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sl8

(13,844 posts) Wed Sep 16, 2020, 10:42 AM Sep 2020

Twenty-nine German police suspended for sharing pictures of Hitler

Source: Reuters

SEPTEMBER 16, 20207:45 AM
UPDATED 3 HOURS AGO

DUESSELDORF, Germany (Reuters) - Twenty-nine police officers have been suspended in Germany for sharing pictures of Adolf Hitler and doctored depictions of refugees in gas chambers on their mobile phones, officials in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) said on Wednesday.

They are also accused of using far-right chatrooms where extremist content, such as Swastikas and other Nazi symbols, that breaches the German constitution was shared.

The incident is embarrassing for German police and security agencies, who have faced accusations of not doing enough to unearth potentially violent nationalists in their ranks.

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-crime-hitler/twenty-nine-german-police-suspended-for-sharing-pictures-of-hitler-idUSKBN2671ZK?il=0

7 replies

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Twenty-nine German police suspended for sharing pictures of Hitler (Original Post) sl8 Sep 2020 OP

They need to shut that down. What happened at our hearing yesterday soothsayer Sep 2020 #1

Some of those who work forces / are the same who burn crosses. Initech Sep 2020 #2

Historically speaking, after WWII, Germany has done a better job suppressing their Nazis ... Earthshine2 Sep 2020 #3

+ agree. Welcome to DU. iluvtennis Sep 2020 #4

Absolutey correct. Not to say they don't have their far right groups. Fla Dem Sep 2020 #5

I don't know about Austria, the new chancellor, Kurz, teamed up with the "Freedom Party" Escurumbele Sep 2020 #6

Some of that has been in the background for years. SeattleVet Sep 2020 #7

soothsayer

(38,601 posts)

1. They need to shut that down. What happened at our hearing yesterday

Reply to sl8 (Original post)

Wed Sep 16, 2020, 10:50 AM

Sep 2020

About white supremacists in law enforcement?

I didn’t get to watch

Initech

(100,090 posts)

2. Some of those who work forces / are the same who burn crosses.

Reply to sl8 (Original post)

Wed Sep 16, 2020, 10:53 AM

Sep 2020

Earthshine2

(4,044 posts)

3. Historically speaking, after WWII, Germany has done a better job suppressing their Nazis ...

Reply to sl8 (Original post)

Wed Sep 16, 2020, 10:54 AM

Sep 2020

than we have with ours.

iluvtennis

(19,864 posts)

4. + agree. Welcome to DU.

Reply to Earthshine2 (Reply #3)

Wed Sep 16, 2020, 11:07 AM

Sep 2020

Fla Dem

(23,711 posts)

5. Absolutey correct. Not to say they don't have their far right groups.

Reply to Earthshine2 (Reply #3)

Wed Sep 16, 2020, 11:08 AM

Sep 2020

"In Germany, the law considers swastikas and SS sig runes the "symbols of anti-constitutional organizations." Displaying them publicly or selling goods that sport them is illegal. The Nazi salute and statements such as "Heil Hitler" are also banned in public.

"There are similar bans — for example, in Austria — but those are a lot less tough," Solmecke said."

https://www.dw.com/en/germanys-confusing-rules-on-swastikas-and-nazi-symbols/a-45063547

Of course if we were to do that in the US the righties would say we were trampling on their constitutional right of "Freedom of Speech".

Escurumbele

(3,401 posts)

6. I don't know about Austria, the new chancellor, Kurz, teamed up with the "Freedom Party"

Reply to Fla Dem (Reply #5)

Wed Sep 16, 2020, 11:19 AM

Sep 2020

which was formed by a neo-nazi group. He has also allowed the "Freedom Party" to run the police, the military, and other law enforcement agencies...what could go wrong?

It is scary that there seems to be a resurgence of Nazism, it is all over the World.

SeattleVet

(5,477 posts)

7. Some of that has been in the background for years.

Reply to sl8 (Original post)

Wed Sep 16, 2020, 03:40 PM

Sep 2020

When I was stationed in Germany (1978-1981) I was at a gasthaus one night sitting with a several locals enjoying dinner and a few beers. I was having a conversation about the day's events and politics with a young lawyer (me in broken German and English, him in pretty damn good English and helping me with my German). At the table was a mixed bag, mostly farmer/blue-collar workers, and a 94-year old retiree, who was a really nice guy.

At one point a guy in his 60's slammed the table with his fist, looked directly at me, and said in a fairly loud voice, "Hitler was right!", with no provocation or context. We didn't know where this came from, as the conversation was pretty light and friendly.

Everyone else really was shocked, and the lawyer told me, "Ignore him - he's pretty drunk." The 94-year old guy just shook his head and looked down at his lap. He later told me he was very embarrassed that I was put into that situation.

But just knowing that this type of attitude and thought process still existed was a real shocker for me. I had been in Germany for over 2 years at that point, and had never heard anyone express anything like that. Germany had done a very good job of de-nazification. Nazi symbols and the like were very illegal. For example, if you went into a hobby shop and bought a WWII airplane model kit there were no decals with nazi markings. They were serious about this.

There were a few (much less than now) far-right fringe groups, but enough of the population was old enough to remember the horrors of that era and they raised their kids well. It is MUCH more visible now.

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