Racist German Hooligans Pollute European Soccer Championships
German fans reveled in their country's victory over Poland by shouting racist and anti-Semitic slogans reminiscent of the Nazi era.
The motto of the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany was “The world is our guest, you’re staying with friends” [Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden] — or, in the simplified official translation, “A time to make friends.” Two years later, however, the prospects of a good showing by the German national team in the European soccer championships, currently being co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, appear to be inspiring anything but friendly sentiments among some German soccer fans.
As first reported by the Austrian news agency APA [link in German], around 140 “mostly German” fans were arrested Sunday night in Klagenfurt in the run-up to the German team’s opening match against Poland. The rowdy German fans were chanting what the APA describes as “obviously racist and anti-Semitic slogans” that “recall the Nazi period.” More precisely and more bizarrely, they were in fact adapting anti-Semitic motifs from the Third Reich in order to insult their Polish rivals: chanting “All Poles have to wear yellow stars” and “Germans defend yourselves! Don’t buy from Poles!” The latter is a variation on the slogan with which the Nazis unrolled their infamous boycott of Jewish shops and businesses in 1933: “Germans defend yourselves! Don’t buy from Jews!”
The distinctive mixture of aggressiveness and Nazi nostalgia appears, moreover, not to have been limited to just those German fans that made the trip to Austria. The German team would go on to beat the Polish team 2-0 on Sunday night. Immediately following the match, the German blogger who writes under the pseudonym “Leonard Zelig” reported observing at least equally disturbing and eerily similar behavior from German fans coming from a nearby sports center where they had just finished watching the match on television. “The masses are streaming past my window,” Zelig wrote on his Wind in the Wires blog, “waving German flags, bellowing drunkenly, and convincing me that the absolute evil in fact exists: it is as if Uncle Adolf had pushed open the gates of Hell and they are now spitting forth his dreadful brood right onto my doorstep.”
“Zelig” noted the slogans chanted and insults shouted by the German fans as they passed in front of his apartment. His vivid account is worth quoting at length:
“Now we’re going to Poland, with knives and pistols!” bellows one group of drunken revelers. [In German, "pistols" (Pistolen) rhymes with "Poland" (Polen). - JR] It then supplements this with “We’re in a good mood now, we’ll kill all the Poles!” Mixed in with the other slogans, one hears again and again “Deutschland, Deutschland über alles,” loud honking of horns, and cheering. Now someone is yelling “Hey, you freak of nature [Missgeburt], you Polish twat!” and at the same time some idiot is blowing into a contraption that is specially designed to produce loud and shrill trumpeting noises to fire up the crowd. There is frenetic clapping, loud honking, the ringing of bells on bicycles, and then: “Sieg, Sieg, Sieg, Sieg” ["Victory, Victory, Victory, Victory"], followed by a mean and aggressive “Shitty Poland!” Interspersed I hear the sound of breaking beer bottles.
A tasteless photo-montage that appeared in the Polish tabloid Super Express last week undoubtedly contributed to the aggressive mood of some of the German fans. The illustration — which was widely reproduced and commented on in the German media — depicts the Polish team coach, Leo Beenhakker, holding up the severed heads of his German counterpart, Joachim Löw, and German team captain Michael Ballack.
But this does not explain the German fans’ evident enthusiasm for Nazi allusions. “Zelig” also reports fans chanting “Ruhm, Ruhm, Ruhm und Ehre!” — “Glory, Glory, Glory, and Honor!” — yet another slogan that is heavily loaded with Nazi connotations. “Glory and honor to the Waffen-SS!” is a slogan that is commonly employed by contemporary neo-Nazis.
“Let’s give all Poles one in the mug!” Zelig reports another man shouting.
The greatest irony of the German fans’ anti-Polish outbursts: both of Germany’s goals happen to have been scored by none other than the Polish-born star striker Lukas Podolski.
John Rosenthal’s writings on European politics and transatlantic relations have appeared in English, French, and German in such leading publications as Policy Review, Les Temps Modernes, and Merkur. He holds a PhD in philosophy and he taught political philosophy and classical German philosophy before turning to journalism. More of his work can be found at Transatlantic Intelligencer.
 |
 |
 |
Podcasts |  PJM Home |
Pajamas Media appreciates your comments that abide by the following guidelines:
1. Avoid profanities or foul language unless it is contained in a necessary quote or is relevant to the comment.
2. Stay on topic.
3. Disagree, but avoid ad hominem attacks.
4. Threats are treated seriously and reported to law enforcement.
5. Spam and advertising are not permitted in the comments area.
The clause regarding "hate speech" has been deleted because readers criticized it as being too loosely defined. We agreed.
