Germany: Police collude in Rostock violence
01 January 1991
Germany: Police collude in Rostock violence
artdoc April=1993
Head of police operations colluded in Rostock violence
The findings of a parliamentary investigative committee into the
events of August '92 in Rostock have now been made public,
revealing that a verbal agreement between the head of police
operations and the racist and fascist mob existed.
During the course of the proceedings, police inspector
Waldemar Skrocki told the committee that his men wanted to
intervene to prevent the attack but were stopped from doing so
by the head of police operations. His instruction to the men to
`pull back for half-an-hour', left the mob free to set fire to
the refugee hostel, almost killing 100 Vietnamese who lived next
door (TAZ 10.3.93).
Meanwhile, the trials of 25 neo-nazis arrested after the
violent scenes in Rostock have so far resulted in prison terms
of a maximum of eight months, suspended sentences or probation
orders (Guardian 4.3.93).
In February, the interior minister of MecklenburgWest-Pomeria
was forced to resign: Lother Kupfer, a Christian Democrat MP,
said that he felt `a certain understanding `for the Rostock
rioters'(Independent, 27.1.93).
At least forty-eight soldiers investigated
Following earlier indicators of neo-nazi influence in the
armed services(see Bulletin No 2),the German parliament's
military ombudsman has revealed that prosecutors are
investigating 48 cases of right-wing incidents involving
soldiers, four of whom were officers. According to the Bild
newspaper, however, there were 54 incidents in 1992 alone,
involving off duty attacks on refugees and illegal Hitler salutes
(Guardian 1.2.93 Independent 6.2.93).
Police officer investigated in Magdeburg
A 23-year-old police officer from a special squad in Magdeburg,
Sachsen-Anhalt, is being investigated by the public prosecutor's
office after he was accused of leading a rightwing attack, during
which several people were injured, on a local pub in Calbe, Saale
(Die Tageszeitung 22.2.93).
Racism and criminality in Berlin's auxiliary police force
A special commission has been set up to investigate the criminal
connections of volunteer reserve police in Berlin after it became
public that one fourth of the 2,426 members had criminal
convictions. An unconfirmed figure of 18 members were dismissed
for their involvement in far-right organisations.
One disturbing case came to light after the police busted an
arms-smuggling ring with right-wing connections, finding several
reserve police officers to be part of the gang. According to Die
Tageszeitung, one of the reserve officers later admitted to two
killings, one of a child and the other of a Turkish police
officer (TAZ 23.2.93). One of the functions of the auxiliary
force is to guard Jewish memorials and hostels for refugees.
Meanwhile, there are fears that a government campaign to
recruit volunteer `border guards' to check `illegal immigration'
on Germany's eastern frontier could attract those with extreme
racist views. Hundreds of people along the borders with Poland
and the Czech Republic have already volunteered for the auxiliary
force (Guardian 17.2.93).
Police army Europe
IRR European Race Audit no 3, 1993.
Contact: Liz Fekete, Institute of Race Relations,
2-6 Leeke Street, London WC1X 9HS. Tel: ++ 071 837 0041