display
In the debate about everyday racism, the Sauerland location Neger has also come into focus.
The name always causes inquiries, said the mayor of Olpe, Peter Weber, the German press agency.
The place belongs to the city of Olpe.
It is located in the Negro Valley and is divided into Untereger, Mitteleger and Oberneger.
The names are several centuries old.
After the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in May 2020 and the subsequent protests against racism also in Germany, letters were received "in which the renaming of the village Neger was demanded," said the CDU politician.
Place signs had been smeared in the summer.
"Of course the naming has no racist background," Weber emphasized.
He has "no reason to change a place name that has been established for centuries".
The attitude of the people towards this topic is essential.
And the city, the village and the citizens have repeatedly shown that “there is no place for racism” with them.
The mayor also made it clear that he was not aware of any racist behavior or xenophobia in the villages in the Negro Valley.
The Berlin linguist Anatol Stefanowitsch says: "The N-word is extremely degrading, in the German language it is one of the worst discriminatory words of all." The local residents cannot be accused of living in the town.
"But you can ask them to change their perspective." There must be a willingness to think about what the place name might mean for others, that it could be very hurtful.
There are other place names that could be controversial - for example Mohrkirch and Negernbötel in Schleswig-Holstein or Groß Mohrdorf in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
display
The place name Neger has been occupied for 700 years - named after the small river Neger, explains name researcher Markus Denkler from the Westphalia-Lippe Regional Association (LWL).
The word is formed from a stem "Nag-" that cannot be clearly derived.
Nothing precise can be said about origin and original meaning.
However, the research does not see any derivation from the Latin word "niger", which means "black", "dark".
Tahir Della from the Initiative Schwarzer Menschen in Deutschland (ISD) thinks: "It would make sense for the village and the municipality to consider that there are people who could feel discriminated by the name." There have been national meetings of the ISD several times at the nearby Biggesee.
“There were some who were horrified when they drove through the N-Ort.” Della emphasizes: “It's not about putting the residents in a defensive position.
But they should relate to the N word. ”According to the ISD, around one million black people live in this country.