A video shows young people chanting “foreigners out” while partying on Sylt. The operator of the restaurant strongly condemns the Nazi slogans – and is confronted with hate messages.
At first glance, the scene looks like a typical party: around 300 people party into the evening in the best weather. The DJ plays the classic “L’Amour toujours” and the guests in the “Pony” on Kampen roar along. “Döp, Döp, Döp”. Flying over it, nothing points to the moment the Republic is currently talking about. It looks like a hidden object picture.
Then Tom Kinder zooms into the image – again, and again. The pixels can almost be counted, but this moment is clearly visible. A group stands on the club’s balustrade, a young man forms a Hitler beard with two fingers and rocks his outstretched right arm. Kinder still can’t believe it. “We just didn’t notice,” said the company’s co-operator in an interview with FOCUS online. In the panoramic video that he shows on his cell phone, the shouts of “foreigners out” to the rhythm of the song cannot be heard. In the clip, this is completely lost in the hammering of the music and the “Döp, Dö, Dö, Döp” of the crowd. Kinder knows from experience that some guests like to chant “Hamburger boys” to this.
“We are a cosmopolitan store,” emphasizes Kinder. There are people with a migration background both in management and in the workforce. At the 61st anniversary celebration of the “Pony,” they drank champagne with the punks. “That was really good,” says Kinder, remembering a sociable, diverse group. Everyone is welcome here. “We have a good relationship and no selection at the door,” he continues and shows a clear stance: “Nazi slogans are not welcome here!”
And yet this scene is now online, which has even brought Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Interior Minister Nancy Faeser and other federal politicians onto the scene. The DJ reported to him completely distraught, and employees also blamed themselves for not listening better – after almost eleven hours of work with loud music, according to Kinder. He vehemently protects them all. Even his best friend, who was active in Antifa and was present at the party, didn’t notice. “He would have been the first to go up there,” says the club operator, referring to the group’s elevated position. The panoramic video shows how no one around the group reacts.
These 15 seconds brought the “Pony” team not only the headlines but also various hate messages. “My real name is leaking,” says Kinder, shocked. That’s probably why he quickly gets involved in the conversation. However, he doesn’t want to be in the photo; he doesn’t want his face to be associated with it. The more than 5,000 messages are already bad enough: “I’m getting real threats.” That goes so far that he should be stoned. As if the clip wasn’t bad enough, completely different abysses open up here.
When Kinder looks at the panoramic video, he still wonders how they could have prevented the incident. “It could have happened anywhere,” he says resignedly. Now the team is doing its best to support the police and public prosecutor’s office. At least the reports are making it more known why the cult song is being misused by the right-wing. The club operators also considered getting involved in an anti-racist project – and doing something positive out of this catastrophe.
The nightclub team, however, receives a lot of solidarity from the surrounding businesses – at least those who are willing to talk about the incident. “We agree in the neighborhood: zero tolerance for racism,” explains Matthias from the Zimmer jewelry manufacturer. There are no two opinions: “Right-wing radical slogans are inexcusable.” Especially now, as the Basic Law is 75 years old, it must be protected and secured.
Christian from the restaurant Kaamp Meren occasionally goes drinking at “Pony”. He has never experienced right-wing slogans there or in Kampen. “If they had found out, they would have thrown the group out immediately,” he is certain. Such behavior is out of the question. With more than 100 nations on the island and the shortage of skilled workers in the catering industry, they couldn’t afford intolerance. People from Hungary, Afghanistan and Togo worked in Kaamp Meren. With such a crowd, the employees wouldn’t be able to keep an eye on everything, says Christian, defending the neighboring “pony” team. “These are three assholes who are ruining your reputation,” he fumes.