German police rounded up a right-wing terror network this October 1, arresting its members ahead of an attack allegedly aimed at subverting the country. The arrests drew attention once again to the district of Saxony, a base of the far-right Alternative for German AfD party where extremists staged a series of anti-migrant riots last month in the city of Chemnitz.
Another proudly threw up a sieg heil salute during a live news broadcast. The gatherings were initially justified by the organizers, among them the AfD, as a supposedly commemorative response to the killing of a Cuban-German. Daniel H. His killing inspired an especially ironic display of outrage: Having been confronted with racism as a person of color in Chemnitz, which is known to be a center of far-right activity, the very people who had called Daniel the n-word eventually seized on his death to engage in even more racism.
Far-right manifestations have become routine in Germany, and its influence has penetrated the mainstream political discourse, particularly since the AfD made it into the federal parliament following its historic success in the elections.
More often than not, the political establishment has brushed off the far-right as a marginal phenomenon. The displays of unchecked fanaticism have also shown the extent to which the government and authorities have struggled to properly articulate a plan to confront the new reality. Any crime involving people of color has recently been exploited by the far-right as an opportunity to incite against non-Germans, with Muslims, Arabs, and Blacks being the prime targets of racist populism.
Chemnitz has seen considerable manifestations of militant racism. Far-right protesters demonstrated their social media prowess throughout the riots. Facebook has been a particularly popular platform for incitement against refugees. One of the arguments that sparked the riot against non-Germans in Chemnitz was the claim that 60 women were raped by migrants this year in that city.
