Saxony-Anhalt: BSW in solidarity with fascists - anti-fascist protest at the “Festival of Freedom of Expression” in Magdeburg

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Wagenknechts BSW: stirrup holders of the AfD fascists

The voters are running for the BSWinside away. In the last federal election in Saxony-Anhalt, 11.2% voted for the BSW; current surveys now show only 4%. After the BSW leadership announced that it wanted to join forces with the AfD, the party is currently dismantling itself: some of the officialsInside and among the supporters don't want to go down the path into the blue-brown swamp. Another part of the target group will probably choose the original (AfD). The election on September 6th will show whether the calculation of getting over the 5% hurdle by pandering to the AfD will work.

Against Querfront and Schwurbel: Counter-rally by the Anti-Verschwurbelte Aktion

As announced in advance, the Antiverschurbelte Aktion protested with a “satirical celebration for cancel culture” against “the fact that Mark Fortress is opening the door to the most outrageous bullshit and open anti-Semitism.”

However, the announced “fire wall” made of cardboard did not materialize. During the course of the rally, which was clearly visible from the entrance area of the festival, the participants in the Antifa rally were insulted and threatened by shouting festival visitors

and involved in sweary conversations. According to the call, the protesters wanted to influence the swearing with “patience and love,” but they certainly didn’t succeed. You could hear and see that some of those who were getting excited were clearly right-wing extremists and didn't want to go any further, preferring instead to jump and shout. The festival visitorsIn any case, insiders confirmed to the protest that they define “freedom of expression” in such a way that everyone must agree to their “opinion”. Dissidents are marked as targets of attack. -The purpose of the rally was achieved: all festival visitorsThose inside noticed that a protest against conspiracy narratives and fascism was taking place. At the end of the article we document the call for the anti-conspiracy campaign**.**

BSW basic consensus: cross front

The top candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, Claudia Wittig, already spoke out in her welcoming speech that there does not have to be a basic consensus in political debates. Translated, this means: The BSW considers Nazis to be socially acceptable and useful conversation partnersinside (→ see below “Accredited Press”). The guests were selected accordingly. There was no visible distance to the AfD or to Nazi relativization. It was clear that the guests fulfilled the “basic consensus” of the BSW nonsense: Russia fetish, conspiracy madness, victimhood. No trace of controversy, just self-assurance. It is also significant how deeply Claudia Wittig is involved in right-wing swearing: advertising leaflets were distributed for her event (“Are the elites leading us into a hot war?”) at the Magdeburg Schwurbel “Peace Festival”, the motto of which is: “Stumbling blocks (!) against warmongers”**.*

Conspiracy stories

The core of the festival program was the overarching conspiracy narrative that the German people were being manipulated and controlled by foreign or secret powers (this was nicely differentiated by the panel guests). The BSW posters at the entrance already set the tone for this (→ see below “BSW is conducting an anti-Semitic election campaign”). Quite a few independent observers were surprised that the BSW was actually holding an event with the outdated main topic of Corona policy, and that the topic of Russia/Ukraine, which was more important to their own self-image, only appeared in passing.

The celebrities of the Corona conspiracy stories were invited: Ulrike Guérot, Markus Haintz, Aya Velasquez, Tom Lausen, Stefan Homburg, Mona Aranea and many others. The well-known lies and misrepresentations were presented; a detailed presentation is not appropriate at this point. For everyone who is not familiar with these stories: Of course, German politics is not about saving lives during the pandemic, but rather about carrying out an authoritarian state restructuring that was planned long beforehand. The “state media” withheld information. criticWithin the authoritarian state would be persecuted, discriminated against and punished. Comparisons with National Socialism are completely okay. That politicians have admitted their own ignorance and rely on scientistsHearing inside is proof of authoritarianism and external control of the state. - If you like, you can watch the re-live on a well-known video platform.

