Why we won’t attend the CSD (Christopher Street Day) Dresden

This text is for everyone asking themselves: “What was so wrong about this organisation?” or “Why are so many of my queer peers not going to the CSD Dresden?”. With the following, we wish to explain some of the reasons—without any claim to completeness. One reason why so many remain quiet and thus do not shed the necessary light onto the situation, is the fear of repression and lawsuits, the loss of public funding, or the influence that board member Ronald Zenker and his entourage could have. However, this should not be the reason to keep any information from the public. This is why this text is intended to give everyone the chance to obtain precisely this information.

1In many large cities, CSD stands for homonormativity and neoliberal politics.

The CSD’s programmes are obviously commercial in nature. The decisions about who is allowed to take part in the parade with their own truck cast doubt on the political credibility of the organisation: the question remains as to who is really an ally of the queer movement. What connection does the FDP have to the everyday lives of other queer people in Dresden? Very little. Isn’t an overrepresentation of this kind of position extremely questionable? How convincing is a parade at which the SPD is allowed to stage itself, despite years of adherence to the Transsexuals Act (Transsexuellengesetz), which is hostile to fundamental rights, for the sake of a smooth coalition with the CDU? For queers of colour, people living in precarious situations or simply those who think queerness is more than a bit of diversity glitter, this kind of parade is at least worthy of criticism. It would be like trying to pick apples on a pear orchard—it makes no sense.

2Diversi...huh? or: organising For Men™

A visit here clearly shows: The structures and events of CSD Dresden mainly consist of white, older cis men. It is understandable that gay men have organised themselves because of their experience of massive discrimination. And it’s great that there are exceptions. But: lesbians, trans* and genderqueer identities are not represented either in terms of content or personnel.
However, a CSD structure is considered representative as the mouthpiece of the LGBTIQ+ community. As an interface between individuals, the city and society. We believe that a broad-based grassroots structure that represents its community and in which queers from different walks of life have a say is essential in order to be able to make fair, queer political demands for all of us.

3A CSD with a rightward twist?

Here are a few older stories that are still pretty relevant. Taken from e*vibes, who published a very important article on the topic in 2019 (1)! A small republication at this point (own translation):

In 2014, former CDU mayor Helma Orosz was awarded the ‘Tolerance Prize’ by the CSD. Some organisers and visitors reacted aggressively to demonstrators with cardboard signs: they destroyed their signs and asked them to leave. There was no substantive debate.

In 2018, there was a minor scandal when committed securities with Nazi symbolism and right-wing statements were noticed at the CSD parade organised by the association (2). Instead of recognising the problem and taking necessary action—or at least showing awareness of the problem—Zenker tried to dismiss the criticism by accusing critics of overexaggerating the Nazi problem. Afterwards, there were various attempts to talk constructively with the board of CSD Dresden about ways to make the CSD parade a feel-good place for queer people and refugees in particular. The constructive ideas were all blocked; unlike for instance in Leipzig, there is still no declaration of incompatibility by CSD Dresden with anti-human positions or extreme right-wing and right-wing populist parties. [Note: this has since changed due to massive public pressure]

Also in 2018, CSD Dresden board member Mathias Eibisch shared a Facebook post by then AfD member of parliament Ivo Teichmann in which the racist attacks by a right-wing mob on supposedly non-Germans were trivialised.

In 2019, according to eyewitness reports, securities with clear clothing (printed ‘Ostdeutschland’, i.e. ‘East Germany’, in Gothic script) were again deployed to secure the stage.

We could also cite various experiences with Zenker’s behaviour in non-public encounters—specifically towards women. However, we are not aiming for a mud fight, but a political reappraisal of the events and do not want to encourage his attempts to reduce the debate to supposed private intrigues.

