Flags and symbols at corona demos – first bans coming soon?

adminonJuly 20, 2022Leave a Comment

In late August, shocking images went viral of hoisted Imperial flags before the German Bundestag around the world. But what do the individual flags and symbols mean, the Right-wing extremist on the Anti-Corona-Demos wear? What is and is not allowed in Germany?

Clearly Banned by German lawmakers are known to be all flags and symbols that have the Third Reich in connection. This includes, in addition to the Swastika as flag and as symbol about SS and SA insignia, the Hitler salute and slogans like "Sieg Heil!" or "Blood and honor".

Anti-trafficking emblems – you could be imprisoned for three years

The wearing of this Anti-catching emblems can be associated with up to three years imprisonment be punished. This also applies to easily modified swastikas or salutes – and for the distinctive signs of groups and organizations banned in Germany, such as the "Wehrsportgruppe Hoffmann".

In contrast, the flags and symbols of the German Empire until now basically allowed. And this despite the fact that these have already been in use since the Weimar Republic used as an expression of the past regime by right-wing extremist groups. Since 1945, they have consequently also served as "fallback" flags in the German right-wing extremist spectrum.

But in the meantime Bremen and Bavaria announced, the showing of the Imperial war flag punishable in public. Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer (CSU) wants to put the ie on the agenda at the conference of interior ministers in December – "with the aim of a uniform approach throughout Germany". Which flags do right-wing extremists use and what is the current legal situation?? An overview.

1. Allowed and worn flags:

Imperial flag with or without imperial eagle emblem: The black-white-red flag was the flag for warships and merchant ships of the North German Confederation from 1867 to 1871, and functioned as the state flag of the German Empire from 1871 to 1918. After World War I, it continued to exist in the Weimar Republic until 1933 in addition to the official colors black-red-gold, for example in the war and trade flag. Until 1935, in addition to the swastika, it was also officially valid in the Third Reich. Black and white stand for Prussia, the red for the Hanseatic cities.

Imperial War Flag in black-white-red with eagle and Iron Cross in different variations, but without swastika: From the imperial war flag exist a total of seven versions. Waving all variants without the swastika is allowed. Reich war flags, however, can be confiscated by police under Verfangsschutz law if their use endangers public safety and order. The Imperial War Flag was created in 1867 for the Navy of the North German Confederation and was the official war flag of the German Armed Forces from 1871 to 1945. Service flag of the Foreign Office/Reichskolonialamt: Imperial eagle on black-white-red in a circular white center field. From 1892 on flag of the Foreign Office, from 1907 also of the Imperial Colonial Office. Flag of Prussia: Black-White-Black with Prussian heraldic eagle. From 1701 to 1918, the flag of the Kingdom of Prussia, the dominant German constituent state in the Empire and later (as a Free State) in the Weimar Republic. King's/emperor's flag of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation with double-headed eagle: Black eagle on yellow background. Exclusive symbol of the Roman-German emperor as well as German king from 1400 to 1806. During this period, however, also perceived as the entire imperial coat of arms.

2. Permitted and worn symbols:

Iron Cross: Since its foundation in 1813 in the wars of liberation a Prussian, later by the Nazis all-German war award. It is still the emblem of the German armed forces today, but is also used in rocker circles and in the right-wing extremism scene as a symbol of opinion. Commentary:
Attack on the Bundestag: The thin line to chaosQAnon symbolism: Q in different variations. Sign of a probably U.S. group of people who since 2017 spread conspiracy theories over the Internet with mostly right-wing extremist background. In their worldview, U.S. President Donald Trump is fighting a so-called "Deep State" in which politicians and Hollywood actors are accused of being part of an international child molester ring.

3. Other characteristics:

Whether a symbol used in the right-wing extremist milieu is banned in Germany depends to a large extent on whether it is an identifying symbol clearly used during the National Socialist era or whether it is associated with a grouping banned in Germany. If it is used in other areas of society (such as esoteric movements), it is usually not forbidden.

The Triskele (three-armed swastika), Wolfsangel and Odal rune, for example, are only punishable in connection with banned and right-wing extremist organizations.

Not punishable, because also in other social areas used, are however for example black sun (twelve-armed swastika), Thorshammer, Wotansknoten, cogwheel and Elhaz Rune.

When hospitals need to treat more people than capacity allows, so-called triage occurs
This is what it means for doctors to decide who gets treated – and who doesn't
This decision can follow also already before the admission into the hospital, for example if patients from nursing homes are not transferred
In the Corona pandemic, this could mean that infected patients, for example, cannot be ventilated – and may die

Patient advocates are alarmed: The average age at the Intensive care units has meanwhile fallen to below 60 years in some cases. But the proportion of people over 70 who die from or with covid-19 is more than 90 percent. "This contradiction is worrying," Eugen Brysch, chairman of the German Patient Protection Foundation, told our editorial team.

The member of the Bundestag Corinna Ruffer has possibly a dramatic explanation for it. "For me, there is therefore the suspicion that people from nursing homes do not get a chance to receive intensive medical treatment because they are sorted out from the outset," the Green politician told Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND).