At the end of this report there is an annotated list of participants, that will have to be enough. Fun fact: The prominent AfD opponent Johannes Varwick was announced, who made extensive statements in the media in the spirit of the BSW (and Putin) about the war against Ukraine. Apparently he canceled because he didn't want to be associated with the unspeakable Corona nonsense and the AfD. In keeping with the Stalinist tradition, this information was suppressed and Varwick's absence was simply hushed up.

Mission to the AfD: bring the judiciary into line

The Corona and climate change denier Stefan Homburg, who is close to the AfD, gave a humorous lecture about alleged lawfare (that is, the abuse of the law for political purposes), which is used to suppress his freedom of expression. He boasted about the large number of cases brought against him. The best known is the trial in which he - like Björn Höcke before him - was convicted of using the banned SA slogan. With a view to the state elections, he was apparently looking forward to an election victory for the AfD (“there is hope”). He suggested giving (other) instructions to public prosecutors and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and changing the “appointment practice of judges and public prosecutors”. This proposal to bring the judiciary into line with the wishes of the AfD was greeted with great applause by the audience.

Understanding Russia with the Federal President of the Heart

The highlight for the accomplices of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine was the appearance of Gabriele Krone-Schmalz, whose main job is understanding Russia. She was of course prepared for the fact that conspiracy stories were also expected from her and spoke about enemy images: “The meaning and purpose of enemy images is and remains to push people's behavior in a certain direction, to impose a moral framework on them that leaves them no choice but to act in the interests of the decision-makers or at least to go along with them.” She also criticized empathetic reporting on the effects of Russia's drone war - this would lead to siding with the victims. One-sided reporting and ignoring the causes of the war only prolonged the suffering. After the lecture there was applause and a standing ovation. Ms. Krone-Schmalz was then nominated as a candidate for the office of Federal President by the top candidate in Saxony-Anhalt, Thomas Schulze.

Alliance of Stalinist Angry Bourgeoisie

The German angry bourgeoisie is in good hands at the BSW. In addition to the maudlin GDR nostalgia, all important topics are covered: migration, the Russian war of aggression (“Ukraine War”), anti-Americanism, corona policy, media hatred including ÖRR fees and rejection of the EURO (including “cash abolition”). All of these topics were addressed in Magdeburg. The main targets of the anger are, unsurprisingly, German political decisions that cannot be justified by the interests of the “ideal capitalist as a whole”, but rather demonstrate a residual humanism among the people involved. It drives the angry citizens crazyto this day, the Merkel government welcomed stranded refugees into Germany in 2015, ending a humanitarian emergency. But much more important at the “Festival of Freedom of Expression”: given the dangers of the COVID19 pandemic, decision-makers followed suitfollowed the advice of science and thereby saved countless lives instead of giving free rein to social Darwinism, as the corona deniers demanded.

Accredited press: Compact TV, AUF1

The BSW, especially the top candidate Claudia Wittig, has been toying with the right-wing radical magazine Compact for a long time. So she wanted to take part as a protagonist in the last Compact summer festival. (1) A place where neo-Nazis hang out. As mentioned above, Ms. Wittig does not believe in a basic (democratic) consensus in debates. Consequently, not only right-wing nonsense media likeAuf1 were allowed at the “Festival of Freedom of Expression”, but an entire team was accredited by Compact, the BSW officialinside, panel guests and visitorsinterviewed inside. In his summary, the Compact reporter was pleased with the BSW's openness towards “patriots and right-wing forces”.

Information and sales stands

In front of the entrance, right next to the BSW information stand, there was a stand for the BSW-supported project “1,000,000 Voices for Peace”. This is a project by Anja Lues(2)from the lateral thinking scene, which tries to establish right-wing and conspiracy ideological narratives in the bourgeois middle under the guise of peace. A motorcycle was parked right next to this stand, which was decorated with, among other things, the “Druzhba” flag. “Druschba” is an original AfD outlet. Inside, in addition to stalls for food and drinks, there was a sales table from the “Buchkomplizen” mail order company, which belongs to the Westend publishing house.(3)The guests’ “works” were available for purchase here, as well as other Schwurbel publications.

