Hakluyt
05-07-2006, 06:54 PM
http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,414347,00.html
FIGHTING NEO-NAZIS
Against Foreign Fruit and Right Wingers
By Florian Steglich
A Leipzig performance artist has found an original way of disrupting neo-Nazi marches and demonstrations. When the skinheads come to town, the German Apple Front is there to meet them -- complete with its very own Führer of fruit.
It's shortly past midday on May 1 in Leipzig and 20 youths in black suits sit in an apartment south of Leipzig's city center, trading sunglasses and red-and-white armbands. The "Propaganda Minister" puts on a few records while the "Führer" rushes down to the gas station to buy batteries for his megaphone.
At first glance, the kids in their militaristic garb look like a group of right-wing radicals. But they're playing American rock music, and the symbol on their armbands is an apple, not a swastika. The "German Apple Front" is getting ready to perform -- because today, neo-Nazi Christian Worch of Hamburg is in town.
The Apple Front has appeared at counter-demonstrations to protest neo-Nazi marches since the autumn of 2004 with May 1 and October 3 having become two dates permanently marked on their calendars. The group was founded after the right-wing NPD party was voted into the Saxony state parliament. The local chairman of the NPD, Holger Apfel, may well have unwittingly inspired the group's name -- although that's not the official version. The members of the Apple Front insist their man concern is the purity of German fruit: "Down with tropical fruit!" They call themselves the "National Project Against the Foreign Infiltration of the German Fruit Supply and Against Rotting Windfall Fruit."
What's good for German youth? Apple juice!
Bayrischer Platz, a nearby square, is their first stop. Neo-Nazis Christian Worch and Steffen Hupka have organized two separate demonstration routes in a bid to avoid counter-demonstrations. Their attempt to get to the south of the city, into the left-wing neighborhood of Connewitz, has become an annual ritual. Until now, their adversaries have successfully stopped them by means of sit-down blockades and demonstrations of their own.
The Apple Front soldiers haven't yet decided which route they're going to block. "It depends which of the two Nazi marches starts first and where the bigger audience is," says Alf Thum, the "Führer." One of the founders of the satirical group, he earns his living as a performance artist.
Plenty of people are there to watch the Apple Front soldiers chant their slogans on Bayrischer Platz: "What's good for German youth? Apple juice! Apple juice!" They can't help laughing at themselves. A number of policemen by the side of the road are laughing too, though they've likely seen the spectacle before. On the orders of the "Führer," the self-described "best-dressed block" gets into the "turtle" combat position behind a row of open umbrellas. This combat position is a new addition to the repertoire: Last year the Apple Front was in the front row when the police turned on their water cannons.
The first trash dumpster is burning in a side street, sending smoke into a cloudless sky and the first masked demonstrators rush by. The Apple Front retreats. They don't approve of demonstrators who build burning barricades and throw stones. "We're a pacifist organization," one of the youths says. He's a member of the Apple Front's youth group, the "German National Fresh Fruit Squad." The young apples already make up most of the group. There are about 25 of them, in addition to about 10 older members. Some of the school kids aren't here today, because they have to study for their approaching exams.
Ridiculing the far right
While the counter-demonstrators gather at an intersection and sit down -- exactly along the route Worch is expected to follow -- the Apple Front establishes the appropriate revolutionary atmosphere. "Theees interrrrsection must be helllld at any prrrrice!" Alf Thum growls into his megaphone as demonstrators erupt in laughter. Part of the apple-fighters' strategy is to ridicule the far right by using exactly the same intonation and vocabulary as both Nazis and neo-Nazis. A policeman observing the scene -- who refuses to be identified -- is glad the parodists are there. "They relax the situation," he says.
News from the other streets trickles in on mobile telephones. Apple Front scouts are trying to figure out just how far the right-wingers have advanced. When Thum announces that the other demonstration didn't even manage to make it out of the train station before being dispersed by the police, the crowd erupts in celebration. The mood is positive, but tense. A water cannon drives up a side street.