You might also be interested in this: Corona: what we really know about the virus mutation

Triage in nursing homes? Politician calls for clarification

"If that's true, it would basically mean that pre-triage takes place in facilities," Ruffer said. This must be investigated and made public debates will.

The politician is even of Individual cases been reported in which relatives were urged by the facility to forgo hospitalization.

Also Patient protectors call for clarification of why so many very elderly and nursing home residents do not reach the hospitals in the first place.

Patient protectors: Daily statistics necessary

There are only observations, but no reliable data, on the locations of deaths, he said. "The Federal Minister of Health must finally be the Robert Koch Institutemandate to publish daily statistics on this," says Brysch.

Even the SPD health expert Karl Lauterbach According to critical care physicians and nursing directors, many patients who contract Covid-19 now die in their facilities or in regular wards.

However, the medical expert does not ame "that there are hidden Rationing plays a role, for example to relieve the intensive care units." Many people in need of care would refuse prolonged life-sustaining measures by living will.

Ruffer told RND, however, that this does not explain the high number of those who are not on Intensive care units die.

Disaster officials don't anticipate triage situation in hospitals

The German Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance does not foresee a situation in which physicians will be able to help with access to ventilators have to decide between patients.

President Armin Schuster warned against Scaremongering. "Contrary to some media reports, there are no triages in a German hospital," Schuster told Friday's edition of the "Rheinische Post" and Bonn's "General-Anzeiger" newspaper.

In a Pandemic Resources in hospitals such as ventilators may be in short supply. If these devices must be distributed to patients, one calls this distribution system after fixed criteria Triage. The word comes from the French verb "trier," which means "to sort" or "to also".

U.S. researchers have developed a possible approach to storing donor organs for longer, dpa reports. In the laboratory, they succeeded in gently deep-freezing animal tie parts using a special process and then reheating them just as gently and at lightning speed by means of magnetic nanoparticles in an induction field.

This could open up the possibility of storing ties and organs for the long term at some point, writes the team led by Navid Manuchehrabadi of the University of Minnesota in the journal Science Tranlational Medicine. Until now, donor organs have often had to be transplanted within hours because otherwise they are no longer functional. However, according to a German expert, it will probably be decades before the new system is ready for use.

The super-fast cooling process called vitrification has been possible for some time now. Water is removed from the cells and replaced with a cryoprotectant. This is to prevent ice crystals from forming during freezing, which would damage the tie. The process is also used for egg freezing.

The problem with organs has so far been the thawing process. It has to be done quickly and evenly so that tie is not damaged and remains functional. So far, this has only been possible on a very small scale.

Now the researchers have achieved success by introducing nanoparticles of iron oxide together with the cryoprotective agent into the tie prior to freezing. They were able to heat the particles evenly and quickly with the help of electromagnetic waves. The tie could be warmed by 100 to 200 degrees in a minute by this method. This was 10 to 100 times faster than previous methods, the researchers write.

In the 1 to 50 millimeter biological samples – including skin connective tie cells, pieces of an artery and a heart valve from a pig – a subsequent examination showed no changes in the ties. The nanoparticles could be washed out later without leaving any residue, the researchers report.

"But now the whole thing has to succeed at a higher level," co-author John Bischof emphasized in a conference call. Larger, human organs also require adapted solutions in order to freeze them intact and also to distribute the cryoprotective liquid with the iron oxide particles sufficiently.

Co-author Kelvin Brockbanck estimates that it will take seven to ten years before these problems are solved and organ banks are conceivable. Currently, hearts and lungs can be stored for about four hours, livers and pancreases for up to 12 hours and kidneys for up to 36 hours. In the U.S., according to the study, 60 percent of donor hearts and lungs are thrown away because they can't get to a recipient in time.

For Germany, however, the situation is different, emphasizes Jan Gummert (Bochum University Hospital), a heart surgeon and member of the board of the German Transplantation Society. "We don't even have enough donor organs for an organ bank. Five to ten recipients are waiting for each organ."The proportion of donor organs that would not be used would be in the per mille range. In fact, the German Organ Donation Foundation reported a low in organ donations in January.

Currently, organ freezing is not yet helping, Gummert says. "If donor organs were abundant – for example, through xenotransplants – then such a method would be useful in everyday clinical practice." Xenografts are organs grown in animals that are then implanted in humans. But it is not yet an established technology.

Gummert still sees many unanswered questions about the U.S. researchers' new storage technique. "About whether the solution can also be injected into complex organs."The transplantation expert estimates that it will take decades of research before such a procedure becomes a reality. Nevertheless, the nanoparticle project is fundamentally exciting and has great potential for other areas as well.

The U.S. researchers believe it is also possible to use induction heating in cancer medicine. Prerequisite: the nanoparticles would have to be introduced specifically into tumor cells. This could destroy the cancer cells. Similar procedures are already being tested – years ago, Charite researcher Andreas Jordan made such an approach known in the fight against brain tumors. However, according to the German Cancer Research Center, selective hyperthermia with nanoparticles is not yet particularly widespread.

Anti-trafficking emblems – you could be imprisoned for three years

1. Allowed and worn flags:

2. Permitted and worn symbols:

3. Other characteristics:

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