Hitler salute on Sylt: Man pays a fine and ensures outrage

Hitler salute on Sylt: Man pays a fine and ensures outrage

A scandalous incident on Sylt causes excitement and debates about social attitudes towards racism in Germany. In the well-known "pony" bar in Kampen there was a grotesque acting on Pentecost in 2024, in which a man showed the Hitler salute and, together with other guests, chanted enemies. These incidents were recorded in a video and quickly spread on the Internet, which triggered nationwide outrage. According to Welt at the end of April 2025 paid a fine of 2,500 euros to a charitable organization Flensburg public prosecutor's office.

The derailments in the "pony" bar happened to the melody of the popular song "L’Amour Toujours" by DJ Gigi d’Agostino. This is not an isolated case: According to ZDF there were also similar incidents in which these racist slogans were repeated. Not only the public reacted to the incidents with outrage, but also politics sees these events the need to proceed more against right -wing extremism and racism.

Investigations and legal consequences

The police investigated a total of four. In three of them, including two men and a student of a Hamburg university of applied sciences, the investigation was discontinued, since the spoken slogans were not considered to be sedentary, as the highest judicial case law stated. A fourth man who showed the Hitler salute received a penalty order. In order to avoid a public main hearing, he immediately agreed to the amount of money, whereupon the law enforcement officers hired the other procedures.

The student himself received a two -month ban on her university. Examatriculation was checked, but was rejected as disproportionately rejected. The action not only caused discussion in the bar, but also beyond. The incidents have initiated a broad debate about racism and right-wing extremist attitudes in society, which have once again become public awareness through terrible events such as the NSU murders and the attacks in Halle and Hanau. This problem has been moving into the crosshairs of political measures since Angela Merkel's reign.

racism in Germany

The German Center for Integration and Migration Research (DEZIM) found in a comprehensive study that racism is not a marginal phenomenon in Germany. People from different ethnic minorities report to a frighteningly high degree of discrimination. Around 58% of the members of these groups have personally experienced racism and the topic is increasingly gaining urgency in public and political discussion. Politics Culture describes that almost 90% of the population regarding racism as a real problem and have already observed a racist incident.

The new initiatives of the federal government, which are now shaped by the latest events, aim to promote a sustainable examination of the causes and consequences of racism. It seems urgent that society as a whole develops a good hand to not only counter the challenges that racism and exclusion, but also to actively combat them.