Berlin
– Berlin-based, neo-Nazi group has been active on Facebook recently, under the
name “Berlin Autonomous Nationalists” (Autonome Nationalisten Berlin).
On
New Year’s Eve the group posted a status update entitled “Guten Rutsch – NEIN
Danke!” meaning “Happy New Year – NO Thanks!”, in reference to the customary
“Guten Rutsch” New Year greeting in Germany and Austria.
The
neo-Nazi group states at length that it is a “disgrace” that this phrase is
being used in Germany to convey well wishes, as the expression “has Jewish
origins and nothing to do with German culture” and its use must “finally be put
a stop to”.
The
theory that the phrase “Guten Rutsch” stems from the Jewish New Year festival
of Rosh Hashanah is widely debunked.
