Germany
Germany is the biggest country in the European Union, with 84 million people. For decades, the far right couldn’t bring its Parties into the Bundestag, the German parliament.
In history, the far right Parties NPD and Republikaner, have had some success on a regional level, and they were voted into the ‘Landtag’, but before 2013, they were never voted into the national parliament.
Current Situation
Introduction
Germany is the biggest country in the European Union, with 84 million people. For decades, the far right couldn’t bring its Parties into the Bundestag, the German parliament.
In history, the far right Parties NPD and Republikaner, have had some success on a regional level, and they were voted into the ‘Landtag’, but before 2013, they were never voted into the national parliament.
A long-term successful far-right Party in Germany, AfD, is a new phenomenon. The AfD looked in the beginning to neighbouring countries for role models. Especially the FPÖ in Austria is a role model for the AfD. There are close relations between AfD and FPÖ because of the common language.
After the AfD was founded in 2013 as a eurosceptic party, it became a collection of different streams of the far right and the conservative right. Over the years, the AfD changed from a eurosceptic party into a far-right party with an openly fascist wing, which grouped around Politician Björn Höcke.
In September 2021, the party was voted into the Bundestag for the second time. In Germany, 10% of the voting people voted for the AfD. So, around 10% of the voters in Germany are regular voters for a far-right party.
Since 2013, there have been far-right street movements on different topics. At the end of 2013 „Patriotische Europäer gegen die Islamisierung Europas“ (PEGIDA) and 2014 the „Hooligans gegen Salafisten“ (HoGeSa) with the topic Islam as hostile image.
After the „summer of migration“ 2015 (refugees from Syria came to the EU), there were many local „Nein zum Heim“-campaigns and rallies against the reception of refugees – some of them organised by the AfD, others were independent racists.
Later, the anti-refugee theme shifted to anti-establishment and “Nein zum Heim” became “Merkel must go”.
In April 2020, the “Querdenken” movement started with the topic of COVID-19 restrictions and Vaccination. The movement was not originally far right but open to the far right and conspiracy theories. In some federal states, far-right forces led these Protests.
The coronavirus conspiracy theorists became radicalised during the pandemic. Small groups planned terrorist attacks or even a coup against the government. These plans were often linked to the ‘Reichsbürger’ movement. This movement has over 30,000 members in Germany. ‘Reichsbürger’ believe that the ‘Deutsches Reich’ (German Empire) is still the legal status of the actual Germany. In their opinion, the elected government is illegal, and often, they do not accept the actual borders to Poland, Denmark and France. The ‘Reichsbürger’ are mostly far-right, antidemocratic and antisemitic. There are dozens of organisations of them in Germany.
Since the founding of the AfD, many experts have seen a „Rechtsruck“, a turn to the political right, in German society. Surprisingly the neonazist far right wasn’t able to use the situation in the whole country.
In recent years, right-wing scandals in the police and army have been recurring. Some of them involve groups and networks. This is concerning because both have access to weapons, and the police also have access to vulnerable information. Such incidents make it difficult for victims of right-wing violence to turn to the police.
Far-right extremism took a heavy toll in Germany. The “Amadeu Antonio Stiftung” counts at least 213 fatalities of right-wing extremist violence in Germany from 1990 until 2021. In his book “Kein Vergessen – Todesopfer rechter Gewalt in Deutschland nach 1945” (2020), author Thomas Billstein documents 315 cases since 1970, including 41 suspected cases.
(German: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todesopfer_rechtsextremer_Gewalt_in_der_Bundesrepublik_Deutschland)
Between 2000 and 2007, the right-wing terrorist group “National Socialist Underground” murdered ten people in Germany, nine of them for racist motives. The racist motive only became known to the public after the NSU exposed itself in November 2011.
Even after the NSU was unmasked, there were far-right murders in Germany:
- In a racially motivated attack in Munich in 2016, an 18-year-old German-Iranian killed nine people on July 22, 2016.
- On October 9, 2019, the far-right extremist Stephan B. attempted to enter a synagogue in Halle an der Saale, heavily armed. After failing at the door, he killed two people.
- On February 20, 2020, Tobias R. shot nine people in the town of Hanau near Frankfurt/Main for racist motives.
Status of the far-right in the country
In a federal state like Germany, you have to look deeper at the situation in the individual states. A significant difference exists between West Germany and East Germany, the former “German Democratic Republic.” The eastern part has its own political culture. In some ways, this part of Germany is more similar to Eastern Europe: the socialist past, foreclosure, Homogeneity of the Population, and the more significant problems with Unemployment.
But there are also important differences in Eastern Germany. The federal state of Sachsen, Saxony, is a stronghold of the far right and is becoming an Experimental field for them.
In Western Germany, there is a more extended experience with Immigration. But this also led to the existence of nationalism and fascism in migrant groups. Especially in the Turkish community, there are strong fascist and nationalist organisations. They are a danger for Armenians, left-leaning Turks and Kurds.
The German nationalist far right is very concerned by Germany’s development into an immigration country. In West Germany, the extreme right is becoming more inclusive to some extent and also accepts migrants or homosexuals in its ranks if they have similar positions.
Racist hardliners, on the other hand, see large areas of West Germany as lost. Recently, they have been discussing a targeted settlement in eastern Germany, especially in Saxony, as a plan B if the “reconquest” of the whole country fails.
