The EU report "European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia" shows a shocking increase in right-wing trends in Germany. Political education (citizenship education) is trying to counter this with projects.

(InfoNet - Johannes Schillo) The "right-wing threat", or the increase in racist, nationalist and radical right-wing tendencies, is spreading concerns in nearly all European countries. Founded in 1998, the European Monitoring Centre for Racism and Xenophobia EUMC presented a report at the end of 2005 which provides the first comprehensive overview of development in the 25 EU member states and the counter measures that have been introduced (www.eumc.eu.int). Alarmingly high values were reported for Germany, a fact which the national authorities confirmed again in summer 2006. The EU report spoke of 6,474 racist incidents. The German "Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution", the institution set up to control extremist tendencies, recorded 15,361 right-wing extremist criminal offences for the year 2005, which in comparison with the previous year signifies an increase of 27.5 per cent. As noted by political experts, right-wing extremism has been increasingly coming to the fore since the reunification of Germany - and is challenging democracy.

Since the start of the West German Republic and since re-education was ordered for post-fascist Germany by the Allies, the subject has always played an important role in the subject of political education, contributing significantly towards the foundation of a system of political education for youths and adults outside of schools. In the other German state, the GDR, anti-fascism was also an important issue and was linked to the heritage of the resistance which originated from the workers´ parties. However, if you take stock of Germany as a whole, it must be noted that: "Education after Auschwitz" did not lead to a sustained success" (Adorno). In the year 2000 following increases in attacks and violent crimes, Chancellor Schrіder felt compelled to reinforce the fight against right-wing tendencies; he even called for a "Revolt of the decent", in other words a civil social uprising.

In its November 2005 agreement, the currently ruling Grand Coalition was united in continuing the fight against the right-wing. For democratic education work in the form that it is carried out in youth and adult education institutions outside schools, this signifies political backing. It is supported with programmes from the "Federal Office for Political Education" (www.bpb.de) and the "Federal Ministry for Families and Senior Citizens, Women and Young People" (www.bmfsfj.de). In 2001, the Ministry for Families staged a campaign programme entitled "Youth for Tolerance and Democracy - against right-wing extremism, xenophobia and anti-Semitism", with a sub-programme entitled "Entimon" which was specially targeted at political education outside of schools. The campaign programme ends in 2006 and is to be continued from 2007 with a new programme.

Political education faces two challenges above all. First of all, it must engage itself in ensuring that political views are really translated in programmes that support and advance the concrete education practice, and this times when savings are being made in the areas of education and in particular continuing education. Secondly, it must make it clear that right-wing extremism problems are not only an issue to be dealt with by the police and legal measures but that informative, antiracist and antifascist education work is needed here. The involvement of civil social education initiatives that are amalgamated in Germany in the Federal Committee for Political Education is of crucial importance here (www.bap-politischebildung.de).