They were socialists punks & goths from east germany who would regularly get in fights with reactionaries in their youth??? I genuinely did not see this coming. Maybe it would have been obvious if I spoke german but I don't and I am shocked. Genuinely expected chud behavior
Don't get too excited cuz the members of Rammstein had some allegations not that long ago about sexual stuff. But yes Rammstein has never been a Nazi band. The song "Links" which means "Left" is kind of about this. Tons of their songs and imagery and music videos and concert stuff also are like...gay sadomasochism stuff. Watch the music video for Mein Teil (which means "my part" which is slang for "my dick") or the music video for Sonne or watch some of their concert footage where they have like a giant dick that they use to spray faux jizz all over the audience. They're not like Nazi Germans they're like the weirdo sex Germans.
As a card-carrying weirdo sex German, i object to being compared to Rammstein.
But yes, it shouldn't surprise anybody that people who spent their youth as punks and goths in East Germany regularly got into fights with nazi skins, the fash basically tried to conquer that place immediately after the DDR fell and that has always included lots of street violence. Basically every leftist space there has been won by punching nazis in the face until they mostly gave up on the area, and after more than 30 years of fascist organizing and downright settlement policies, and tons of leftist or just not-fascist people moving away from dying towns ravaged by neoliberal shock treatment, there aren't many of these places left.
I have never considered how this might be the case. Is there anything written about it? Sounds like an interesting rabbit hole if there's ever been a deliberate effort and any similarities to like west bank shit or whatever.
The modus operandi is less West Bank and more cult compound, or just large parts of the nazi scene in a Western city buying cheap, abandoned houses in an almost-ghost town in the East. I can dig up sources, but i don't know anything in English about this.
I mean, that's not really that dissimilar. Difference is they're not literally stealing the houses. So what they take over an area with small numbers of people an impose their cultural presence on the local area then move on to do it again elsewhere? Can probably do that with 15-30 people in areas with up to a few thousand.
I actually saw rammstein in concert (part of the family values tour) and while haven't seen many live shows, it was easily the most unforgettable show I've ever seen anybody put on.
I still remember:
Lead singer comes out for the opener with a laser eye and a metal jacket they then set on fire.
Missile launcher shot over the crowd
Laser show
Simulated gay sex with giant flashing robot strap-on
Same strap-on then sprayed water over the crowd (a blessedly cool relief in the pit honestly)
I'll never forget 'em
Same. Was first big concert. I thought he was peeing at first and then my buddy was like no and I was like ohhhhhh
Great time.