Young people in Germany are leaning more towards right-wing ideologies, and a reworked eurodance rave song advocating for the deportation of foreigners is gaining traction as an unexpected youth anthem, prompting the political police to step in.
Over the past year, German politicians and media have repeatedly expressed outrage as videos of young people dancing to a song with lyrics such as “Deutschland den Deutschen, Ausländer Raus” (‘Germany for the Germans, foreigners out’) have surfaced. The latest incident, triggering renewed criticism, comes from an exclusive nightclub on the German island of Sylt.
Social media footage circulating this week shows young men and women energetically dancing, laughing, and raising their arms. The media is debating whether the gestures are simply part of the dance moves or potentially ‘Hitler salutes’.
Germany’s federal security police, which typically focuses on terrorism and international crime gangs, is investigating the young people captured in the video, according to reports from Die Welt. Ferda Ataman, a German journalist and “diversity consultant” who became the government’s Federal Commissioner for Anti-Discrimination in 2022, stated that the song reflects underlying discrimination and degradation.
Ataman described the song as “pure racism, which is increasingly ingraining itself in all social groups and age groups and is being openly expressed.”
The Sylt video is just one of many instances of the Ausländer Raus song making an appearance among young Germans recently. German broadcaster Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR) has noted that clips of the song being sung have surfaced repeatedly at discos and festivals throughout the country.
The song is not an original work but is based on modified lyrics added to a popular nightclub hit, DJ Gigi D’Agostino’s L’amour toujours, released in 2000. The electronic dance music (EDM) track became a favorite among European DJs, and a remix reached number one in Germany in 2018. Due to its association with right-wing politics, some nightclub owners and DJs have vowed not to play the song, BR reports.
Despite the potential legal consequences, it appears that young Germans are increasingly shifting to right-wing ideologies. Previously, support for Germany’s pro-border control, anti-Islamification party, Alternative for Germany (AfD), was primarily seen among the middle-aged, with minimal interest from the younger demographic. However, recent data indicates a decline in support for left-wing parties among young Germans, with growing support for right-wing parties.
In April, a major study highlighted that the AfD had become the preferred party for 14-to-29-year-olds, with its support more than doubling over two years. This shift was attributed to growing pessimism among young people, as noted by mainstream German outlets at the time. Professor Klaus Hurrelmann commented on the findings, stating: “We can speak of a clear shift to the right among the young population… While the parties of the [coalition] government continue to fall in popularity, the AfD is particularly popular.”
Hurrelmann added: “We have a crumbling optimism about the future among the younger generation. The feeling of mental overload is very high, with fears about the spread of wars, economic losses, and debt.”
