As a record heat wave stretched across Europe last weekend – forcing millions to escape the scorching temperatures at the local public pool – some saw their refreshing oasis of sanctitude come crashing down when 400 raucous migrants from North Africa stormed their local public swimming pool in Germany.

“For one family in Dusseldorf, Germany, their weekend outing to escape the ongoing heatwave turned into a real-life nightmare when they were harassed by ‘hundreds’ of migrants, prompting a massive police response, closing the public swimming facility,” WND reported. “The chaos erupted Saturday at the Rheinbad public pool, as some 400 men of North African origin became rowdy.”

Causing waves

The normally calm and cool German town saw heated tumultuous times erupt poolside not just once, but twice, causing the entire facility to shut down each time.

“Over the weekend, the pool was closed twice – thanks to rowdy visitors,” RT announced. “The Rheinbad public pool was plagued by ugly incidents this weekend ... There was even a large-scale police operation to calm-down rowdy swimmers on Saturday. The explosive situation involved ‘several hundred’ people – primarily young men – the police said.”

The peaceful, relaxing getaway nearly turned into a raucous melee when migrants escalated tensions while being inconsiderate toward those around them.

“The young men were harassing over visitors, shouting and splashing into the pool, [as] two of them ultimately got into fight with one another, running over towels of other pool-goers,” RT’s Gerhard Berger recounted. “The two were confronted by a man, who attended the pool alongside his wife and children. The father – reportedly of Turkish origins – scolded the rowdy bathers, while referring to them as ‘Nafris.’”

After the 2016 New Year’s Eve mass assaults in Cologne, the abbreviation started to be used by police for “North African Intensive Offenders,” which has since become condemned as a racial slur as society has picked up on the term.

Things began escalated when more and more hostile migrants accumulated to confront the family.

“The rowdy pool goers were among those who took offense, and they confronted the family in large numbers, triggering the police arrival,” Berger informed. “Several officers were deployed to the scene, yet failed to defuse the situation. The law enforcement was met with angry remarks from the crowd, pelted with empty bottles and other objects. Reinforcements were dispatched to the scene and the police was ultimately able to get the situation under control, escorting the family out of the pool.”

Due to the raised tensions and to avoid any potential violence or injuries, pool management closed down the pool for everyone – and when the pool reopened the next day, the same rowdy crowd aggravated pool loungers and police arrived again, ultimately ending in the pool being closed down prematurely a second time.

“Most of the pool-goers vacated the facility peacefully, yet a handful of them were ‘convinced’ by the police to leave and a single, particularly rowdy swimmer was briefly detained,“ Berger added. “While the pool reopened on Sunday, it was closed early, yet again, over more misbehaving pool-goers. Few details on the second incident have emerged, aside from local media reporting it was ‘similar’ in nature to the one on Saturday and involved the same group of rowdy [ North African migrant] swimmers.”

Not again …

These raucous migrant incidents were not isolated events in Bavaria, as Muslim migrants reportedly sexually harassed females at another pool facility.

“[A]t another swimming pool in the town of Netphen in North Rhine-Westphalia near Cologne, staff took disciplinary measures on some refugees who [were] sexually harassing female swimmers,” WND’s Joe Kovacs noted. “According to Berliner Kurier, pool manager Bernd Wieczorek indicated a group of 20- to 25-year-old refugees watched the females during their aqua-cycling class and followed them afterward.”

Common occurrences

In recent weeks, such disturbances in Germany have become commonplace.

“At a swimming pool in Essen last Monday, a group of young men reportedly attacked two lifeguards and a young girl. The city then doubled the number of security guards at the pool,” the German daily, The Local, recalled. “In Hesse, tensions boiled over last Wednesday in front of an overcrowded bathing facility. Due to large crowds, the entrance was temporarily closed, but, according to police, about 200 people tried to enter the pool by force. Some people queuing threw stones and insulted security staff.”

Physical assaults and injuries resulted from another recent altercation at a local German pool.

“Meanwhile, at an outdoor swimming pool in Mannheim, a man sprayed pepper spray during a family argument on Saturday,” the German publication explained. “Five people, including two children, suffered minor injuries.”

Federal Association of German Pool Attendants Peter Harzheim warned that such belligerent behavior is becoming a major recurring problem at Germany’s public pools.

"The atmosphere in the outdoor swimming pools is becoming more and more aggressive, [and it’s been getting worse over the past 10–15 years,” Harzheim notified the Rheinische Post. “This is a frightening development. We have to take tough action."

German Society for Bathing President Christian Ochsenbauer indicated that aggressive migrant behavior must be addressed – and soon – before things get much worse.

"The topic of aggressiveness is currently making waves,” Ochsenbauer stated. “[I support the pool attendants associations’ move] to take tougher action."

Harzheim is upset that the previously longstanding respectful ethos of Germany’s outdoor swimming culture has been undermined during the recent wave of migration.

"A swimming pool is a place of relaxation, wellness, getting to know each other, communication," Harzheim asserted. "You should be able to relax there.”