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Via Workers World News Service
Reprinted from the March 20, 1997
issue of Workers World newspaper
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Germany: A season of sharp protest

By Walter Jansen in Cologne, Germany

A special exhibition in Munich of the World War II crimes of the German Wehrmacht became the cause of confrontation between neo-Nazis and leftists in early March.

The German army's myth is that its officers did not collaborate with the Nazi leadership but only did their soldierly duty defending the country. The exhibition, prepared by the Institute for Social History in Hamburg, exposes and destroys this myth. It does so by using the army's own documentation, especially of the mass killings in Eastern Europe and the Balkans.

Now that the German army is again in the Balkans, right-wing Bavarian politicians feel the need to defend its "honor." The Christian Democratic/ Christ ian Social Union gang in Munich declared the exhibition a leftist lie. This created an atmosphere allowing 5,000 neo-Nazis to gather to protest the display.

Fortunately, at least that many leftists came out to defend the exhibition. People expected one of the biggest street battles in German history as the forces lined up across from each other. At the last minute masses of cops moved in between them. The exhibition was shown.

The next engagement is in Frankfurt in the west. A similar situation is expected.

Atomic power and radiation

Struggle against atomic power plants has a long tradition within all left currents in Germany. You could expect something to happen when the atomic-power industry prepared to transport large amounts of radioactive waste from a plant in France to an old salt mine in Saxony.

It took days to get from the French frontier to Gorleben because the protest demonstrations were so strong. Activists destroyed overhead systems and tracks, undermined streets, and set up blockades in many places.

It's hard to believe, but it took 28,000 cops to accompany the transport, at an estimated cost of about $60 million. The cops used clubs, gas and water cannons to get the radioactive waste to its destination, injuring 300 demonstrators on the way.

Hesse elections, miners' demonstration

With only 60 percent voting-the lowest turnout since World War II-people in Hesse state demonstrated their growing distrust of the capitalist parties. For the first time, the Party of Democratic Socialism-strong in the east--was able to enter the Marburg city parliament.

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of the 90,000 miners from the Ruhr valley who still have jobs demonstrated in Bonn March 10 to stop 60,000 expected firings as the government closes more pits. They blocked highways and occupied official buildings.

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