18/10/2023
The Jewish Chronicle newspaper, which having been founded in 1841, is one of the longest surviving examples of community media in action, reports that a long term study from the University of Bielefeld in Germany, has revealed a disquieting and unsettling increase in the number of Germans holding extremist right wing views although it should be stressed that the per centages are still very low. The study’s purpose is to “provide information about the spread, development and background of right-wing extremist, misanthropic and anti-democratic attitudes in Germany.” Of the disturbing mash up of extremist and conspiratorial viewpoints affecting parts of the German population, were the idea that Jews were "using" the country's Nazi past to strengthen their position, believed by around sixteen per cent. Some six per cent believe in the genocidal Nazi dictum that there is "worthy" and "unworthy" life. Over 16 per cent claim Germany’s national superiority, demanding a stronger nationalist sentiment. The increase in support for the extremist Nazi rehabilitation party, the AfD, in the East of Germany has prompted much debate in the country on how to deal with the right wing. Some advocate a formal ban on the AfD before it can develop into a Nazi fighting force.
