Karlsruhe (dpa / lsw) – Baden-Württemberg is to have its own research center for more knowledge about right-wing extremism. The preparations have been made, said Science Minister Theresia Bauer (Greens) on the occasion of a two-day online conference “Right-wing extremism in the Federal Republic of Germany” in the Karlsruhe General State Archives. However, the political minds differ about the design. FDP and AfD clash with the focus on the right.
According to the ministry, Bauer said that the “phenomena and research area” had been comprehensively worked on with the help of top-class experts. After the state elections in March, the research center must be created and permanently anchored financially with permanent staff. Documenting and researching right-wing extremism is of central, non-partisan “and unfortunately timeless importance,” said the minister. “I hope for broad social and political support.”
The university expert of the Greens in the state parliament, Alexander Salomon, said: «We have to strengthen the structures in the fight against the law in the long term. Raising awareness of right-wing extremism ranges from school to democracy education for adults. ” The new research center should bring light into the dark. “It is important to have a well-planned approach, because we have so far not had much experience in the country with bundled research into right-wing extremist developments. A research center therefore needs to be well designed – also to avoid duplication of work with other research institutions. ” A close exchange with nationwide experts is necessary.
The science policy spokesman for the FDP parliamentary group, Nico Weinmann, said on Wednesday that an extremism research center was a compelling consequence of the experiences in the NSU investigative committee in the state parliament and long overdue. But one shouldn’t narrow the focus to right-wing extremism. “Because the other forms of political extremism and terrorism also require accompanying scientific research into developments and prevention strategies.” However, the state government rejected an application for a proper contact point at a university in the southwest during the deliberations on the 2020/21 double budget.
The AfD’s spokesman for science policy, Bernd Grimmer, found much sharper words and described the plans as “absurd nonsense”. He referred to numerous cases of left-wing extremist violence in Germany and Islamist terror. He accused Bauer of organizing and funding ideology. “But it is important to finally ostracize and combat all extremism!”
At the conference, which started on International Holocaust Remembrance Day and ended on Thursday, experts will discuss right-wing extremist structures in society. In addition, a documentation center on the subject of right-wing extremism, which was set up in 2020, is to be made more public and is to become one of the largest archives for right-wing extremist documents. According to Bauer, it should also incorporate “new forms of right thinking and acting” such as “Reich citizens”, “lateral thinkers” and conspiracy myths.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210127-99-185145 / 3
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