Stepping Away from the Extreme: Empowering Exit Guides in Lower Saxony
Thirteen more individuals have been equipped with the necessary skills to assist people in leaving the far-right scene and rejoining the democratic society in Lower Saxony, as announced by the Ministry of Justice in Hanover recently. This initiative, which started in 2020, offers a training program lasting over 50 hours, covering topics in social work, education, and psychology. The new guides include established drop-out helpers, police officers, and students.
Justice Minister Kathrin Wahlmann (SPD) emphasized the urgency of addressing right-wing extremism, even as Islamist anti-Semitism has been dominating headlines.
The training focuses on combating extremism, specifically right-wing extremism, with the primary goal of reshaping perspectives and promoting a return to the democratic center.
While details about the specific strategies used in Lower Saxony are not publicly available, broader context can provide insights into combating far-right ideologies in Germany. These include:
- Strengthening democratic safeguards, such as reinforcing the independence of the German Constitutional Court and maintaining clear stances against extremist ideologies.
- Local board strategies, emphasizing cooperation among democratic parties and public statements against far-right ideologies.
- Dealing with far-right actors, maintaining situational distances and avoiding joint statements with them.
- Utilizing empirical studies on cooperation between democratic parties and far-right parties to inform strategies for mitigating their influence.
- Raising public awareness about the dangers of right-wing extremism and supporting victims of far-right violence.
Though not directly applicable to Lower Saxony, these strategies offer a broad framework for addressing far-right extremism effectively.