Others are planning the mass deportation of migrants, including German citizens with a migration background. They call this plan “remigration”. Large sections of the AfD, as well as the Identitarians and think tanks such as the Institute for State Policy, are pursuing these plans.
Status of antifascists in the country
Independent left-wing antifascists and parts of civil society provide counter-resistance against the far-right. Migrant self-organizations are also involved in this struggle. The state also partly tries to address the issue with its national intelligence service, “Verfassungsschutz.” However, since the “Verfassungsschutz” in Germany also leads so-called V-men in the right-wing scene, it is rather part of the problem than its solution.
Victims of far-right violence are primarily migrants, LGBTTIQ, Jews and people of colour. In recent years, journalists and politicians have also been increasingly affected by far-right attacks. Especially women are often victims of shitstorms with the threat of sexualised violence. Anti-fascists are threatened by far-right violence and hostility, too.
The question of how broad alliances should be and how close one should be to the state provides for discussions within the anti-fascists.
International relationships
When considering the international relationship of the far right, it is necessary to look at the different currents and organisations. The AfD is well-networked with its sister parties in the EU. The neo-Nazi right is internationally networked, primarily through music. Many concerts with German bands or organisers occur in neighbouring countries such as the Czech Republic, France or Switzerland to prevent a ban.
There is also an export of ideology on the content level through translations and book publications. For example, right-wing publishers in Germany publish authors such as Alain de Benoist (France).
The neo-Nazi parties NPD, “Der III. Weg” and “Die Rechte” have contacts with similar parties abroad. They often send delegations to their demonstrations, for example, to the Lukov March in Sofia (Bulgaria), the Irmia March in Athens (Greece) or the “March of the Nation” in Kyiv (Ukraine).
The far right in Germany is divided over the war in Ukraine. A minority, such as the small neo-Nazi party “Der III. Weg,” are positioning themselves on the side of Ukraine. This is often the result of previous links to Ukrainian fascists. The majority of the extreme right, however, seems to position itself more pro-Putin or prefers pro-Russian neutrality. High-ranking AfD politicians, particularly, have repeatedly attracted attention due to their contact with Russia.
Political landscape
The far-right AfD is relatively isolated in Germany. All other major parties, including the CDU/CSU and the FDP, reject a coalition with it.
However, at the local level, cooperation is below the level of coalitions in some municipalities. This happens particularly often in the state of Saxony.
The AfD won 11% of the vote in the 2019 EU elections. Ten of its deputies are members of the far-right parliamentary group „Identity and Democracy“ in the European Parliament.
Most currents of the extreme, conservative, and Christian right gather in the AfD. There are also individual members with neo-Nazi biographies, but the party is not a classical neo-Nazi party. No neo-Nazis, but the fascist New Right is organising in the wing around Björn Höcke. This wing is so strong that hardly any decisions against its will are possible within the AfD. Leaked internal forums show that there is also a strong affinity for violence among the AfD’s middle-class members.
The open fascist wing of the AfD is trying to position the party as the parliamentary arm of right-wing street movements. To this end, the AfD also organises large demonstrations itself.
A central goal of the far right is to strengthen German nationalism by trivialising or denying Nazi crimes. With this nationalisation, one hopes to initiate a re-homogenization of Germany.
Media landscape
In Germany, the far right has several magazines (CATO, COMPACT, “Deutsche Stimme,” “Zuerst!”, …) and a weekly newspaper (“Junge Freiheit”). While the weekly newspaper is also aimed at a more academic and conservative audience, COMPACT and “Zuerst!” have more tabloid style. COMPACT, in particular, is a forum for various conspiracy theories. COMPACT is the organ for right-wing street movements like PEGIDA or Querdenken.
Financial landscape
In the early days, the AfD’s election campaign was supported with around 10 million euros via an independent association as start-up aid. The money was used to rent posters, place ads and finance pro-AfD campaign newspapers. Journalistic research suggests that the money came from billionaire August François von Finck (1930-2021).
Reports
Quarterly Reports
Quarterly reports give in-depth insights into the most pressing recent social and political developments in each country as they pertain to the local far-right networks and their international allies.
Introduction & Updates in National Landscape
From the fall of 2022, anti-refugee protests and attacks increased. Local chapters of the AfD also mobilized against shelters for refugees. The topic of peace has also become more popular among rightwing in Germany. From a nationalist point of view, they are against the war in Ukraine. On February 18, 2023, peace demonstrations against the NATO security conference took place in Munich, with 13,000 people participating. Of these, 10,000 participated in right-wing or right-wing openly demonstrations. (German: https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/siko-demo-muenchen-stachus-koenigsplatz-sicherheitskonferenz-1.5753990) In February 2023, the extreme right, such as the AfD, held several peace demonstrations of their own. But it is often a kind of Pro-Putin-Pacifism. In early February 2023, the AfD planned to submit a pro-Russian motion to the Bundestag to secure Russia’s rule over conquered territories in Ukraine.
A repeat election was held in Berlin on February 12, 2023. The AfD achieved 9% of the vote – 1% more than in the first election. However, it lost in absolute terms. In polls, the AfD climbed to 17% of the vote in mid-February 2023. (German: https://www.endstation-rechts.de/news/wer-waehlte-die-afd-berlin-ein-blick-auf-die-sozialstruktur-der-waehler)
The AfD celebrated the 10th year of its founding. On February 6, 2023, an AfD event was held near Oberursel in Hesse to mark the 10th anniversary of the party, which was founded in Oberursel in 2013.
