Refugee Border Crossing, Salzburg, Austria

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The border crossing at Salzburg, Austria, over the Salzburgerbruecke is one of the hotspots of the international media coverage.

It is here that the refugees, subject to the border closure by the German Federal Police, must wait until they are brought into Germany.

From a lengthy discussion with the Federal police speaker, it's a rather involved process they have been charged with and, to my knowledge, with little involvement from their Austrian counterparts, despite the fact that the refugees are waiting on the Austrian side of the bridge to get into Germany.  Numerous volunteers and help organization (Freilassing Hilfe, Red Cross, UNHCR) are on site bridging the gap between the German police on their side of the border and the refugees who are physically in Austria.  The refugees are lined up to be brought into Germany, after preliminary checks, then board large Federal Police buses to be brought to a furniture building for further processing.  From there, they reach the Freilassing train station and are photographed, fingerprinted (if needed), documents checked, and separated, by such things as age (more below).  The train at the station was bound for Duesseldorf, as Munich has closed its doors to refugees due to Oktoberfest.  Additional point of note: the police lock the doors to the trains.

Numerous minors traveling alone were separated out, as the police speaker mentioned they have special needs for travel and require assistance to assure safe passage.

Also of note, and rather shocking: how numerous the infants and children were among the refugees- not falling into the rumors spread around by racists, populists, and nationalists.

I spent several hours speaking with the refugees, hearing their plights, seeing pics of their hometowns and the devastation they fled from.  Additionally, numerous refugees are obviously educated and fled middle class backgrounds due to devastation in their homelands and unending wars.  Many fear the police of their home countries seeing their photos and declined to be photographed.  Some warmed up later.  There was incredible optimism for a new life to begin for them and end the dangerous and difficult prilgrimages.

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View from Germany of the refugees lined up in Austria.

Mohammed, who fled Fallujah, hopes to begin his new life in Germany.  Since he traveled alone, he has a lower preference to be called into Germany.

This is where numerous refugees sleep at night, while they go to the bridge during the day, hoping to be called to enter Germany.

Train in Freilassing, Germany, bound for Duesseldorf.

UNHCR on the scene.

Waffen SS Division Charlemagne Memorial

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Expanding the coverage of the Neonazi/far/radical right spectrum groups, myself and colleagues made a trip to Bad Reichenhall, a village on the German-Austrian border near Salzburg.

Annually, they hold a memorial for the Charlemagne division of the Waffen-SS, which consisted of French collaborators who fought for Germany.  They were executed at the conclusion of the war.

Bad Reichenhall is known to consumers of table salt, as well as being a semi-major tourist destination.  However, tourists may not be able to see what is behind the businesses and beautiful landscapes of the village- extreme conservative and far right-wing values to the point that these Waffen-SS agents have a permanent memorial in the village's cemetery and also has a relatively eyebrow-raising memorial stone at the Kretabruecke (Crete Bridge) in remembrance of the Gebirgsjaeger (mountain-specialist troops) killed while in service for the Nazis.

Many of the faces coincide with those present at Bagida marches and die Rechte demonstrations in Munich and elsewhere.  These facts make the complete lack of coverage by the media rather conspicuous.  However, as previously noted, the existence of a far/extreme/radical right in central Europe are dissonant topics, which people prefer to ignore, or lie about and claim it doesn't exist.  These factors lended themselves to the breakout of Pegida, which was there all along, but, after a point, Dresdners were no longer able to lie and keep their racist sentiments a secret.

Peter M., once again, began making a spectacle of himself and was loudly chastized by others there for his misbehavior.

The speeches ranged from revisionism regarding the end of WWII and Germany's role and surrender, then taking a radical deviation to Volkstheory by Philipp Hasselbach.  At the end, they sang "Wenn alle untreu werden", a song associated with the SS and, while not forbidden under German law, is highly controversial.  Anti-Jewish rhetoric was also present in the speeches, including the mention of "hooknoses".


Coverage by Endstation Rechts/Bayern here

Related*:
Waffen-SS Division Charlemagne Memorial here
National Socialism Documentation Center Protest here  
Alternative for Germany rally here  
Montags (the last Bagida rally before an extended pause) here  
Further Escalation here Conflict in the Old Botanical Garden (neonazi attack) here
Die Rechte II (same neonazi group as the Keup Street entry) here  
Provocation here  Keup Street Is Everywhere Keupstraße ist überall (neonazi rally) here
More Bagida here
Bagida VII here
Bagida VI here
Bagida V here
Point/Counterpoint (separately posted picture from this rally) here
Pegida Bagida (rally 4) here
Pegida Muegida here
NoPegida (record-breaking counter demonstration in Munich) here
Muenchen ist Bunt here
Kein Mensch (Dresden) Here
Muenster Keinen Meter here
July 26th, Munich here
*omitted was demonstration #3  

Memorial to the Gebirgsjaeger, who fought for Nazi-Germany

A creepy, black and red sign, just before entering the demo area in the hills.  The black/red color scheme is, while likely unintentional, highly conspicuous.

 

Dan Eising in the middle

Peter Meidl (die Rechte Rosenheim) misbehaving and making a spectacle of himself. He is under investigation for statements regarding the Holocaust.

VH on the right, also attends Bagida marches.

Memorial for the fallen Waffen-SS.

Back row, right of the pole, a frequent-attendee of Bagida marches, as well as die Rechte neonazi demos.

Blonde in the center has been spotted at die Rechte demos.

To the right, wearing glasses- frequent attendee of die Rechte rallies.

Philipp Hasselbach

 

VG, girlfriend of Hasselbach

Jan R. behind Hasselbach, often attends die Rechte demos, has been spotted often with Peter M. and while wearing forbidden Blood and Honor clothing.

Three aborted attempts at playing the trumpet.  He embarrassingly walked away, head down.

 

 

Cemetery:

Wreath and memorial placed to the left.  A death threat was made on our way in.

Permanent tablets memorializing the dead Waffen-SS agents