The German city of Krefeld made headlines on February 18 when a regional branch of the political party Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) distributed its latest “child-friendly” materials: openly racist colouring books. Entitled “North Rhine-Westphalia for colouring in,” the black and white pages depict scenes of rampant xenophobic and Islamophobic stereotypes, described by a witness as reminiscent of “fascist propaganda.” 

Select images seem to portray incitements to violence, including an illustration of caricatured women in full veils harassing fellow bathers at what is assumed to be a public pool. All the while, a knife is positioned toward the swimmers, as if from the viewer’s perspective. Additional images include men haphazardly brandishing guns amidst Turkish flags, creating a general picture of despair and discord amongst German society at the hands of immigrants.

While the AfD had initially defended the coloring book, rebuking complaints as an “attack on the freedom of art and satire,” the regional branch responsible later admitted that an “organizational mistake” had been made. Although defending “the majority of the sketches,” the AfD acknowledged that some of the images “are definitely not OK.” Yet the group asserted that errors arose not necessarily from the content of the books, but from the fact that they were released “prematurely.” 

The project was shelved following intense backlash from politicians and citizens across Germany. Although the incident may seem a bizarre anomaly of poor political judgement, it is indicative of darker trends which have now reached the level of official parties: politically fomented hate.

The anti-immigrant sentiment found within the sketches of the AfD’s coloring book has manifested as real-world hate time and time again. Recent examples within Germany include the assassination of refugee-friendly politician Walter Lübcke, believed to be “Germany’s first far-right political assassination since the Nazi era.” A foiled synagogue attack also left two passersby dead at the hands of a far-right extremist in October 2019, highlighting rising anti-Semitism. Additionally, a far-right terrorist network was disrupted by German security officials in early February 2020. The 12-man network had plans to attack politicians and refugees, and had created at least one homemade weapon. 

Tragically, these trends culminated in the events of February 19, when nine people were killed by a gunman who opened fire on two shisha bars in the city of Hanau, western Germany, making it “Germany’s worst attack in recent memory.” The perpetrator had posted videos of racist rants on YouTube, which were used by Chancellor Angela Merkel as evidence that his background indicated “right-wing extremist, racist motives.” Chancellor Merkel went on to describe racism and hate as poisonous to society, echoing the concerns of many that far-right extremist attacks continue to proliferate. 

According to official German figures, 8,605 far-right hate crimes were reported in Germany in the first six months of 2019 alone, leading Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht to declare far-right terror the most pressing threat to German democracy. Frustrated by perceived inaction on the part of government officials, Hanau residents and minorities nation-wide are left with a deepened sense of insecurity in their own hometowns. Disillusioned, a resident of a nearby suburb described the shooting as “a shock, but not a surprise.”

Hate crimes such as the Hanau shooting do not occur in a vacuum; their environments are systematically fostered and carefully built. Due to its willingness to cultivate casual racism, many see the AfD as bearing responsibility for hate crimes such as this. As Germany’s “first far-right party to enter Parliament since World War II,” the AfD saw a remarkable rise to power as the county’s largest opposition party following electoral gains in 2017. Widely known as anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim, and Eurosceptic, the party is often criticized for its promotion of extremism. Boris Pistorius, a Social Democratic Party member and interior minister of Lower Saxony, proclaimed “of course there is a direct link between the AfD getting stronger and the increase in right wing violence.” He further described how the AfD has promoted “a fatal unraveling of inhibitions,” devaluing human lives to the point of insecurity.

Yet, as much as anti-immigrant rhetoric works to drive people apart, in the face of tragedy, the people of Hanau have come together. Vigils for victims were attended by thousands while anti-far-right rallies have been seen throughout the country and calls for greater action to combat extremism have been renewed. Far more must be done to combat all forms of extremism, from racist colouring books to attacks on innocent lives.