Bund katholischer Ärzte: Homeopathic Conversion Therapists in 21st Century Germany

Even in modern Germany of the 21st century there is still homophobia and other intolerances towards different sexualities and genders. These are also evident in the presence of so-called conversion therapies, which are still offered although there are already legal efforts. Among those groups, the Bund katholischer Ärzte (Association of Catholic Doctors) is a unique curiosity. Although this group is no longer really active, it is currently moving into the German focus again due to criminal charges and reporting in the tabloid press. The aim of this publication is to bring the Bund katholischer Ärzte not only into a more scientific but also into a more international focus. Furthermore, it is an ideal example to show what strange effects homophobia can produce.

FAR-RIGHT VIOLENCE AND TERRORISM RISES IN GERMANY: NATIONAL SOCIALIST UNDERGROUND (NSU) TERRORIST GROUP AND THE MURDERS OF EIGHT TURKISH-GERMAN CITIZENS

Between 2000-2007, ten people were killed in Germany by unknown perpetrators. Four days after the explosion, the missing woman – later revealed as Beate Zschäpe – turned herself in. As the German authorities started to put the pieces together, they recognized that they had discovered the underground cell of at least three wanted neo-Nazis that had gone clandestine in the late 1990s. All in all, the NSU caused the most severe crisis of the German internal security system after the Second World War – a process called by the Federal Prosecutor General Harald Range Germany's 'September 11' in March 2012 (FAZ 2012). By now a total of ten assassinations, three bomb attacks and fourteen bank robberies between 1998 and 2011 were attributed to the NSU and the trial in Munich against the last surviving member – Beate Zschäpe – and the four most important supporters is already the most extensive terror trail in post-Second World War Germany. Instead, according to people who were at the meeting, he spoke extensively about the danger posed by far-right extremists and so-called Reichsbürger, a fringe group that rejects modern Germany and instead adheres to the old German Reich. This represented 'one of the biggest challenges' for Germany's security apparatus. It is quite unfortunate that nowadays we are obliged to talk about far-right domestic terror acts against politicians in Germany who are defending human values. It is time to stop sweeping the serious threats emerging in Western Europe under the rug and face the real problem. It is a fact that certain sections of the Western European societies are moving steadily to far-right quarters feeding from white supremacist and racist ideas.

Transforming the Party Identity of German Radical Right: In Search of Female Support

The crises of the beginning of the 21st century changed the political landscape of modern Germany, which was manifested in increasing right-wing radicalism. As the party identity of the far-right transforms, they shift from being marginal nationalist anti-migrant forces, contradicting the democratic culture of Germany, to movements which defend identity and rights, including womens rights. Thus, the far-right in Germany claim to become a part of the civic culture that includes the right to criticize and disagree with the governments policies. The article examines how far-right parties interact with the female electorate on the example of the Alternative for Germany party. The study highlights the main activities of the Alternative for Germany in attracting womens votes, based on the analysis of the partys political program, interviews with party members and media materials. These activities include the orientation towards the socio-economic issues, concerning women, the consideration of the migrant problem through the prism of the Muslim threat towards women, the protection of the interests of conservative women, the attraction of women as party leaders. The author pays a special attention to female right-wing activists, as independent actors in the political life of Germany. Based on the cases of Beate Zschpe, Francisca Berit and #120db movement, the following interests of female activists were determined: opposing to gender mainstreaming, which threatens the traditional family structure, and opposing to Islam as a source of violence against women. Alternative for Germany aims at strengthening its positions among all women, whose rights are an integral part of European identity, therefore, the actualization of womens involvement in the movement becomes not only instrumental, but also of value nature. More radically oriented female activists get involved in the European Identitarian movement.

Germany

This chapter examines the relationship between religion and the state in modern Germany, in particular the church–state regime from German unification onwards, and church involvement in politics at a variety of levels. It contrasts the ‘stubbornness’ of the ‘partnership model’ between church and state with a variety of policy changes, themselves the result of an increasingly fluid context of religious pluralization which puts pressure on the church–state relationship. The chapter aims to capture this tension, both from a historical perspective and in light of current challenges. The first section delineates the historical origins of the German model and its relevance for the relationship between the majority churches (Protestant and Catholic) and democratization. The second section addresses aspects of religion and state at particular levels of interaction: the polity (the constitution), and policies (the influence of churches in public education, and the governance of religious diversity—particularly Muslim rights).

