Greifswald student referred: scandal about right -wing extremist gesture!

Greifswald student referred: scandal about right -wing extremist gesture!

Greifswald, Deutschland - The events at a school in Greifswald throw a dark shadow on our educational institutions. Two ninth graders were recently referred by their school after running a right -wing extremist gesture during a school trip to the former Auschwitz concentration camp. During a flying visit in history lessons, a student showed the White power greeting, which caused another student to capture the moment in the picture. This frightening behavior makes it clear that right-wing extremist ideologies can also gain a foothold in schools, which is reported in detail by [n-tv] (https://www.n-tv.de/politik/zwei-greifswalder-nuntlaessler-flablaess-nach-best- von-der-article25840475.html).

The school management reacted promptly: the school filed a complaint, and the Schwerin Ministry of Education confirmed the processes and the school reference of the two students. The students are now to be transferred to different schools with the same education. The parents have been represented legally and lodged an appeal. An urgent procedure is already running at the Greifswald administrative court. Interestingly, the ministry had only found out about the incidents at the beginning of June because the school reported them late.

educational issues and prevention

The incidents in Greifswald are not an isolated case. Student representatives in the East German federal states are increasingly complaining that right -wing extremist ideas are spread in schools. As part of a joint explanation, state student councils from several federal states, including Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, are calling for a determined countermeasure from politics. Special attention is paid to the teacher training, since many teachers are often overwhelmed and have not been adequately prepared to deal with extremist incidents. According to Tagesschau, the educational researcher Nina Kolleck has already pointed out this sad reality.

The increase in right -wing extremists can also be seen in the numbers: In Saxony alone, the number of 73 incidents rose in 2019 to 149 in 2023. Brandenburg reports 123 documented right -wing extremist statements in the school year 2022/2023. However, the number of unreported cases should be much higher, since many school management does not report incidents. A survey by the Thuringian Teachers' Association showed that 38 % of the respondents report on right -wing extremist motivated violence.

The way forward

The demands on strengthening politics or social studies as well as the introduction of mandatory training measures for teachers have a high priority. In Saxony, on the other hand, there are already measures in the form of a module on political education for prospective teachers. The urge for more education and prevention is more than obvious, especially when even students like 18-year-old Stefan Tarnow reports of swastikas in classrooms. It is time to not only refer to existing strategies, but also to act in a concrete and consistent manner in order to reduce the acceptance of extremist ideas in schools.

The case from Greifswald should alert the entire society and illustrate: here is a big problem that we have to face together. School management, teachers, parents and politics are challenged to become active and to show that there is no place for extremist ideologies in our schools. In this way we can ensure that our educational institutions remain places of tolerance and values ​​where diversity is lived and respected.