♪ michelle: hello, and welcome to "fokus on europe." i'm michelle henery. the people of germany are gearing up to elect a new government next month. we've been covering key election issues in our series "germany decides." and this week, we take a look at the rise in right-wing populism. ♪ michelle: images of hate and intolerance can often leave people with feelings of anger and despair. but one german woman is putting up a fight.

irmela mensah schramm, a 71-year-old retired teacher from berlin, battles daily against the nazi propaganda she sees around her. even if it means facing prosecution from police or persecution from facists. narrator: irmela mensah-schramm is out in the berlin district of lichtenberg, on her regular route. this is where she finds lots of what she's looking for. irmela: this is antisemitic. narrator: it is strange how high up far-right activists place their slogans. but mensah-schramm has a trained eye. irmela: i do not want to see this nazi crap. i want it gone. it's propaganda. narrator: sometimes people congratulate her for what she's doing. others tell her to leave the stickers alone. irmela: this is a message for the nazis. we're resisting.

narrator: she also always brings along a can of spray paint, to paint over racist graffiti. last year, a police officer caught her doing it and filed charges. the case went to court. irmela mensah-schramm was given a suspended fine of 1,800 euros. the court said she'd covered more space than the piece of graffiti she sprayed over. if the authorities catch her doing it again, she'll have to pay. irmela: they are wrong to think what i'm doing is damaging property. and nobody cares about nazi propaganda! narrator: a few days later, and police are gearing up in berlin's wedding district. many immigrants live here. and the far-right identitarian youth movement is staging a march. they're supported by lutz bachmann, founder of the anti-islamic pegida movement.

the youth movement integrates many elements of pop culture. they protest to right-wing hip-hop, and dress like hipsters. this is the new far right. >> you are proof that we represent the real europe, and that we're the european youth standing up to this union and their open borders. together we stand for the future of europe. >> europe. youth. reconquista. narrator: the movement is considered populistic and nationalistic. federal police agencies have it under observation. >> the message they're spreading is unbearable to me. it's stepped way over the line of free speech. >> haut ab! haut ab! narrator: while the far-right wing marches, the police keep counter-demonstrators behind a barrier. among them irmela , mensah-schramm. she's the oldest one here by a good stretch.

>> the young right-wingers chant that "loving your homeland is not a crime." but for irmela mensah-schramm's generation, "heimat" -- or "homeland" -- is a loaded concept. irmela: i am from the first generation born after the war, in 1945. i can't undo what happened then, but i can be part of what happens next. narrator: the antifascist protesters stage a sit-in. the far-right protest comes to a halt. irmela mensah-schramm decides to take her personal protest a step further and joins the sit-in. , whoever takes part in the sit-in has to expect legal consequences. one by one, the protesters are

picked off the road. the demonstration is now over for the 71-year-old. irmela: of course i'm aware of the legal consequences. just like when i spray over nazi slogans or remove nazi stickers. narrator: irmela mensah-schramm might have stood up to the far-right. but she'll soon be receiving more mail from the police. the fight continues. michelle: irmela mensah schramm fearlessly battles on her own. and in poland, a few brave individuals are also willing to fight for what they believe in. poland was once praised as a model of democracy in central europe after the collapse of the soviet union. but recently the right-wing government passed laws to gain greater powers over the judicial system. and despite threats, judges are fighting back. narrator: whenever he is in

warsaw, judge waldemar zurek makes his phonecalls discreetly. he has waged an open campaign against the government's attack on the judiciary. and now he fears the authorities are spying on him. waldemar: this is a war for the of government, our constitution, so with simple laws. narrator: one such simple law now allows the polish justice minister to replace or dismiss judges without a reason. it was passed despite widespread protests. the protestors are determined to continue fighting for an independent judiciary. waldemar: when i was sworn in, i promised the president of the republic of poland that i would guard the constitution. that's the supreme law. i will protect it until the end. narrator: but zurek says his

determination has now made him the focus of a political investigation. he's received numerous threatening letters from various sources. but instead of trying to track down those who sent them, the public prosecutors interrogated him. waldemar: i don't trust the prosecutors. i'm worried they'll search my computer and all my information and contacts. they're already monitoring my phone calls without my knowledge or permission. narrator: poland's anti-corruption bureau has also opened an investigation into his financial affairs. he says this is sheer harassment. waldemar: the police asked how much money i had in a certain account five years ago. i said, the same as in my financial statement. they kept asking zloty? , 5000more than 5000? i do not know that anymore.