These guidelines are very general and cannot cover every possible situation. Please don't assume that Pajamas Media management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment. We reserve the right to filter or delete comments or to deny posting privileges entirely at our discretion. If you feel your comment was filtered inappropriately, please email us at story@pajamasmedia.com.
39 Comments
1. Tom W.:The Germans can’t make up their minds whether they want to be pacifist metrosexual Sitzpinklers or genocidal Nazis.
The EU motto should be “A Thousand Years of Crazy Wasn’t Enough!”
Jun 15, 2008 - 2:05 am 2. Justin:Hah! I’m from klagenfurt and was in town when this happened. Where a lot of germans acting up, but most where really cool. Just a few drunk jackasses giving germans a bad name.
Jun 15, 2008 - 3:17 am 3. Cherokee Jack:Soccer turns all Europeans into Nazis. Just make them watch baseball or something and they’ll mellow right out.
Jun 15, 2008 - 4:20 am 4. John:Soccer has got to be the strangest game in the world, and the one of the most boring. All those grown men running endlessly up and down the field trying to kick a ball into a goal the size of a fair sized SUV. And when it does happen, (rarely) they run around hugging and congratulating each other in such a manner you’d think they’d just cured cancer.
I’d rather be forced to watch Oprah than attend a soccer game.
Jun 15, 2008 - 5:07 am 5. JOhn Thomas:No worse than the racist folks of America and their dictator, war monger president.
JT
Jun 15, 2008 - 5:20 am 6. Fidel, MD:http://www.Ultimate-Anonymity.com
Soccer is inherently evil, and communistic: It must be stopped. Consider this:
Consider this:
· No one understands the rules.
· Workers are prohibited from using the tools that would let them be more productive (hands).
· From time to time petty bureaucrats (officials) interfere with play in such a way as to limit production.
· Players, coaches, officials and fans are all fully involved (employed) and yet output is minuscule.
· Any production is met by celebration all out of proportion to its objective value.
· The referees wear red.
Jun 15, 2008 - 6:23 am 7. ugotitallwrong:Oh, because there are some racists who “were mostly” German, all Germans are national socialists now, or what are you trying to imply with your remarks about n**** Germany?
You cannot and should not generalize, because that is what the N**** did.
If you generalize and insult a country like that, one should maybe always point out that A.H. is from Austria. Gladly, you are not aware of this; otherwise you would have generalized again and insulted yet another nation.
Jun 15, 2008 - 6:27 am 8. Smarty:This is getting old. Racist Germans hate Jews. Racist blacks hate whites, Anti-American Jews hate Christian Americans.
We need a giant cage match, and get it over with.
Jun 15, 2008 - 7:01 am 9. Jimi:It only proves youth can be stupid- no matter what nationality.
Here in the USA- we are made up of people from every country in the world.
Yet you can always find morons who hate everyone- based on whatever; skin color, religion, political stance, etc. Doesnt matter.
They are always cowards and fearful deep down, and are cruel to animals and anyone who cannot fight back.
Its always more shocking in Germany, as most sane humans understand that we should never forget what the nazis did- but when someone claims the ideas of Hitler were anything but evil- they need to seek psychiatric help.
Jun 15, 2008 - 7:26 am 10. Helian:This can’t be true. Why, I happen to read German, and I’ve just visited the website of all the major German news magazines, including Spiegel, Focus, Stern, and even the lowly Bild Zeitung. I find no mention of the behavior noted by Mr. Rosenthal whatsoever. It must all be a a figment of his imagination. NOT!!
BTW, if anything similar had happened in the U.S., the German media of all political stripes would have been raving about it non-stop for days.
Jun 15, 2008 - 7:31 am 11. Johnsanass:“Soccer has got to be the strangest game in the world, and the one of the most boring.”
It’s obvious your dumb (and likely fat and lazy) ass has never taken the time to play or watch the most popular game IN THE WORLD.
Jun 15, 2008 - 7:36 am 12. Saltherring:Soccer is most certainly the only sport Venus de Milo could have excelled at. With no arms, she contrasts with the game’s fans, who have no heads.
