Hardly any consequences after Sylt video with racist singing

Last year, several guests at the Pony Bar in Kampen on the North Sea island of Sylt allegedly sang "Germany for the Germans - Foreigners Out!" to the party hit "L'amour toujours." This caused widespread outrage, and among other things, investigations were initiated on suspicion of incitement to hatred.

The video from the bar went viral

According to the Flensburg public prosecutor's office, the investigations against three of the four people involved have now been discontinued. Only a 26-year-old man has been "publicly charged." A request has been made to issue him with a penal order for a "waving salute" with an outstretched arm and the suggestion of a "Hitler mustache," according to the statement. The gestures can also be seen in a video from the bar that went viral at the time.

As a condition of his probation, he was required, among other things, to pay €2,500 to a charitable organization. The public prosecutor's office considers the use of symbols of unconstitutional organizations to be a crime.

Further proceedings for incitement to hatred discontinued

Proceedings against two men and one woman were dropped. The chanting of the slogans "Foreigners out! Germany for the Germans!" did not constitute the crime of incitement to hatred. After the investigation, neither the content of the slogans nor the overall circumstances allowed for the unequivocal conclusion that aggressive contempt and hostility among the population were intended to be generated or increased, it was stated. According to the highest court rulings, this would be a prerequisite for the crime of incitement to hatred.

Roaring caused nationwide consternation

The incident was captured in a video lasting just a few seconds and uploaded to social media without comment. It allegedly took place on Whit Saturday 2024 on the terrace of the well-known bar and club. A few days later, the police made the incident public. It made national headlines and sparked outrage .

Gigi D'Agostino, whose song was used, clarified that it was exclusively about love. The misuse of the song on Sylt was not an isolated incident . In the months prior, there had been repeated incidents in which Nazi slogans were shouted while singing the song – for example, in Bavaria and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania .

pg/sti (dpa, afp)