Greek state racism escalates with pogrom in Patras, bullets in Athens, torture in Simi

Molotov squads on every corner...should happen so these vehicles carrying fascist and police can be burned to shit.

Where are the Anarchists on the attack?

This stuff from Greece recently is insane.

Is there much widespread support from the population for the state's policies?

Like are immigrants receiving some of the blame for the financial crisis say, or some of its consequences such as unemployment?

This did make it to australian media last night(the eviction), reporters talked to one greek woman who said something along the lines of "it's about time, this has been a problem for too long, and finally the state has been forced to act!" and one of the demolition workers also drivelled some similar shit.

It'd be hard to know who's in favour of these policies. We could safely assume that no immigrant is going to be in favour. But we aren't seeing the greek media, so we don't know what people are seeing there. But then also it's likely that it all happened very quickly, seems like completely without warning, which would explain the lack of any solidarity at the site. If there'd been even a days warning we'd probably have seen the space defended.

comparing the torching of immigrant settlements by fascist gangs in Greece to the historic kristallnacht in germany is confusing a racist attack with an organised and state incited anti-semitic pogrom on a national scale. while the immigration practice of bourgoise democratic states is racist, and approved by the majority, attacks like that are still a marginalised phenomenon.

mh...certainly its all fucked up, but there is a danger to slide into alarmism ....Bear in mind that panic is an effective weapon of the spectacular society.

the Third Reich was not some metaphysical evil unique to history; it was the logical conclusion of bourgeois democracy under economic crisis defending itself from class war by turning it into racial war.

The 1,000-year pogrom is not a racial war; it's religious persecution. Jews are not a race.

Frenzy

The 1,000-year pogrom is not a racial war; it's religious persecution. Jews are not a race.

They were considered as such by the Nazis and modern anti-semitic theorists. Moreover modern anti-semitism has a number of characteristics which seperate it from medieval anti-semitism, despite requiring it as a starting point (such as an identification of the Jews with the 'abstract' elements of capitalism such as finance, an irrational belief in their power and reach etc). This is a good summary of the argument.

alright, thanks. That wasn't really a brief summary, but I looked up racial anti-semitism; and it's making more sense, now.

Thanks Taxikpali. Your contributions are invaluable.

Don't be so sure that Kristallnacht was state-sponsored. The Nazis were celebrating the anniversary of their party, the NSDAP. On every single anniversary there had been an attempt on Hitler's life. On one occasion, there were two within hours of each other.
K'nacht was catalyzed when a German, Jewish communist, Herman Greenspun, assassinated the ambassador to France. According to Goebbel's diary, the news reached the revellers followed by reports of anti-Semitic riots. Hitler, as he had done on a few occasions in the past, ordered the Gestapo to intervene in defense of the Jews. Goebbels then suggested that whoever was behind the assassination was expecting Hitler to give such an order and maybe it was best to let things run its course.
Goebbels can hardly be regarded as a great source but it is likely that the Nazis didn't know about the plot against their ambassador in Paris and it is plausible that Goebbels gave such counsel under the circumstances. So at best it should be called state-tolerated violence.

Don't be so sure that Kristallnacht was state-sponsored

So you think, up to 400 jews where killed without state-sponsoring? 1400 synagoges burnt because Hitler intervened in defense of the jewish community? 5.000 shops clashed without prior order? 30.000 jews put themselves into the nazi concentration camps after july 10? Your unhistorical speculations are as silly as they are factless. There is no Herman Greenspun for instance, you are talking of Herschel Grynszpan. He did not kill the ambassador at Paris. Ernst Eduard vom Rath was a diplomatic secretary in the ambassy, not the ambassador. You better start talking about things you know about. Otherwise you will as well end in imbecile comparisons like the one to compare Patras with the 1938 november progroms. Or even worse the attempt of some streight edge vegans to compare mass animal farming with Auschwitz.

taxi - I've slightly edited the headline and article following this discussion, and to better reflect libcom's style guide.

What is happening is clearly awful, but at least in UK discourse comparison to Nazis is often counter-productive, as it can cause some people to just switch off.

So I have reworded a couple of things, and referred to " Nazification" as a descriptive word used by critics. This also matches our style guidelines for news articles, which is that we try not to use emotive language in news articles - but we can use them when expressed as opinions or quotes within the articles. You see what I mean?

Most people find this a much more palatable way of reading news and information.

If you disagree with my edits please drop me a message so we can discuss it further.

Again, thanks for keeping us up to date with all these developments.