BSW is running an anti-Semitic election campaign

Two “highlights” of the BSW election campaign graphics were exhibited in front of the entrance gate. The clear message to the audience was: If you're going to swear, then do it right. Consequently, anti-Semitic clichés are used. The first poster with the title “We are not US vassals” shows European politicians as puppets of a foreign power. The puppet master, like the global octopus, is an archetype of modern anti-Semitism. The second poster, entitled “Stop the rip-offs,” shows Ukrainian President Zelensky, who is known to be Jewish, as a blustering fraudster.

Exuberant exhibition with a relativization of the Shoah and a club of anti-Semitism

Works by Schwurbel artist Simon Rosenthal were exhibited on the ground floor of the fortress. BerlinerThose inside may know him from his participation in an exhibition by the IAFF association in the trendy location Musikbrauerei (IAFF regularly promotes right-wing swearersinside who implement their delusions somewhat creatively). Rosenthal's trademark: anti-Semitic provocations under the protective umbrella of artistic freedom. He achieved fame through his perfume bottle with the Fraktur inscription “Vaccinations make you free”. Not at all indelicately, he figuratively packed a “club of anti-Semitism” into a coffin. However, his installation, in which an oversized Jewish ritual object shows a Hitler salute (4), was not shown. The price list displayed in several places and a comparison with previous exhibitions suggests that, despite all the publicity, his works are slow sellers.

Lord of the castle gone astray

The extensively renovated location “Fortress Mark” is new on the map of legally open event spaces. A non-profit cultural foundation made up of the university, college, student union (own spelling), the city of Magdeburg and many individuals runs the fortress in the inner city with the aim of "promoting art, culture and student-cultural life in Magdeburg". The board of trustees is made up of well-known rectors from the Otto von Guericke University of Magdeburg, the Magdeburg-Stendal University of Applied Sciences and the city council. However, during the war in Ukraine, managing director Christian Szibor deviated sharply and has now initiated a right-wing "peace appeal" with prominent support.(6)

This shows how advanced the normalization of right-wing ideas is at the highest levels of the capital. The gateway via the peace and culture channel must be closed quickly and special attention must be paid to whether the AfD is actively using this space. The Szibors' connections deserve anti-fascist attention.

Footnotes:

Sources used

Own research on site
BSW publications
Publications of the Anticonspiracy Action (X, Underground Blättle)
Wikipedia article about the participants, as well as sources linked there
Psiram (the wiki of irrational belief systems)www.psiram.com/de/

Documentation 1:

List of participants in the BSW “Festival of Freedom of Expression”

(Participants are assigned a qualification that presumably contributed to their invitation)

Paul Schreyer(Author and editor-in-chief of the buzzy medium Multipolar)

(Qualification: Spreads absurd conspiracy stories about 9/11, what is happening in Ukraine and the corona pandemic, fantasizes about the ruling interests of the “elites”. Close to Ken Jebsen and member of the BSW’s “Basic Values Commission”)

Bastian Barucker(Wilderness educator and author)

(Qualification: claims a “political agenda” in combating the corona pandemic)

Tom Lausen(Publicist and controversial data analyst)

(Qualification: Appointed by the AfD to the Bundestag's Corona Study Commission)

Mona Aranea(moderator)

(Qualification: Protagonist of the right-wing “Peace Alliance NRW”)>

Christine Prayon(cabaret artist, author)

(Qualification: Left the ZDF “heute-show” of his own accord and portrayed himself as a victim of an allegedly non-existent freedom of speech)

Felicia Binger(Actress, anti-vaccination activist)
Stefan Homburg(financial scientist)

(Qualification: Spread false information about the corona pandemic and was convicted of using banned SA slogans)

Simon Rosenthal(Artist)

(Qualification: Criminal proceedings for sedition because of his art object, a perfume bottle with the inscription “Vaccinations make you free”. Installation with an oversized Torah pointer that shows the “German greeting”)

_Steffen Peter

(_ Gallery owner of Simon Rosenthal)

Norbert Häring(Business journalist & publicist, moderation)