narrator: we tried to find out more from the anti-corruption bureau but were refused an interview. instead, we got a terse statement via the internet. >> the inspection of judge waldemar zurek's financial statements is one of hundreds that the anti-corruption bureau carries out each year. it's justified and part of our routine. narrator: the anti-corruption office also referred to government-friendly internet portals, which have reported on the judge's supposedly "substantial" wealth. political scientist dr. anna materska-sosnowska says this is part of a tactic. anna: this kind of baiting in the media tends to last a few months. the authorities use it to investigate alleged shortcomings. this has happened to media representatives and ngos. first, they are hounded. then the real blow comes. narrator: the investigation

against waldemar zurek has also hit him in his hometown, krakow, in southern poland, which is his second place of business. an anonymous letter was sent to the public prosecutors here. waldemar: it said i spent too much time in warsaw and not enough in krakow. the case was classified as urgent. now they're looking into how i divided my work over the past two years. narrator: waldemar zurek has little time to spend with his family these days. but he won't give up. one reason is his daughter jana. he wants her to grow up in a free and democratic poland. michelle: i don't think most of us could imagine someone proudly admitting that the nazis inspired them. yet, all over the world, from college towns in the u.s., to

remote villages in hungary, neo-nazi activity is on the rise. a hungarian mayor in the northeast of the country is at the forefront of such a movement. one that espouses anti-liberal, anti-semitic and anti-immigrant views, and punishes those that disagree. narrator: we're heading for erpatak -- a village with 2,000 inhabitants in northeastern hungary. a sign on the roof of the town hall says we are strengthened by , tradition. mayor mihaly zoltan orosz is once again accompanied by a cameraman. his dictatorial tendencies in erpatak have gained him a lot of notoriety in the country. mihaly: order is the most important thing here along with , our local customs and traditions. people who conform and live according to these traditions are constructive people. people who refuse to do so destroy this order. they're destructive. that's where we draw our lines. narrator: people who are useful to society receive support.

all others are marginalized and driven out. orosz takes us to visit a roma family that he says lives up to his expectations. many other roma, he explains proudly, have been expelled from the village. mihaly: -- >> go ahead and tell them how it used to be and what's changed. >> well, those who toe the line get everything. those who don't play along have to leave. there's no place for them here. narrator: orosz gets unofficial helpers to keep an eye on his fellow villagers to make sure they're doing a good job. residents are also encouraged to denounce each other for perceived crimes. the mayor openly admits he's taken inspiration from nazi-era germany. he shows us images from annual festivities in the village commemorating german and hungarian soldiers who fell in

1945. >> you have to be impartial when you review these historic events, because the way history is written today, it only examines this era from the perspective of the jews. to me, the soldiers are heroes. today, we have to be unwavering in our fight against liberalism. otherwise liberals will take over the world. although orosz might seem like a member of the far-right fringe, he's simply carrying to an extreme a mood that's spreading , in hungary. encouraged by nationalists, many hungarians have become fervent patriots. the people on this train are going on a pilgrimage to transylvania an area that's been , romanian territory since 1920. before that, it was hungarian. and a lot of hungarians would like a return to greater hungary and less e.u. influence.

