Hanover Schools Call for ‘Star March’ Against Right-Wing

According to Nius, students from several local gymnasiums in the Lower Saxony capital are being called to gather at the city’s Opera Square on June 12 for a demonstration billed as supporting “our future” and “for democracy.” The event will feature a greeting from the mayor, student contributions, music, cultural performances, information stands from various organizations, and a panel discussion with candidates and representatives from what organizers term “democratic parties.”

Exactly which party representatives will attend remains unclear, as both the city and the Lower Saxony Ministry of Culture have not responded to inquiries on this point. However, a letter from Matthias Brautlecht, principal of Wilhelm Raabe Gymnasium, makes clear which political forces are being targeted. The letter states that the occasion for the event lies not only in the election results and public presence of what it calls “a right-wing extremist party,” but also in the increasing visibility of intolerant positions in social debates.

The school document goes further, citing political scientists who interpret the “worldwide shift to the right” primarily as a rebellion against so-called education elites, adding that universities and schools are particularly affected by this phenomenon.

The political activism will not be confined to the demonstration itself. School time is explicitly designated for thematic preparation, including the creation of posters and banners. After verification of legal age, classes and courses from grades eight through ten will walk with teachers to the town hall square before proceeding to Opera Square, where a central rally against hate and right-wing extremism is scheduled for around noon, featuring what organizers promise will be a diverse, informative and cultural program.

Kaiser Wilhelm and Ratsgymnasium Hannover has also informed its students about the event. A message from early May describes it simply as a star march planned by student councils from several Hannover gymnasiums as a joint action for democracy. Students in grades eight through twelve may participate, but the arrangement for those who decline is telling. Those who do not wish to participate must write a reflection essay on the topic of democracy during school hours, according to the school notice. Here too, regular class time is to be used for content preparation.

A mother of an affected student has spoken out anonymously to Nius, criticizing the planned event. She expressed the impression that the school feels virtually compelled to go along with the march. She finds it intolerable that children are given only the option of either marching or writing an essay. Above all, she fears stigmatization for those who do not wish to participate. In her daughter’s class, no one has shown great interest in the event so far, she reports, yet she knows of no child who will not march on the day in question.

Which other schools will participate in the June march remains unclear. Of all the gymnasiums and secondary schools contacted, only Heisterberg School responded, conveying that it unfortunately cannot participate for organizational reasons. However, school principal Jessica Schwarz added that under different circumstances, she and her colleagues would have considered participation in this year’s star march extremely important, given that their school is attended by students from a multitude of different countries of origin, religions and cultures, and they are engaged as a “School Without Racism – School With Courage.”

This is not the first time in recent memory that Lower Saxony schools have attracted attention for political bias. At the gymnasium in Walsrode late last year, a teacher called for violence against political dissenters. At Hannah Arendt Gymnasium in Barsinghausen, the group “Grandmothers Against the Right” organized a reading with left-wing activist Jakob Springfeld.

With information from Nius