Jun 15, 2008 - 8:00 am 13. When Sports Gets Ugly: German Soccer Fans, Poland And Anti-Semitic Slogans:[...] out the worst in people. If they keep this up, they’ll start looking like California drivers. John Rosenthal writing in Pajamas Media: The motto of the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany was “The world is our guest, you’re staying [...]
Jun 15, 2008 - 8:08 am 14. Don:The only racist plug I read in these comments is the one where the writer uses a well worn communist catchphrase to describe the American people and the president. Nicht Wahr?
Part of this is because of the trip wire across German society, where Nazi (or Nazi seeming) acts are instantly reported and condemned worldwide (though often before German media reports them). This does not mean they don’t happen (or happen less often) elsewhere it just signifies that every population has it’s loonies (though for most it seems the ones on the left are ok though inappropriate)
Jun 15, 2008 - 8:34 am 15. Mary:This is less a racist thing than a soccer hooligan thing.
I lived in Britain for three years, and learned never to ride the tube after a match. Soccer hooligans are organized gangs and, as such, enjoy pushing the shock envelope as far as it will go. No matter what country they come from, it’s the same behavior.
Most Germans abhor what those thugs did, and will say so, I’m willing to bet.
Jun 15, 2008 - 9:00 am 16. datou:The best part is that germany lost their next game to a huge underdog- haha.
Jun 15, 2008 - 9:35 am 17. Morton Doodslag:Please! Europeans are so filled with various self-loathings that they cannot observe rowdy obnoxious behavior or the waving of national flags ( ALWAYS a sign of Nazism!!! ) without assuming the worst. It should be remembered that many Europeans are so far Left that American Democrats would be considered downright fascist Nazis by their lights.
In the aftermath of 9/11, our ubiquitous displays of national unity, pride, and love of country were depicted by much of the European press as ominous signs of our nascent American fascism.
Every item emanating from the mouth of a European alleging “racism” or “fascism” or “Nazism” should be taken with a grain of salt and a giant dose of healthy skepticism! Remember how they depicted extrapolated all of America as being as bad as any Soviet Gulag for what a handful of fools did in Abu Ghraib? This snivelling article sounds much the same to me.
Jun 15, 2008 - 10:11 am 18. Bob:@ John:
Baseball has to be the strangest game in the world. Grown men hit a ball with a stick and run in a circle. The games on TV run for 2 hours and 30 min, but they only actually action for about 15-20 min (Counting from pitcher throwing the ball till the play ends, cumulatively). It’s a world series with just about 1 country playing in it.
Go fig.
Jun 15, 2008 - 10:27 am 19. Omar:This is bullshit, how do a few german fans get to represent the whole fan basis for the german soccer team. This article is pathetic and if you look at what Mary said its true, ‘most germans abhor what they did’ so do some research and please please please don’t stereotype.
Jun 15, 2008 - 10:42 am 20. Sam Duncan:Bob, in 10 years of watching the game on British TV I’ve never seen a baseball crowd rip up their seats and start throwing them at one another. Or launch fireworks at the opposing fans. Or start a riot after the game.
I have seen families, small children, old women, quietly and safely enjoying a game. I’ve seen fans of opposing sides peacefully sitting together without aggression. In cities with two teams, I’ve seen fans of one profess support for the other in the post-season (not always, but it’s completely unthinkable in European Soccer).
I’m willing to forgive them their “World” Series.
Jun 15, 2008 - 1:00 pm 21. jvon:Beer + football = idiots.
Any questions?
Jun 15, 2008 - 2:54 pm 22. richard:no, jvon:
beer + a hundred or so morons (German, Polish, British, etc) = trouble
Jun 15, 2008 - 3:23 pm 23. Zelig:Be aware of the fact that only the German kind of those morons is getting the urge to conquer Poland while watching a soccer game.
Don’t know, what the British Fans want to achieve, but as far as I know, they are only concerned to beat the hell out of those guys favouring the opposing team…
Jun 15, 2008 - 3:44 pm 24. coisty:Bob, in 10 years of watching the game on British TV I’ve never seen a baseball crowd rip up their seats and start throwing them at one another. Or launch fireworks at the opposing fans. Or start a riot after the game.
Nobody really cares who wins a corporate event like a baseball game. Most of the fans have no idea who the players are and are too busy slobbing out to pay much attention to what is happening. Maybe some people take soccer too seriously but at least at the international level it is not a mere consumer product like baseball. They even refer to teams as “franchises”.