(Qualification: Conspiracy teller, talks about abolishing cash and claims that NGOs fight unwanted opinions on behalf of the state)

Aya Velazquez(activist)

(Qualification: spreads conspiracy stories, including about the attempted storming of the Reichstag building in August 2020)

Markus Haintz(Attorney)

(Qualification: prominent lateral thinking activist)

Sevim Dagdelen(Member of the Federal Executive Board BSW, moderation)

(Qualification: She described German governments as “vassals” of the USA. In 2022 she called the impending Russian invasion of Ukraine a “tall tale from the US secret service”)

Gabriele Krone-Schmalz(publicist)

(Qualification: Russia understanding)

Ulrike Guérot(political scientist)

(Qualification: She was kicked out of the University of Bonn for violating academic standards. Icon of the lateral thinking movement, Putin apologist)

Claudia WittigBSW top candidate for Saxony-Anhalt

(organized a reading at the University of Halle with the Hamas apologist Helga Baumgarten)

Patrik Baab(journalist, author)

(Qualification: In addition to spreading Kremlin narratives, he is characterized by a conspiracy theory about the murder of Olof Palme and the death of Uwe Barschel)

John Lucas Dittrich(BSW State Chairman Saxony-Anhalt, moderation)

(Qualification: according to the party line, talks about a “narrowing of opinion corridors”)

Alexander Teske(former Tagesschau editor)

(Qualification: portrayed himself as a whiner in his book and spread the story that the AfD was disadvantaged by the ARD)

Alexander King(BSW top candidate Berlin, moderation)

(Qualification: appears as a speaker at lateral thinking demos, forged an alliance with the Schwurbel party Die Basis in Berlin)

Markus J. Karsten(Publisher Westend-Verlag)

(Qualification: Westend-Verlag has recently positioned itself as open to the right, which is why a number of authors have canceled further collaboration)

Flavio von Witzleben(Journalist)

(Qualification: Published in Schwurbelmedien and his own YouTube channel about alleged censorship)

Florian Warweg(Journalist)

(Qualification: worked at the Russian propaganda station RT DE, at the NachDenkSeiten, now at the Ostdeutsche Allgemeine)

Michael Meyen(communication scientist)

(Qualification: supported the anti-Semitic BDS movement and spread conspiracy narratives.)

Michael Lüders(Deputy Federal Chairman BSW, moderation)

(Qualification: describes Israel as a fascist state and claims that the memory of Auschwitz is being exploited politically)

Bernd Stegemann(Playwright, author, on the right-wing advisory boardthink tank-r21)

(Qualification: protagonist of the populist stand-up movement, author at the right-wing Westend publishing house, declared opponent of “green wokeness”)

Daniela Dahn(writer)

(Qualification: protagonist of the populist stand-up movement, opponent of supporting Ukraine)

Sahra WagenknechtBSW founder

(Qualification: boss of the whole)

Dietmar Ringel(former radio presenter, presenter)

(Qualification: agrees with the party's position that unpopular, government-critical or peace policy positions would be systematically excluded or “cancelled” in the traditional media)

Jens Fischer Rodrian(Musician)

(Qualification: Fantasized about vassals who are smeared by a world power. Activist in the lateral thinking scene. Election campaign for the sworn party Die Basis)

Documentation 2:

Call for anti-conspiracy action:

(Location:https://www.xn--untergrund-blttle-2qb.ch/politik/deutschland/sahra-wagenknecht-lesens-gefecht-010201.html)

On August 30th in Magdeburg with conspiracy madness for the AfD - satirical counter-protest planned

Sahra's last stand

Wagenknecht's BSW is losing support and is now openly courting fascistsinside and conspiracy ideologyinside.

The most embarrassing project in contemporary German politics is coming to an end. In order to avert the fall into insignificance, Sahra Wagenknecht made a momentous strategic decision. In the state election campaign in Saxony-Anhalt, she offered to help fascists gain power with her party. In addition, the cross-front party BSW is explicitly putting itself at the forefront of conspiracy believers with a “freedom of expression festival” in Magdeburg.

