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Back in the 1970s, during the heyday of far-left terrorist groups, it was quite common for foreign tourists to be shocked at soldiers patrolling with guns in Ge

Back in the 1970s, during the heyday of far-left terrorist groups, it was quite common for foreign tourists to be shocked at soldiers patrolling with guns in Germany or Italy. There may have been a lull in such things in the following decades, but what you saw is not particularly unprecedented historically and I wouldn’t be too concerned.

zwaps 8y ago
Soldiers, patrolling with guns, in Germany... Are you sure?
- mmPzf 8y ago
  To add some context, the German constitution states that the German military may not operate within German borders (with some exceptions, e.g. disaster relief during natural disasters). Seeing armed soldiers would be very out of the ordinary.
  - Mediterraneo10 8y ago
    I do not mean soldiers sensu stricto (German army) but Bundepolizei with heavy weaponry.
- Mediterraneo10 8y ago
  Yes, I am sure inasmuch as I have heard this vividly recalled by relatives who frequently visited Germany in the 1970s. But if my anecdotal account isn’t enough, do a Google search or Google Books search for e.g. "frankfurt airport machine gun" and you will see this made an impression on other foreign visitors to Germany in years and decades past.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- reshie 8y ago
  probably police in tactical gear and AR's.
mistermann 8y ago
> what you saw is not particularly unprecedented historically and I wouldn’t be too concerned. Are you saying we shouldn't be concerned about anything provided it has historical precedent, or do you have other reasons for not being concerned about an increase in soldiers patrolling with guns?
acqq 8y ago
"Leftist"? As in these examples? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest_bombing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest_bombing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rome_and_Vienna_airport_attacks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rome_and_Vienna_airport_a...
- Mediterraneo10 8y ago
  Even if high security was around for those later events, it was the Bader-Meinhof Group that really set Germany off to begin with. And as abhorrent as the Bader-Meinhof Group was to the majority of people on the left, its members still identified themselves as left (they definitely didn’t see themselves as on the right), and so “far-left” is a fair tag. The same is true for some of the Italian movements from the same era.

zwaps 8y ago

Soldiers, patrolling with guns, in Germany... Are you sure?

mmPzf 8y ago
To add some context, the German constitution states that the German military may not operate within German borders (with some exceptions, e.g. disaster relief during natural disasters). Seeing armed soldiers would be very out of the ordinary.
- Mediterraneo10 8y ago
  I do not mean soldiers sensu stricto (German army) but Bundepolizei with heavy weaponry.
Mediterraneo10 8y ago
Yes, I am sure inasmuch as I have heard this vividly recalled by relatives who frequently visited Germany in the 1970s. But if my anecdotal account isn’t enough, do a Google search or Google Books search for e.g. "frankfurt airport machine gun" and you will see this made an impression on other foreign visitors to Germany in years and decades past.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
reshie 8y ago
probably police in tactical gear and AR's.

mistermann 8y ago

> what you saw is not particularly unprecedented historically and I wouldn’t be too concerned. Are you saying we shouldn't be concerned about anything provided it has historical precedent, or do you have other reasons for not being concerned about an increase in soldiers patrolling with guns?

acqq 8y ago

"Leftist"? As in these examples? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Munich_massacre https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest_bombing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oktoberfest_bombing https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rome_and_Vienna_airport_attacks https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1985_Rome_and_Vienna_airport_a...

Mediterraneo10 8y ago
Even if high security was around for those later events, it was the Bader-Meinhof Group that really set Germany off to begin with. And as abhorrent as the Bader-Meinhof Group was to the majority of people on the left, its members still identified themselves as left (they definitely didn’t see themselves as on the right), and so “far-left” is a fair tag. The same is true for some of the Italian movements from the same era.