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RACISM

Outrage after partygoers filmed shouting racist chants on German island of Sylt

A short video of young people singing racist lyrics on the German holiday island of Sylt while celebrating has gone viral, sparking concern and calls for action against those involved.

Published: 24 May 2024 11:47 CEST
Kampen town on Sylt
Kampen in Sylt is best known as a scenic beach getaway in Germany. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Lea Sarah Albert

The luxury island of Sylt has been the top trending term on X (formerly Twitter) since Thursday night when a video clip showing a group of young people singing racist slogans while partying on the island went viral.

In the short video clip, taken on a phone by someone in the crowd, people are heard shouting “Ausländer raus” (foreigners out) and “Deutschland den Deutschen” (Germany for Germans) to the melody of the song “L’Amour Toujours” by Gigi D’Agostino. 

A man is also seen holding his fingers on his upper lip as if to indicate a Hitler moustache, and raising his arm in what vaguely looks like a Nazi salute.

Most of the people seen in the video are young adults.

Perhaps equally striking is the fact that nobody in the crowd of more than a dozen or so people seem at all bothered by the racist slogans or gestures. 

As reported by German daily Bild, the video was captured during the Pentecost holiday weekend at a venue called “Pony” in the town of Kampen. 

Explaining to Bild why they had failed to notice the incident, the restaurant’s boss said they had “around 500 people on the outdoor terrace” during Pentecost.

The venue has since distanced itself from the action, writing in a statement on Instagram: “If we had known about the incident, we would of course have expelled the guests in question.”

The operators added that some of the people belonging to the group were known to them by name, and they would file a complaint. 

How are people reacting to the video?

The original video was quickly removed from X, but reposts and screen grabs from the video have spread rapidly as people in Germany voice severe criticism of the racist slogans and behaviour.

On Friday afternoon, Chancellor Olaf Scholz tweeted to say it was “unacceptable”.

“Such slogans are disgusting,” he said.

German journalist and television presenter for ZDF, Dunja Hayali was among the first prominent voices to react to the video. She described the scene: “With a Hitler moustache and champagne, but without “foreigners”. #Sylt 2024.”

She also noted that the news came on the day that Germany was celebrating the anniversary of Basic Law.

Additionally, the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, which works to reinforce democratic and civil values, spoke out in favour of police investigations of the incident.

The Schleswig-Holstein police department wrote on X on Friday morning that they are aware of the video and have forwarded it to the relevant authorities to check for criminal content.

Plenty of other voices have joined in the criticism, which ranges from severe shock and sadness to humorous condemnations.

German author Katja Berlin took note of the apparent wealth of those seen in the video writing, “Perfect promotional video for increasing inheritance tax to 100 percent. Maybe even 130 percent.”

An island of viral moments

Sylt is a German island in the North Sea that is known to be a summer vacation destination for some of Germany’s rich and famous.

In the summer of 2022, memes about the ‘invasion of Sylt’ went viral following the introduction of Deutsche Bahn’s Deutschlandtiket, after BILD ran an article suggesting that the island’s elites were worried about all the riff-raff that could use their €9 subscription ticket to access the island.

This sparked a series of escalating memes about the invasion of Sylt that summer, including an alleged punk rock festival planned for the island.

READ ALSO: What is Sylt and why is it terrified of Germany’s €9 holidaymakers?

Some of the old jokes have resurfaced amidst the current controversy.

For example, musician and social worker, Ulrich Schneider responded to the news saying, “Dear punks, get going, you are needed again on #Sylt.”

Racist songs spreading on social media

Seen in broad daylight, at a public venue, the video from Sylt struck a chord and has stirred up an intense reaction. But it is not the first incident of its kind in recent times.

In fact, the same racist lyrics applied to the same song has been spreading among far-right social media circles. 

As reported by NDR, the song was heard at a Christmas party in Messingen, Emsland and can be traced back to a TikTok trend that originated in Bergholz, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.

READ ALSO: A fight for the youth vote – Are German politicians social media savvy enough?

Videos of people chanting the xenophobic slogans to music have since spread all over Germany and Austria.

In February several young men who shouted the song at a carnival parade are now under investigation for incitement to hatred.

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RACISM

FACT CHECK: Are people punished for using Nazi slogans in Germany?

After a video clip of people chanting Nazi slogans on the German island of Sylt went viral, many are waiting to see what consequences the perpetrators will face. The Local takes a look at how German law handles cases of hate speech.

Published: 29 May 2024 10:57 CEST
FACT CHECK: Are people punished for using Nazi slogans in Germany?

Last week, a video clip showing people chanting “foreigners out” and “Germany for Germans” to the tune of “L’Amour Toujours” by Gigi D’Agostino spread rapidly online, and sparked calls for consequences for those involved.

Since then a series of similar incidents have been reported at various events across Germany, including: men seen singing the racist lyrics at ‘Schlagermove’ in Hamburg, two men arrested at Erlangen’s ‘Bergkirchweih’ festival for the same action, and in Stuttgart supporters of the Turkish football club Galatasaray Istanbul erupted in bouts of the chant celebrating their team’s victory.

