>> hello and a very warm welcome to "european journal" coming to you from dw studios in brussels. good to have you with us. here's a look at what is coming up in this edition. france -- why a far right party has had an image makeover. italy -- how african refugees are benefiting a village. and hungary -- where the government's war memorial has sparked controversy. not long now -- only two weeks until the european elections,

and some re-hundred 75 million citizens across the eu can cast their ballots -- 300 75 million citizens. ironically, it looks like most of them will give their votes to a party that wants less europe, not more. right wing parties have been surging in many countries. britain, austria, netherlands, and also france. they could make historic gains like they did in the french local elections in march. chris -- >> françoise on the campaign trail. >> would you like a leaflet? enjoyed reading it. >> a leaflet from the national france? no, thanks. some of us don't know how to read. >> he belongs to france's far

right party and is running as a candidate. >> we are heading towards a camp for asylum-seekers. they are camped up close to the buildings of the authorities responsible for processing their claims. >> she believes these immigrants need to be deported and claims the vast majority of them are only in the country to sponge off the welfare system. >> these people are applying for political asylum, when in reality, at least 85% of them are in fact economic migrants. they come to france because they know they will get social welfare. they all have a chance of getting residency permits here.

>> she blames europe for france's problems and says her party offers the solution. she wants france to lead the schengen agreement and reintroduce border controls. for natalie, that idea is absurd. she is the socialist candidate and the city's beatty mayer. that would mean closing the border to luxembourg, to where some 100,000 locals commute daily. her own parents are from portugal. they came to france with the hope of a better future. >> they are lying. their slogans are dangerous. this is not progress. it sets us back decades. >> the socialist candidate points out that many of the project in the area have been funded by the european union, a fact often it nor by the far right. >> this is the impact of the

european union. here, we have a brand-new electronic research center equipped with the most advanced technology. it consists of 500 50 square meters of laboratories and the same amount of office space. it was funded with 3.6 million euros from the european union. >> despite that, there's growing support for the far right in eastern france, in part out of protest against socialist president francois hollande. one of the biggest in -- issues for people here is the demise of the steel industry. they had pinned their hopes on him to protect the remaining manufacturing plants. instead, they are being bombarded with headlines about his love life. as a result, the national front did well in local elections. the former trade unionist turned far right politician fabian engleman became town mayor in april.

it has done little to dent the new mayor's confidence. >> he just wanted to make a statement and make himself a kind of revolutionary who wants nothing to do with the front national, but there was no real connection to speak of the twin the two partner towns anyway. >> the mayor believes france would be better off without the eu. >> people constantly claim that europe has brought peace. that seems to be the magic word, but instead, we are seeing the middle class reduced to nothing. unemployment is rampant. everything has become more expensive, and people can no longer pay their bills. >> even here, not everyone is buying the idea that things used to be better. >> here, we have seen wars.

in 1870, 1914, and 1940. my grandfather and father fought. now, our relationship with our european neighbors is much better. i think it is important for that to continue. that's important to me. i am terribly bothered by what has happened. the nazis are back, and this time, they are among us. >> friends law and the party leader rejects nazi comparisons -- françoise any party leader reject nazi comparisons. they want to reintroduce the french fry, the old currency, and introduce import duty on foreign goods. they are convinced these policies will benefit the economy. >> this store sells kitchen

appliances. they are here to make sure most of the products he sells are french. we welcome this kind of economic patriotism. we want people to buy french goods, not some low-quality products which have been manufactured on some corner of the earth. we have the means to offer french consumers what they want. >> many people blame globalization for the economic crisis. for some, a strictly national solution is an attractive prospect. by simply turning back the clock, the far right seeks to harvest more victories in the upcoming elections. >> the tug-of-war over eastern ukraine continues. new opposition groups seem to be cropping up almost every day in the east of the country, and in the west, the interim government in kiev has started mobilizing civilians. thousands of volunteers have what their names down for the new national guard, and some are even taking private lessons on

how to use weapons. the goal is to help defend their country against russian troops and pro-russian forces. they feel the ukrainian army cannot do it alone. it is facing a massive problem with divided loyalties, and years of downsizing the military has also taken a toll on the troops. >> i are preparing for war. they are at a military training camp here in the forest outside of kiev. over the next three days, they will learn the art of guerrilla warfare. >> this could come in handy given recent events in our country. i think i should learn how to use a gun and shoot. >> you ought to receive military training. i discussed this with my mother. she had military training at school. everyone should be trained. military training is indispensable for our generation in view of what is happening in our country.