There was a big donor to the party. On January 25, 2023, the entrepreneur Hartmut Issner from Weimar donated 265,050 euros to the AfD.
On February 22, 2023, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that funding political foundations requires a separate parliamentary act. The decision was made in response to the AfD, whose Desiderius Erasmus Foundation has been denied state funding worth millions. The decision makes state funding of the AfD Foundation more likely. (German: https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2023/bvg23-022.html)
In February 2023, there was a discussion in Germany about Hans-Georg Maaßen, the former head of Germany’s domestic intelligence service, and his membership in the conservative CDU party. Maaßen had made conspiracy ideological statements. The CDU’s federal executive board demanded that he resign from the party.
The right-wing weekly newspaper Junge Freiheit initiated a solidarity campaign for Maaßen in the form of an online petition against the party expulsion, which more than 47,000 people signed within a few days till the end of 12 February 2023. In mid-February 2023, it became known that the right-wing conservative Hans-Georg Maaßen in Switzerland presides as president of a previously unknown foundation “Atlantis,” founded in 2021, which wants to work against “totalitarianism and contemporary socialism.” There is the suspicion that through the foundation of hidden ways, Maaßen money should be made available. (German: https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/wdr/maassen-stiftung-atlantis-101.html)
On February 11, 2023, a neo-Nazi memorial was held in Dresden with 800 people. It is intended to commemorate the bombing of the city in 1945 by the Allies and has been taking place since the 1990s. Among others, activists from the extreme right-wing parties NPD, “Der III. Weg,” “Free Saxony,” and “The Right” took part.
Among the participants were people from the Czech Republic, Serbia, Italy, Spain, Hungary, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Belgium. Specifically, in Dresden were representatives of the “National Resistance Bohemia” from the Czech Republic and a representative of “Casa Pound” in Italy. (German: https://www.belltower.news/dresden-2023-800-neonazis-laufen-und-netzwerken-146051/)
The small neo-Nazi party Die Rechte, founded in 2012, de facto dissolved in January and February 2023. A part joined the NPD. (German: https://www.belltower.news/parteien-das-ende-der-militant-antisemitischen-naziorganisation-die-rechte-146441/)
On February 16, 2023, the national revolutionary and publicist Jürgen Schwab (* 1967) died. He tried to spread his national revolutionary ideology within the NPD, among others. (German: https://www.endstation-rechts.de/news/der-rechtsextreme-publizist-juergen-schwab-ist-tot)
Transnational Activities & Group Interactions
In February 2022, there were different contacts between the AfD and the far right from other countries: * In early February 2023, members of the extreme right-wing party “Mi Hazánk” from Hungary visited AfD member of parliament Gunnar Lindemann in Berlin. Lindemann had already spoken at a congress of the party in 2022. (Hungarian: https://magyarjelen.hu/berlin-afd-s-siker-mi-hazank-tamogatassal/)
* In February 2023, it became known through journalistic research that AfD member of the Bundestag Petr Bystron secretly visited the dictatorship Belarus from November 16 to 19, 2022, and met there, among others, the now deceased Foreign Minister Vladimir Makai. (https://correctiv.org/aktuelles/neue-rechte/2023/02/08/heimlicher-abstecher-afd-politiker-vertuscht-reise-nach-belarus/)
* On February 23, 2023, the film “Republika Srbska – Struggle for Freedom” (original title: “Struggle for Freedom”) by the Canadian-Serbian director Boris Malagurski was shown in English at the AfD meeting place “State Repair” in Berlin.
Also, the Neonazis maintained contacts: * Members of the “Dělnická mládež” (“Workers’ Youth”) from the Czech Republic, the youth organization of the DSSS, participated in the neo-Nazi commemorative march in Dresden on February 11, 2023. * On February 11, 2023 neo-Nazi group “Werra Elbflorenz” from Dresden and “Black Legion” from Saxony participated in the memorial march in Budapest. The march commemorates the breakout of Hungarian and German soldiers from Budapest on February 11, 1945, from a Red Army encirclement. * A representative of the neo-Nazi micro-party “Der III. Weg” gave a short speech on the “Day of Honor” in Budapest on February 11, 2023. (German: https://der-dritte-weg.info/2023/02/rede-zum-tag-der-ehre-in-budapest/)
The EU-right group “Identity & Democracy” (ID) in the EU Parliament has suspended the membership of AfD MEP Maximilian Krah for three months. He is accused of manipulating a tender in favor of a service provider. At the same time, Nicolaus Fest, the head of the AfD delegation in the group, resigned shortly before. He had been asked to take this step by four of the nine AfD MEPs, who accused him of conducting a “private feud” against Krah.
After attacks by alleged antifas from Germany on neo-Nazis in Hungary, there was an anti-antifa campaign in the extreme right in Germany. Among other things, mugshots of the alleged perpetrators were disseminated by the extreme right-wing network “Ein Prozent.” As a result, the Hungarian newspaper “Magyar Nemzet,” which is close to the Orban government, also published an article based on the information provided by “Ein Prozent.”