FOREIGN EXPERIENCE OF MIGRANT INTEGRATION: PRACTICE OF MODERN GERMANY

В статье рассматриваются предпосылки формирования востребованной миграции в Германию, а также трансформация миграционных потоков от внешней трудовой миграции к миграции беженцев. Привлечение внешних мигрантов способствовало экономическому росту Германии, однако обнажило проблему взаимодействия мигрантов-мусульман и местного общества. Несмотря на официальную позицию политического руководства Германии, базирующуюся на позициях мультикультурализма, реализуемые, в связи с этим программы, как на федеральном, так и на региональном уровне не всегда достигают поставленных целей интеграции мигрантов в немецкое общество. Данный факт обуславливает рост критического восприятия мигрантов в современной Германии, что говорит о необходимости выработки новых, более эффективных подходов к реализации моделей политики интеграции.

The Portrayal of the Germani in German Latin Textbooks

<p>This study investigates the ways in which the Germani have been portrayed in textbooks used for teaching and practising the Latin language in schools in Germany from 1872 to 2007. It is a contribution to the reception history of Roman ethnographic and historical writing about the Germani, especially Tacitus' Germania, but also Tacitus' Annals and Histories, and Caesar's Gallic War.The study also provides a perspective on the place of classics in education and society at large since the 1870s. Concentration on Germany has been necessary for the sake of time, space and thoroughness, though many of the trends discussed are related to developments in other countries or are indicative of broader trends across Europe. The first chapter discusses Christian Ostermann's textbooks from Prussia in the late 19th century. The content of these textbooks' practice sentences often reflects Nationalist trends in German society and the education system. In the second chapter the influential Ludus Latinus series represents the Weimar Republic. The series attempted to make Latin appealing to young learners and also shows the influence of the Kulturkunde theory, which made understanding of German culture the centre of the education system. In the third chapter the influence of National Socialism on Germany's education system is discussed with reference to a variety of textbooks of the period from 1938 to 1945. During this period, under the influence of racial ideology, nationalistic interpretations of ancient history and the close identification of Deutsche with Germani reached an extreme. Chapter four deals with the years from 1945 to 1970. After 1945, associations with the ideology of National Socialism made Germania and the Germani unpopular topics. Latin and Greek also became unfashionable subjects and experienced a 'crisis' from which they only slowly recovered due to radical reforms in the methodology of ancient language teaching (described in chapter 5), including the production of textbooks that aimed at providing greater understanding of the ancient world and challenged long-entrenched stereotypes. Public interest in Germany's ancient heritage (both Roman and Germanic) has increased in recent decades, and the content of textbooks reflects this trend. In addition, the process of European unification has led to new perspectives on the ancient world and its relevance to modern Germany and Europe as a whole.</p>

The Portrayal of the Germani in German Latin Textbooks

<p>This study investigates the ways in which the Germani have been portrayed in textbooks used for teaching and practising the Latin language in schools in Germany from 1872 to 2007. It is a contribution to the reception history of Roman ethnographic and historical writing about the Germani, especially Tacitus' Germania, but also Tacitus' Annals and Histories, and Caesar's Gallic War.The study also provides a perspective on the place of classics in education and society at large since the 1870s. Concentration on Germany has been necessary for the sake of time, space and thoroughness, though many of the trends discussed are related to developments in other countries or are indicative of broader trends across Europe. The first chapter discusses Christian Ostermann's textbooks from Prussia in the late 19th century. The content of these textbooks' practice sentences often reflects Nationalist trends in German society and the education system. In the second chapter the influential Ludus Latinus series represents the Weimar Republic. The series attempted to make Latin appealing to young learners and also shows the influence of the Kulturkunde theory, which made understanding of German culture the centre of the education system. In the third chapter the influence of National Socialism on Germany's education system is discussed with reference to a variety of textbooks of the period from 1938 to 1945. During this period, under the influence of racial ideology, nationalistic interpretations of ancient history and the close identification of Deutsche with Germani reached an extreme. Chapter four deals with the years from 1945 to 1970. After 1945, associations with the ideology of National Socialism made Germania and the Germani unpopular topics. Latin and Greek also became unfashionable subjects and experienced a 'crisis' from which they only slowly recovered due to radical reforms in the methodology of ancient language teaching (described in chapter 5), including the production of textbooks that aimed at providing greater understanding of the ancient world and challenged long-entrenched stereotypes. Public interest in Germany's ancient heritage (both Roman and Germanic) has increased in recent decades, and the content of textbooks reflects this trend. In addition, the process of European unification has led to new perspectives on the ancient world and its relevance to modern Germany and Europe as a whole.</p>