Jun 15, 2008 - 8:08 pm 25. » Racist German Hooligans Pollute European Soccer Championships:[...] over Poland by shouting racist and anti-Semitic slogans reminiscent of the Nazi era. Complete Article Submitted By The [...]
Jun 15, 2008 - 9:58 pm 26. Warren:How pathetic do you have to be to categorize another sport in another way just because they use the word “franchise”. Oh my god…so because baseball is American, it must be inherently a consumer product, capitalist, evil and not a sport ???
If that’s the case then please name me which team in which sport is publically listed on a stock market. I’ll give you a hint, it’s in Manchester, and which team is partially bank-rolled by a monarchy who imported a player simply to raise the international prestige of a team ? That’s a consumer product baby, love it!
Which sport/which continent has advertisements emblazoned across their team uniforms ? So when it comes to consumerism give me a break! they’re all big business and their in it to make money….and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s reality, it’s typical of a democratic capitalist system which affords you the right to own assets, build wealth, choose your career, and heaven forbid take responsibility for your life, so grow up!
Needless to say these characteristics have no basis on an individual’s love of a sport. No need to trash another sport just to feel better about your own, just like you shouldn’t be trashing other nationalities, religions, etc.. to get the same (false) sense of identity and security.
Sadly the stupid fans backing Germany are currently staining the national image, just like many others have done…Brits, Italians, sadly Aragones and his remarks about Thierry Henry, and the list goes on, and on, and on….it’s no reason to brandish the nation the same way.
One thing though, I honestly never felt that safe going (or the prospect of going) to a football match in the UK, Spain, etc..because of such stories, but never felt any such apprehension at a baseball (even sitting beside Yankee fans), (North Amercan) football, basketball or hockey game (with the exception of being in Montreal strees after they win, though they take it out of inanimate objects…police cars, etc.. rather than people). So the issue isn’t to deride sports like baseball, it’s has to do with acknowledging and dealing with the problem found with certain football fans.
Watch a movie called the Football Factory. It offers a glimpse into the lifestyle of houligans. I can’t imagine any sane football fan on this posting would find anything in common with this lot.
Jun 16, 2008 - 12:42 am 27. lgude:Current soccer hooliganism seems to be a function of combining nationalism with fandom. Add alcohol and the childish urge to shock that is part of all of us and German fans are going to produce Nazi slogans, not Bolshevik or Bonapartist ones. In America fandom is usually a cultural device that unites diverse groups in an polyglot immigrant country. Given Europe’s history it is not surprising that national soccer teams sometimes inflame old nationalisms in Europe. I personally felt the combination of American nationalism and fandom at the second Patterson Johanson fight in the Polo Grounds which I attended with my father. Sweden was not a threat to the US but the crowd, including me, roared for Ingemar’s blood, but my father recalled the even stronger outbreak of national feeling at the Lewis Schmelling fight in the 30s when Germany was indeed a threat. Ironically, Schmelling who only died in the last few years was not at all a Nazi.
Jun 16, 2008 - 2:47 am 28. Jabba the Tutt:During the World Cup, the German team had 3 Polish born players: Lukas Podolski, Miroslave Klose and Tim Borowski.
I will say that this report sounds like the typical stuff in the German media, make anything to do with pride in Germany into a case of right-wing nationalism and possible threat of resurgent Nazism.
Jun 16, 2008 - 4:31 am 29. josie:@Coisty,
” Nobody really cares who wins a corporate event like a baseball game. Most of the fans have no idea who the players are and are too busy slobbing out to pay much attention to what is happening. Maybe some people take soccer too seriously but at least at the international level it is not a mere consumer product like baseball. They even refer to teams as “franchises”.
I don’t know where you live but your implication that soccer is non-corporate vs sports in the US are corporate is utter nonsense. (see Warren’s comment).
Also, baseball fans, football fans here etc are just as passionate about their teams as soccer fans are ( not that I personally get the sports crazes of any kind…….)and ‘know’ who the players are (go to any party, high school and ask about the local teams…….) The nice thing however is that here in the US you can generally feel pretty safe and comfortable taking your family to any minor or major sports event of any kind. You can sit peacefully next to a fan of the opposing team of say the Buffalo Bills in a stadium of 80.000 people.