Introduction & Updates in National Landscape
High-ranking AfD members are also repeatedly fleeing from their party out of criticism of the pro-Putin mainstream in the party and the increasingly open fascist wing of the party. At the end of January 2023, the Hessian AfD member of the state parliament Claudia Papst-Dippel resigned from the AfD. (German: https://www.hna.de/lokales/frankenberg/volkmarser-ehepaar-dippel-kehrt-der-afd-den-ruecken-92053890.html)
The far right in Germany continues to try to lobby Putin’s Russia. This position results from their hostility to the West. At the end of January 2023, 70 Putin friends founded the association “Ostwind” in Berlin. AfD members of parliament, such as Hans-Thomas Tillschneider and Oliver Kirchner and Jürgen Elsässer, editor-in-chief of COMPACT magazine, were involved. (German: https://taz.de/Rechtsextreme-und-der-Ukraine-Krieg/!5909638/)
Over the turn of 2022/2023, there were several attacks with firecrackers and bottles on rescue workers and fire department members in Berlin. The attackers were mostly men, among them presumably many with migration history. Subsequently, there was a racially charged discourse around these incidents. Parts of the media, parts of the CDU, and the AfD tried to play politics with it. The background was also that the Berlin Constitutional Court on November 16, 2022, the elections to the 19th House of Representatives from September 26, 2021, because of massive irregularities declared invalid. The elections, therefore, had to be repeated on February 12, 2023.
January 2023 also saw anti-refugee protests, especially in rural areas. Often, there was an interplay between organized extreme right-wingers and racist citizens. For example on January 26, neo-Nazis attempted to break into the district council of Northwest Mecklenburg in Grevesmühlen. In the attacked district council meeting, the establishment of a container accommodation for 400 refugees in the industrial area of a village was decided. Against this, 700 right-wingers protested. From these, a group around Hammerskin Sven Krüger tried to storm the district assembly, which was prevented by the police. (German: https://taz.de/Ausschreitungen-in-Mecklenburg-Vorpommern/!5911709/)
In the federal state of Saxony, demonstrations against refugee accommodation occurred in several places (e.g., Strelln, Laußig, Chemnitz-Einsiedel, Dresden-Sporbitz, Kriebethal) in January 2023. In some cases, several hundred people gathered in the small towns. The “Freie Sachsen” mobilized the demonstrations. (German: https://www.belltower.news/protest-in-sachsen-messerstecher-deutschland-gmbh-und-schuldkult-145797/)
Transnational Activities & Group Interactions
Despite the ban, the “Identitarian Movement” activists from Germany and Austria traveled to Paris for the extreme right-wing “March in Honor of Saint Genevieve” on January 7, 2023.
In January 2023, the neo-Nazi micro-party “Der III. Weg” published an interview with Stephan (36) from Solingen, who fought as a volunteer first in the “International Legion,” then in the Russian Volunteer Battalion (RDK) and finally in the “Infantry Battalion Karpartska” on the Ukrainian side. In the interview, he describes himself as a “European nationalist” and claims to have contacts with Dennis Nikitin.
(German: https://www.belltower.news/ukraine-krieg-mit-dem-flixbus-zur-front-145459/)
The right-wing Christian “Renovatio Institute” based in Augsburg, the right-wing English-language magazine “The European Conservative” based in Budapest and the Burschenschaft Albia Wien held a far and Christian right conference on the topic of “Religion and Nation” in Vienna on January 20-21, 2023. The aim is to advance a nationalist-right-Christian synthesis. The magazine “The European Conservative” is the attempt of the Orban government to create a European right-wing movement. Announced speakers were Dr. Christian Machek (Germany, Renovatia), Prof. Dr. David Engels (Belgium/Poland), Prof. Dr. Daniel von Wachter (Switzerland, Evangelical), Prof. Dr. Lothar Höbelt (Austria, historian), Wolfram Schrems (Austria), Alvino-Mario Fantini, Prof. Dr. David Dusenbury (Danube Institute in Budapest), Prof. Dr. Ingrid Detter de Frankopan (Sweden), Andreas Kramer, Zoltán Pető (Budapest, Thomas Molnar Research Institute at the National University of Public Service), Dr. Stefan Lakonig (Vienna), Dr. Albert Pethö (Austria), Artur Abramovych (Germany, AfD activist), Prof. Dr. Felix Dirsch (Germany), Prof. Dr. Heinz Theisen (Germany, member of the Political Advisory Board of Bürgerlich-Freiheitlicher Aufbruch), Prof. Dr. Michael Wladika (Vienna), Simon Wunder (Germany, Renovatia), P. Dr. Edmund Waldstein (Austria, Heiligenkreuz University of Applied Sciences), and Prof. Dr. Thomas Stark (Germany). (German: https://www.doew.at/erkennen/rechtsextremismus/neues-von-ganz-rechts/archiv/jaenner-2023/christliche-und-voelkische-abendlandretter-tagen-in-wien)
Right-wing rock bands from Germany also performed at concerts abroad in January 2023. At a right-wing rock concert in Vilnius (Lithuania) on January 14, 2023, the band “Blutzeugen” from Germany also performed, according to the announcement.
The neo-fascist Jungeuropa publishing house based in Dresden announces that it has acquired the rights to the novel “RUSH” by Julian Ruzé, a member of the right-wing hooligan group “Kop of Boulogne.” The planned year of publication is 2024.
On January 21, 2023, Prague hosted a right-wing peace demonstration where Marcus Fuchs of “Querdenken 0351” from Dresden also appeared as a speaker.
