Catholic Day: Reputation and Reality – Discussion on East-West Differences

Bundestag Vice President Katrin Göring-Eckardt sees a growing commitment to democracy in eastern Germany. Since January, people have been taking to the streets in small towns to protest, said the Green Party politician at the German Catholic Congress in Erfurt. The fact that more people are now concerned about preserving freedom makes her hopeful. Thuringia’s Interior Minister Georg Maier also emphasized at the Catholic Congress how great the challenges posed by right-wing extremism are in his state.

“We have broken up neo-Nazi structures, and many neo-Nazis are now in prison,” said the SPD politician. “But it’s like mushrooms in the forest when it rains, and new growths appear everywhere.” There are right-wing structures that are networked, “under the ground, it’s like a root system, and now the mushrooms are sprouting.”

The AfD regional association, which the Thuringian Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies as right-wing extremist, plays a central role in this. “The AfD has achieved an impact, has built up structures, has money, receives donations and that is where I would say: Here is something that has never been seen before in terms of size, in terms of network structure,” said Maier at an event on the topic of “political extremism.”

The 103rd German Catholic Day has been running since Wednesday and will continue until Sunday in the Thuringian state capital. In addition to prayers, devotions and concerts, the approximately 20,000 visitors can enjoy political discussions on major issues such as democracy, climate protection, war and peace.

Differences as “divisive narratives”

Göring-Eckardt spoke at a panel entitled “Germany, a united fatherland!?”. There, former ZDF journalist Peter Frey and the former head of the Thuringian State Center for Political Education, Franz-Josef Schlichting, advocated de-emphasizing the differences between East and West. This is being misused for “divisive narratives,” said Frey. Schlichting from Thuringia said: “The East-West issue plays no role at all for me.” Contrasts are also constructed to a certain extent.

However, Göring-Eckardt said that the discussion about East and West was an opportunity to talk about freedom, a “huge treasure” that needed to be protected. “I am also hopeful because many more people are saying: I’m going to take care of it now,” said the Green politician, who also comes from Thuringia. The demonstrations for democracy and against right-wing extremism, which began with the media company Correctiv’s revelation of a right-wing radical meeting in Potsdam, were “a real moment of democratic self-empowerment” in small towns, said Göring-Eckardt. “This fight that is being fought here – and you have to say that it is a fight – is not easy.”

Injustices as a breeding ground

The differences between East and West also preoccupied Thuringia’s Interior Minister Maier at the extremism panel: “The basis of democracy is justice,” said the Catholic Maier. But there is still a clear economic injustice between East and West Germany. Due to history, people in East Germany still have much less wealth than in the West. This provides a “certain breeding ground” in which right-wing populist and right-wing extremist ideas can take root. But that is not the only reason for right-wing extremism in East Germany. “There is enough right-wing extremism in West German states too.”