Is Chemnitz Racist?

After stabbing of the German at the Chemnitz city fest (by a young Syrian and a young Iraqi).....things have heated up.  Right-wing hooligans?  Probably nearing between 800 and a 1,000 (depending on who you read the news from).

The public TV folks (ZDF and ARD) have taken with interviews with city authorities and intellectuals to suggest that the right-wing folks are long-term racists and that explains why they are doing all of these violent demonstrations.

Any truth to the suggestion?

Here's the thing....long before this Germany or Prussia business (before the 1800s)....most of Eastern Europe (to include Polish lands, Czech, the Dresden region, etc).....didn't really have a lot of foreigners pass through. It would be true that locals in this entire region (to include Chemnitz) were skeptical of foreigners and their 'intent'. 

As the Prussian inclusion occurred, and we entered into the WW I period, then onto the Nazi era of the 1930s....there were not a lot of foreigners to enter the region.

After WW II, we come to an interesting period where the East Germans did use some guest-workers (Cubans, Vietnamese, etc).  Some Germans would suggest this went over marvelously (like in Berlin), while others would suggest it didn't go that well.

Add into this the general layout of jobs in the late 1800s to the late 1930s....where Chemnitz was growing at break-neck speed (roughly 350,000 by 1939). After the war, things didn't go that well, and after the reunification.....the population settled down to the 250,000 level.  It would be truthful that abundant jobs didn't really come back and the massive industry that existed before WW II.....has never gone to any previous level.

Local political folks worried now?  Yes.  And the state authorities as well, and apparently even the federal folks are worried.  They don't want the Chemnitz business to hype up the two state elections (Hessen and Bavaria).  My guess is that it's too late.

My humble belief is that the mayor will put a curfew into effect for tonight....bring in some federal cops...and try to arrest the key players of the right-wing protests.  This will carry things over for 90 days, until the court business occurs with the two accused murderers.