EU’s Proposed Anti-Nazi Laws

This topic is mostly political in nature, and thus outside the normal scope of this blog. But I’m going to blog about it anyway. According to this article from the UK Times Online, Germany is going to push its anti-nazi legislation on the EU again. Two key features of this legislation are to ban any use of ‘nazi’ symbols across Europe, and to make illegal and punishable with jail time the denial of the holocaust. This comes in the face of a rising tide of neo-nazi activity in Germany itself, where attempts to eradicate a political party known to sympathize with the neo-nazi cause has not only failed, it’s seen this political party gain strength (see this article from JTA for more information)….

But is this the right way?

The greatest complaint offered by the German government about the neo-nazi political party is that its members are anti-democratic. But how democratic is it when laws are passed to block the freedom of speech and ideas? The nazis didn’t create their own symbols – they used symbols that were, at least up to that point, used around the world for thousands of years as symbols of benefit, luck, and protection – if the nazis had used a cross for their symbol, would that have justified banning it? Think about that for a minute: Hitler identified himself as Christian, and the Vatican’s own history during Hitler’s era is shameful…if Hitler had used a normal cross, rather than a swastika, what then? What if Hitler ordered the crucifixion of prisoners? As full of hate as he was, as depraved as his goons were, I suspect it’s only a twist of fate that prevented him from doing this – it certainly wasn’t his sense of humanity. If he’d done this, would it have made the cross and crucifix evil symbols?

To deny the holocaust is to ignore the bulk of historical information. Personally, I think someone who denies the holocaust ever happened is an idiot, and probably of the fanatical variety. Grim and shameful as the history is, to deny it and ignore the lessons that should have been learned from it are even more grim and shameful. But I also think people in a democracy should have the right to their own opinion, however idiotic and shameful their opinion may be. One of the lessons that should have been learned from Hitler’s era was that people have the fundamental right to be…if they choose to use that right to be stupid, it’s their right to do so. Making laws forbidding one from challenging history aren’t the answer, it will only exacerbate the problem.

The current German solution to the rise of neo-nazism is to make it illegal to use a symbol, make it illegal to express an unpopular opinion, and try to ban an extremist political party. Essentially, Germany would fight fascism with fascism. This wouldn’t address the problems that give rise to neo-nazism, it would drive them into the shadows, where they would be free to gain sympathy and further support. I think it’s better to fight this nonsense with democracy – let them come out into the open, let them make their challenges, and let them be resoundingly and publicly defeated. Addressing the problems that fuel this kind of thinking is a more effective solution than to drive this problem into the shadows.

Like I said, Germany’s been trying this within its own borders already – and the efforts have thus far only made the problem worse – it bothers me to think that the EU would consider adopting this failure Europe-wide. I know the German government feels motivated to try to bring about a permanent end to the horror its predecessors unleashed, and I think that motivation is just and honorable…but the method that’s been chosen is flawed. When a democracy responds to extremism by outlawing basic freedoms, the extremists win. Especially when the extremists are anti-democratic fascists. This also sets precedents, should someone want to come along in the future and abuse the democracy. Education, solving the problems that lead to this kind of ideology of hatred, and keeping neo-nazis in the open, where everyone can see them and laugh at them…these are democratic solutions that stand a better chance of success in the long-term. It’s like Germany wants to bury its rage, rather than deal with it.