High school students from Bielefeld, Germany, recently faced backlash for singing a nationalist chant and making a neo-Nazi gesture during visits to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp and Auschwitz. Aged 14 and 15, the students chanted “Germany for the Germans, foreigners out,” associated with neo-Nazi groups, while at the memorial for Bergen-Belsen, where approximately 52,000 people were killed during the Nazi regime. The incident, which occurred last summer, has only come to light now. The Helmholtz high school, which promotes itself as a “school without racism,” confronted the students over their actions.
Students from Germany’s high schools participated in a nationalist chant at Bergen-Belsen, the concentration camp that was liberated by British forces 80 years ago today, and performed a neo-Nazi gesture at Auschwitz in two separate recent events that have come to light.
Teenagers from a high school in Bielefeld, aged 14 and 15, chanted “Germany for the Germans, foreigners out,” a slogan associated with neo-Nazi groups, while visiting the memorial at Bergen-Belsen. This location, located north of Hanover, was the site where approximately 52,000 individuals, including Jews and Soviet prisoners of war, were murdered during the Nazi era.
The students from Helmholtz high school, which promotes itself as a “school without racism,” were approached by staff at the memorial. Although the incident took place last summer, it has only recently been made public.