The Dresden city council passed a “Nazi emergency” resolution this week aimed at strengthening democracy and protecting minorities amid growing concern about far-right extremism in the German town.
“Anti-democratic, anti-pluralist, misanthropic and right-wing-extremist attitudes and actions, including violence in Dresden, are occurring with increasing frequency,” the measure states.
“We have a Nazi problem in Dresden and have to do something about it,” said Max Aschenbach, a council member who initiated the resolution.
The resolution calls for a greater awareness of “the causes and consequences of anti-Semitism, racism and position of extreme right to restore trust in democratic institutions and the appreciation of diversity and respectful solidarity.”
Dresden is home to the anti-migrant group PEGIDA. The far-right Alternative for Germany party received more than 17 percent of the vote in city council elections this year.
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The motion, which was passed Wednesday, was supported by members of the Left Party, the environmentalist Greens, the center-left Social Democrats, the pro-business Free Democrats and a satirical party known simply as The Party.
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s center-right Christian Democrats voted against the motion, saying it should not have targeted right-wing extremism only.
AP and AFP contributed to this report.
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