Introduction & Updates in National Landscape
On December 1, 2022, a court in Germany ruled that former AfD member of parliament (until 2021) Jens Maier may not return to his job as a judge. That means that some AfD Politicians cannot come back to their normal jobs. (German: https://taz.de/AfD-Richter-Jens-Maier/!5895626/)
Also, in December 2022, the AfD suffered some losses. In Saxony, state parliament member Ivo Teichmann resigned from the AfD. One of the reasons he gave for leaving was the AfD’s lack of distance from the Free Saxony party. (German: https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen/politik/afd-austritt-freie-landtag-teichmann-100.html) In December 2022, Walter Wissenbach and Rainer Rahn, AfD members of the state parliament in Hessen, left their party and parliamentary group. (German: https://www.t-online.de/region/frankfurt-am-main/id_100094914/-schande-fuer-deutschland-abgeordnete-verlassen-afd-fraktion-in-hessen.html)
On the morning of December 7, 2022, house searches took place by the police in 150 properties and the arrest of 25 people in the 11 German Federal states of Baden-Württemberg, Berlin, Brandenburg, Hessen, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Saarland, Thüringen and Niedersachsen, as well as in Kitzbühel (Austria) and in Perugia (Italy). Of these, 22 are accused of being suspected members of a right-wing terrorist organization, as well as three suspected supporters. In addition, there are another 27 suspects. The Reichsbürger group affected by the raids is said to have planned the overthrow of the government and its replacement by an authoritarian regime. According to the public prosecutor’s office, it had “set itself the goal of overthrowing the existing state order in Germany and replacing it with its own form of government, the outlines of which had already been worked out. Several former soldiers from the elite „Kommando Spezialkräfte“ (KSK) unit were involved in the group. In addition, the measure was also directed against Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, a judge and former AfD member of the Bundestag. Birgit Malsack-Winkemann was also a member of the party’s Federal Arbitration Court until the end. The AfD has distanced itself from its former MP. The party does not officially represent any Reichsbürger ideology. On the other hand, the party has a rallying character for various right-wing currents, which also attracts Reichsbürger. (https://antifascist-europe.org/germany/raid-against-reichsburger-mad-in-germany/)
On December 12, 2022, convicted right-wing terrorist Stephan Balliet took two judicial officers hostage in the high-security Burg prison using a homemade shooting device. He was overpowered after an hour. Balliet attacked a synagogue on October 9, 2019, murdering two people as random victims. For this, he was sentenced to life in prison in December 2020. (https://apnews.com/article/prisons-9bab145548ecd4d5c0fde32064c2f4c4)
Transnational Activities & Group Interactions
On December 10, 2022, a delegation of AfD and FPÖ members attended a Republican gala in New York. Among them from the USA were Donald Trump Jr, Republican MP Marjorie Taylor Greene, Trump lawyer Rudi Giuliani, Stephen K. Bannon, and Matthew Tyrmand (Breitbart columnist).
From Éurope, Harald Vilimsky (FPÖ MEP), Nicolaus Fest (AfD MEP), Gerald Grosz (FPÖ politician), Maximilian Krah (AfD MEP), Maximilian Krauss (chairman of the FPÖ youth organization “Ring Freiheitlicher Jugend”) and Robert Roos (JA21 MEP) participated. Marjorie Taylor Greene gave a speech in which she said, among other things, “Let me tell you something: If Steve Bannon and I had organized the [Storming of the Capitol], we would have won. Not to mention we would have been armed.” (German: https://www.belltower.news/netzwerke-afd-und-fpoe-abgeordnete-zu-besuch-bei-us-rechtsextremen-144367/)
In mid-December 2022, it became known that the Italian far-right politician Silvio Berlusconi had acquired the two major German private stations “Pro Sieben” and “Sat.1” through his media holding company “MFE – Media For Europe NV”. (German: https://www.de24live.de/deutschland/exklusiv-berlusconi-meldet-alleinige-kontrolle-ueber-prosiebensat-1-an/539319647)
Introduction
In October 2022, the far right in Germany tried to participate in or to start exclusively anti-government protests. These protests took place, but only in East Germany with its own political culture they were strong. The protests were a mixture of covid deniers, far-right, and otherwise angry people. In some federal states like Thuringia, the AfD was a main actor in the protests.
Updates in the National Landscape
According to the conservative newspaper ‘Welt am Sonntag’, there were more than 4,400 rallies from Aug. 29 to Oct. 23, 2022, over the Ukraine war, the energy crisis, or the German government’s Corona policy. Most of them with right-wing participation. Since mid-September, more than 100,000 people have taken to the streets each week. The stronghold was the state of Saxony. The high point was the week of October 3-10, 2022, with 140,000 demonstrators. Since then, participation has been declining.
(German: https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article241978407/Krisenprotest-Mehr-als-100-000-Demonstranten-in-jeder-Woche.html) On October 3, 2022, Germany’s national holiday, 100,000 people are said to have participated in right-wing or open-right demonstrations in eastern Germany alone. In Thuringia, 38,000 people at 42 demonstrations; in Saxony, 32,000 people at 109 demonstrations; in Brandenburg, 10,500 at 35 demonstrations; in Saxony-Anhalt, 14,600 people at 45 demonstrations; and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, 9,800 people. For example, on October 3, 2022, a demonstration by AfD, “Free Saxony” and “Free Thuringia,” took place in Gera (Thuringia), attended by 10,000 people. Björn Höcke, leader of the fascist AfD wing, gave a speech in which he positioned himself against the USA and in favor of Russia.
