The Appeal (ENG, FIN)

Solidarity with the Antifascists of Bückeburg
-antifascist self defense is legitimate and necessary!

Bückeburg is a small city with 18.000 inhabitants near Hannover, Germany. In the surrounding rural district neo-Nazi groups and structures were able to be active and organize themselves without much trouble for decades. For example is there an annual neo-Nazi march in that area, in the city of Bad Nenndorf, which was for some time the biggest of whole northern Germany. This is just one way the local neo-Nazi leaders tried to gain new followers for their ideology among action-oriented youth. In the year 2008 this militant cadres formed a group of young neo-Nazis into the „A
ktionsgruppe Bückeburg“. Many of its members came from the surrounding villages. Due to their attitude as so-called „autonomous nationalists“ (who copy the appearance and means of action of the radical left) they gained popularity among teenagers. The right-wing scene started to dominate at the schools and different-minded teenagers were threatend in and after school.

The experienced neo-Nazi cadres made profit out of this situation and organized ideological events to indoctrinate and form a togetherness also via different festivities. In 2011 the „Autonome Nationalisten Bückeburg“ were founded and by this the quality of actions reached a new level.
Strenghtend by the sympathies of many teenagers the political actions of the neo-Nazis continued with increasing violence against antifascists and different-minded people. The city center became a no-go area for many teenagers. In the city and the nearby villages neo-Nazis were patrolling a
nd chasing antifascists. It was daily routine that living houses were shot at with steel-balls, cars got demolished and physical attacks happend. Most of the times private homes got attacked the cops didn’t even send out a patrolcar. Investigations were closed without any research, instead the prosecutor was busy underlining the increase of so called „left-extremist“ crimes.
Police and city-council interpreted the whole situation in a different way and after denying the existence of a neo-Nazi scene for years, they said later it is just a non-political youthgang. When the neo-nazi activities got more and more public by pressreports and the founding of a parents initiative, the violence of the neo-Nazis and the antifascist resistance were put on an equal level. by doing so the victims of neo-Nazi violence were put into the position of being the causer of their situation.Bückeburg became so attractive in the right-wing scene that more neo-Nazis from other regions moved into the area. The pressure on left teenagers was still growing.

From 2012 on young antifascists started to organize themselves to resist this right-wing consensus. They informed about their situation by press work and demonstrations. Antifascist self-defense on a streetlevel caused also that it was possible for alternative teenagers to move more freely
in the city center. At the same time the milieu surrounding the neo-Nazi scene realized that they couldn’t hang out in this sphere anymore without consequences. Due to this antifascist interventions a further intake of young people into the neo-Nazi scene could be prevented.

As these actions of antifascist self-defense were going on the police and prosecuting authority reacted with a „zero tolerance rule“. The wearing of T-Shirts with the print „FCK CPS“ was forbidden by the local court and punished and the local municipality handed out orders that it was forbidden for some antifascists to stay inside of the borders of the city. In the summer of 2013 the local police was supported by a whole unit of riot cops to patrol in Bückeburg and find new reasons to intimidate and repress left teenagers.

The situation of Bückeburg of the last years underlines again that the antifascist struggle can never be fought side by side with the state but just against it!

Even when the intervention of Antifa groups established a situation of more safety and freedom of movement for alternative teenagers, the neo-Nazis are still showing up from time to time in Bückeburg. In the last year they were basically just making their appearance in big organized groups trying to target antifascists in the public. So even now that many neo-Nazis moved away or are not openly active anymore there is still stuff to do, antifascist self-defense is still important and needed.

In the year 2015 a big wave of criminalization of the antifascist resistance is coming up. In several collective trials, which will probably start in the end of April and in November, antifascists will be facing the court being accused mostly of different cases of „bodily harm“ and „grievous bodily harm“.

Such a criminalization of the forces of repression shouldn’t be thought as an single attack on the affected ones – it is an attack on all of us and is meant to push antifascists politics onto the level of the law and hereby depoliticize it.
There is a need to be in solidarity with the accused ones, stand by their side and support them financially. In addition to this structures have to be strengthens to resist this attacks of the state and the police and fight back.
We should take advantage of the upcoming trials to inform about the current situation in Bückeburg, we will start a campaign with a demonstration on the 18. of April and show that we are not intimidated – neither by Nazis, nor by the law!!

Antifascist self-defense by all means!!

——

this is a rough translation of the callout by the supporters group:

    antifasolibbg.noblogs.org

    afa-soli-bbg@riseup.net

Here you will find the Apeeal in Finnish – it was translated by Varis Antifasistinen Verkosto – THANKS A LOT TO THE PEOPLE THERE!!!!