Nuremberg mayor defends 'Christ Child' teen after far-right racismThe mayor has slammed "idiotic comments" targeting the teen picked to play the "Christ Child" at the city's famous Christmas market. In a post on Facebook, the far-right AfD had suggested Germans were being eradicated.
Nuremberg Mayor Ulrich Maly has voiced support for the 17-year-old girl chosen to portray the "Christ Child" during this year's Christmas festivities, after she was targeted by the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party.
https://twitter.com/tagesschau/status/1191078467300986881"You would laugh about it if you didn't know these guys are serious, but you could cry about this level of misanthropy," Maly said at a press conference on Sunday.
The mayor noted that the city's "Christ Child" choice has sparked "idiotic comments" in the past, including "ethnically-connotated remarks."
"But today we have an openly racist connotation," he said.
Maly's comments came after a local AfD branch criticized the selection of Benigna Munsi for the role. The Nuremberg-born teen's father is of Indian descent, though has been German for many years, and her mother is also German.
"Nuremberg has a new Christ Child. One day, we're going to go the way of the Indians," read a comment posted to Facebook — suggesting Germans were being eradicated or subjugated in the same way as indigenous groups in North America.