On October 8, 2022, an AfD demonstration took place in Berlin, attended by more than 10,000 people. It was the try to participate in the anger of the people about the rising bills. However, the AfD only succeeded in mobilizing its own core and they mobilized for this date two months.
On October 15 and 16, 2022, the federal congress of the AfD’s junior organization, “Junge Alternative” took place in Apolda. Hannes Gnauck (31), an ex-soldier and member of the Bundestag, was elected as the new federal chairman. Björn Höcke, leader of the fascist AfD wing, said in a greeting: “The future of the party is built on knowledge, organization, and movement. Dare more IB and never become IB.” IB meant the Identitarian movement.
Transnational Activities & Group Interactions
In October 2022, there was an exchange between far-right actors from Germany with their ideological brothers and sisters in other countries. On the level of parties, the AfD took part in this exchange. Here are two examples: * On October 8, 2022, the Traditional Britain Group conference was held in London. Announced speakers were Professor Edward Dutton from Poland, Dr. Neema Parvini, and Christine Anderson (AfD MEP).
* According to his Facebook-Account, Daniel Wald (AfD-MdL in Saxony-Anhalt) apparently met with „organizations and patriotic #parties“ in Greece or Thessaloniki on October 8/9, 2022.
Also, at the level of the extra-parliamentary far-right, there were contacts. For example, in the sector of far-right music. On October 8, 2022, according to the announcement, a fascist rock concert was held in Bulgaria with the bands “Blood Witnesses,” “Fraction,” and “Holy War.” The last one is a band from Germany. The exchange goes both ways. On October 21, 2022, there was a fascist concert, and besides the German bands “Uwocaust,” “Odessa,” and “Hausmannskost,” also a gig, “Preserve White Aryans” from Estonia, was announced.
In Germany, there exists the ‘Burschenschaften’ (brotherhoods), an own type of male-only organization for academics. Some of them are right-wing conservatives others are clearly far-right. The far-right ‘Burschenschaften’ have connections to foreign far-right organizations and persons. For example, at the Burschenschaft Germania in Marburg, a lecture with Marcus Follin, Swedish neo-Nazi blogger and martial artist took place on October 22, 2022. (German: https://stadtlandvolk.net/?p=783)
Right-wing intellectuals also continued to network. According to the announcement from October 20 to 22, 2022, an English-language conference with the topic „Myth, fate, and duty. Oswald Spengler and Jordan Peterson as moral philosophers“ took place in the Eifel-Region. Organizers were the international Oswald-Spengler-Society, which is named after the historian and Mussolini fan Oswald Spengler (1880-1936).
Transnational Social Media Activity & Propaganda/Narratives
On October 14, 2022, 12-year-old Lola was the victim of a torture murder. A 24-year-old Algerian woman was identified as the alleged perpetrator on October 15. The extreme right instrumentalized the cruel murder for racist propaganda. In Germany, too, groups such as the Identitarians used the murder for these purposes.
Introduction In September 2022, right-wing demonstrations against energy sanctions took place in Germany, especially in the east, including in the small town of Lubmin, seat of a gas terminal. The AfD tried to thematize the same topic at the parliamentary level. Neo-Nazis from Germany also took part in events abroad in September 2022, but the German government partly prevented them from leaving the country.
Updates in the National Landscape
Larger right-wing open to right-wing dominated demonstrations took place in September 2022 mainly in smaller eastern German cities. For example, 6,500 people demonstrated in Plauen on September 25.
In the state of Saxony alone, police counted 31,800 participants at 103 demonstrations on September 26, 2022. On September 19, 2022, there had still been around 20,000 people. On September 5, 2022, both leftists and rightists demonstrated separately in Leipzig against rising energy prices and the cost of inflation. The extreme right (including the “Free Saxons”) also tried to participate in the left-wing demonstration, but was blocked. Thus, 4,000 leftists and 1,500 rightists demonstrated separately.
On September 3, 2022, a first demonstration with 1,800 people took place in the small town of Lubmin on the Baltic Sea for the opening of the German-Russian pipeline “Nordstream II”, which had been closed in the wake of sanctions against Russia. The participants were a mixture of AfD, other extreme rightists and conspiracy theorists. The event was registered by a member of the party “die Basis”, which belongs to the spectrum of pandemic deniers. (German: https://katapult-mv.de/artikel/1-800-menschen-fordern-in-lubmin-die-oeffnung-von-nord-stream-2)
On September 25, 2022, also in Lubmin (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), the terminal location of the pipeline “Nordstream II”, another right-wing demonstration for the opening of Nordstream 2 took place, attended by 3,000 to 3,500 people. The speaker was Andreas Kalbitz, a member of the state parliament who has been expelled from the AfD.
