German Scientists Take Stand Against Racism And Neo- Nazi Violence

Scientists and other employees at the Science Center for Social Research in Berlin are waiting to see if a nationwide petition drive they've initiated denouncing the recent wave of neo-Nazi violence in Germany will prod the country's lawmakers to crack down on those racist activities. Staff members at the center, called Wissenschafts-zentrum Berlin fr Sozial- forschung (WZB)--a research institution studying economics, labor market development, and environmental protection policy--began composing the petition last September, following three days of neo-Nazi rioting in the East German town of Rostock. Over the next three months, the institute sent fax and electronic mail transmissions to more than 500 scientific institutions, research universities, and political parties throughout Germany. More than half of WZB's 300 staffers and scientists participated in drafting the document. Though the petition's organizers say the politicians to this point are totally ignoring them, a large number of scientists and academicians have pledged their support. "In the media, both in and out of Germany, these right-wing, fascist groups received a lot of attention," says Christoph Albrecht, the deputy director of the labor market and employment division of WZB and a petition signer. "We distributed the petition to our colleagues at other scientific institutions and universities to encourage them to do the same. We were hoping for a snowball effect. "Though scientists have a strong voice, it is only one voice," he says. "We are a part of the whole; only when many parts of professional society open their mouths with the same message will it have influence on discussions in Bonn [the German capital]." WZB's attempt to oppose the surge of xenophobic rage against Jews, asylum seekers from Eastern Europe, and ethnic and other minorities in Germany received widespread notoriety in November, when the center had the petition printed as an advertisement in the German national daily Sddeutsche Zeitung. The WZB document states that neo-Nazi violence is contributing to the "erosion of basic democratic values.... During the Weimar Republic [the pre-Nazi government in power from 1919 to 1933] too few scientists took an active stand against rising totalitarian thinking and action. We may not allow this to happen again. "We protest against the widespread disregard for the pain and fears of many people as Germany attempts to `grow together' into a single democracy," the petition proclaims. Hans Dolezalek, an atmospheric physicist and oceanographer who left Germany for the United States in 1989, says it is appropriate that scientists speak out against extremists' violence and hatred. Dolezalek, 81, who is nearing retirement from the Office of Naval Research in Arlington, Va., says he believes that scientists are natural opponents of xenophobia. "Scientists should never be in danger of developing a hate against foreigners," he says. "Because they are scientists, they usually have to have very good collaborations with foreigners--especially in the hard sciences, such as engineering, mathematics, physics, and environmental science." Dolezalek says the economic conditions created by reunification have probably sparked much of the social unrest among both skilled and unskilled Germans living in the east. For example, he says, the chemical industry in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR), or East Germany, was obsolete when compared to that in the West, and was unable to comply with the strict West German anti-pollution laws. "So they folded. And as a consequence, thousands of chemists, sometimes with very high scientific stature, found themselves without jobs," he says. Until a certain amount of economic parity is reached throughout the country, Dolezalek suspects that extremist activities will continue. "Considering the actions in Rostock last fall, the politicians should have been more outspoken," says Dagmar Kollande, a staffer at WZB and coordinator of the petition. "Chancellor Kohl should have gone there immediately. What the politicians tried first was to deal with questions of how many foreigners the country should take--instead of condemning those who committed acts of violence. There was not a strong enough reaction against it." Kollande acknowledges that it is unlikely the WZB petition itself will cause the violence to abate. Yet, she says, having scientists speak out against the acts of hatred will ultimately trigger discussions among intellectual organizations and in university classrooms. In addition to collecting more than $6,600 in contributions to finance the petition drive, Kollande says, the institute received numerous phone calls from scientists all over Germany who "had been also outraged by the wave of violence against foreigners but felt pretty much helpless and therefore highly welcomed our initiative." Other protests against the neo-Nazi acts have also taken place. Throughout November and December 1992 and January 1993, more than 45 demonstrations against the attacks on foreigners were held in many of Germany's major cities. According to the German Information Center, the New York City-based public relations arm of the German government, these anti-racism protests drew an average of 43,000 demonstrators a day. Since the merger of the GDR and the Federal Republic on Oct. 3, 1990, the German security agency Verfassungsschutz (Office for the Protection of the Constitution) has reported an increase in murders, beatings, and firebombings committed by pro-fascist youths, often referred to as "skinheads." In 1992, the agency reported more than 2,200 acts of right-wing violence, 17 of which were murders; the previous year, 1,500 such acts were cited. The attacks have been committed against Jews--even though only around 40,000 remain in Germany--the handicapped, the homeless, foreigners, and asylum-seekers. Extremist political factions have been vocal in protesting Germany's liberal asylum laws. Article 16 of the German constitution guarantees asylum for politically persecuted individuals. Since reunification, the number of non-Germans seeking asylum has risen from around 190,000 in 1990 to nearly 250,000 in 1991 and a total of more than 438,000 in 1992. During the first two months of this year, about 75,000 applied for asylum, according to the German Information Center. The primary countries of origin of the recent arrivals are Romania, the former Yugoslavia, Bulgaria, and Turkey. Exchange programs between American and German students and faculty, though initially affected by the rioting, have not suffered any long-term decline in participants or applica- tions, says Wedigo de Vivanco, director of the German Academic Exchange Service in New York City. The exchange service, with 11 offices worldwide, coordinates programs of international academic and scientific exchanges with German universities; the German-American exchange office, with a budget of $16 million, is the service's largest. Vivanco says immediately following the events in Rostock, there was a sharp decline in applications. However, since then the numbers have returned to normal, and in some programs, such as the six-month study grants, applications have increased. Vivanco says public statements against racism are needed in Germany. "One has to react to [the violence]," he says. "It's not that because [the neo-Nazis] are a minority one doesn't have to take their actions seriously. And with Germany's history, this has to be treated especially sensitively. "When I was in Germany it was on everyone's mind and people felt terribly embarrassed. Thank God the whole upsurge didn't last too long. Let's hope it will not happen again."

German Scientists Take Stand Against Racism And Neo- Nazi Violence

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