>> i'm learning how to defend the fatherland. >> a lawyer by profession, he and a friend have rented at the campsite. he is showing us around one of his barracks. 50 people are housed here every weekend. the campus financed through donations, and a participant fee equivalent to 25 euros. >> not all of us are young, and not everyone is rambo. but if we train one million people, do not even the chinese army will be able to beat us, let alone putin's troops. >> the students are learning urban warfare. they are among this week and's participants at the camp. on monday, they will be back at university. not only here are people preparing for battle. in kiev, presidential hopeful

yulia tymoshenko calls on ukrainians to prepare for war against russia. she's being advised by war veterans. she imagines they will lead the resistance against the russians. >> there is a big risk that putin will occupy all of ukraine , and when we see the sort of job the defense ministry and security services are doing, then it is clear we have to give every ukrainian the chance to defend their country. >> "that's enough. drag him away quickly, otherwise he will die on you. >> they are racing to save the life of their wooded comrade. many have been in this situation before. they were helpless then. now they have learned to defend themselves. >> i hope that my skills will

never be needed, but maybe that is just a fantasy, especially given how russia is behaving. ukraine wants peace, but it has to prepare for war. >> these people are not radical nationalist. they are students, teachers, lawyers, normal ukrainians, but today, they are learning marksmanship. their weapons legally come from the hunting club next door. this father of three has a fourth child on the way. he is a military veteran who skills on a coming in handy at this training camp. >> they are ready. they have no fear. most of them are religious. they do not fear death. >> it's the final training session, and it involves firing light rounds. each participant receives six bullets.

it is the first time most participants have shot real bullets. more than 300 people have already taken this course, and the cap's waiting list is long. the people training here are convinced ukrainians are fighting for european values. they hope that people in berlin and brussels will understand that as ukraine's polish neighbors already do. >> a polish friend wrote me this. "you are the only european country that remembers what dignity and liberty are, and you are prepared to suffer and die for those values." meanwhile, in brussels, we discussed the shape of tomatoes. >> these people are ready and willing to fight for ukraine. soon they will head home. that they are on standby for war . >> many companies along the southern borders of the eu feel overwhelmed by refugees. every week thousands land on

their shores after a risky journey across the seas from africa. the italian government says this year alone, more than 20,000 refugees have arrived so far. but there's one coastal town in the south of italy where refugees are not at all considered a burden. on the contrary, reaction -- the town has benefited tremendously from their presence. >> when i saw the village in the distance, i wondered whether i could make a life for myself there, if i would have a future there, and who lived there. >> he arrived in italy as a somalian refugee. along with his wife and their five children, he would end up in lampedusa in 2011. he had no idea what awaited him. he was scared but also hopeful. it's a small village on the

eastern coast of collaborator. in the late 1990's, it was on the brink of extension. residents were moving away in droves, leaving the village to fall to ruin. the mayor watched his village decaying. he also saw the endless streams of refugees reaching italy's shores, and then he had an idea. >> i started the initiative almost more for political reasons. when kurdish refugees arrived with a boat, i saw that italy did not have a refugee policy that worked properly, so i decided right then to take these refugees in with us. >> he gave the kurdish refugees a place to live. then he started the initiative "city of the future." his idea was to use loans and a per diem of 30 euros from the

government for every refugee to fix up dilapidated buildings. they could help revive the village, and in turn, the village would help them integrate into village life. >> i realized that these people had fled war and hopelessness. they are arrived in italy after a long journey, and they were treated like animals by the police and government agencies, and suddenly, their dreams of a better future vanished. i want to help give them a new future. >> these latest arrivals to the village landed on the coast a few days ago. they came from egypt. their parents had paid 2000 euros to smugglers. they wanted their children to have a better future, even if it meant sending them away.

