German Mayor Who Welcomed Refugees Is Stabbed by Angry Resident
Andreas Hollstein, 54, mayor of the western German town of Altena, told a news conference on Tuesday
that he had stopped at a kebab stand late Monday when he was approached by a drunken man who yelled, "You leave me to go thirsty and bring in refugees." The incident comes as Germany faces political turmoil after elections that resulted in seven parties winning seats in Parliament.
Hollstein said that Everyone who works for people, regardless of whether they are refugees or other people,
is experiencing hate spread through social media and threats — I have had several in the past years,
28, 2017
BERLIN — The mayor of a German town in the spotlight for its treatment of refugees has vowed to keep representing "those who have fled here
and those who have been here," after a citizen angry with his open-door policies plunged a knife into his neck.
Several months later, Henriette Reker, an official in the western city of Cologne who was responsible for migrant affairs
at the time, was stabbed by a man who said he wanted to send a signal about there being too many refugees.
Among them, for the first time, was the far-right Alternative for Germany, which campaigned on fears surrounding Chancellor
Angela Merkel’s decision in 2015 to open the country’s borders to more than a million people seeking asylum.
Mr. Hollstein said that a flood of hate mail and social media postings, as well as threats targeting him
and his family, had become part of daily life as a local politician.