In a later addendum to the article, e*vibes wrote: “This time it’s about Philipp ‘Phil’ Grafe, who creates material for the CSD celebrations as a photographer and designer for the organisation. He uses the reporting on the Salafi Raschid K. as an opportunity to blaspheme about the ‘rotten system’ (i.e. the constitutional state of Germany) and to create an atmosphere against ‘do-gooders’—using classic fighting terms of right-wing populism. It is also revealing that ‘Germany’s historical responsibility’ is brought into play as an argument, but only to deny it in the next breath.” (3)

What we have to add here: At the memorial service for the anti-gay murder in Dresden in October 2021, the CSD had stated in an open letter (4) that it would not allow “this act to be misused for racist and right-wing agitation”. However, when the AfD laid wreaths, board member Roland Zenker stood at the other end of the square without taking part and did not respond to the demand that the AfD not be given a platform, even when approached directly. Instead, he co-operated with the security authorities when unknown persons unceremoniously cut off the ribbon of the wreath.

4Abuse and victim role

For this and many other reasons, organisations such as RosaLinde Leipzig, LSVD Chemnitz and Gerede e.V. have not been working with CSD Dresden for a long time. The demands they formulated after the abuse became known are published on the website of the Saxon Refugee Council (6) and are primarily aimed at transparency and clarification. This has not yet materialised. On the contrary—Zenker denies everything to this day (7). And if all that wasn’t enough, he was then legally represented by Frank Hannig, now an ex-lawyer who agitates against refugees, co-founded the Pegida support organisation, and represented the murderer of Walter Lübcke in court (8).

But it would be too short-sighted to list only Zenker here. The abuse of power, the sexual abuse, all of this is supported by all those who actively look the other way. There is a perpetrator structure behind it that allows and permits certain people to abuse their power and harm others. This is not about one individual, but about an entire structure that does not want to eliminate dependency, but rather systematises it. General powers of attorney were common practice for everyone in the CSD project. Many people knew about the allegations against Zenker and have still not done anything to deal with them.

But the question also arises: How can it be that others in the project have supported the practice of general authorisations? How many people and structures know what is happening at CSD Dresden and remain silent, or even continue to work with the organisation? How is it possible that funding for the project under the Saxon “Integrative Measures” funding guideline has not been discontinued until 2022? And when that finally happened, how can it be that the end of the state funding was buffered by municipal funds for 2023 (9)? And how can it be that Ronald Zenker continues to hold such a powerful position in this association? Why hasn’t the association kicked him out and made a clean sweep? Or are they simply protecting the perpetrators?

But no, not only did the CSD Dresden organisation not vote Zenker out of office, it continued to cover for and support him. Zenker continues to hold the position of board member, there has been no internal reappraisal and the formal adjustment via a guideline on sexual self-determination (10) can therefore only be understood as sad lip service that should not be taken seriously. Although there is an anonymous complaints centre for sexual harassment, it is run by a lawyer (G. Rahn) who cooperates closely with CSD Dresden and is therefore not completely independent. The extensive powers of attorney continue to be requested from the refugees in a slightly modified form. The fact that they no longer apply beyond death does not even elicit a comment from us. It is highly doubtful whether the scope of these powers of attorney is now really explained in detail to those affected in practice. In some cases, people receive their documents late and only after repeated requests.

For all these reasons, which suggest that there is still a lot we can't know, there is exactly one possible conclusion: no more Zenker system, no more CSD Dresden.

You might think this is all ancient history, but it's still very topical. We have observed that an emancipatory, queer movement has formed in Dresden in recent years. It gives the impression that it has no desire to look the other way when it comes to such things.

We call on all queers and allies: Spread this knowledge. Do not go to CSD Dresden. Withdraw all your support and urge other people to do the same. We call on the city, funding organisations and private financiers: Withdraw your support from CSD Dresden e.V. and donate your money to other organisations that work on these issues! We call on the members of the organisation: Leave this association! We call on the board of CSD Dresden to resign as one. Only a radical new start will help. Nothing has happened here for far too long. Queer politics in this city can be done differently, namely in a decidedly emancipatory way, without abuse, without sponsorship by big companies and splendour cars for political pinkwashing!