achieved by the end of the decade, through no help of the Republikaner. The question of German identity then turned to focus on immigration. Indeed the old East Germany proved to be a fertile ground racist propaganda and Republikaner recruitment, as their old communist controlled economies struggle with the economic reunification of Germany. For many the move to capitalism has actually led to a decline in living standards, for the short term at least. Many now have to compete with immigrants for the first time, for poorly paid jobs and feel the new political system, like the old one has failed.

This all leads to a fundamental dilemma for the Republikaner. I have already examined the hostility not only towards immigrants, but also towards Umsiedlers and Ausseidlers, amongst those who make up the core of the Republikaner support. The problem is that the Republikaner's calls for a strong unified Germany in the 1980s, echoed Hitler, who welcomed all ethnic Germans back to the Fatherland. This was his justification behind the Anschluss with Austria and taking the Sudetenland in 1938. The Republikaner has likewise welcomed all Germans in their search for a strong national identity, But can they afford to ignore the majority of their supporters, who turned to the party because they felt their problems were being ignored by the mainstream parties? Polls in the German Magazine, Der Speigel showed that in 1988, before reunification that almost 70% of the population wanted tighter restrictions on Aussiedlers as well as non German immigrants. " the political survival of the Republikaner will most likely depend upon the question whether they can overcome these two seemingly contradictory tendencies."*

So it would appear that the Republikaner's central policy, has the party in disarray. This would suggest that the radical far right in Germany is weak and incoherent, but it has had a considerable impact. For a start, one of their main impacts has been to shift the political agenda in Germany to the right. This has been seen all over Europe as the mainstream parties fight to keep control of voters who could turn to the extreme parties. This has meant that many have embraced diluted racist policies themselves, most noticeably in France, where the tough "Pasqua Law", introduced on immigrants.

There has been a similar shift to the right in Germany, with one government minister even describing the Waffen S.S. as heroes, in the light of Republikaner's stand on historical revisionism. In practice this has not denied the extreme right parties support, with the exception of Thatcher's government in Britain, whose tough immigration laws and strict law and order is one of the reasons for the B.N.P.'s lack of success compared to its European counterparts. In most of Europe, as in Germany it has only served to give such extreme policies, like racism legitimacy and justification, thus strengthening the Republikaner's course.

Jean Marrie Le Pen once said, "I prefer my daughters to my cousins, my cousins to my neighbours and my neighbours to strangers."* This sums up the sentiments of the Republikaner and its supporters quite well. Racism is not a new concept, but has become the cornerstone of Republikaner policy. Immigrants have become the scapegoats for all economic ills. The size of the Turkish population (1.5 million) make them most at risk from the Republikaner's policies. We must also not overlook the 60 000 gypsies in Germany, who still suffer despite half a million being exterminated under Hitler, and also 40 to 50 000 afro-Germans. The influx of ethnic Germans, however has caused a divided camp. The Republikaner's stance on immigration could destroy the party. Ironically their best chance for survival may be amongst the potential new voters from Eastern Europe, the people its current voters fear and resent as much as the Turks and Greeks.

Footnotes:

*1,2,4,5: Comparative Politics, Vol 23.1. 1990.

Politics or Resentment. Hans-Georg Betz.

*3: Fascist Europe: the rise of racism and xenophobia. 1991.

Glyn Ford.

*6: The Dark Side Of Europe: the extreme right today. 1990.

G.Harris.

Bibliography:

Ashkenari A.: The Turkish minority in Germany and Berlin.

Immigrants and Minorities, Vol 9, 3, November 1990 .F Class London.

Betz H.G.: Politics of Resentment: Right wing radicalism in West Germany. Comparative Politics, Vol 23, 1, October 1990.

Ford G.: Fascist Europe:the rise of racism and xenophobia. (adapted from a report by the Committee of Inquiry into racism and xenophobia, for the European Parliament.) Pluto Press London 1992.

Harris G.: The Dark Side of Europe: The extreme Right today. Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh 1990.