Public appearances are only part of what keeps the Apple Front together. Every two to three weeks, members meet for a film or game evening -- also a helpful method of recruiting new members. "Führer" Thum is excited by his group's successes: "Young folks have been working with us for the past year and a half without us requiring any sort of formal commitment. Everywhere they are being told that they should do something against racism. With us, it just happens." Indeed, it is exactly this lack of commitment that gives the Apple Front an advantage over groups organized by teachers or political parties, Thum believes.
When it becomes clear that the police have diverted Worch's demonstration, the group begins to move. They walk up October 18 Street to cut off the neo-Nazis' path. And suddenly, on the wide, straight boulevard, the two groups find themselves face to face, separated only by 150 meters and a large group of policemen -- "Team Green" as they are referred to by the Apple Front. "Sit down! Sit down!" someone yells. The National Fresh Fruit sits down in the first row and spreads out the group's apple-logo banner.
A hard day's work
The "Führer" and his "Propaganda Minister" advance to the chain of police officers. The goal is clear: "I want to shake Chrissy Worch's hand," Thum says before trying to communicate directly by way of megaphone. "Christian, I want to bear your child!" he screams. The authorities, though, refuse to let him through -- though a number of them can't resist the urge to laugh. The camera teams gathered to film the scene don't even try to hold back. After a look through his binoculars, Thum reports to the group that Worch has gained a bit of weight since the last time he saw him.
But then, a red-bearded man approaches the group. "Is there someone from the Apple Front here," he asks? The man is Volker Külow, a representative from the Left Party in the Saxony state parliament. "Worch's giving just two more speeches and then his demonstration will be dispersed," he reports. "It's good that you're here." In other words: It'll be over soon. The extremists aren't going any further. Just remain calm. Thum passes along Külow's message to his troops.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Worch and his comrades head back the way they came. The counter-demonstrators try once again to block the neo-Nazis on their return. It's another three hours before the Apple Front can finally enjoy their evening beer after a hard day's work.
And the Fresh Fruit? They have to get up early the next morning to go to school.
FIGHTING NEO-NAZIS
Against Foreign Fruit and Right Wingers
By Florian Steglich
A Leipzig performance artist has found an original way of disrupting neo-Nazi marches and demonstrations. When the skinheads come to town, the German Apple Front is there to meet them -- complete with its very own Führer of fruit.
It's shortly past midday on May 1 in Leipzig and 20 youths in black suits sit in an apartment south of Leipzig's city center, trading sunglasses and red-and-white armbands. The "Propaganda Minister" puts on a few records while the "Führer" rushes down to the gas station to buy batteries for his megaphone.
At first glance, the kids in their militaristic garb look like a group of right-wing radicals. But they're playing American rock music, and the symbol on their armbands is an apple, not a swastika. The "German Apple Front" is getting ready to perform -- because today, neo-Nazi Christian Worch of Hamburg is in town.
The Apple Front has appeared at counter-demonstrations to protest neo-Nazi marches since the autumn of 2004 with May 1 and October 3 having become two dates permanently marked on their calendars. The group was founded after the right-wing NPD party was voted into the Saxony state parliament. The local chairman of the NPD, Holger Apfel, may well have unwittingly inspired the group's name -- although that's not the official version. The members of the Apple Front insist their man concern is the purity of German fruit: "Down with tropical fruit!" They call themselves the "National Project Against the Foreign Infiltration of the German Fruit Supply and Against Rotting Windfall Fruit."
What's good for German youth? Apple juice!
Bayrischer Platz, a nearby square, is their first stop. Neo-Nazis Christian Worch and Steffen Hupka have organized two separate demonstration routes in a bid to avoid counter-demonstrations. Their attempt to get to the south of the city, into the left-wing neighborhood of Connewitz, has become an annual ritual. Until now, their adversaries have successfully stopped them by means of sit-down blockades and demonstrations of their own.
The Apple Front soldiers haven't yet decided which route they're going to block. "It depends which of the two Nazi marches starts first and where the bigger audience is," says Alf Thum, the "Führer." One of the founders of the satirical group, he earns his living as a performance artist.
