Overview

• Two Gotha Green municipal politicians, Matthias Kaiser and Felix Kalbe, sent a July 16 letter warning that escalating insults, threats and attacks have made activism in rural Thuringia dangerous.
• They cite weekly hate messages—such as “Euch Grüne hängen wir auf”—and a February 20 assault that left “Volksverräter tötet euch!” scratched into their office window.
• Rising fear has driven many members to withdraw from active party life, prompting warnings that the Greens could be forced to abandon eastern federal states without swift action.
• Kaiser and Kalbe criticized Interior Minister Georg Maier’s prevention concept as out of touch with on-the-ground realities and called for federal intervention to ensure safety.
• In response, Banaszak expressed solidarity, pledged additional personnel and support structures, and announced a targeted summer tour through eastern states to rebuild confidence.