>> we had a lot of problems in egypt -- big problems. here, it is quiet. we do not have to be afraid anymore. >> the initiative could not get shoes for them yet, but they were provided with lodging in one of the renovated houses, some pocket money, and for the first time in a long time, it's of their own. he now works for the initiative as a cook and interpreter. that was the only opportunity for him to earn money before he was officially recognized as a refugee. today, he also looks after the underage refugees who wound up in his newfound home. >> we could hear every day for the underage refugees. they have a place to eat together upstairs. >> he has come up with a lot of,

including using colorful fake currents he -- currency. >> they can use this money to buy whatever they need -- clothing, soap, phone cards, cigarettes, household items, whatever. it's all paid for by our initiative. >> volunteers also help the refugees do their shopping, and they teach classes. today, they're on their way to attend school in italy for the first time. >> there have been as many as 300 refugees living temporarily in the village of 1700 people. although italian espresso is different from how coffee is prepared in smalley up, osmond has gotten used to it, and the village has become his home --

although italian espresso is different from how coffee is prepared in somalia. >> there is no racism here. i have never experienced anything like it. the people here are so friendly. the old lady who lives next door to us is always there for us. everyone looks after my family and me. >> sometimes, when osmond looks out at the sea, he is reminded of his journey here and the difficult situation in his home country, and then, he is especially grateful to have found the village and its mayor. >> it will be exactly 17 years ago this summer, that the last trains carrying thousands of jews in hungary and made their way to concentration camp's. the deportations were only started in july 19 40 -- stopped in july 1944 by the head of

state who finally gave in to international pressure. he was a staunch supporter of the german occupying forces. the current hungarian government is now planning to set up a controversial memorial, and that is back memories. >> just 18 people turn up to protest the monument today, and they look lost among all the police here. the government has dispatched 200 officers to the scene. it's a show of strength in downtown budapest. but these demonstrators are determined to stop this government project. they are here to protest the monument commemorating hungary's occupation by nazi germany during the second world war. for weeks now, human rights activists and budapest's jewish community have been mobilizing against the memorial, but to no

avail. one of those protesters is 88 years old. the jewish man was very lucky to have survived the nazi occupation. >> i have lived through several regimes during which the police could do what they like. militarist just do not consult with the people. >> every day, critics meet in this park. they reject the government's current lands for the monument. the planned memorial is seven meters high. it depicts a german eagle attacking innocent hungary in the form of archangel gabriel. critics say the monument downplays hungary's own role in the holocaust. they want the country to take responsibility for its past.

>> i remember five gendarmes and five or six crossmembers storming in. we had to get in line, and they counted us up, and every fifth person was shot. they used machine guns. >> that day, evan was 18 years old. he was one of those who should have been shot, but his gift for music saved his life. he had to play the killers a song. someone else was shot in his place. he survived the war, and today, over half a century later, his cello is still his greatest passion. in 1956, he fled the soviet occupation of hungary for west germany where he became a well-known cellist and photographer.

he returned to his native hungary after the fall of communism. today, he is outraged by his government's plans for the war were -- war memorial. he believes it whitewashes history. >> hungarian gendarmes did it. the germans were not there when we were locked up. the government's planned monument to the occupation falsifies history, plain and simple. i am still hoping they will change the plans. >> here inside this building and budapest was where he was repeatedly imprisoned. first by hungary's fascists, and then by communist secret police. the building is now a historical museum on the dangers of totalitarianism, but the museum is largely devoted to the victims of communism, those

persecuted by hungarian fascists received only a brief mention. the museum director is a confidant of the hungarian prime minister. she canceled a planned interview with dw and will not comment on the proposed second world war monument. but a letter from the prime minister to the hungarian academy of fine art reveals more about the government's view of hose who criticize the monument. "we cannot take responsibility for something we did not do," he says. then he adds, "this row is just a cheap elliptical bar brawl -- political bar brawl." but what a pest's jewish community is shocked by the plan. it says the monument conceals the fate of 400 rows and hungarian jews, those deported and then murdered during the holocaust. hungary had already introduced its own anti-jewish laws by the

time hitler marched in. before 1944, the country's juice already faced the formation and death. and the hungarian police were notorious for their brutal raids against the jewish community. >> the hungarian government was not just a victim of the german occupation. it was also an active participant in what went on. we think that now, 70 years after the holocaust, is a good time to take responsibility. it is not enough to just be a polacek. -- apologetic. hiding this and sweeping it under the carpet -- that's the wrong policy. >> just 100 meters away from the planned memorial is a bust of a hungarian dictator. hitler's wartime ally agreed to deport hungarian jews to

auschwitz. the statue was erected by the far right opposition party. the government let them put up the statue. >> the spirit of that time has returned. this statue has revived what we suffered during the occupation during the second world war. >> is holocaust survivor no longer feels at home in today's hungary. but he is too old to start a new life elsewhere, so he has left hoping that at least the government will scrap -- he is left hoping that at least the government will scrap its plans for the memorial. >> that report wraps up this edition of "european journal." from all of us here in brussels, thanks for watching. until next time, auf w iedersehen and bye for now.

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