Who are we and what drives us?

We are a small group of politically interested people who, in discussing the extent to which society is shifting politically to the left or right, have come across contradictory statements on the internet. We therefore decided to carry out our own measurements.

The people behind this website live in various locations across Germany, from the north to the south. The main contact person for this website comes from Oberweißbach, a small town near the Rennsteig on the heights of the Thuringian Forest. Since Thuringia is a state steeped in history that has experienced many different political events, we felt it was fitting to write about political developments here. However, the core of our website is the continuous measurement of people's political attitudes.

Our inspiration: Thuringia

Thuringia was first mentioned around 390 in Flavius Vegetius Renatus' work Digesta Artis Mulomedicinae because of its horses, which were particularly suitable for use in warfare. In 1263, the Thuringian Empire was divided after the Thuringian-Hessian War of Succession, and the state of Hesse was separated from Thuringia. This is why, for example, the coat of arms of Hesse still resembles that of Thuringia today. Thuringia was then increasingly divided into individual states. Oberweißbach, first mentioned in 1370, was sold to the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt in 1600. Martin Luther translated the Bible into German at Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, and Thuringia became a centre of the Reformation.

In 1642, compulsory schooling was introduced for the first time worldwide in the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha, and in 1837, Friedrich Fröbel, who was born in Oberweißbach, established the first kindergarten in Bad Blankenburg in the Principality of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. In 1817, the black, red and gold flag of Germany was flown for the first time at the Wartburg Festival. In 1918, Prince Günther Victor von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt abdicated and the country became a republic, the Free State of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt. In 1919, the Constituent National Assembly of the Weimar Republic met for the first time in Weimar, and the constitution of the Weimar Republic was then signed by Friedrich Ebert in Schwarzburg. In 1990, the state of Thuringia, which had been dissolved in 1952, was re-established in almost its historical form as the Free State of Thuringia, with the exception of the northern parts in the Sangerhausen, Artern, Nebra and Naumburg areas.

Political extremes in Thuringia

Thuringia is a place with many historically significant events. But Thuringia is also a place of extreme political currents. Especially in the 1990s, during the baseball bat years, Thuringia was marked by politically motivated crimes of left-wing and right-wing extremism. But even after that, various left-wing and right-wing extremist groups formed and committed politically motivated crimes.

The members of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), Beate Zschäpe, Uwe Mundlos and Uwe Böhnhardt, were born and raised in Jena, Thuringia. They were active throughout Germany for political reasons. They killed nine migrants and a police officer, committed 43 attempted murders, three bomb attacks and 15 robberies.

Lina Engel, a member of the Hammerbande, studied at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and wrote her bachelor's thesis on dealing with right-wing extremism in youth work, using the example of the NSU in the youth club in Jena. The Hammerbande carried out six politically motivated attacks in Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. Lina Engel was sentenced to five years in prison for attempted manslaughter, among other things. Maja Trux, who is facing charges of grievous bodily harm in Hungary, was born in Jena. She is considered to be part of the Hammerbande's circle. She was involved in an attack on right-wing extremists attending a memorial event in Budapest, Hungary, in which six people were injured, some seriously.

Michèle Kiesewetter, a police officer shot dead by the NSU in Heilbronn, was born and raised in Oberweißbach.

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