Dresden declares ‘Nazi emergency’

The eastern German city of Dresden has passed a resolution declaring a “Nazi emergency.”

In a policy statement, passed by the city council on Wednesday night, councillors noted that “anti-democratic, anti-pluralist, misanthropic and right-wing extremist attitudes and actions, including violence in Dresden, are occurring with increasing frequency.”

“We have a Nazi problem in Dresden and have to do something about it,” said Max Aschenbach, a councillor for Die Partei, a satirical political party, who initiated the measure.

“Politics must finally begin to ostracize that and say: No, that’s unacceptable,” he told the local public broadcaster MDR.

Among other things, the resolution calls on the city and civil society organizations to strengthen a democratic culture, protect minority and human rights, and help the victims of right-wing violence.

It calls for a focus on “the causes and consequences of anti-Semitism, racism and position of extreme right to restore trust in democratic institutions and the appreciation of diversity and respectful solidarity.”

Via DW