‘Baseball bat years’ proceed to hang-out jap Germany, 30 years on – Revisited | EUROtoday
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In the Nineties, simply after the autumn of the Berlin Wall, the previous East Germany skilled a wave of far-right racist and political violence. In Germany, this era is named the “baseball bat years” – a darkish interval that also haunts the nation at this time.
After the autumn of the Berlin Wall, within the former GDR (German Democratic Republic), skinheads with bomber jackets and fight boots made the headlines. At the time, the German police forces have been discredited and the new authorities of reunified Germany have been not but operational within the east. Some younger folks grew to become radicalised by the far proper, attacking migrants, homosexuals and left-wing activists. Across the nation, asylum centres have been intentionally focused and dozens of migrants have been murdered.
Thirty years on, the spectre of these darkish years is resurfacing. Racist assaults are on the rise once more. The courts are attempting increasingly younger folks from the neo-Nazi motion. The rise of the far-right AfD celebration is giving these teams an sudden platform of legitimacy. For those that grew up within the Nineties, historical past appears to be repeating itself.
FRANCE 24’s Anne Mailliet and Nick Holdsworth report.
https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/revisited/20260424-baseball-bat-years-continue-to-haunt-eastern-germany-30-years-on