Is the Welcome Mat Out for Blacks in Germany?

In advance of the World Cup soccer tournament being held in Germany this summer, former German government spokesman Uwe-Karsten Heye said that “there are small and midsize towns where I would advise anyone with a different skin color not to go.” He also warned that if nonwhite soccer players and nonwhite fans ventured into these towns, they “may not leave with their lives.”

In recent months Germany had been the scene of some violent racist attacks by neo-Nazi groups. In an effort to soothe the worries of players and fans from predominantly black nations, the official slogan of the tournament was “The World Visiting Friends.”

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