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You cannot vote fascism out of society
More than 90 years after power was handed over to Hitler and his supporters in the Weimar Republic, we are once again confronted with the growing threat of fascism in Germany. This threat has not simply emerged out of nowhere; various anti-fascist groups have been trying to sound the alarm for years about the AfD and its politicians and the rise of fascist ideologies. With the upcoming elections in East Germany, we are witnessing how society is once again slowly becoming enthusiastic about ideas that many thought were a thing of the past along with their original leaders. But fascism did not die with the Second World War! Rather, it has been fighting for its survival ever since, waiting for the perfect moment of another crisis to re-establish itself.
Fascism as an ideology does not work without people who follow it. From the “former” members of the NSDAP to modern neo-Nazi groups and parties, today we are once again confronted with an enemy that continues to gain power. In fact, large sections of society once again share ideas of devaluation, discrimination and exclusion and the desire for strong leadership. When confronted with this, people feel attacked. But if a significant section of society with these ideas votes for the AfD, then they are sympathizing with a fascist future for Germany.
It is quite tempting to believe that the major political parties could stop this process. Unfortunately, the reality is a bit more complicated. And fascism cannot simply be voted out of society. Right-wing and fascist organizations and ideologies do not only exist in the short phases of election periods, nor are they limited to East Germany. And let’s not forget that the shift to the right in Germany and the strengthening of the fascist part of the AfD could only happen under the governments of the CDU and other “conservative” center parties. From Hans-Georg Maaßen in Berlin to Michael Kretschmer in Dresden, we see the criminalization of the anti-fascist movement on the one hand, and the growing authoritarian tendencies of the state itself with its ongoing attacks on civil society on the other.
In this atmosphere, it is crucial for people of all generations to join and start new antifascist groups. Only in this way can we develop a movement that not only symbolically stops fascism, but also stops it on the streets, in schools, at work in the countryside and in the city. And this requires different strategies: argumentation and education, solidarity with people affected by discrimination and actions against the right-wing dominant culture in many regions.
Being an anti-fascist is not an option, but rather a necessity for all those who believe in a just and equal society, without fascism and all other authoritarian ideologies!