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“Don’t think of it as an act of courage”: Civil Courage Award awarded
Christine Herntier caused a stir with her call out to neo-Nazis. Now the mayor of the city of Spremberg in Lusatia has been honored along with his fellow activists.
Four months after her public call against neo-Nazis in Spremberg, Brandenburg, Mayor Christine Herntier was honored for her civic courage. Together with pastors Elisabeth Schulze and Jette Förster from the citizens’ initiative Unteilbar Spremberg and AG Trace Search, he received the annual prize awarded by the Memorial for the Murdered Jews of Europe and the Jewish Community of Berlin.
“Herntier’s courageous public appearance in official news was honored,” said Ilan Kiesling of the Jewish community. In July, the mayor pointed to the growing influence of right-wing extremists after swastikas, SS runes and events organized by the small Third Way party increased sharply in the city.
“Is that really brave?”
Herntier said at the awards ceremony: “Was it really brave? To this day I don’t think it was that brave.” Actually, that should be a given. “How can you possibly get a price for this?”
However, from the perspective of the three award winners, the public furore surrounding their application, which was criticized by the AfD among others, has led to a change in mood in the city. “This provides many benefits to the city of Spremberg community,” Herntier said.
More people are being encouraged to take a stand against right-wing extremists, he said. There is also good exchange between all the schools. And Brandenburg Interior Minister René Wilke (SPD) has promised more video surveillance in public places. That’s important, Herntier said. “We’re always chasing ghosts: you wake up in the morning and the city is full of swastikas.”
The prize is endowed with 2,000 euros.
dpa