>> even the word "e.u." irritates me a lot. liberals are in charge everywhere. they're blinding their own countrymen. they weren't elected by anyone. no one gave them the power to let in migrants. narrator: hundreds of thousands of people go on this pilgrimage, which was once only religious. now it also revolves around the idea of sacred hungarian soil. the pilgrims sing songs about their nation. among the faithful and members of far-right groups is hungarian president janos ader, a party colleague of prime minister viktor orban. >> i say migration is an invasion. we have to do all we can to defend ourselves. and i advise everyone not to try to solve the problem with fences costing tens of millions of euros, but instead to use the

tried-and-true method, the order to shoot. narrator: and so far-right messages mixed with nationalist feelings are being used to create a sense of community. fearing for the future, many hungarians are turning to the past, and retreating from the idea of common european values. michelle: it seems unbelievable that such words could be said by anyone much less an elected official. italy's southern coast is often the first port of arrival for migrants who brave choppy waters in inadequate boats to reach europe. as a result, the government provides millions of euros for their care. but often their accommodation has been lacking and they have been served only a thin broth, if anything at all. at the same time, the camps' organisers, the local mafia, were getting rich.

narrator: "operation johnny" targeted the calabrian ndrangheta mafia. it was alleged to have misappropriated millions of euros from migrant centers. the catholic brotherhood of mercy also came under investigation. 68 suspects were arrested including a priest, don edoardo , s., and the refugee camp manager, leonardo s. chief prosecutor nicola gratteri led the investigation. he says the mafia has been earning millions from migrants for years. nicola: one way they earned was, for instance, by claiming a camp was housing and feeding 1,000 people when in fact they only had 500 people to feed. and on other days there were sometimes even more people there who didn't get fed because there wasn't enough food. narrator: we wanted to see for ourselves and headed out to italy's second largest migrant

camp in sant'anna di isola capo rizzuto. the camp directors showed us around, but didn't want to appear on camera. they weren't willing to do interviews either. there were more than 1,100 migrants in the camp. on first impression everything seemed clean and tidy. medical care was available, including psychological support. they seemed to have the best interests of the needy and weak at heart. nicola: our wire taps revealed that 186,000 euros were earmarked to buy newspapers for the migrants. these orders were cancelled and the money was given to a priest, for "spiritual support." narrator: the mafia is not only involved with running such centers, but also large agricultural holdings where they employ migrants for a pittance. modern slavery in the center of europe. yvan sagnet is from cameroon.

as a student in turin, he earned extra money picking crops, and was paid 3.50 euros per 300-kilo box. he worked for five days and then organized a strike. 700 people supported him. yvan: it was very dangerous because it involved fighting a system that is about more than just simple exploitation, because the mafia is behind it. we got death threats when we were striking. the longer we were on strike the worse the threats got. narrator: 1.2 million people work in the agriculture sector in italy. unions say that more than half are being exploited including by , the mafia. migrants usually have no idea who is employing them. they're just desperate to survive. >> these people need protection, because they are vulnerable to blackmail, and that's why these job agents like working with migrants. there's even a recruitment system. it's not just in the ghettos or

in the streets, they're recruiting in the migrant centers. narrator: there aren't enough controls in the migrant centers or in agriculture. charities receive 35 euros per refugee per day. is this too much or too little? >> if a good meal is provided, including a starter and a main course, and clean clothes, then 35 euros isn't too much. but if they only get a thin soup made with a stockcube and some pasta for dinner and spaghetti and tomato sauce for lunch then 35 euros is too much of course. narrator: when we visited, the meal was filling and well-balanced. but some of the refugees were dissatisfied. >> they never give us rice. always just pasta.

that's not good. narrator: the state gave 102 million euros to the brotherhood of mercy over a period of 10 years. 36 million euros went to the mafia and some 200,000 euros to the priest. public prosecutors say that don edoardo s. and the center's manager leonardo s. worked very closely together. >> a mafia boss has to show himself to be close to the priest, who is an important figure in a village. he votes and influences votes. he has visibility and credibility. if i'm seen with a priest, i am legitimized. the mafiosi are very generous in formal terms. narrator: sicily is also notorious for such corruption, which exploits the most vulnerable. and there seems to be no end in sight considering the number of migrants arriving in italy. but chief prosecutor nicola gratteri has at least managed to

arrest some culprits. he'll soon be able to bring charges and he hopes the trial will begin before the year is out. michelle: we go from vulnerable people being exploited in italy, to defenseless animals placed in captivity for fun. beluga whales are big business in russia. the demand for them is so huge that their numbers in the wild have diminished dramatically. two film makers who have travelled the world, documenting the inhumane way the whales are forced to live and perform, say that their calls on the russian government to improve their plight fall on deaf ears. narrator: for the two russian filmmakers, everything began here in the black sea. with the dolphins and belugas, the white whales known for their extraordinary song. the two women have been swimming with these magnificent creatures since they were children. now they've had to watch the numbers of belugas shrink over the years.

