How much of a threat is the far-right in Germany? – Inside Story

The city of Chemnitz, in the east German state of Saxony, has seen a series of violent anti-migrant protests.

They began last Sunday after the fatal stabbing of a 35-year-old German man…and the arrest of two suspects…asylum seekers from Iraq and Syria.

The streets were briefly owned by far-right protesters who chanted Germany for Germans, reportedly gave Hitler salutes and chased anyone who looked foreign.

Police struggled to keep control and fights continued the following day between far-right and left-wing demonstrators.

The violence has raised concerns the city’s a neo-nazi stronghold… exposing divisions in German society about immigration.

Chancellor Angela Merkel allowed more than a million migrants into the country at the height of the refugee crisis in 2015.

The biggest opposition party, the far-right Alternative for Germany, seized on what it saw as an open door policy, winning 92 parliamentary seats in last year’s elections.

Is anti-migrant sentiment growing in Germany?

Presnter: Hashem Ahelbarra

Guests

Philipp Sauter, Student Activist and anti-fasism campaigner …

Cynthia Miller-Idriss, Professor of Education Sociology at the American University

Mona El Omari, political activist and community educator …