German Football idol Franz Beckenbauer, the former vice-president of the German Football Association (DFB), president of the 2006 World Cup local organising committee (LOC) and former member of the Fifa executive committee passed away on January 7.
Franz Beckenbauer and Ulli Hoeness
Ulli Hoeness, a former German national league soccer player, and the long-time president of FC Bayern, one of Germany’s most known soccer clubs delivered a speech at the memorial for Franz Beckenbauer on Friday.
This memorial for Franz Beckenbauer turned into a celebration of life for the Emperor of Soccer, but also for freedom, democracy and tolerance Germany showed to the world at the 2006 world cup.
Uli said: “Germany stands for peace and for freedom, and a tolerant society, a colorful society, where no one has to fear about Germany and Germans. This was the celebration in 2006, known as the summer fairy tale. Something happened at the 2006 world cup in Germany. Germans got their identity back as a nation.
Football made it possible
Visitors and players from countries around the globe were seen in 2006 proudly waiving their flags when celebrating on the streets of Berlin. Berlin turned into a giant flag waiving party, and often police officers joined in.
Ulli Hoeness said at Beckenbauers memorial, what happened in 2006 was the true picture of Germany.
The memorial for Germany’s football idol turned into a motivation for millions.
What happened?
Germans are seen as one of the most tolerant people in the world. They represent an open society welcoming tourists, and immigrants from every corner of the globe.
This reflects the attitude of the majority of the people, also today.
German travelers are seen as interested and respectful visitors, well-educated, and ready to learn about cultures and communicate with locals. Germans accept that tourism is a global ambassador of peace.
The world cup in 2006 allowed Germans to be once again proud of their country. It was no longer an embarressment to show a German flag. Germans were accepted as reponsible members of a free global society.
When this world view was recently threatened by a minority of fanatics, ordinary citizens broke their silence.
This last weekend massive number of ordinary citizens went out on Germany’s streets in ice and snow to protest against right-wing extremists in the country.
In Hamburg and Munich, local police had to stop some demonstrations since they were unable to guarantee safety due to the unexpected number of people participating. In Hamburg, 100,000 people were in danger to be pushed into the Alster River.
Why mass demonstrations in Germany?
Demonstrators went against a political party by the name of Alternative for Germany or AFD. It’s an ultra-right-wing cult like, but legal political party run by a fanatic group of citizens.
The sleeping majority in Germany had enough and just woke up
German Tourism Hero award winner, and World Tourism Network member Burkhard Herbote, who is also the publisher of the World Tourism Directory and a well-known personality in the global travel and tourism industry, also a peace through tourism activist, explains:
Last week it was disclosed that members of the AFD party met in a hotel in Potsdam (close to Berlin) in November and discussed how they could get control of the government, so they could deport millions of foreign permanent residents. Among those they wanted to deport were refugees, even naturalized German citizens.
Also discussed was, how Germany could establish a country in North Africa to become the new home for such deported from Germany, similar to Hitler’s idea to deport Germans with Jewish faith to Madagascar (before he just decided to kill everyone)
Currently AFD representatives are part of the German parliament, and also part of some of the State parliaments. The party has approximately 32,000 members in the country. Rival CDU (Christian democratic party) for example has 402,000 members, and SPD (Social Party) has approximately 393,000 card-carrying members.
Currently the Federal Pariliament includes 78 members of the AFD party, out of 736 seats.
Remigration is the slogan for ADF, which is similar to deportation.
AFD has been on the radar of authorities that are responsible to protect the constitution, but so far the party managed to maneuver within limits of the constitution. Germany has liberal laws, so everyone can be included in politics.
Claims by AFD members that they represent a silent majority in Germany were overturned this last weekend. In fact 90% of Germans had enough and many went on the streets to protest against AFD and in numbers not seen before
Germany’s past is catching up with ordinary citizens.
The fast majority of citizens and most political leaders are united and disgusted about such fascism. Psomoting faciscm in the AFD ideology even comes with a book, similar to “Mein Kampf”. According to Herbote, no one is reading it.
The people are indignant, and according to Herbote,
Stupidity is no longer ashamed
A similar trend of extreme right fanatics to take the microphone unfortunately can be seen in Austria, Italy, France, the Netherlands, the United States, and several other countries, making solid structures, such as the European Union, and NATO no longer so solid.
The message Germans had over the weekend will hopefully set a European, if not a new global trend. Tourism could be a major aggregator for the spread of this message:
The silent majority woke up!
According to Herbote, the essence of Travel and Tourism extends beyond the mere sale of tickets and hotel vouchers. He believes that tourism revolves around human interaction, which ultimately enriches our lives.
Tourism serves as an effective instrument for fostering global harmony and plays a significant role as a thriving peace-oriented sector.
It is the responsibility of travel and tourism, the largest employer globally, to actively encourage peace and foster understanding on both a large and small scale.
Travel and tourism industry stakeholders have recognized that the focus extends beyond monetary aspects, encompassing sustainability in conflict prevention, intercultural communication, nature and resource conservation, justice, mitigation, and education regarding the impacts of climate change.
Herbote’s conclusion expressed a strong desire for a lasting impact and meaningful involvement in the upcoming German elections.
The aim is to ensure that the positive atmosphere of democracy, freedom, and a diverse Germany is accurately represented in the final outcomes.
(eTN): Extremism in Germany: Football, Tourism, The People & Mein Kampf | re-post license |Â post content
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