German Carnival: “Nazi” Anti-Migrant Tank Float, Locust Costumes Show Spirit of Resistance

A FLOAT at a Bavarian carnival was mocked up as a World War 2 German tank with the words “Asylum Defense” written on its side. Police in Germany are investigating whether the carnival parade in Bavaria broke Jewish-instigated “hate crime laws” for including the float. Annual carnival parades in Germany before the start of Lent are famous for their satirical floats, and are traditionally granted considerable license. But there were objections that the float at Steinkirchen had “gone too far,” and amounted to “incitement against asylum-seekers.”

Multiple criminal complaints were also filed over another parade in eastern Germany which featured participants dressed as locusts and the slogan: “The plague is coming.” They were marching alongside a float mocked up as a train with the words “The Balkan Express” written on it.

Traditionally no subject is taboo in the carnival parades, and previous years have seen floats with caricatures of suicide bombers and Angela Merkel sitting on a toilet seat. But the “Asylum Defense” tank in Steinkirchen attracted criticism from Jewish and Leftist groups.

“The people who made the float have no Right-wing background,” Tobias Winkelman of the local carnival association told Bild newspaper. Police in the small Bavarian town said they had sent photographs of the float to prosecutors to determine whether it infringed Germany’s strict “hate speech” laws. It appeared to attract particular opprobrium because it featured the Balkankreuz emblem used by German forces during the Second World War.

Prosecutors in eastern Germany said the “Plague is Coming” float had not broken any laws despite several criminal complaints.

The carnival parade in Wasungen in the former East Germany is famous for its satirical floats, which even mocked the authorities during the Communist era.

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Source: Correspondents