I WENT TO A KRISTALLNACHT AND A WORLD CUP BROKE OUT:

A Time to Make Friends? (Der Spiegel, 4/19/06)

Ermyas Mulugeta, the Ethiopian-born German citizen and father of two who was attacked Sunday night in Potsdam near Berlin, was still in critical condition on Wednesday. Doctors say he will be kept in an artificially induced coma for several weeks. While Potsdam's mayor has lamented the damage done to the city's reputation, some 400 demonstrators took to the streets this week in a spontaneously organized demonstration against right-wing violence. The police have received numerous leads after placing a recording of the voices of Mulugeta's attackers on the Internet (Mulugeta tried to phone his wife during the attack, and her mobile phone mailbox recorded the event). German federal prosecutors, calling the attack "public risk," have announced that they will direct the search for the perpetrators, which would otherwise have remained a local police operation. Showing the immense scrutiny the incident is receiving only two months before Germany hosts the World Cup, Chancellor Angela Merkel has also described it as a "despicable act."

German dailies discussing the attack interpret it both as a reflection of Germany's ongoing problems with xenophobia and right-wing violence and as one of the worst crimes to have occurred in Potsdam for many years. The various editorials set out to compare it to past attacks, as well as raising the question of what right-wing violence means for the upcoming soccer World Cup starting in June.