• English Site
• >Germany
• >

  Right-Wing Rot: A Village in the Hands of the Neo-Nazis

Right-Wing Rot A Village in the Hands of the Neo-Nazis

By Philipp Wittrock in Gägelow, Germany

Part 2: Peace and Quiet in a Neo-Nazi World

The swastikas seen on a Jamel town sign not so long ago have now disappeared. "This is theirs, and so is this, and that," says Mayor Wandel, pointing to the few houses on bumpy Forststrasse. Various cars parked in the driveways feature the words "The Boys for the Rough Work" in gothic lettering. One car has a bumper sticker that reads: "Don't Complain, Fight!"

Just as during the January visit by the politicians, the rain makes the pleasantly green surroundings look depressing. Nobody is to be seen anywhere. Plastic buckets and shovels lie strewn about on the playground in the middle of the little roundabout on the edge of town. The farmhouse is a ruin, with the roof having partially collapsed. It is surrounded by a fence and the premises are filled with trash.

In September 2006, the house was sold at an auction for €18,000 ($25,000). Sven K. is said to have been one of the bidders, but the price climbed too high for him. The new owner soon got in touch with the police; he was scared. "He wanted to take a look at his new property and was concerned about going to Jamel on his own," Klaus Wiechmann, the spokesman of the police department in Schwerin, remembers. The new owner eventually took a look at the dreary ruin escorted by patrol cars. It remains unclear what his plans for the property are.

A few steps away from the farmhouse, wood and trash is piled up on a square by the edge of the village road for one of the periodic -- and illegal -- bonfires lit by locals.

Saving the Village from the Neo-Nazis

"Well, you know, that's how it is in small villages. People make a fire there every now and again," says Horst Lohmeyer, shrugging his shoulders. He and his wife Birgit have been living in Jamel for more than three years. The Lohmeyers have nothing to do with right-wing extremism. The musician with his long gray hair and the East German insignias on his lapels has built himself a home in the old 19th century forester's lodge on the edge of town with his wife, a writer. They eventually want to turn the barn into a cultural center. They only slowly began to realize a few years ago that Jamel was seen as a neo-Nazi village but didn't let that put them off. "We have never been threatened," says Lohmeyer and he has never had any dealings with Sven K.

And there is no reason why he should. The Lohmeyers live slightly out of the way in the part of the village -- sheltered by giant linden and maple trees -- the mayor believes is not dominated by right-wing radicals.

But despite this healthy distance, the Lohmeyers do not want to leave the village to the neo-Nazis. The couple organized a small music festival on their property in early July, bringing in rock, Latin and folk bands to perform on a small stage behind the forester's lodge. The weather was lousy and only about 100 people made the trip to the out-of-the-way village -- "but it was a nice start," Horst Lohmeyer says.

Too Late?

All the more so as everything remained calm -- with neither radical right-wingers nor militant left-wingers making their way to the village. Sven K., concerned that left-wing anti-fascists could use the festival as cover from which to launch an attack, sent a watchman to keep an eye on the proceedings. But when they didn't show up, even he came over for a beer with his family the next day -- "kids and all, completely normal and peaceful," as Lohmeyer recalls it.

Perhaps the concert really does mark a new beginning for Jamel, and perhaps the same can be said of the symbolic if long overdue visit by the politicians. Jamel has become quieter. "No investigations are ongoing at the moment, neither into political nor into regular crimes," says a police spokesman. Officers stepped up their presence in Jamel years ago, he emphasizes.

But Mayor Wandel knows the calm could be deceptive. The right-wingers, after all, have effectively brought the village under their control. Following his brief visit in January, state politician Robert Nieszery warned that "the only reason Jamel is quiet is because the town is populated almost exclusively by neo-Nazis."

For reasons of data protection and privacy, your IP address will only be stored if you are a registered user of Facebook and you are currently logged in to the service. For more detailed information, please click on the "i" symbol.

Post to other social networks:

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
•