Berlin (epd). The President of the Federal Agency for Civic Education, Thomas Krüger, fears that many projects against right-wing extremism in East Germany will come to an end. Under certain circumstances, such projects could no longer be continued if the resources were insufficient, Krüger told the “Tagesspiegel” (Monday, online).
According to Krüger, one of the main areas at risk is the “Talking to one another” program, which is part of the right-wing extremism action program and has a focus on East Germany. The Federal Center is trying “to cooperate with local multipliers in order to compensate for the lack of infrastructure, especially in rural areas,” said Krüger.
According to the budget draft by Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD), the budget of the federal center is to be reduced by 20 million euros. From the current figure of around 96 million euros, only around 76 million euros would then be available in the coming year.
It is always a matter of discretion how much one wants to do for civic education, said the head of the Federal Agency: “But especially in the context of the overlapping of various crises and conflicts, civic education plays a not insignificant role.”
One focus of his own work is to make people more resilient to the populist attacks of the AfD and those around them. In addition, the educational projects dealt with the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the urban-rural conflict, the socio-ecological reforms in Germany and growing polarization. “Wherever there is a dispute, we are there,” said Krüger.