Is being far-right and saying it loud and clear becoming trendy again in Germany? This is the fear of local authorities in the face of the so-called “prosecco Nazis” phenomenon. This expression refers to certain festive gatherings which have taken place on the island of Sylt, in northern Germany, in recent days. Bringing together a wealthy segment of the population, they shocked the whole country. And for good reason, extremist symbols and provocations have multiplied there, in a seemingly good-natured atmosphere.
Jumbled together, we could see Hitler salutes, hear the nationalist chant “Deutschland den Deutschen, Ausländer raus” (“Germany for the Germans, the foreigners out”) and see far-right symbols referring to the 1930s.
Investigations were launched against these “bourgeois and chic” partygoers. They could be sentenced to prison terms for having made the Hitler salute, launching slogans contrary to the Constitution or even being guilty of sedition of the people, explain the local media, which relay this sad news.
The owner of the Pony Bar has declared that none of the members of the ‘prosecco Nazis’ will be allowed into his club again.
We have known for a few days that a young woman, identified in a video widely relayed on social networks where we see her singing while smiling at the camera, was fired two days after her participation in this sulphurous party. Elisa Maria K. worked for an influencer, Milena Karl, who has more than 800,000 subscribers on Instagram. The young woman, of foreign origin, very little appreciated her employee’s escapades and therefore fired her.
“For me, there was no doubt that after learning of this video, I would end the working relationship with immediate effect and I have already done so,” the young woman announced in a “story”.
And we learned this Saturday that this is not a unique case. Indeed, according to the German newspaper Bild, a young man in a white shirt who had been filmed miming Hilter’s mustache and making a Nazi salute was also removed from his position by his employer. He worked for an advertising agency which therefore dismissed him without notice.
Influencer criticized
Same fate for Juri B., who does not appear in the videos but who is clearly heard, who was fired by the consultancy agency which employed him. “When the incident became known, we reacted immediately and dismissed the employee without notice,” the company explained to our German colleagues.
A 25-year-old influencer, who has tens of thousands of subscribers on Instagram, was also there and now has to face a lot of criticism.
“For once, the perpetrators of these acts should perhaps be given the heaviest penalty”
Since these revelations, the highest officials of the state and government have harshly condemned these gatherings, which illustrate the increasingly marked right-wing of certain segments of the wealthy population in Germany. Bärbel Bas, the president of parliament, called for severity against the participants in these festive meetings. “For once, the perpetrators of these acts should perhaps be sentenced to the heaviest penalty,” she urged.
The owner of the Pony Bar, the club on the island where these gatherings took place, has already declared in the media that none of the members of the “prosecco Nazis” would no longer be admitted to his club. The group should also be refused access to bars on the island of Sylt very soon.
These welcome measures, however, may not be sufficient to stem this worrying phenomenon, at a time when Germany is celebrating 75 years of a Constitution that aims to be resolutely democratic…
