Status Report

In light of developments in the US, the grans-united.org project was launched at the beginning of the year. Background: In the US, German voices carry particular weight when it comes to analyzing fascist, anti-democratic structures.

Jan, a sociology student from Aachen who is active in German/American networks, asked OMAS GEGEN RECHTS (Grannies against the far-right) in Aachen, Germany, for support. This led to the formation of a project group consisting of German OMAS (from many German cities) who are themselves American or have family ties to the US, plus a number of influencers and network partners such as

Germany: Resistance Roundtable (Vigil & speech in Frankfurt, Germany)
USA: American Opposition, No Kings Movement, Indivisable Minneapolis

The OMAS of the project group wrote a letter together with Jan as „emotional support“ for the anti-MAGA and anti-ICE demonstrations. This letter was distributed on the website and via social media, as well as read aloud on YouTube and by the TikTok OMAS (see also > Videos).

The effect was enormous—on YouTube alone, the video immediately received several hundred thousand clicks. Thousands of people sent feedback with very personal messages of thanks to show that they felt heard, understood, and empowered. Unfortunately, we were only able to respond to most of these emails with a standard thank-you note, as we had not anticipated this response and are only a small group. But we were extremely moved.

The letter also had an impact „offline“: people shared it in real life, distributing it at demonstrations and putting up posters in shops and on street corners.

However, the many responses and thank-you emails also made it clear how threatening the security situation is. For example, although there are personal contacts with the Raging Grannies and Bad Ass Grandmas in the USA, concrete networking could not be established for security reasons.

We have been told by reliable sources that there are networks that take care of people who are too afraid to leave their homes. They go shopping for these people, etc. – and the addresses are no longer stored on cell phones, but written down on edible paper so that they can be destroyed immediately if someone is picked up by the ICE forces.

The experiences and accounts of how quickly arbitrariness and violence can gain the upper hand in a supposedly „safe“ democracy were and remain terrifying. It shows once again how important it is to fight against authoritarian, reactionary, and fascist structures everywhere.

The project is now complete for the time being. The goal was to send a clear signal of support for the US movement against ICE and MAGA—and this has been achieved. We will all continue to stand up against the far right and for a democratic, diverse, and humane society!

GRANS-UNITED
https://grans-united.org
info@grans-united.org