00:00My name is Erik Lierenfeld. I've been mayor of Dormagen for 11 years.
00:07I've been threatened and I faced hostility ranging all the way to death threats.
00:14I'm Gerald Lehmann, mayor of Luckow. I've also been threatened. There was a death threat.
00:20Germany's Office of Criminal Investigation received over 6,000 reports of attacks on
00:25politicians and state representatives in 2024. Many more are thought to go unreported.
00:31Many of those targeted refused to appear on camera for fear of yet more publicity.
00:35How did it come to this?
00:42Erik Lierenfeld, social democrat and mayor of Dormagen,
00:46North Rhine-Westphalia, was one of the few willing to talk to us.
00:49In 2020, officials recorded some 160 offences against local politicians in the state, 86 of
00:56which targeted Erik Lierenfeld.
01:01For many years now, we've observed a policy of zero tolerance in Dormagen, meaning without exception,
01:08every affront, threat or attack is prosecuted, because it's important for culprits to know
01:13there will be consequences.
01:15That evening, Lierenfeld heads to a naturalization ceremony in Dormagen,
01:20an uplifting occasion in his eyes. He sees it as important for new citizens to understand that
01:26democracy entails certain duties – to vote, to get involved in the community. Not everyone approves of
01:33his welcoming policies towards refugees. Some respond with open threats.
01:37When you get a death threat, that has a profound personal effect. There was so much hostility during
01:47the Covid pandemic. It made me think hard because I was just doing my job. I face so much hostility
01:54and many threats. That does something to you. You wonder if what you're doing is right.
02:00You discuss security with the police and they advise you to change your daily routines,
02:07restricting you in your own life.
02:12The state of Brandenburg in eastern Germany is a stronghold of the far-right alternative for
02:16Germany party. It's no secret that this is also a hotbed of right-wing extremists and conspiracy theorists.
02:23Gerhard Lehmann, the non-partisan mayor of Lukau, has also received death threats. What shocked him
02:36most was that he knew the man who made them.
02:41Considering that we're in a rural area where everyone knows everybody, you have to ask yourself,
02:46what's happened? How can someone say something like that? Why does someone want to convey such hatred?
02:52Increasing alienation, brutalisation, existential fear and a dangerous rise in hate speech on the
02:59internet all fan the flames of this aggressive political climate.
03:06A summer festival in Lukau, a must-attend for Mayor Lehmann. He's been the town's top official
03:12since 2010 and plans to run again. Whether the issue is a new nursing home, the fire department,
03:19or industrial parks. The mayor's job is to turn conflicting views into consensus. But if some
03:26citizens use him as a scapegoat, he needs some kind of protection.
03:33In my case, the police responded professionally and very rapidly. They issued a warning to potential
03:39troublemakers and that worked. I'm extremely grateful to the officers assigned to this case.
03:44Marcus Klein counsels Brandenburg officials who have received threats. He says police and state
03:50prosecutors need to act decisively. And citizens need to cultivate greater empathy overall.
03:56How can you actually organise solidarity? In their feedback, several local politicians said it was
04:08enormously important to them when everyone else in local government showed solidarity with them,
04:13across party lines. They said the assault on me was not just an assault on me,
04:18but on everyone and on democracy itself. He found a Brandenburg government study especially upsetting.
04:30It said nearly 40 percent of all officials elected and appointed had experienced assaults in recent
04:36years. And the sheer size of this figure is what surprised us. We can assume that the real numbers are
04:43much higher. More and more often, local politicians end up leaving office, especially when members of
04:51their families are threatened. But that's not an option for Gerhard Lehmann.
05:00Criticism can be productive, as long as it doesn't turn personal and you don't regard people holding
05:05other views as other views as enemies. You can say, yes, this person has a different opinion. I accept that,
05:12and through debate, let's find what's best for the community.
05:18Erik Lierenfeld also refuses to be intimidated. He's decided to run for office again.
05:26In the end, what's decisive is solidarity, to show we won't let enemies of democracy influence us.
05:32For that, we must stand united.
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