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Swastika ban left out of EU's racism law

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Published Date: 30 January 2007
By ETHAN MCNERN
GERMANY will not push during its presidency of the European Union for an EU-wide ban on the swastika and will leave it up to member states to decide whether to punish people who deny that the Holocaust happened, Berlin said yesterday.
Germany had said it wanted to harmonise rules throughout the 27-member bloc for dealing with Holocaust deniers and for punishing displays of the Nazi symbol, banned in Germany and several other states.

But, setting out plans for an EU-wide anti-racism law, it said it would not seek to prohibit "specific symbols such as swastikas".

It would also not try to push all EU states to say it is a crime to deny that six million Jews were exterminated during the Second World War.

Member states could decide not to make the denial of the Holocaust a crime "where the conduct is of a kind unlikely to incite to violence or hatred," the draft showed.

The EU's executive Commission proposed an EU-wide anti-racism law in 2001, but EU states failed to agree, struggling over the balance between freedom of expression and sanction of racism.

Germany's new draft suggests that incitement to racism and xenophobia would be punishable by at least one to three years of jail in all 27 EU states, while leaving to each state to decide on the specifics.



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  • Last Updated: 30 January 2007 12:58 AM
  • Source: The Scotsman
  • Location: Edinburgh
  • Related Topics: Holocaust
 
1

James Donald,

Edinburgh 30/01/2007 06:28:47

Most EU states already have laws to deal with racism and don't need to import Germany's particular brand of lunacy. For instance, the Swastika means different things to different people and there would be a great deal of opposition to any ban in Latvia for instance (there are ancient monuments all over Europe with a swastika such as the Swastika stone in Yorkshire).

2

Scaramouche,

30/01/2007 08:51:37

To attemp to ban the swastika would have been sheer idiocy. It is a very ancient symbol going back thousands of years to the Dawn of Intelligence, perverted by the Nazis for their own ends, Time to rehabilitate it in modern eyes.

3

Billy,

Germany 30/01/2007 09:22:44

I must confess, when you consider how much exposure the world wars still get in Germany
(programs daily on at least one channel), it is
very surprising that they would have considered such a move. Then again with an ex communist educated imbecile in power, what do we expect.

Luckly one term Merckle will be gone at the next election. Let's try putting a horse in power next time.

4

Dougie, Edinburgh,

30/01/2007 10:05:45

How ironic that modern Germany's suppression of free speach and academic debate is such a defining characteristic of the Nazis themselves!

We seem to moving towards totalitarianism in Europe. In Belguim, football shirts displaying the numbers 18 and 88 without a name have now been banned because supposedly, these numbers are favoured by neo-Nazis. Incredible but true:
http://www.v-bal.nl/nieuws/bekijk.php?id=19721

5

Stan the Man,

30/01/2007 10:47:39

No need to ban the Swastika, the fascists are easily spotted, every day in these colums. See how many you can spot today (no prizes).

6

Sir Dun Eiden,

30/01/2007 11:56:44

Oh Come on. Because it is an ancient symbol you would advocate it on T-shirts sported by Skinheads ?

I think you should be able to work out what is important here and what isnt.

I think a couple of the posters here have a lot less sense than Germany.

7

James Donald,

Edinburgh 30/01/2007 14:17:18

#5. Stan the Tube - spotted you for one.

8

James Donald,

Edinburgh 30/01/2007 14:33:59

6. Sir Dun Eiden - it is all a question of context. If the "skinhead" was wearing a swastika t-shirt with lots of his pals then you don't need a law banning the swastika to disperse them. Similarly, if said "skins" visit the local synagogue for a swastika painting session, laws exist to deal with this, so there is no need for any ban.
Interestingly, there is no such ban in Germany on Communist symbols of oppression. Soviet and DDR flags and insignia can (and are still) displayed openly. Not that I think they should be banned any more than the swastika, as i really don't see the point.

9

bill, england,

31/01/2007 00:44:53

Very decent of the Germans not to remind us of their Swastika and Holocaust, while they preside over the Fourth Reich.

10

Patrick SW,

England 06/03/2008 17:53:42
Germany has not only banned the swastika, but any symbol, song or gesture associated with the Third Reich. While it is easy to understand, from a German perspective, why these bans exist, these bans defy logic. They undermine the freedom of speech and expression granted by the ECHR, and rather ironically remind us all of the suppression tactics and censorship employed by the National Socialists themselves.

Post-war Germany is largely founded on anti-nazism, an approach which seems ethically appropriate, but is in reality poisonous to German society. There exists a blind hatred toward anything that is vaguely associated with the period, any open discussion on the subject is frowned upon and has cost many prominent figures in Germany (and Austria) their jobs.

In order to process the past, one must be able to hold an objective discussion and face all sides of the argument (as painful as that may be). One must allow those who hold a different opinion to the majority to state them freely, so long as they cause no significant offence to others. I do not advocate far-right movements and ideals, far from it, but I accept that there are those who hold such views. They are entitled to their opinion just as any other of us and should be allowed to used whatever symbols they want. Censorship is not the way forward.

The EU-wide banning of the swastika (and other nazi symbols) would significantly infringe on our rights to free expression and cause offence to those who see the symbol as one of peace and well-being (such as Hindus).

Also, where do we draw the line? If we ban the swastika, what do we do about the Communist symbol, the hammer and sickle? Surely it stands for suffering and misery just as the swastika does. Or even more controversially, the cross? What other organisation has caused as much suffering, violence and blood-shed as the (Catholic) Church?

 

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