Dresden: Right-wing provocation on the city’s construction site?

The Augustus Bridge has long been one of the largest and most expensive construction sites in Dresden. The company Hentschke Bau, headquartered in Bautzen, received the order from the city for the project, which now costs 28 million euros. Every day, thousands of pedestrians walk across the bridge, which is still open to pedestrians and cyclists.

When building mayor Stephan Kühn (Greens) heard of the saying on the construction site for which he is responsible, he immediately wrote to Hentschke boss Jörg Drews. Kühn says he was pointed out to the sign by a local from Dresden.

Building Mayor: “We will not tolerate”

“It is evidently a company vehicle of the company commissioned by the city on the construction site of the Augustus Bridge,” said Kühn. “This saying is commonly associated with the National Socialists or with National Socialist ideas. It is therefore certainly no coincidence that this saying was written in Gothic script.”

Kühn’s position on this is clear. “We do not tolerate an expression of opinion that is connoted with National Socialist ideas on our urban construction sites.”

That is why he asked Drews to ensure that from now on no company vehicle with this or a similar logo drives on the Augustus Bridge construction site or any other construction site in the city. However, there is no legal basis for terminating the order.

“Driver has no right-wing extremist thoughts”

The Hentschke Bau management responded to SZ’s request. “Every employee has the right to form their own opinion and to express this opinion freely,” said spokesman Falk Al-Omary. However, the company does not adopt the opinions of individual employees. “Expressions of opinion of this kind are therefore not to be found on or in company vehicles or on other company property.”

The spokesman emphasized: “Hentschke Bau GmbH is politically neutral, pluralistic and tolerant. We reject any form of extremism.” You spoke to the driver of the transporter concerned. The employee was not aware of the origin of the sentence – “neither in its historical origin nor in its use in the political debate,” explains Al-Omary. “The employee assures – and is beyond any doubt because of his behavior in the company – that he has no right-wing extremist thoughts and did not want to express them. Rather, the employee wanted to express that it is worthwhile for a to use positive change in society instead of just complaining about the grievances. “

“Sensitize” employees

Hentschke Bau is now planning a circular to all employees. “In it we will point out that any kind of expression of opinion on company and construction site vehicles as well as on or in the context of work material must be avoided,” says the spokesman. “It is an individual case that we take as an opportunity to sensitize our employees in this direction.”

There have been repeated alleged politically motivated attacks on the company in the past. Investigations were ongoing, the spokesman emphasized. Therefore, the company will not comment on it. “We will not speculate in this context either.”

Further incidents of signs in Dresden

In September an excavator from another company with a large sticker on the side was discovered on a municipal construction site in Altnaußlitz. On it was the saying “Driver speaks only German” – also in Gothic script. In this case, too, the city asked the company not to do so.

About a year ago, a “German bus driver” caused a stir. The driver of a subcontractor of the Dresdner Verkehrsbetriebe (DVB) drove with a sign saying “This bus is controlled by a German driver” on the Dresden public transport. Here, too, the sign was written in allusive writing. The DVB stopped this immediately.

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