(German: https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/mecklenburg-vorpommern/Lubmin-Demonstranten-fordern-Oeffnung-von-Nord-Stream-2,nordstream800.html)
On September 7, 2022, the attempt failed a lawsuit by Alexander Deptolla (“Die Rechte”) against the ban of the neo-Nazi martial arts event “Kampf der Nibelungen” before the Administrative Court of Dresden. If this remains the case, there should be no more publicly advertised neo-Nazi martial arts event for the foreseeable future. (German: https://www.endstation-rechts.de/news/kampf-der-nibelungen-klage-um-aufhebung-des-verbotes-abgewiesen)
Transnational Developments on Discourse in Mainstream Media The electoral successes of right-wing parties in Sweden and Italy were also commented on and discussed in the German media. With regard to Italy, an important point of discussion was how fascist the election winner Meloni is.
Transnational Social Media Activity & Propaganda/Narratives In the AfD, there was great jubilation over the election success of the “Sweden Democrats” at 11th of September 2022. After the election victory of the right-wing parties, especially the “Fratelli d’Italia”, in Italy on September 25, 2022, numerous officials of the AfD congratulated the election winner Giorgio Meloni.
Transnational Political and Financial Cooperation From September 1 to 4, 2022, the neo-Nazi festival “Ritorno a Camelot” took place in northwest Italy. The German bands “True Aggression” and “Burning Hate” were announced for this event. While the German bands “True Aggression” and “Burning Hate” could not leave, the neo-Nazi activist Patrick Schröder participated in the “Ritorno a Camelot” as a speaker. In the last three months, the German state prevented at least three right-wing rock bands (“True Aggression”, “Sleipnir”, “Endstufe”) from performing on stages abroad by issuing exit bans. The reason given is that these individuals would damage the reputation of the Federal Republic of Germany abroad through their performance. (German: https://www.endstation-rechts.de/news/neonazi-bands-mit-reiseverboten-ausgebremst, https://www.tagesspiegel.de/gesellschaft/panorama/bundespolizei-verhinderte-auslandsreisen-von-49-rechtsextremisten-8518768.html)
On September 10, 2022, the new-right author Volker Zierke (“Holger Birke”) gave a presentation on his literary books “Enclave” and “Into the Blue” at “Club 451” in Belgrade (Serbia). Also there was his comrade Benedikt Kaiser. Kaiser met in Belgrade with the Serbian right-winger Dušan Dostanić, a research fellow at the “Institute for Political Studies.”
The summer party of the AfD youth organization “Junge Alternative” in Baden-Württemberg on September 10, 2022 was also attended by representatives of the “Jeunes Marines Alsace” from France, such as Paul Renkert or Pierre Pinto.
In the week of September 19-25, 2022, the three AfD state parliament members Hans-Thomas Tillschneider (Saxony-Anhalt), Daniel Wald (Saxony-Anhalt) and Christian Blex (NRW) planned to travel to the Russian-occupied territories in eastern Ukraine, but canceled the trip after internal party criticism. Party chairman Tino Chrupalla and his co-chairwoman Alice Weidel were not informed about the travel plans. (German: https://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/reise-von-russland-organisiert-afd-politiker-fahren-in-besetzte-ostukraine-8661370.html)
On September 22 and 23, 2022, the conference “Visions of European Union’s Future” took place in Warsaw. Speakers from Germany were Dieter Stein from the right-wing weekly newspaper “Junge Freiheit” and Simon Wunder from “Renovatio Europa”.
Some far right Hooligans from Hungary tried to attack a „friday for future“-rally in Leipzig at 23th of September. The attackers were from the groups „Hun loves Mary“, „Betyársereg“ and „Légió Hungária“.
At anti-government protests on September 27, 2022 in Prague, Czech Republic, Christine Anderson (AfD MEP) and Petr Bystroň (AfD MP), child of Czech refugees, also participated as speakers.
On September 29, 2022, the right-wing antifeminist Jordan B. Peterson from Canada.
Against the appearance 300 antifas and feminists demonstrated. (German: https://www.belltower.news/jung-maennlich-antifeministisch-jordan-peterson-bittet-seine-fans-in-berlin-zur-kasse-139729/)
For the October 2022 issue of the NPD magazine “Deutsche Stimme”, Mark Collett, the chairman of the “Patriotic Alternative”, had himself interviewed from Great Britain.
Introduction In Germany the far right continues with the preparation to protest against inflation and rising energy bills in autumn. Some rallys took place, but the bigger ones only were in East-Germany. The AfD hopes to take part in the protests but the part struggles also with problems. Their foundation was a state-funding denied.
Updates in the National Landscape Larger right-wing open to right-wing dominated demonstrations took place in August 2022 mainly in smaller eastern German cities. For example, on August 26, 2022, Nazi singer-songwriter Frank Rennicke performed in front of thousands of people at a right-wing demonstration in Gera, Thuringia.
In mid-August 2022, the Administrative Court in Cologne ruled that the AfD-affiliated “Desiderius Erasmus Stiftung” is not entitled to state funding. The foundation announced that it would appeal to the next instance.
(German: https://www.lto.de/recht/nachrichten/n/vgkoeln-16k252619-16k191620desiderius-erasmus-stiftung-afd-keine-foerderung-vom-bund-gleichbehandlungsgrundsatz/)
At the beginning of August 2022, Max Otte was expelled from the conservative CDU party. Otte was the chairman of the right-wing conservative “WerteUnion”. Despite his CDU membership, he was a candidate for ‘Bundespräsidenten’ of the extreme right-wing AfD.