As has often been the case in recent years, the anti-fascist anti-conspiracy campaign is now accompanying Sahra and her circus in Magdeburg with love, patience and satire.

Numbers games and forecasts In the last federal election, the BSW narrowly failed to pass the 5% threshold and clings to the conspiracy narrative that the ballot paper was (intentionally) designed to be disadvantageous and the votes were not counted correctly. Now there is a risk of a similarly bad result in the BSW stronghold of Saxony-Anhalt: in the last federal election, the BSW was able to collect 11% of the votes here. Polls now put the party at 4 percent. If this is confirmed in the election, it would have a signaling effect for further upcoming elections in Berlin and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (no one likes to “give away” their vote). That would be the end of the BSW project. With the current wave of resignations, the internal discord and the fact that it can no longer be distinguished from the AfD, which is bringing increasing anti-fascist headwinds to the BSW, its fate is sealed.

Stirrup holderin the fascistSince its founding, it has been clear what makes Sahra's alliance tick. The BSW's talk of "old parties", the demand for an allegedly non-existent German "sovereignty", the narrative that Germany is a "vassal" of the USA and the slogan "Ami Go Home" are not just populist, but 1:1 right-wing extremist wording. The whispers about the “old parties” have now turned into “firewall parties.” It is not entirely clear what Sahra's offer to help the AfD come to power is intended to signal to voters.

Option 1: It's begging for borrowed votes from the AfD's regular clientele
Option 2: It is an offer to undecided people who sympathize with the AfD but - like the BSW - do not want to take responsibility for their actions ("I didn't vote for the AfD!")

Conspiracy madness at the “Festival of Freedom of Expression”

While on the one hand the ethnic-nationalist GDR nostagicsThe followers should also be courted aggressively withinwithin the cultivated, directly or structurally anti-Semitic conspiracy narrative, cast their vote at the BSW. Something has to be offered so that the rest of the corona deniers don't become completely absorbed in the AfD, but rather feel at home with the BSW. There will be an all-day feel-good event on August 30th at the “Festung Mark” event location in Magdeburg. The festival presents a wide range of conspiracy stories, moderated by the party's top staff.

Anti-Semitism and nonsense of all kinds are not opinions! Verbal alarm in Magdeburg. Announced at the BSW Festival are the big names of Coronaschwurbel such as Markus Haintz, Aya Velazquez and Ulrike Guerot. The relativizers of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, such as Gabriele Krone-Schmalz and Johannes Varwick, should not be missing. The program is rounded off by people who trivialize the Shoah. What unites everyone: They neither tolerate criticism nor counter-speech. At the slightest bit of headwind (a reference to facts is enough), the cries of restricting freedom of expression and authoritarianism start. To make our opinion very clear: the spread of Nazi slogans is a criminal offense, Stefan Homburg, and that's a good thing. Shoah relativization and Hitler salutes may be covered by artistic freedom, but they are disgusting, Simon Rosenthal. Talk of political instrumentalization of the Auschwitz extermination camp is generally anti-Semitic, Michael Lüders, and that is despicable.

The constant rumination of Russian propaganda and disinformation at the BSW is extremely embarrassing. What is pitiful is the crisis of meaning of the surviving Corona nonsense, which now even has to use the BSW's echo chamber for any remaining attention.

Instead:

A satirical festival for Cancel Culture on August 30th. The Antiverschwurbelte Aktion is protesting with a satirical festival "for Cancel Culture" and a small firewall against the fact that the Mark Fortress is opening the door to the most outrageous bullshit and open anti-Semitism. The Mark Fortress belongs to a foundation made up of two universities, the city of Magdeburg and the student union and should therefore rather practice a serious rental policy. The “Festival for Cancel Culture” takes place as part of the CSD Action Week. A number of participants is expected to be in the mid single-digit range.

Registered 10:30 a.m. until next. 8:30 p.m
in front of Mark Fortress (Hohepfortewall 1, tram stop “Listemann”)
You are well advised to dress up as a dinosaur. Cardboard boxes for the mini firewall are welcome.

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