To fly in the face of a festival of hard rock, organized by the neo-nazis, the inhabitants of Ostritz, 2 700 souls, have concluded that the idea the most ingenious was to deprive it of a commodity essential: beer. So that was the last weekend the «Schild und Schwert» – «shield and sword» in French -, the same initials as the Schutzstaffel, or SS, they bought all the beers in the main supermarket of the town, which is 120 boxes.
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The initiative was undertaken by an association linked to the abbey of Marienthal, located close to and committed to peace. Prior to this, the administrative court of Dresden had already banned the sale of alcohol during the entire duration of the festival, because of the violence of some of the participants. 4400 litres were seized. There’s still the possibility of them getting in the trade.
This abstinence imposed was not enough to discourage the nazi sympathizers come to Ostritz, at the border with Poland. They were 750 enrolled. The participants have been controlled by the police at the entrance of the festival to verify the identity and background of each of them. Armoured vehicles, armed with water cannons were parked nearby.
pairs of shoes in memory of the migrants
These security measures have been put in place to prevent overflows, but also clashes with the procession of approximately 300 people came to protest against the festival. Pairs of shoes have been deposited in the streets, in memory of 2262 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean sea in 2018. The extreme right and the small groups of German neo-nazis have made opposition to immigration their main fight. The assassination of Walter Lübcke, at the beginning of the month, a local head of the CDU, known for his pro-migrant, had unleashed shouts of joy in the circles of identity.
To obtain the right to assemble, the organizers of the «Schild und Schwert» play on words. They do not claim of nazism, but of «patriotism». Yet, last year, the event was held in April to celebrate the anniversary of the death of Hitler. The police can only act after the fact, in the case where wrongdoing has been committed. This was the case in 2018, when participants made a nazi salute.
Saxony, where is Ostritz, is the stronghold of the far-right German is the most radical. The concerts, which mixed hard rock and nostalgia morbid multiply each year. In 2017, there was over 40 in the region. The instigators of the fronde anti-neo-nazis have announced that the hundreds of litres of beer would be used to give a nice party. To celebrate the peace, that one.
