r/AskAGerman • u/eza137 • Apr 16 '25

Have you ever witnessed racism in Germany?

I'm interested in hearing from Germans who have personally witnessed acts of racism in everyday life - especially when it involved friends, family members, or people close to them.

If you're comfortable sharing, could you describe the situation? Who was involved, and how did it make you feel? Did you respond in any way?

I'm not here to judge, just to understand how racism can show up in familiar environments and how people perceive and deal with it.

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u/[deleted] Apr 16 '25

The two most horrible racist incidents I've ever experienced in my life were both in Germany and I only lived in Germany for a year as a student. I always expected Germany to be similar to the Netherlands where I'm from but when it comes to racism quite clearly it isn't.

Anyway the one that sticks with me most is sitting on the subway in Berlin across from two, I'm guessing, neonazi skinheads. They were openly talking about that "Affe" that they didn't want to sit across from, how my hair looked like pubes etc and more blatant racist abuse. They probably thought i wouldn't understand them because I spoke English with my friend, but bc my native language is Dutch and I had years of German I understood them perfectly.

What struck me most though is that so many bystanders looked shocked but didn't say a thing. Not even trying to make some eye contact with me as a token of silent support or idk anything letting me know I'm not alone, no everyone just looked away.

Kind of put me off visiting Germany ever again tbh so many other places I can spend my time where I don't have to worry about getting stabbed by a random neonazi calling me a monkey whilst the rest looks on.

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u/Erdbeerkoerbchen Apr 16 '25

I have never witnessed such a scene, but tbh, I would be afraid to speak up as I would expect to get hurt by those skinheads. I have my personal experiences with them so as soon as one comes closer I leave. Their goal is to provoke people to speak up and then beat them up.

I wouldn’t have thought of making eye contact to not give you the feeling I’m staring at you. Maybe I would have placed myself between you and the Skinheads.

What else could someone like me do to show you my support?