- Women Mayors writers
- Jul 19
- 4 min read
German mayor confronts the far-right while town people stay silent
"You can't defeat evil with silence"
Spremberg Mayor Christine Herntier and youth worker Benny Stobinski urge their fellow citizens to take a stand against neo-Nazis who are trying to attract young people to their ideology
July 2025: In a small town, some 150 kilometres south of Berlin, neo-Nazis have been making a name for themselves in recent months. They put up racist posters on public buildings, maintain information stands in the town centre and organise sport and leisure activities for young people. Behind these actions is the small right-wing extremist party ‘Der Dritte Weg’ (the Third Way). Many residents, not just foreigners, are afraid of them, but are also afraid to take a stand.
Now Christine Herntier, the Mayor of Spremberg (popl:21,000), has come forward and spoken publicly of a neo-Nazi threat to the town and called on her fellow citizens to finally speak up. In a public letter to the citizens, the Mayor speaks of a flood of graffiti, fascist symbols, glorification of National Socialism and damage to public buildings, among other things. "We don't talk about it! That's terrible!” writes Mayor Herntier. “Right-wing activities have increased dramatically in Spremberg over the past 12 months."
In her letter, Christine Herntier describes how teachers and pupils came to her, ‘full of anger and fear, and told her things that she had not thought possible’. At the same time, she was begged not to say anything. But that made the mayor angry. ‘You can't defeat evil with silence.’
“Spreading a cloak of silence and pretending that everything is fine strengthens the neo-Nazis,” says Mayor Herntier. "Sometimes it seems to me that every pothole is more important than what's happening in Spremberg. That has to stop now."
Der Dritte Weg / The Third Way
The neo-Nazi party Der Dritte Weg has been active in Spremberg for a considerable time. The party posts videos of its activities on the internet, in which teenagers and young adults engage in military-style sports exercises in public parks.
Benny Stobinski, a social worker in Spremberg, has been observing the activities of the right-wing extremists. "As a social worker, I admit: the party is very clever in attracting young people. They use the internet, social media, but also the old classics like martial arts and campfires."
"We have 12, 13 and 14-year-olds who greet each other with a Hitler salute," said Stobinski, who has been working with young people for more than 20 years.
In a city that has repeatedly made headlines in Germany due to right-wing extremist activities, Benny Stobinski misses a decisive reaction from local people. "I do believe that the majority of people in this city are against right-wing extremism, against Nazi culture, against xenophobia. But they keep silent."
Mayor Herntier now wants to change that. She says her appeal to the people of Stremberg was just the beginning of a fight back.
Public letter from Christine Herntier, Mayor of Spremberg, to her fellow citizens
(Edited and translated from German)
Dear fellow citizens
The reason for my letter to you is the laying of another four Stolpersteine (stumbling stones*) in Spremberg and the commemoration ceremony for those persecuted by the Nazi regime in our town.
The occasion is also the flood of graffiti, fascist symbols, glorification of Adolf Hitler in the centre of the town, unprecedented damage to property and littering of public facilities. How can it be that people are withdrawing because it is known that they know who is littering our city and damaging its reputation? How can it be that teachers and pupils from both secondary schools come to me, full of anger and fear, and tell me things that I didn't think were possible? How can it be that at the same time, they are begging me not to say anything?
We are not the infamous three monkeys! And yet this is exactly what has happened before, even in Spremberg. People looked away, listened away, looked the other way. The consequences of the Nazi era are well known.
We must speak out against evil.
Every pothole that is not filled in immediately seems to be more important than the threat we are facing now. We don't talk about it! That's bad!
At least that's what I've done now, broken the silence. I also did it because I was so impressed by the action of many schoolchildren who removed the huge number of neo-Nazi stickers. The video received 100,000 views across Germany. Many comments, positive, negative, mocking, appreciative comments. That's how it should be! We, as a city, as a civic society, should not allow ourselves to be intimidated.
* Stolpersteine are small, brass plaques, typically 10x10 cm, embedded in pavements to commemorate victims of Nazi persecution. The name, which translates to ‘stumbling block’, is both literal (referring to their placement) and metaphorical (serving as a reminder of those lost). These memorials are placed in front of the last residence of the victim before their persecution, deportation, or death. They are a project of German artist Günter Demnig, and are now found in over 1,200 cities and towns across Europe.
Sources: Town of Spremberg; RBB24; Berliner Morgenpost; Der Spiegel; Die Zeit; Märkische Allgemeine
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