Eastern Germany A Hotspot For Attacks Against Refugees

Berlin (AFP) - A record influx of refugees to Germany has cast an ugly spotlight on its formerly communist east, which has been rocked by a disproportionate wave of racist protests and hate crimes.Small towns such as Heidenau and Freital have earned nationwide notoriety as neo-Nazis and angry residents have hurled abuse at people fleeing war and misery -- and rocks at police sent to protect those seeking a safe haven.Arson attacks against refugee shelters, and swastikas scrawled on their walls, have brought back dark memories of xenophobic violence that flared at the time of Germany's reunification a quarter-century ago.In the turbulent early 1990s -- when East Germans got their first taste of democracy, but also faced economic collapse and uncertainty -- the frustration exploded in sometimes deadly mob attacks against asylum shelters.Leaders of the five eastern states have this week insisted that the resurgence of racist violence has hit all areas of Germany, not just theirs, as Europe's top economy expects a record 800,000 asylum requests this year.They have cautioned against "stigmatising" the east, which despite a multi-billion-euro infrastructure overhaul still lags the former West in wealth, jobs and opportunities more than 25 years after the Berlin Wall fell.In the far-right hotspot state of Saxony, the upsurge of violence now threatens "an economic disaster if hatred of foreigners destroys the image of a Saxony that is modern and open to the world," its economy minister Martin Dulig warned on Wednesday.- 'No east-west conflict' -Chancellor Angela Merkel -- who grew up in the East -- has vowed "no tolerance" against racists, but she ducked the regional question Monday by saying: "I don't want to turn this into an east-west conflict."The data, however, has painted a disturbing picture -- of all racist attacks recorded by the government last year, 47 percent were in the east, home to just 17 percent of Germany's population.And of the 202 known violent attacks against refugee shelters in the first half of this year, 42 took place in Saxony alone.Saxony's state capital Dresden was also the birthplace of the far-right PEGIDA movement, short for "Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the Occident", whose flag-waving marches peaked at 25,000 people early this year.The anti-immigration movement only fizzled after its founder Lutz Bachmann posted pictures of himself sporting a Hitler moustache and hair-do on Facebook, sparking media outrage and a leadership split."For months now, Saxony has been the most unpleasant German state.