Comment: The case Lübcke must be a wake-up call | Comments | '
A German politician is killed because of his attitude of right-wing extremists. What Germany experienced almost 100 years ago with the assassination of Walther Rathenau is repeated in 2019: Walter Lübcke is shot dead by a man known for his ideology and his violence. Lübcke was threatened, but not protected. What a tragedy.
As great as the shock over the murder case Lübcke is – nobody can be really surprised in Germany. In the years 2000 to 2007 there were the ten murders of the so-called National Socialist Underground (NSU), a right-wing terrorist organization aimed primarily at migrants. There were attacks on refugee shelters and murder attempts on politicians.
Right baiting has become everyday
But in addition to all these acts, there are daily hurrahs, racial insults and physical threats. It's far from just a digital issue, even if the network is full of neo-Nazis. The demonstrations in Chemnitz or at Pegida, the alleged "Patriotic Europeans against the Islamization of the West," were not meetings of angry citizens, but hate preachers. Here was the very violence that Walther Lübcke has fallen victim to now.
Fabian von der Mark is a correspondent in Berlin
To oppose this hatred and this hate is a task for all of Germany, for the defensive democracy, There is a demand for civil society, which is already occurring in many places with courage and determination. But also the German state is in demand, with its police, its judiciary and its intelligence services. There have been weaknesses in the past.
How can it be that the NSU was treated until recently as a trio, even though everyone had to realize how big the support scene for this murder series was? How can it be that Islamist perpetrators are better monitored than right-wing extremists? How can it be that the repeatedly convicted right-wing extremist Stephan Ernst unnoticed could create a weapons warehouse while he called on Youtube to murder?
True, Germany has a huge problem on the right-hand side. The new constitution protection report lists more right-wing extremists than ever in Germany: and 12,700 of them are ready for violence. Keeping an overview and distinguishing big mouths from terrorists is a problem that is familiar with the services of Islamism. But if the head of the domestic intelligence service admits that his house is lacking in "right-wing extremism" analysis skills, then on the one hand pleasing honest and on the other frightening.
Fixing the authorities on Islamist terror
One reason was the fixation of the constitution protection on the Islamist terrorism. That this threat was and is taken very seriously, is in principle correct. And it is probably also due to this seriousness that several attacks in Germany could be thwarted. But looking to the far right, the authorities have to take it at least as seriously. They need to get more alert online and offline, keep a close eye on the scene, confiscate weapons and punish hunters.
How many supporters of the Lübcke murderer Stephan Ernst had is still unclear – at least he got help with his weapons. However, it is clear that the perpetrator has profited from a climate of violence, linguistic aggression, political sympathies and even into the German parliament. To stop this brutalization is an urgent task for the whole society. After Walter Lübcke's death, the last person must have understood how urgent that is.
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