Jamel rocks the forester: Festival against right-wing extremism despite the storm

Due to storms, the rock festival “Jamel rocks the Förster” took place a day later than planned and shortened. Six rock and punk bands from all over Germany performed in front of 2,500 spectators in the small village of Jamel near Wismar in northwest Mecklenburg to take a stand against right-wing extremism.

The rainy weather presented a particular challenge this year, admitted Markus Ameln, honorary meeting leader from the co-organizer German Trade Union Confederation. The day before, the concert had to be canceled after it rained for six hours and the festival grounds were so waterlogged that the trucks couldn't bring the sound equipment to the stage.

“We got the problems with the mud under control today; we distributed a lot of bark mulch,” said Ameln. In addition, mats were laid out to give spectators relatively safe access to the concerts. It was still muddy, but the visitors took it calmly: either in rubber boots or sometimes even barefoot, they braved the rain, which kept coming at least briefly at the start of the concerts.

The first group to start was the Schuman Band - a project by Rainer Schumann, the drummer from Fury in the Slaughterhouse. Highlights included Soffie and your cousin.

Festival against right-wing extremism

According to the organizers, “Jamel rocks the forester” is not just about good music. With the festival, which has been held since 2007, the organizers Birgit and Horst Lohmeyer also want to make a political statement against right-wing extremism. It is a counter-event to efforts by local neo-Nazis to transform the village of Jamel into a model right-wing extremist community.

This year, the Lohmeyers awarded the European School Rövershagen near Rostock with the Democracy Prize. The school has been running a war graves working group (AG) for years, which also deals with the fate of the victims of National Socialism. In the schoolyard, the AG built a freight wagon as a memorial, the same one that was used to transport Jews and other victims of Nazi persecution to the concentration camps.

The concerts are also flanked by political workshops and information stands. Shortly before the state elections, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig also came by in the evening. Schwesig is the festival's patron. “Your home is our home,” she addressed the Lohmeyer couple. Together we shouldn't give space to right-wing radicalism, she demanded from the audience and received applause.

The spectacle attracts thousands of visitors every year. This year the tickets had to be raffled off - also because prominent musicians are taking part. In the past, Herbert Grönemeyer, Campino von den Toten Hosen, Die Ärzte, Fettes Brot and Deichkind have appeared, among others. The organizers traditionally keep the names of the musicians and bands performing secret until the start.