A recent documentary suggests that it was a largely unknown phenomenon to the national scene in Germany. “Small Germanic tribes” shows, such as education and the rights ideology holds already in the case of children’s feet.
The two Directors, Frank Geiger, Mohammad Farokhmanesh have done a lot of research. Her documentary film with the innocuous sounding title “Little Germans” is likely to leave many viewers the blood freeze in the veins.
Right populist ideology is encountered in Germany and Europe in the last few years, many of the people on fertile ground. But what’s with all the political and social consequences – even for future generations, for children and young people?
These are the questions the filmmaker in “Little Germans” – in an unusual Form. To let right-wing populists such as Götz Kubitschek, a well-known journalist and publisher from the right-national spectrum. Your protagonists, especially education ideals and to dream of their own Childhood. The Directors Geiger and Farokhmanesh without commenting, and arguing.
Viewers are invited to judge for yourself
Commentaries come from experts who are familiar with the right-wing scene in Germany. These experts you won’t see in the picture. In other sequences, the Film gives insight into the scene of children’s and youth camps in a legal-ideological environment.
With the help of animated sequences of the feature film tells the story of a young woman who is descended from the right scene – after she was long a “Small Germanin”, as a child, was brought up in the family with far-right ideology. Since the woman does not want to be recognized and a new identity has been adopted and used by the Directors for animated scenes.
With animated scenes, the story of the young Elsa is told that out later from the right-wing scene
The story of “Elsa”, the young woman should exemplify a Childhood under the “right” influence. Geiger and Farokhmanesh put this in your movie, a small sign of hope: You can get off from the right of the scene – even if you were indoctrinated as a child for many years.
The documentary “Little Germans” to expire in may 2019 nationwide in the cinemas. DW-movie editor, Jochen Kürten has spoken with the two Directors for the film start on the difficult subject and its implementation.
Deutsche Welle: What has you interested in the topic of “children and right-wing attitudes in Germany”?
Frank Geiger: The origin of the film was that we were on a case of a girl, the Diabetes had, and whose parents have denied him Insulin. The youth welfare office pursues, but the parents are then moved with the girls from one land to another, in order to prevent that the child is treated forcibly.
As we asked ourselves: What is behind it? And what ideology is behind it? Then it came out that this family came from the right, the people’s spectrum. That you have lived over many generations in this “traditional” corner. And that it was the rejection of the School of medicine, which was regarded as “Jewish medicine”.
The state and the law, national scene: scene from the animated part of the movie “Little Germans”
The family was supporters of the “Germanic New medicine” by Ryke Geerd Hamer (German physician, in 1935, -, 2017, advocated a so-called “Germanic medicine”, Hamer was withdrawn in 1986, the approval of, A. d. R.). These families have many children, which is part of the ideology. Up to seven children, which is not uncommon.
This of course leads to the question, how is this possible in today’s Germany?
Frank Geiger: This is an interesting phenomenon that can be in our society with a free democratic basic order, in a niche in life where you have denied yourself completely of this society and of democracy.
Then, we have watched, how many children are living in this extreme scene. As we have come to a frightening number. If you add up, how many families are! This has made us interested in the subject of education, and how to get there…
What order of magnitude are we talking about here?
Frank Geiger: We have deliberately omitted to give Figures, because we had a different approach. The movie is rather Thought-provoking. We wanted to bring the people to discuss and to consider the extent to which they are come up with such ideas in contact.
Director Frank Geiger
Nevertheless, the question of how big you have to think of the phenomenon?
Frank Geiger: We think that there are some 20,000 children in the national scene. We are the “EXIT Deutschland” (Initiative that helps people get out from the right-wing scene, A. d. R.) went through which have an intense insight into the scene.
Mr Farokhmanesh, you still have a very different view on the subject from the outside, as a native Iranian. What did you particularly interested in?
Mohammad Farokhmanesh: I came 22 years after Germany. I’m grew up in an “Islamic Republic”, I’m there, been socialized. Even if my name is Mohammad, I’m an Atheist actually, with Religion a little in the hat.
Director Mohammad Farokhmanesh
But when I came here, I felt this education up in the middle of the society. I grew up in a country that is dictatorial and I do not had so many opportunities to develop myself and learn.
I have asked myself the question: Why is this so in a country like Germany? How can it be that there are still such children? How can it be that children are educated? That you from scratch the Alien hate? You all to what is so well known, with feelings of Hate?
When we started out, us with the topic, we have found that there is no or only little research. There is a research gap in the area.
You have dispensed with the classic documentary Aesthetic, annotation, classification. Let the people speak and the statements stand for themselves. Why did you choose this Form?
Frank Geiger: There are many films that tackle the issue of right-wing extremism, documentaries, reports. Usually they are very lurid, go in the confrontation. We thought that this is actually leading anywhere. This leads to the formation of fronts, and to the exclusion, in the sense of: “they are Evil”. We did not want to.
We have also spoken with many of our experts. The current confrontation with the right extremism is not meant that he would have accepted. This has only led to a hardening of the fronts, to a foreclosure: The a want the other to know.
One of the interlocutors of the Directors: Götz Kubitschek, seen here at a gathering of law national in 2016 in Dresden
Our Intention was that people who live in our society, can link up to these thoughts, you can say: “That’s interesting, I’ve heard from my grandpa that has said this, uncle.”
We are not independent of our traditions and of our past. This is deep, deep inside. Everywhere, not only in so-called extreme right-wing families, but also in “Otto-normal consumers”. The was unable to decouple itself entirely from such thoughts.
You can see it, if the society is in crisis: as of 2008 (world economic crisis after the stock market crash, A. d. R.) or as refugees (in the year 2015 about 800,000 people in Germany, an asylum application, a sharp increase compared to the previous years, A. d. R.) – where many people fall over quite quickly, in a certain political corner, and your Thinking, and your opinion changes, where you will join the right-wing populist parties.
One of our experts, Andreas Peham in Austria (Right – and antisemitism-researcher, A. d. R.), called the “extremism of the middle”. This is the approach we wanted to make to the discussion. That’s why we have to go the classic way waived.
There were certain subjects that came up again and again in conversations with the adults, motives that are instilled in the children and young people? For instance, I noticed: “longing for home” or “a longing for a carefree Childhood”.
Frank Geiger: Yes, you can say so, this is also the sense of Self: “We want to be home.” “We want to be sheltered Childhood.” What you see very clearly in all of our protagonists, is a powerful principle, which is extremely pronounced. In all these families there was a strong father figure, the pressure has to be exercised in the sense of: “You need to performance! You have to work!”
By the alienation of the actors, anonymity is guaranteed
This is their “home”. This is, so to speak, the principle of head of family: Someone Strong says. This is called “security” or “homeland”.
This is very pronounced: That you get a clear message, and is not big discussed. Feelings in themselves are not estimated too highly. Only the feeling of love for the homeland or the love of the father land.
For me, the key scene of the film was, as Götz Kubitschek says that it is ultimately in all of the Thinking in the core to something Irrational.
Frank Geiger: Yes, that’s right. We have intended, that the audience realizes more and more that it is something very Irrational.
Has recognized the policy is the Problem in your opinion? Around 20,000 children in the right scene, that is, a large number of points in the future.
Frank Geiger: I don’t think this Problem is in focus. In addressing the Right to notice, in our opinion anyway, a complete helplessness. Because you have to think completely new. The classic pattern will not work.
The interview was conducted by Jochen Kürten