© 2020 Deutscher Bundestag WD 1 - 3000 - 026/20 Rassismus-Bekämpfung in Deutschland Antworten auf ausgewählte Aspekte Sachstand Wissenschaftliche Dienste Die Wissenschaftlichen Dienste des Deutschen Bundestages unterstützen die Mitglieder des Deutschen Bundestages bei ihrer mandatsbezogenen Tätigkeit. Ihre Arbeiten geben nicht die Auffassung des Deutschen Bundestages, eines seiner Organe oder der Bundestagsverwaltung wieder. Vielmehr liegen sie in der fachlichen Verantwortung der Verfasserinnen und Verfasser sowie der Fachbereichsleitung. Arbeiten der Wissenschaftlichen Dienste geben nur den zum Zeitpunkt der Erstellung des Textes aktuellen Stand wieder und stellen eine individuelle Auftragsarbeit für einen Abgeordneten des Bundestages dar. Die Arbeiten können der Geheimschutzordnung des Bundestages unterliegende, geschützte oder andere nicht zur Veröffentlichung geeignete Informationen enthalten. Eine beabsichtigte Weitergabe oder Veröffentlichung ist vorab dem jeweiligen Fachbereich anzuzeigen und nur mit Angabe der Quelle zulässig. Der Fachbereich berät über die dabei zu berücksichtigenden Fragen. Wissenschaftliche Dienste Sachstand WD 1 - 3000 - 026/20 Seite 2 Rassismus-Bekämpfung in Deutschland Antworten auf ausgewählte Aspekte Aktenzeichen: WD 1 - 3000 - 026/20 Abschluss der Arbeit: 26. Oktober 2020 Fachbereich: WD 1: Geschichte, Zeitgeschichte, Politik Wissenschaftliche Dienste Sachstand WD 1 - 3000 - 026/20 Seite 3 Inhaltsverzeichnis 1. Question 2a: 4 2. Question 2b: 4 3. Question 2d: 4 4. Question 2e: 5 5. Question 3c: 5 6. Question 3d: 5 7. Question 4d 6 Wissenschaftliche Dienste Sachstand WD 1 - 3000 - 026/20 Seite 4 1. Question 2a: Is there a specific anti-racism policy or is this part of a larger political initiative? Is this policy implemented by the government or by independent entities? Answer: The fight against racism is conducted on several levels considering Germany's federal structure. At the federal level, the federal government has launched various programs and initiatives in recent years, most recently with the establishment of the Cabinet Committee to Combat Right-Wing Extremism and Racism on May 20, 2020, which, under the chairmanship of Chancellor Angela Merkel, works out concrete proposals together with representatives of civil society, migrant organizations and academia. In the spring of 2021, the intention is to present further measures in the fight against right-wing extremism and racism to the German Bundestag. "The fight against rightwing extremism and racism is a top priority," said Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer. The basics of the prevention work to combat racism are the - Strategy of the Federal Government for the Prevention of Extremism and Promotion of Democracy (2016) - the National Action Plan against Racism - Positions and measures to deal with ideologies of inequality and the discrimination based on them (2017) - the National Action Plan for Integration On February 19, 2020, the German government also introduced a draft law to combat right-wing extremism and hate crime in the German Bundestag. Among other things, it is intended to facilitate the prosecution of hate crime on the Internet. The implementation of these programs will be carried out both by state actors and by civil society organizations. The program "Living Democracy - Active against Right-Wing Extremism, Violence and Xenophobia", for example, supports hundreds of civil society projects in a total of 14 competence networks with a volume of 115.5 million euros in 2020. This program had already been launched in 2015 and has been further developed since then. 2. Question 2b: Do public authorities implement „offensive“ measures aimed at combating racism, such as „testiing “ or „name and shame“? In which cases are they implemented, and what are the negative effects or shortcomings of these measures? Answer: No, an "offensive" fight as described has not been implemented so far. In Germany, the focus is more on prevention, political education and, if necessary, criminal justice. 3. Question 2d: What ist he role of associations in the fight against racism? Wissenschaftliche Dienste Sachstand WD 1 - 3000 - 026/20 Seite 5 Answer: Civil society actors play an important role in Germany in the fight against racism. These are mostly nationwide or locally organized associations which are financed by donations and membership fees as well as by support, for example, from the program "Living democracy! However, the associations do not receive permanent state funding; the programs have a maximum duration of five years and are evaluated regularly. 4. Question 2e: Are there any positive discrimination measures aimed at combating racism? In which cases are they implemented, and what are the negative effects or shortcomings of these measures? Are those measures implemented in the public or the private sector? Are they incentives or are they binding (e.g. mandatory „quotas“)? Answer: No, there are no state measures for "positive discrimination" in Germany so far. 5. Question 3c: Is there a service responsable for monitoring the activities oft he police services, and in particular for ensuring that the police carry out their work without racist bias? Answer: So far there is no state monitoring of police activities regarding racism on a national level . However, since the police in Germany is largely under the sovereignty of the federal states, there are different regulations in the federal states. In Berlin, for example, an anti-discrimination law is to protect citizens from racist behavior by the police. At the federal level, a hotline was set up at the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution in October 2019, where especially right-wing extremist activities can be reported to the police and public service. On October 20, 2020, the German government agreed to conduct a study on everyday racism to investigate the development and spread of discriminatory acts in civil society, in business and industry and public institutions motivated by racist attitudes. In addition, an investigation of everyday police life is to be commissioned. The aim is to analyze the everyday life of the police, the relationship between the state and society and the changed social conditions more precisely. This also includes violence and hatred against police officers. 6. Question 3d: To what extent is this service dependent or independent of the police and the ministry to which the police belong? Answer: An independent body for the monitoring of state agencies with regard to racism inside the police does not exist so far. Wissenschaftliche Dienste Sachstand WD 1 - 3000 - 026/20 Seite 6 7. Question 4d What is the genesis of museums and what is their contribution to the fight against racism? Which museums deal specifically with the history and memory of slavery, racism and anti-Semitism? The German government supports initiatives against racism and anti-semitism in various ways. These include institutional support for memorials and museums dedicated to coming to terms with the Nazi reign of terror and German colonialism (e.g. the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe, Topography of Terror, Jewish Museum Berlin, Munich Documentation Centre for the History of National Socialism, Humboldt Forum). In accordance with the coalition agreement, the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media also supports various current exhibitions on these topics (most recently at the German Hygiene Museum Dresden, the German Historical Museum Berlin, and the Jewish Museum Berlin) and funds the research into the provenance of cultural assets from colonial heritage in museums and collections. ***