“Lateral thinkers” are leaving their family center in Ahrweiler, which has been badly affected by the flooding. They see themselves as victims, conspiracy stories spread.
Ahrweiler – In Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler in Rhineland-Palatinate, which was particularly hard hit by the flooding, the police cleared the primary school used by a group of “lateral thinkers”. Previously, the city administration asked them to evacuate, it said. The State Office for Social Affairs, Youth and Welfare had the so-called family center closed a long time ago. It was run by the association “Initiative Parents Stand Up”, a group of opponents of the Corona measures.
Police and the Office for the Protection of the Constitution have been closely monitoring the work of the “lateral thinkers” since the flood began, said the Koblenz police vice-president Jürgen Süs. “Under the guise of willingness to help, conspiratorial ideas were disseminated here and the measures taken by the emergency services and the police were discredited.” This has fueled additional fears in the already severely affected population.
Ahrweiler: Authorities continue to monitor “lateral thinkers” in the flood area
“Even after the unconventional thinkers leave school, we will continue to monitor their activities closely,” explained Süs. In the area around the school, the catering offer has been expanded to include food distribution, among other things.
When the controversial family center was closed “to avoid a risk to the well-being of the child”, the President of the Rhineland-Palatinate State Office for Social Affairs, Detlef Placzek, told the SWR: “With all the hardships that exist on site, children must be looked after by qualified staff become.”
Criticism of “lateral thinkers” in flood disaster regions
The commitment of the “lateral thinkers” in the disaster area was widely criticized. “I can only see with disgust that one is trying to take advantage of the suffering of people here,” said the Parliamentary Interior Secretary Günter Krings (CDU) to the editorial network Germany (RND).
The association “Parents Stand Up” denied the exploitation of the flood disaster. During the crisis, the state had proven to be incapable of operating the family center, “because German administrative structures would be affected and political attitudes would appear unsuitable.” After the pressure had become too great, the decision was made to withdraw from Ahrweiler. “The decision was not easy for us in view of the lack of help for children and families,” said the “lateral thinking” group.
According to Detlef Placzek, there were “bad conditions” in the center. So there was neither electricity nor water. In addition, there was oily mud in the hallways. The reason for the closure is in particular the disruption of public safety and order. In addition, the children were looked after there without permission.
“Unconventional thinkers” cleared from school in Ahrweiler: Conspiracy stories on Telegram
However, some “lateral thinkers” suspect other backgrounds and spread conspiracy stories about allegedly secret connections to a Catholic order.
So it says in a QAnon channel on Telegram, the content of which is also shared in the official information channel by “Eltern stand auf”: “On the subject of Ahrweiler and the surrounding area, especially eviction orders (sic!) School: There are other interesting backgrounds. The Jesuits have been extremely active there for centuries, have special relationships with the ‘education’ of children and young people, and have an intensive connection with schools. Aloisius School! Aloisius was a ‘saint’ of the Jesuits. ”Some thoughts came to mind, according to the conspirators.
The deputy leader of the Green parliamentary group in the Bundestag, Konstantin von Notz, described the appearance of “lateral thinkers” in the disaster area as “shameless”. “Lateral thinkers”, citizens of the Reich and other right-wing extremists tried to “celebrate their personal day X” in front of the suffering of the people, von Notz told the RND. (Tim Vincent Dicke with AFP / dpa)
