Scandal in Greifswald: Students fly out of school after neo-Nazi greeting!

Scandal in Greifswald: Students fly out of school after neo-Nazi greeting!

Today it is time to report on a worrying incident at the Greifswald Fischer School that has put students and teachers on alert. Two students were expelled from school due to a right-wing extremist incident after they made a questionable gesture during a study trip to the Auschwitz concentration camp memorial in May. What is particularly frightening is that one student presented the so-called "white power" salute, while a classmate filmed this and then distributed the video on social networks. The whole thing not only caused an uproar at school, but also attracted the attention of the Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania Ministry of Education. A few days after the incident, the school administration decided to suspend the students and transfer them to other schools to ensure that they can continue their education successfully. However, the parents could take legal action against the expulsion from school, so there is a lot of explosive material in the air. The school administration has also filed a criminal complaint against the students who clearly exceeded the boundaries of what is acceptable in schools.

The Ministry of Education is now planning further training for teachers in order to counteract this still explosive issue and to raise awareness of extreme ideologies. It should be emphasized that the right-wing extremist gesture is a symbol of the alleged superiority of the "white race" and is deeply rooted in the neo-Nazi scene, as well NDR reported.

A similar case caused a stir in March when four students from Görlitz also showed the “White Power” salute and were punished with a principal expulsion. This shows that there is a bigger problem in schools. The student representatives of the eastern German states have noted with alarm that right-wing extremism is increasing in schools. In a joint statement they urgently call on politicians to take action. Strategies to combat right-wing extremism are still being discussed, but the existing concepts do not seem to be sufficient. Loud Mirror Many students report right-wing extremist symbolism in classrooms and a growing presence of extremist ideas in class.

But how do teachers actually fare in such an environment? In her study, visual researcher Nina Kolleck found that many teachers are unsettled and often do not have the courage to intervene when right-wing extremist statements are made. The statistics speak for themselves: In Saxony, for example, the reported right-wing extremist incidents in schools rose from 73 to 149 within four years. Brandenburg also recorded 123 documented right-wing extremist statements in the 2022/2023 school year, but the number of unreported cases is loud daily news probably high, as many school administrators do not report incidents.

The student body also demands that the subjects of politics and social studies be strengthened and that teachers be better prepared for dealing with extremist incidents. These demands are all the more understandable when you hear the descriptions of students like Stefan Tarnow, who reports on swastikas in classrooms and a worrying decrease in the inhibition threshold for right-wing extremist statements.

In summary, we all have to ask ourselves the question: What can we do to massively counteract right-wing extremist tendencies in schools? Collective action is urgently needed to prevent future incidents of this nature and provide our schools with a safe learning environment.