Left: Right-wing extremism is part of everyday life at schools in Saxony

Ninth-graders from Görlitz show a neo-Nazi salute in front of the former Auschwitz-Birkenau extermination camp. In Oelsnitz, a secondary school teacher resigns because she is threatened by right-wing extremists. Swastikas on school desks are often no longer a cause for excitement. "Hardly a week goes by in Saxony without an incident with a right-wing extremist background at a school," said Left Party MP Luise Neuhaus-Wartenberg during a debate in the state parliament.

In Neuhaus-Wartenberg's opinion, schools must be a place for education and prevention. "We can only achieve this if teachers are well prepared, if parents are involved and if there is a school culture that stands by those affected when they make cases of discrimination, right-wing extremism or inhumane behavior public."

There are also teachers who spread hate and hate speech

"If youth clubs, advice centres, associations and local initiatives have to close, then we shouldn't be surprised if Nazis continue to take over these spaces," said Neuhaus-Wartenberg. We need protection for those affected and contact persons outside of school who they can turn to. Unfortunately, there are also teachers who spread hate and agitation.

The left-wing parliamentary group had organized the debate it had requested under the motto "No baseball bat years! Together against neo-Nazi agitation in schools, for humanity and democracy education". The baseball bat years refer to the 1990s, which saw a massive rise in right-wing extremists, particularly in East Germany.

According to the Left Party, 185 right-wing motivated crimes were recorded at schools in Saxony last year.

Other speakers also addressed right-wing extremist incidents at schools. CDU politician Holger Gasse quoted a primary school pupil as saying: "The blacks have to die out so that the whites have it better." Gasse condemned all forms of extremism.

Representatives of the AfD in the state parliament, on the other hand, stated that "Saxon youth" were "wrongly" denigrated as neo-Nazis and that German pupils were more likely to be threatened by young migrants. "Of course, all extremism, regardless of the direction or religious current, must be condemned," emphasized MP Martina Jost. The Left, the Greens and the SPD are only interested in financing their "front organizations".

Minister of Culture: No tolerance towards right-wing extremism

Minister of Culture Conrad Clemens (CDU) recalled the recently deceased Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer. In memory of such people, the following must apply in schools and elsewhere: "No tolerance towards right-wing extremism". The fight against extremism is of central importance. Incidents and bullying related to right-wing extremism are on the rise, Clemens also said.