He had also donated 20,000 euros to the AfD. (German: https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/max-otte-nach-engagement-fuer-die-afd-aus-der-cdu-ausgeschlossen-a-f941543f-2ec9-44f3-96ac-8ad66ca58b34)
Also in August 2022 there were cases of far right attacks or preparations for attacks: * In Lauta (Bautzen district) in Saxony, a 61-year-old man attacked the police during a house search of his property in early August 2022. Besides 13 cannabis plants, the police also found three homemade crude bombs with detonators but without explosives. (German: https://www.mdr.de/nachrichten/sachsen/bautzen/bautzen-hoyerswerda-kamenz/polizei-hausdurchsuchung-sprengkoepfe-lauta-100.html)
* In the night of August 16 to 17, 2022, an arson attack was carried out on the constituency office of Family Affairs Minister Paus (Greens). Nearby, the word “NSU” was written on a fence. NSU stands for „Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund“ („National Socialist Underground“) the name of an extreme right-wing terror network that murdered ten people.
(German: https://www.zdf.de/nachrichten/politik/brandanschlag-familienministerin-paus-nsu-100.html)
At the end of August 2022 it became known that the neo-Nazi, ex-NPD district council member and suspected Hammerskin Sven Krüger wants to sell his “Thinghaus” in Grevesmühle (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania). The house functioned for over ten years since 2008 as an important right-wing scene, among other things for right-wing rock concerts and Nazi eyewitness lectures. (German: https://taz.de/Neonazi-Zentrum-wird-verkauft/!5873551/)
On August 26, 2022, the far-right Holocaust denier Nikolai Nerling was sentenced by the Berlin-Tiergarten District Court to a nine-month suspended sentence and a penalty payment to the Amadeu Antonio Foundation.
On August 25, 2022, the Bundesgerichtshof (Federal Court of Justice) rejected all appeals against the verdict on the right-wing murder of local CDU politician Walter Lübcke in June 2019. The partial acquittal of Markus H., a friend of the main perpetrator Stephan Ernst remained in place. Likewise, Ernst was acquitted in relation to the attack on Ahmed I. – the Iraqi had been attacked with a knife in January 2016 by a person he believed to be Stephan Ernst. Ernst had been sentenced to life in prison for the murder at the end of July. (German: https://taz.de/Rechter-Anschlag-auf-CDU-Politiker/!5873721/)
The open-right and right-wing street protests in Germany, organized primarily by Corona deniers, picked up steam again in late August 2022. For example, 2,500 people demonstrated in Plauen on August 28, 2022.
Transnational Social Media Activity & Propaganda/Narratives In August 2022, the German book “Die Dämonisierung durchbrechen” („Breaking through demonisation“) by Jean-Yves Le Gallou with a foreword by Martin Sellner was published by the far right Jungeuropa-Verlag. Gallou was a member of the European Parliament for the “Front National” and an advisor to Éric Zemmour.
In August 2022, the right-wing Antaios publishing house published „Mut oder Wie man einen Kulturkampf inszeniert“ (“Courage or How to Stage a Culture War”) by François Bousquet with a foreword by the publisher Götz Kubitschek. Bousquet is editor-in-chief of the magazine “Éléments” and the French publisher of Benoist.
Transnational Political and Financial Cooperation Several extreme right-wing journalists from Germany are on the front lines in Ukraine, reporting for right-wing periodicals: Julian Monaco (presumably for the “Jungeuropa” blog), Mario Alexander Müller (“Tumult”), Jonathan Stumpf (“Krautzone”) and Luis Hill. Müller, Stumpf and Hill are on the road together. Journalist Research also revealed in August 2022 that the AfD-affiliated association “Vereinigung zur Abwehr der Diskriminierung und der Ausgrenzung Russlanddeutscher sowie russischsprachiger Mitbürger in Deutschland” (VDAR) supports the pro-Putin journalist Alina Lipp in Russia. Lipp is from Germany and is under investigation for approving a war of aggression. (German: https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/parteien/id_100035872/putins-deutsche-kriegerin-alina-lipp-erhaelt-unterstuetzung-von-afd-verein.html)
In mid-August 2022, a group of members of the neo-fascist “Casa Pound” movement from Italy visited Germany. On August 10, they visited Munich and later Nuremberg and were shown around historic Nazi sites by members of “Der III. Weg” around.
(German: https://der-dritte-weg.info/2022/08/stadtfuehrung-fuer-casa-pound-in-muenchen/, https://der-dritte-weg.info/2022/08/stadtfuehrung-fuer-casa-pound-in-nuernberg/)
The AfD is to pay a fine for an illegal party donation in August 2022, according to a decision by the Bundestag administration. The district association of AfD politician Alice Weidel had received a donation of 150,000 euros from a Dutch foundation “Stichting Identiteit Europa” in February 2018. (German: https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/ndr-wdr/afd-spendenaffaere-113.html)
On August 27 and 28, 2022, the extreme right-wing and Flemish nationalist hero commemoration “Ijzerwake” took place in Belgium. From Germany, members of the Burschenschaft Germania zu Köln and an AfD delegation (Matthias Helferich, Maximilian Krah, Irmhild Boßdorf) participated. Originally, an extreme right-wing concert “Frontmacht” was also to take place in Belgium on August 28, 2022. In which also the songwriters Sacha Korn and Phil von Flak were to perform. However, the event was cancelled.
Analysis
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Far-Right Extremism Is a Threat to Germany’s Democracy
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A Decade of Right-Wing Radicalization
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