Echoing another posters question above, have links between anarchists and migrants been strengthened in the course of these events? What about the conventional labour movement?

some info/comment on the questions posed by Steven

have links between anarchists and migrants been strengthened in the course of these events?

There are some reports in Athens indymedia about refugees supporting anarchist actions from a distance, so to speak (shouting in support of passing demonstrations from their house windows) in Aghios Panteleimonas for instance, or about refugees confronting themselves fascists, in Attiki square. But refugees and immigrants have not joined anarchist ranks, which comes as no surprise with the scale of police targetting of immigrants, the frequency of sweep operations in the center of Athens - which are difficult for anyone to resist anyway - and the lack of previous solid and long bonds, of course... Some long existing links of comrades with street vendors have probably been strengthened.

It is true that the state is in fear of existing or potential strenthening of links between radicals and immigrants, or the radicalisation of immigrants (see also this), but this trend seems now to be clearly in the defensive, except for the sporadic anti-fascist confrontations.

Beyond the state repression preventing immigrant action and participation in anarchist actions, the focus of much of the anarchist scene in Athens seems to gradually shift to the rise and legitimation of fascist/para-state participation in the anti-immigrant events than the repression of immigrants itself. Linked to that is the preoccupation with the defence of targetted squats and the rumours of police preparing to "sweep" them – which produces introversion anyway. In some sense one gets the feeling that there is much more anti-fascist vigilance than effort to approach with the – remaining - migrants - which is perhaps reasonable but has the effect to be described below in relation with the Patras events. We have no knowledge for instance of squats in or out of “university asylum” protected premises hosting homeless refugees or anything of this sort.

[What is also important to note is that even Albanian or Polish immigrants allagedly supported the sans papiers “cleansing”of the Athens center. A very important announcement was made by the Haunt of Albanian Immigrants (http://steki-am.blogspot.com/ ) appealing to their fellow immigrants for solidarity with the targetted sans papiers and to people supporting immgirants for more practical, “everyday” forms of solidarity and approach - pity we havent had the time to translate this text in English yet].

A function of all the above is perhaps that few or no resources were channeled into organised responses against the other big, crucial and emblematic state project, the destruction of Patras Settlement, despite the circulating rumours about it and despite the fact that it would be a “one-off” operation - as it was – rather than a gradual process, as in Athens – Court of Appeals building.

What about the conventional labour movement?

What comrade taxikili notes above about the state-sanctioned labour movement (and the summer season, which applies to everyone) is true. KKE for instance made a good post factum condemnation of the Patras thing; its usefullness in the struggle is always limited by its "strategy"of not doing anything in cooperation with noone itdoesn't control.

The above were written - somehow hastingly - by sta. in Thessaloniki from clandestina network - "not-necessarily-relfecting-the-opinions-of-the-whole-group"...

Cheers for the additional information guys.

my apologies for the misspellings, [admin edit - flame deleted]. Your first question: yes. Are you suggesting that no anti-Semitism was present among the people? Your second question: no. If you were a literate bot you would see that I specified that, according to Goebbel's version of events, Hitler DIDN'T intervene, Goebbel's dissuaded him. [admin edit - flame deleted]. Your third question: What do you mean by "clashed." I'm going to guess that you mean vandalized. Yes. You are not suggesting that there has never been an outbreak of spontaneous violence in all of human history? Your fourth question: I made no statement at all about the encampment of any Jews, this is your own invention.
It's 'ahistorical,' not 'unhistorical.' I obviously was talking about things I knew about as you have confirmed. My point, minor errors notwithstanding, was that the murder in the embassy in France was the predicate for Kristallnacht. And, as you have confirmed, I am right. Hitler had written three open letters in the German press prior to K'nacht in which he denounced anti-Semitic violence and had called out the Gestapo to quell it. However obscene his distinction might be he pointed out that he was, an the Third Reich's official policy was, "intellectual anti-Semitism," which precludes the kind of "street thuggery" that Julius Streicher and other anti-Semites were calling for. It may be true that Hitler was going to do so again. Goebbel's account may be true as we know in this case there was no effort to stop the violence and no open letter from Hitler issuing subsequently.
[admin edit - flame deleted]

kovallan, please leave insults out of your posts. We have a policy of no flaming in serious threads.

I was about to express shock that something even the Red Cross condemned hasn't made the international media, but then I realised it wasn't much different regarding the Gaza massacre in January either.

Hiroshima: This certainly sounds like a state-sponsored pogrom to me, but you're right we should avoid alarmism

were are the anarchists in all this?