In all of these incidents police reports were made. 

Regarding the Sylt incident, public prosecutors have already opened investigations on the suspicion of incitement to hatred for several of the people involved.

READ ALSO: Outrage after partygoers filmed shouting racist chants on German island of Sylt

Many of them have reportedly lost their jobs over the incident, and public protests have popped up against far-right and racist behaviour. But it could be a while before prosecutors officially decide if charges should be brought in this case. 

For foreigners living in Germany, the incident brings an interesting question to mind: in which cases exactly is racist or xenophobic speech illegal in Germany?

The Local takes a look at the German laws around hate speech, and what actions are punishable by law.

What is considered hate speech according to German law?

In general, Germany places high importance on the freedom of speech. This is why all kinds of groups, regardless of where they stand on the political spectrum, can speak, rally and protest freely in this country.

However, given Germany’s history, when current laws were written, some rules were put in place that were meant to prevent people from targeting minorities with hateful speech. Additionally, glorifying the Holocaust, or denying the fact that it happened, is a punishable offence.

Specifically, incitement to hatred (Volksverhetzung) is illegal, according to section 130 of Germany’s penal code.

Here it is written that, “Whoever, in a manner that is likely to disturb the public peace, incites hatred against a national, racial, religious or ethnic group…”, can be imprisoned for up to five years.

Additionally, a person can face up to three years in prison for either creating or disseminating content that incites hatred along the same lines.

Further sub-sections of the law clarify that either approving of crimes committed by the Nazis, or denying or trivialising them, in a manner that disturbs the public peace can also be punished with jail time up to five years or a fine. The same goes for creating or sharing content that delivers a message along those lines.

One well-known case against a Holocaust denier was held in 2007 when Germar Rudolf was sentenced to two and half years in prison for publishing “research” meant to disprove the Nazi’s use of gas chambers in concentration camps, among other things.

How is the law applied in practice?

While Germany’s hate speech ban sounds like an obvious and simple rule in theory, things quickly get a bit more complicated when it comes to enforcing it.

Whereas it is quite easy to identify racism or xenophobia as soon as you see or hear it, whether it qualifies as criminal conduct, according to the law, can be tricky to determine.

“This is the case if a statement violates a specific prohibition under criminal law,” Sonja Eichwede, legal policy spokeswoman of the SPD parliamentary group, told The Local. “For example, anyone who uses slogans of anti-constitutional organisations, calls for or condones criminal acts or incites hatred against certain groups of people will be prosecuted.”

Such was the case in the recent trial of Björn Höcke, a far-right AfD politician in Thuringia, who was fined €13,000 for closing a political speech with the rallying cry, “Everything for Germany”, which is a slogan known to have been used by the Nazi party.

READ ALSO: Hitler or Höcke? Regional AfD boss cuts short German TV interview

German law books in front of prosecutor

The German Criminal Code (StGB) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (StPO) stand next to a federal prosecutor in the courtroom. Photo: picture alliance/dpa | Oliver Berg

What consequences could those seen at Sylt face?

The slogan heard at the incident at Sylt – “Germany for Germans, foreigners out” – is a chant that was used by Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, and has also been used by the far-right National Democratic party.

So it is possible that the people who disturbed the peace by saying these phrases on camera could be charged, and face hefty fines or even a prison sentence. But whether or not the law has been broken will need to be determined by prosecutors.

According to Eichwede, whether or not charges can be brought is reviewed on a case by case basis: “When this limit is exceeded can only be determined according to the specific circumstances of each individual case.”

She added: “Racist motives are given special consideration by the courts when determining the sentence and lead to a higher penalty.”

Short of using language known specifically to have been used by the Nazi party, or a terrorist organisation, incitement to hatred becomes trickier to establish.

But use of any language which targets a minority group, or which assaults someone’s human dignity based on their belonging to a certain religious or racial group, can be charged.

Other laws that have been applied against hate speech

Beyond the basic protections established in Section 130, there are a few other German codes that have been used to prosecute Holocaust deniers and fascist propagandists.

Similar to slander or libel laws, Germany’s Chapter 14 prohibits malicious gossip against citizens or defamation against politicians. It also includes a ban on defiling the memory of the dead.

In 2007, Holocaust denier and publisher of neo-Nazi propaganda, Ernst Zündel, was convicted of violating the memory of the dead. This charge was included in a broader incitement to hatred case, and he was sentenced to five years in prison.

Crucially, these kinds of insult-law cases can only be brought with the consent of the victim or the victim’s family.

Sections 86 and 86a ban online or offline distribution of “flags, insignia, uniforms, slogans and forms of greeting” that are known to belong to political parties and organisations that are considered unconstitutional by the Federal Constitutional Court, including Nazis and neo-Nazis.

Finally, the most recent addition to Germany’s legal protections against hate speech came in 2017 in the form of the Network Enforcement Act.

According to this law, social media companies are responsible for deleting hate speech on their platforms in Germany, and face up to €50 million in fines if they don’t.

Following a series of far-right terror attacks carried out by perpetrators who had been radicalised on the internet, the act was tightened in 2020.

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