German Far Right

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Published: 10.5.2018
Level 4   |   Time: 2:21
Accent: American
NYT(8.31.2018)

How Germany’s Far Right Stole a Rallying Cry for Democracy | NYT News


    

triangle Directions


  1. REVIEW the vocabulary.
  2. WATCH the video.
  3. ANSWER the questions.
  4. CHECK your answers. (Show Answers)

triangle Vocabulary


  • chant [n] - repeated group speech
  • far-right [adj] - very conservative
  • set out [exp] - tried to do something
  • vent [v] - express, show
  • mayhem [n] - chaos, disorder
  • mob [n] - angry group of people
  • go-to [adj] - default, most-used
  • extremist [adj] - very conservative and sometimes violent
  • rallying cry [exp] - a phrase to get people excited
  • took to the streets [exp] - gathered in the streets to protest
  • oppressive [adj] - restrictive, burdensome
  • communist [adj] - political ideology
  • decades [n] - period of 10 years
  • cry [n] - desperate request
  • reunification [n] - coming together again
  • largely [adv] - mostly
  • co-opted [v] - taken over
  • violently [adv] - strongly, with violence
  • open border policies [n] - laws that are friendly to immigrants

[n] - noun,  [v] - verb,  [adj] - adjective,  [exp] - expression


triangle Questions


  1. What does "Wir sind das Volk" mean?
    Germany is the people.
    We are Germany.
    We are the people.
    The people are Germany.

  2. Why did the protesters gather?
    To show their frustration
    To create chaos
    To attack opposing religions
    To attack the far-left

  3. What happened in 2016?
    The same chant was used.
    A mob of refugees surrounded a bus of Germans.
    A mob of Germans surrounded a bus of refugees.
    A mob gathered to protest the chant.

  4. What happened in Bautzen?
    The same chant was used.
    Germans chased teenaged refugees.
    Germans attacked teenagers.
    Germans protested against refugees.

  5. What significance does the chant have to the German far-right?
    It is used on special occasions.
    It is used on all occasions.
    It is often used.
    It is rarely used.

  6. What is the history of this chant?
    It has always been used by the far-right.
    It has never been used before.
    It was used by the far-left previously.
    It was used by all Germans previously.

  7. Why did people protest in 1989?
    To demand more freedom
    To protest against West Germany
    To protest against the communist government
    To demand democracy

  8. Who protested in 1989?
    Mostly the left
    Mostly the right
    Both the right and left
    People who supported communism.

  9. What happened after the protest?
    Germany was reunited.
    The chant became a national slogan.
    The chant mostly disappeared.
    The chant was used by immigrants.

  10. What has happened in recent years?
    The far-right has acted violently towards Angela Merkel.
    The far-right has taken control of the chant and its meaning.
    The far-right is protesting Merkel's policies.
    The far-right and Merkel both oppose immigration.


triangle Discussion


  1. What do you think about the far-right movement in Germany?
  2. Why do you think far-right groups are gaining popularity in certain parts of the world?
  3. How do you feel about open-border policies and immigration in general?
  4. What are the benefits of accepting refugees to the host county? Drawbacks?

triangle Script



"Wir sind das Volk." In German it means, "We are the people." This chant echoed through the streets of Chemnitz, Germany this week as far-right protesters set out to vent their frustrations, create mayhem and attack refugees.

It was also heard in Clausnitz in early 2016 as a mob of Germans surrounded a bus of refugees entering their town.

And later that year in Bautzen, as 80 Germans chased some 20 teenage refugees through the streets.

The chant has become a go-to for the German far right. But it wasn't always an extremist rallying cry.

"Leipzig is a city of protest again tonight."

In 1989, people in East Germany took to the streets to demand more freedom after living under an oppressive communist regime for decades. Their movement was neither of the right nor the left. It was a cry for democracy.

(in German) What music you were allowed to listen to, whether you were allowed to study, or to travel, all that was regulated. And eventually people got fed up and they said, "No, you 'representatives of the people' no longer represent our interests because we are the people!"

(in German) "We are the people," they chant, people from all layers of society.

After German reunification, the chant largely disappeared. But in recent years, it has been co-opted by far-right groups who violently oppose Angela Merkel’s open border policies.

(in German) The right uses the chant to exclude other people, and to say, "Immigrants - Get out! People who think differently - Get out! Let's get rid of them.

We are the people.

(in German) These people exploit this chant, and also soil the legacy of those who took to the streets for freedom, and who risked their lives for it.