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Germans Lorenz Korgel (left) and Thomas Grumke took part in a Center-hosted international conference.
(Valerie Downes) |
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During the final week of April, eight Europeans and three Americans traveled to Montgomery for an intensive three-day conference on "Right-Wing Extremism in a Transatlantic Perspective."
Hosted by the Intelligence Project, the meeting was the third in a series conceived of by the Berlin-based Center for Democratic Culture (CDC) that began last year with a three-day event at the Anti-Defamation League's (ADL) headquarters in New York, followed by three more days of discussion at the Anne Frank House in Berlin.
The CDC is a non-governmental organization that tracks hate groups in Germany and promotes tolerance work. Last year, the CDC decided to seek advice from American civil rights organizations on how to counter a rising tide of hate and anti-Semitism in Eastern Germany that is being promoted by a growing nationalist movement.
The conferences serve as forums to share knowledge about the extreme right-wing in the U.S. and Europe and to formulate joint strategies aimed at strengthening civil society and combating extremists.
European participants included Board of Deputies of British Jews director Mike Whine; Free University of Berlin professors Thomas Greven, Thomas Grumke and Albert Sharenberg; University of Bremen professor Brigitte Brueck; Center for Democratic Culture program directors Lorenz Korgel and Herbert Weber; and Dieter Dettke, executive director of the Washington office of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation.
American participants included the ADL's director of fact finding, Mark Pitcavage, and associate director of fact finding, Marilyn Mayo, and Mark Weitzman, director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Task Force Against Hate.
The first day of the conference was devoted to updates on the radical right scene in the United Kingdom, Germany and the U.S. The second day concentrated on tactics and strategies for combating extremists. Intelligence Report editor Mark Potok and Intelligence Project director Joe Roy explained how the Center uses publications and publicity as a tactic in countering hate groups' effectiveness.
Pitcavage and Roy described how the ADL and the Center work with law enforcement to counter hate groups. Center vice president of programs Richard Cohen gave a presentation on the differences between European and American legal strategies. Cohen made several suggestions on how law can be used to counter hate groups in Europe.
The conference's last day was devoted to immigration issues, globalization and a discussion of German-American cooperation in the fight against hate. The next conference is tentatively set for next spring, most likely somewhere in Eastern Germany.
SPLC Report
June 2003
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