Racist entry rules?

A Burschenschaft is a German student organization whose members often live together, take part in fencing competitions and support each other for life. They were originally started to fight against Napoleon and for a unified Germany in the 19th century, but their traditional tendencies have made some of them seem more and more like right-wing extremists in recent years.

This week the Deutsche Burschenschaft, the largest umbrella organization for these student groups, holds its annual conference. During the meeting, members were expected to vote on a raft of measures seeking to define who can join and, ultimately, what it means to be German.

According to Alexandra Kurth, a political scientist and expert on these student groups, the legal committee of the Deutsche Burschenschaft issued a decision late last year that any potential member who was not ethnically German or whose parents were not ethnically German, or whose parents were German but the candidate himself was not, would need to be checked by the committee.

While the decision has effectively been a rule since it was announced, a motion by conservative members sought to win the official support of 75 percent of those at the conference. Another measure sought to expel one of the member groups for admitting a student who meets all the other requirements but whose parents are Chinese. However on Thursday, both measures were withdrawn from the agenda due to pressure from the organization's liberal wing.

But Spokesman Michael Schmidt said he nevertheless expected a "heated debate" over the criteria for membership.

A German passport is not enough

These men's groups have long required members to be German citizens. A decade ago, however, the German government loosened the rules for acquiring a German passport. That made it more difficult for people for whom this kind of thing is important to know who is ethnically German or not.

According to Carsten Koschmieder, a lecturer and doctoral candidate studying right-wing extremism at the Free University of Berlin, it would mean that "you have to prove that you have German blood in your veins, which is difficult."

Koschmieder said that, while many of the individual Burschenschaft groups are much less conservative, the Deutsche Burschenschaft umbrella group is the closest to right-wing extremism.

Kurth, who has written a book on men's student groups, is appalled that the measures have got this far. "I think it is absolutely scandalous and shameful that German academics are supporting this," she said.

"It's an indicator of how established right-wing extremism is becoming in these groups," she added.

Cause for concern?

Both Kurth and Koschmieder agree that what might make such moves to the right dangerous is the fact that these are university students.

"It shows clearly how vigilant we have to be, especially the universities, because what's problematic about this and also dangerous is that this isn't some little fencing club, it's an academic association."

Burschenschaft members can be found in a wide variety of departments, Kurth said, including law, economics and engineering, and that means some of them will end up in influential positions in society. Society should not write off any racist tendencies within the groups that are nurturing its future leaders, she said.

Ultimately the vote could lead to a splintering of the student groups. According to Koschmieder, that's to be expected if the organization is indeed becoming more extreme.

"If you become more radical, then you become smaller," he said. "Because only the ones that support the really radical position will stay."

Author: Holly Fox
Editor: Nicole Goebel