more and more are being sold to dolphinariums. belugas live in the artic waters of russia in large families. they are intelligent, social beings. both filmmakers agree, it's a crime to rip them from that and stick them in tiny pools. their research shows that the number of dolphinariums along the coast of the black sea is rising. in china, they are sprouting like mushrooms. the demand for new beluga whales is growing. for the most part, captivity in a dolphinarium is pure hell. beluga whales usually swim hundreds of kilometers each day. but in captivity, they are kept in small pools and made to perform tricks. the intelligent sea mammals are reduced to remote-controlled toys. >> it's terrible to find out what is happening behind closed doors and fences, where belugas and dolphins are suffering.

but it's even worse to know you can't help them. the topic haunts the two russians. for four years, they did research, traveling across russia, to where belugas are held captive often in miserable , conditions. in the process, they developed a movie that is now causing a stir in russia. >> to me, the worst part was traveling to the far east. what i saw there was unimaginable -- the animals are re-educated, tormented. many die, especially while being transported. and the people working there don't even care. we kept being threatened while we were filming. narrator: nevertheless, they managed to capture these images at the arctic circle. the men are after the young, grey belugas, which can still be trained. once they turn white, that doesn't work anymore. the older, white animals try to

protect the younger ones. often, they get caught in the nets themselves, and die. >> on these rusty, old barges they are then transported to china. for days on end they are left in little tubs, often in scorching heat. narrator: many animals break their necks while being loaded. amusement parks will pay between 40,000 euros and 100,000 euros for one young, grey beluga whale. a lucrative business worth millions. the film is now screening in some russian cinemas. the filmmakers want to change people's attitudes, as documentaries have done in western europe, the u.s. and canada, where wildlife conservation laws are much stricter. it's illegal to import animals caught in the wild. few people are aware of the issue in russia so there were shocked reactions to the film. >> it's good that films like this are being made in russia and the situation is being talked about.

the problem is that there are no rules for keeping whales. that is wrong, considering that they're such intelligent animals. narrator: the filmmakers want a ban on whale hunting and stricter rules regarding the treatment of beluga whales in captivity. but they say that russian politicians are not interested in wildlife conservation, especially because there are clear economic interests. president vladimir putin is a great fan of moscow's dolphinarium. he's ignored all appeals for better conditions so far. >> if this trade with the belugas were in the hands of just one person, it would be easier. but the problem is that this business is closely linked with bureaucrats. it's part of a corrupt system.

narrator: a corrupt system that could take years to beat. nevertheless, now articles about the suffering of beluga whales are beginning to appear in the newspapers. for its part, the film will probably only screen in small arthouse cinemas. michelle: that's all for today. if youd like to find out more about any of today's stories, send me a tweet or visit our facebook page dw stories. thank you for watching. see you next time. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

steves: from the destruction of world war ii, europe has steadily rebuilt itself into a forward-looking and united continent. with the creation of the european union, economic integration has made another devastating war unthinkable.

there has been a massive investment in cutting-edge infrastructure projects. efficient high-speed rail systems tie europe together. superhighways and stunning bridges further enhance the continent-wide transportation system. within cities, sleek subways move millions underground. on the streets above, public transit reduces traffic congestion. and nearly every city is creating traffic-free pedestrian zones, making urban life even more people-friendly. as the world grapples with climate change, europe is taking a leading role in developing alternative energy sources.

and while still preserving the historic character of its cities, europe has found a way to integrate innovative architecture into the landscape, giving the old world a modern face. and the human face of contemporary europe is more diverse and vibrant than ever. even as this continent of 500 million people unites, it's finding ways to allow its rich mix of cultures to celebrate their unique identities. from norway to greece and from portugal to bulgaria, people are proud to preserve their distinct languages, foods, and traditions.