Downtown Solingen: Everyone was on their feet for the counter-demonstration. Photo: Lilian Muscutt

The good news is: Nothing happened, no clash between left-wing activists and the Nazis. The better news is: The Nazis had to abandon both rallies after short periods of time, because the sheer decibel-volume of all counter-protestors made it impossible in both locations for the Nazis to hold speeches without getting a hoarse throat instantly – while still speaking over a PA. Well, yours truly also suffered from a sore throat the next day, as did many counter-protestors. But it was absolutely worth it, shouting these idiots down.

Yet the best thing is: It wasn’t just the usual left-wing activists (some of them dubious) who came for their average nazi rally-tourism, and a friendly “bash” with the police as they do so often. No, my friends, the whole CITY was on its feet. All political parties, from green, liberal, socialist to conservative, all unions, all churches and congregations, the mayor and high ranking town-officials, local companies, citizens young and old, hipsters, gays, lesbians, blacks, whites, Asian people, Solingers from the East, the West, and what have you places on Earth – everyone was there. Including some people I hadn’t met in quite a while, it was a bit like a school-reunion. There were bands playing, probably around 1000 people alone downtown attending the counter-demonstration, it was a good day for democracy in our town. Remindful of “No way back” by the Foo Fighters: “No more left and right, Come on take my side, I’m fightin’ for you…” It was really a colourful celebration of the best that our city and German society can aspire to be: A meeting place for many cultures and beliefs, kept alive by a spirit of mutual respect under the roof of our constitution.

Well, but one bitter drop there is: Of course we also have to thank 800 police-men and -women for doing a great job

Thumbs up for the police: 800 officers did a good job in keeping the peace. Photo: LM

on this day. Since of course, had they abandoned the two protective cordons for the Nazis downtown and near the main station, the peaceful demonstration would surely have turned into a street battle. Right up front with the hardcore antifascists, the real radicals, the atmosphere had heated up quite quickly, insults were shouted, battle hymns sung (some of them funny, I really liked taunting the Nazis singing “You lost the war, you lost the war” to a famous soccer-stadium melody), eventually there were three arrests, in one case because someone had thrown a bottle at a departing van full of Nazis.

Interestingly, there were fewer Nazis then expected. ProNRW managed to mobilize some 70 people instead of the assumed 200, and the NPD – well it looked like a small school-class, no more (those guys I could see better, when I was at the barricades in Ohligs with my buddy Zeli, the ProNRW rally was sealed off way better).

Around one p.m., the spook was over. Both groups had given up by then and left the town. Victory for “Solingen is

Do the silly walk, kick the nazis out: Some of the messages delivered by protestors were poignant and funny. Photo: LM

colourful instead of brown”, the driving force behind getting everyone up and saying no to fascism. Full credit goes to them, their committee really did a great job in getting everyone together and in action. Especially the NPD-rally in Ohligs gave me the creeps. Because it was in a spot that I walk by almost daily (right in front of my union savings bank-branch), and for a couple of minutes, you could hear the leader addressing his boot-boys. It sounded like a Hitler-speech. Weird and creepy. And I admit: It made me angry. Which is probably a good thing in this case.

I’ll leave you with a few quotes from friends of mine, whom I met at the demonstrations:

Uli Preuss, journalist and fotographer: “Ever since when in a right wing-case of malicious arson, five Turkish people died in 1993, Solingen has been especially sensitive and on its guard against right wing-tendencies. It’s part of the culture of our town, to defend ourselves against brown propaganda. Greetings to Canada and the Gumboot-readers all over the globe!”

Lilian Muscutt, freelance-journalist and novelist: “It’s somehow tough, that these two groups had the cheek to come

A lot of people felt reminded of 1993, when right wing-perpetrators burnt down the house of a Turkish family, killing five occupants. One of the blackest in the recent history of the city of blades. This a picture from the day after the fire.

to Solingen. The past, i.e. the murders of 1993 make their appearance here unbearable.”

Dr. Markus Butz, neurologist at University of Duesseldorf: “I am here, because this city belongs to all the people living here. And I feel insulted as a Solinger, because nazi-extremists try to spread their hatred here. Especially the campaign against Islam appals me as a Christian.”

Some moving pictures from the day: Uli Preuss’s report for the web-TV of “Solingen Daily”:

http://www.solinger-tageblatt.de/tv/?id=659

Why do Germany’s conservatives figure in a blog dealing with community you say? Well, they recently discovered the topic of language, as in English being the most important foreign language. And language makes or breaks community. After conservatives complained for decades about “anglicisms”, i.e. words imported from English to German, Guenther Oettinger, former premier of German federal province Baden-Wuerttemberg, now EU-superintendent for Energy in Brussels, likes to point out, that English is THE language. In the vid that follows, he concludes that “English is the language of the workplace of the future, whether you work in an office, or in a factory.” He doesn’t say it, but it’s clear that he likes to imply: “You lot better all improve your English. Or you’ll be job-hunting soon.” Contrast it for yourself with Oettinger’s English, as he gives an official speech in his newly acquired function as a high-ranking EU-official.

Is it just me, or does he simply not get half of what he’s obviously just reading out from his script? Like the old Die Krupps-Song: “I open my mouth, words come out – that make no sense to a stranger’s ear…”

Whereever I go on the planet, I’m met with the expectation that Germans usually do well in English. It seems to be something almost like a trait that sticks to us. And I guess everyone in Germany now is proficient in English to some degree. At least in West-Germany, since we were lucky enough to have been occupied mainly by the US and the British after the war. (I guess I don’t need to explain here that the so called “German Democratic Republic” in the East was just a Soviet satellite state, essentially a dictatorship as bad as the Third Reich, with the only differences being a) they didn’t start a world war and b) they didn’t gas millions of dissidents – the body count up to 1989 is still in the hundreds, though – mainly because of all those East Germans trying to make a run for the West that were shot at the border).

But, where was I going with this? Oh yeah, we’re good at English. All but our new, neo-liberal turbo-capitalistic foreign secretary Guido Westerwelle. Look how well he did when talking to a BBC-reporter:

I could’ve handled this from anyone assigned to the new cabinet… After all, we’re in Germany, fair enough. But for crying out loud, this guy was ALREADY APPOINTED OR NEW FOREIGN SECRETARY…! So you see, these guys are fun. So much fun, they inspired the German Green Party to this witty reply, a message to our friends from the BBC:

So… we Germans are inclined towards English, yes, and it’s had a great influence on our collective, cultural space in the 65 years that have passed since the unconditional surrender of the last Reich aka Nazi Germany in 1945. However, I don’t see either how our own language would be endangered by this fact (enriched being the right term, I guess) or how English would become the “exclusive language” of working environments in Germany in the future (a ridiculous idea from Oettinger, unless you’re a top-manager). Yet most of all, I don’t see how we’re going to manage with a foreign secretary who refuses to speak any English. What do other Gumbooteers make of this? Is it cool for a Minister of Foreign Affairs / Foreign Secretary to refuse to speak the lingua franca of the world? Or is it just a pile of horse-hockey to be upset about this?