Government Programs Germany

In the back yard of this city's newest youth club, 21-year-old Rene is thumbing through a crude neo-Nazi newsletter with unabashed enthusiasm. He glances up long enough to smirk and hurl racial insults toward the cluster of apartment buildings visible through the fence, just inside Poland. The invective is hardly surprising, coming as it does from a skinhead. The difference here, though, is that Rene has recently been put on the government payroll as a part-time youth counselor at the club.

With right-wing crimes rising 40% last year and nearly half of German youths brooding over the presence of foreigners in their country, authorities have recognized that they need to do more than urge those attracted to neo-Nazi circles to "just say nein." The federal ministers for police and social affairs launched ambitious programs this week to lure disgruntled youths away from the radical right.

With right-wing crimes rising 40% last year and nearly half of German youths brooding over the presence of foreigners in their country, authorities have recognized that they need to do more than urge those attracted to neo-Nazi circles to "just say nein." The federal ministers for police and social affairs launched ambitious programs this week to lure disgruntled youths away from the radical right.

In the back yard of this city's newest youth club, 21-year-old Rene is thumbing through a crude neo-Nazi newsletter with unabashed enthusiasm. He glances up long enough to smirk and hurl racial insults toward the cluster of apartment buildings visible through the fence, just inside Poland. The invective is hardly surprising, coming as it does from a skinhead. The difference here, though, is that Rene has recently been put on the government payroll as a part-time youth counselor at the club.