German resort bar takes legal action amid outrage over racist chants
The operators of a bar on the popular upscale German resort island of Sylt are pressing charges after a video went viral showing some of its customers chanting Nazi-era racist slogans.
"If our staff had noticed the behaviour in question at any time, we would have reacted immediately. We would have informed the police immediately and pressed charges. We have since been able to do so," wrote the operators of the well-known Pony restaurant in the resort town Kampen on Instagram.
In the video, lasting just a few seconds, the group of young people are seen chanting "Foreigners out!" and "Germany for Germans" to the tune of hit party song "L'Amour Toujours" by Gigi D'Agostino.
One man appears to imitate a Hitler moustache with his fingers on his upper lip. Bystanders appear unconcerned by the behaviour.
An investigation has been launched for possible incitement and the use of unconstitutional signs - the name of the official charge in Germany related to the use of Nazi symbols and slogans.
Politicians including Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed their shock at the video on Friday and more joined at the weekend.
"Anyone who bullies, excludes and shouts fascist slogans is attacking what holds our country together," Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said.
He noted that Germany was currently celebrating the 75th anniversary of the Basic Law, which serves as the legal basis for democratic rights in Germany. "It is our job to protect this. Such disgusting abuse must have no place," Habeck said.
German opposition leader Friedrich Merz, of the conservative Christian Democrats, said at a party event on Saturday: "What is actually going on in the heads of these people, that can no longer be explained by alcohol consumption."
"There is no justification or explanation anywhere for what has happened. It is completely unacceptable that something like this is happening."
According to extremism expert Pia Lamberty, the Sylt video shows a normalization of right-wing extremist content in German society.
"Social norms are simply being broken without any form of contradiction," said Lamberty, the co-leader of the Centre for Monitoring, Analysis and Strategy (CeMAS), which investigates radicalization and conspiracy theories online.
The video showed that "people can express extreme slogans in public without fear."
"Right-wing extremism is not just a problem that you see in eastern Germany or among people who have a lower income, but also among those who have a higher social status," she said.
For some of those involved, the video has already had legal repercussions.
Advertising agency Serviceplan Group announced on Instagram on Friday evening that it had dismissed an employee involved in the incident without notice. "We do not tolerate racism in any form within our agency group," the company stated.