Having been born and raised in the Netherlands, emigrated to the US when I was late twenties, I can tell you that soccer hooliganism is a long time phenonemon in Europe. Not only between countries during European matches but also between towns during national matches. I remember vividly the gangs that would take trains apart after visiting an opposing team, decked out with the mandatory bicycle chains. I also know that most people are thouroughly disgusted by these punks and feel it gives the sport a bad name.
Jun 16, 2008 - 7:53 am 30. ddl:If Europeans what to hate peoples of a particular religion, why don’t they grow some cajones and take on those who plot and pray for their destruction?
Jun 17, 2008 - 2:56 pm 31. Joshua:If Europeans what to hate peoples of a particular religion, why don’t they grow some cajones and take on those who plot and pray for their destruction?
In this case, it’s probably because no country participating in Euro 08 fits that bill (yet), and the only one that even faintly resembles it (Turkey) doesn’t happen to be in Germany’s group for this tournament.
On the other hand, Germany is in the same group as not only Poland, but also Austria. I wonder, did these same German hooligans also have the stones to make reference to the Anschluss during that match?
Jun 17, 2008 - 4:14 pm 32. Joshua:If Europeans what to hate peoples of a particular religion, why don’t they grow some cajones and take on those who plot and pray for their destruction?
In this case, it’s probably because no country participating in Euro 08 fits that bill (yet), and the only one that even faintly resembles it (Turkey) doesn’t happen to be in Germany’s first-round group for this tournament.
On the other hand, Germany is in the same group as not only Poland, but also Austria. I wonder, did these same German hooligans also have the stones to make reference to the Anschluss during that match?
Jun 17, 2008 - 4:16 pm 33. Javelin:Let me see, these goons are representatives of all Germans, ans of course there is nothing like that any where in America. Evil Germans, let’s teach them a lesson. Remember when it was the British soccer hooligans, yobs, a decade ago, and no war started because of them I remember.
Jun 17, 2008 - 10:05 pm 34. Kris:Sure, there are some f***** up hooligans out there chanting f***** up slogans from the past, but I – as a German – can assure you that most German don’t approve to the s*** whatsoever.
@Sam Duncan:
Jun 20, 2008 - 2:11 am 35. Reggie:If baseball fans are that peaceful, how come I’ve seen them flipping cars, crashing windows and fighting with the police at Fenway Park (resulting in the death of a girl) when the Boston Red Sox won the World Series beating “the curse” a couple of years ago?
You failed to mention the fact that the Polish newspapers displayed some very disgusting pictures of Germans prior to the game. There will always be a few insane idiots at any sports event and soccer is no acception. I like the sport but always believe the best team should win no matter what country they are from. Anti-semitism is not anymore prevalent in Germany then it is in any other country. It is time to stop giving a voice to these people and focus on that which is good. Perhaps then we can create a better world for all. This hate mongering on all sides does not help anyone. It is time to focus on the present and pay attention to inequalities around the world. We need justice and peace for all.
Jun 22, 2008 - 10:18 am 36. Hermitage:soccer hoologans are not ‘fans’ – they are rather street gangs seeking street fights. They use any kind of symbols to provoke. If the Christian cross or the Star of David does this job they’ll use it – to shock the real fans and bystanders. Again: Hooligans are not fans. They use this wonderful game (what other game has so many billions worldwide watching) to fulfill their personal low disires for trouble and aggression.
Jun 24, 2008 - 9:46 am 37. Karl’s Weird News » Blog Archive » Politically Incorrect at the European Soccer Championships:[...] Racist German Hooligans Pollute European Soccer Championships The motto of the 2006 Soccer World Cup in Germany was “The world is our guest, you’re staying with friends” [Die Welt zu Gast bei Freunden] — or, in the simplified official translation, “A time to make friends.” Two years later, however, the prospects of a good showing by the German national team in the European soccer championships, currently being co-hosted by Austria and Switzerland, appear to be inspiring anything but friendly sentiments among some German soccer fans. [...]
Jun 29, 2008 - 4:44 am 38. Vladislav:I once went to a red sox angels game and was attacked by angels fans for being a red sox fan, i also recall living in LA when the lakers won and a riot broke out sorry to tell you morons but it does happen in the U.S. also and American sports just suck get over it. and before you start calling me a dumb european im sorry to tell you but i am indeed american.
Jul 19, 2008 - 2:47 am 39. Anonymous:at least in soccer we they play with their feet which is a challenge, in american football you have hands. american football is played in the U.S soccer’s world wide
Aug 1, 2008 - 7:01 pm