Plenty of people are there to watch the Apple Front soldiers chant their slogans on Bayrischer Platz: "What's good for German youth? Apple juice! Apple juice!" They can't help laughing at themselves. A number of policemen by the side of the road are laughing too, though they've likely seen the spectacle before. On the orders of the "Führer," the self-described "best-dressed block" gets into the "turtle" combat position behind a row of open umbrellas. This combat position is a new addition to the repertoire: Last year the Apple Front was in the front row when the police turned on their water cannons.
The first trash dumpster is burning in a side street, sending smoke into a cloudless sky and the first masked demonstrators rush by. The Apple Front retreats. They don't approve of demonstrators who build burning barricades and throw stones. "We're a pacifist organization," one of the youths says. He's a member of the Apple Front's youth group, the "German National Fresh Fruit Squad." The young apples already make up most of the group. There are about 25 of them, in addition to about 10 older members. Some of the school kids aren't here today, because they have to study for their approaching exams.
Ridiculing the far right
While the counter-demonstrators gather at an intersection and sit down -- exactly along the route Worch is expected to follow -- the Apple Front establishes the appropriate revolutionary atmosphere. "Theees interrrrsection must be helllld at any prrrrice!" Alf Thum growls into his megaphone as demonstrators erupt in laughter. Part of the apple-fighters' strategy is to ridicule the far right by using exactly the same intonation and vocabulary as both Nazis and neo-Nazis. A policeman observing the scene -- who refuses to be identified -- is glad the parodists are there. "They relax the situation," he says.
News from the other streets trickles in on mobile telephones. Apple Front scouts are trying to figure out just how far the right-wingers have advanced. When Thum announces that the other demonstration didn't even manage to make it out of the train station before being dispersed by the police, the crowd erupts in celebration. The mood is positive, but tense. A water cannon drives up a side street.
Public appearances are only part of what keeps the Apple Front together. Every two to three weeks, members meet for a film or game evening -- also a helpful method of recruiting new members. "Führer" Thum is excited by his group's successes: "Young folks have been working with us for the past year and a half without us requiring any sort of formal commitment. Everywhere they are being told that they should do something against racism. With us, it just happens." Indeed, it is exactly this lack of commitment that gives the Apple Front an advantage over groups organized by teachers or political parties, Thum believes.
When it becomes clear that the police have diverted Worch's demonstration, the group begins to move. They walk up October 18 Street to cut off the neo-Nazis' path. And suddenly, on the wide, straight boulevard, the two groups find themselves face to face, separated only by 150 meters and a large group of policemen -- "Team Green" as they are referred to by the Apple Front. "Sit down! Sit down!" someone yells. The National Fresh Fruit sits down in the first row and spreads out the group's apple-logo banner.
A hard day's work
The "Führer" and his "Propaganda Minister" advance to the chain of police officers. The goal is clear: "I want to shake Chrissy Worch's hand," Thum says before trying to communicate directly by way of megaphone. "Christian, I want to bear your child!" he screams. The authorities, though, refuse to let him through -- though a number of them can't resist the urge to laugh. The camera teams gathered to film the scene don't even try to hold back. After a look through his binoculars, Thum reports to the group that Worch has gained a bit of weight since the last time he saw him.
But then, a red-bearded man approaches the group. "Is there someone from the Apple Front here," he asks? The man is Volker Külow, a representative from the Left Party in the Saxony state parliament. "Worch's giving just two more speeches and then his demonstration will be dispersed," he reports. "It's good that you're here." In other words: It'll be over soon. The extremists aren't going any further. Just remain calm. Thum passes along Külow's message to his troops.
Shortly before 4 p.m., Worch and his comrades head back the way they came. The counter-demonstrators try once again to block the neo-Nazis on their return. It's another three hours before the Apple Front can finally enjoy their evening beer after a hard day's work.
And the Fresh Fruit? They have to get up early the next morning to go to school.