Front Deutscher Äpfel
Encyclopedia
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
for Front of German Apples), also called Apfelfront (Apple Front) is a satirical
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
organisation, founded in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
in 2004. It satirizes right extremist parties, especially the Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands (NPD). In the style of former and existing right extremist organisational structures it is subdivided into numerous sub-groups like the youth organisation Nationales Frischobst Deutschland (NFD; National Fresh Fruit of Germany), the women's organisation Bund weicher Birnen (B.W.B.; League of Soft Pears, compare League of German Girls
League of German Girls
The League of German Girls or League of German Maidens , was the girl's wing of the overall Nazi party youth movement, the Hitler Youth. It was the only female youth organization in Nazi Germany....
; Birne, pear, is a German colloquial term for head, "eine weiche Birne haben" ("to have a soft pear"), is synonymous to "being very stupid") and many further local Gaue.
Platform
Überfremdung
Überfremdung , literally "over-foreignization", is a German-language term used in politics to suggest an excess of immigration. The word is compounded from über meaning "over" or "overly" and fremd meaning "foreign".-Political uses:...
des deutschen Obstbestandes und gegen faul herumlungerndes Fallobst" - translated "National initiative against the overforeignization of German fruit crop and against lazy/rotten mooching fallen fruit" (faul means both lazy and rotten).
The key demands of the organisation are:
- Termination of the overforeignisation of German fruit by engraftingGraftingGrafting is a horticultural technique whereby tissues from one plant are inserted into those of another so that the two sets of vascular tissues may join together. This vascular joining is called inosculation...
of foreign species. - Closing the borders against tropical fruits ("Grenzen dicht für Fremdobst!" - English "Close the borders against foreign fruit!").
- Elimination of lazy/rotten (compare faul above) windfall ("Macht Fallobst zu Mus!" - English "Make windfall to mush!").
The Apfelfront tries to use overly Germanized
Germanisation
Germanisation is both the spread of the German language, people and culture either by force or assimilation, and the adaptation of a foreign word to the German language in linguistics, much like the Romanisation of many languages which do not use the Latin alphabet...
terminology in press releases and statements, at public demonstrations and on their website just like original right and extreme right internet services, and mimics the public appearance of the NSDAP and modern right extremist organisations. Therefore "homepage" is called "Heimseite", "webpage" is named "Weltnetzseite" and "bulletin board/forum" is turned into "Brett" (all three English terms are common in current German usage; the translated/transformed German terms are commonly perceived as xenophobic or at least ridiculous in context of information technology).
Particular terms, slogans and rhetorical devices used by the NPD and especially by Holger Apfel
Holger Apfel
Holger Apfel is the leader of the right-extremist National Democratic Party of Germany and has served as a member of the Saxon Parliament since 2004...
, their chairperson in the Landtag of Saxony
Landtag of Saxony
The Landtag of Saxony, also referred to as the Parliament of Saxony or the Saxon Parliament, is the German state of Saxony's legislature...
, such as "Grenzen dicht!" ("Close the borders!") are picked up by the Apple Front and get used overly explicit but are changed in their political message to orchard
Orchard
An orchard is an intentional planting of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit or nut-producing trees which are grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of large gardens, where they serve an aesthetic as well as a productive...
ing and fruit utilization in order to make the original political statements and their representatives appear ridiculous.
History and activities
The Front Deutscher Äpfel was founded shortly after the Saxon election of 19 September, 2004. The group, and Alf Thum, its founder, considers itself not as leftist but as non-right. They consider themselves to be artists who are trying to break away from the demonstrationDemonstration (people)
A demonstration or street protest is action by a mass group or collection of groups of people in favor of a political or other cause; it normally consists of walking in a mass march formation and either beginning with or meeting at a designated endpoint, or rally, to hear speakers.Actions such as...
-counterdemonstration ritual.
The Front's youth organisation (most German political parties have active youth organisations) is called Nationales Frischobst Deutschlands (National Fresh Fruit of Germany). The "Bund deutscher Birnen" is affiliated with them in their "national struggle".
Since its founding, the Apfelfront has attended all larger NPD and neo-nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
marches/parades, especially in Eastern Germany. They have also got involved with Berlin 05, a youth politics festival sponsored by the German federal government.
The Apfelfront has also been represented in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern since August 2006.
Commentary
Disruptions occasionally arise after an appearance by the Apfelfront, especially as the flags and symbols are not always immediately recognised as a parody. Mitteldeutscher RundfunkMitteldeutscher Rundfunk
Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk is the public broadcaster for the federal states of Thuringia, Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt...
published an article about the NPD on 25 July, 2006, in which it portrayed a photo of the Apfelfront, with a subtitle, "The NPD wants to distance itself from its image of violence". The mistake was soon noticed, and the picture was removed.
Sources
- Anke Wolf: Widerstand gegen Rechts einmal anders www.projekt-p.de 2005
- Sven Näbrich: Verbunden mit der deutschen Rundfrucht Sächsische ZeitungSächsische ZeitungSächsische Zeitung is a German daily newspaper. Founded on 13 April 1946, the Sächsische Zeitung's main office is based in Dresden. It is the largest newspaper in Saxony, with 95 % of its copies distributed through subscriptions. Ownership stakes have it leaning slightly towards the centre-left...
, 12. Juni 2005 – zitiert in: Aktion Zivilcourage Pirna: Die Rundfrucht-Patrioten www.nadeshda.org
External links
- www.apfelfront.de Website of the Front Deutscher Äpfel
- www.apfelfront.de/nfd Website of the Jugendorganisation NFD
- Armed with satire, German group challenges neo-Nazis
- Satire gegen Rechtsradikale: Ein Apfel für die Nazis
- Interview in der JW: »Wir setzen auf das Zwerchfell«