The ‘Identitäre Bewegung Österreich’ (IBÖ) was founded in 2012 as imitation of the original from France. Its activities focus on mobilising for demonstrations, media-effective actions (such as banner drops), information tables, holding events and reading circles, producing materials and journalistic activities.
In addition to the internationally known activist Martin Sellner, key players include Phillip Huemer, who now works as a journalist for AUF1, and the party chairman Patrick Lenart. Elias Maria Schuch represents an important interface between the Identitarians and the FPÖ, as he heads the local branch of the Freedom Youth Korneuburg, which has repeatedly attracted negative attention due to right-wing activities.
According to a report by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution from 2018, the association had around 550 members at the time, 75 of whom legally owned a firearm, 10 of whom had already been convicted under the Weapons Act. Several FPÖ politicians and employees were among those recorded. The links to the FPÖ are numerous and range from financing/support by the party to personnel overlaps and close cooperation with the party’s youth organisations.
Many leading figures in the Identitarians are also members of German nationalist fraternities, with particularly close links to the Olympia and the Barden zu Wien, in which there are also some FPÖ functionaries.
The IBÖ appears in Austria under numerous cover names with the aim of portraying the right-wing scene as larger and more threatening. These include ‘Die Österreicher (D05)’ (front organisation from 2020), ‘Wiener Wehrmänner’, ‘Aktion Rot-Weiß-Rot’ (mobilisation against the LGBTQ+ community), ‘Aktion Solidarität’ (attempt to infiltrate the anti-austerity movement), ‘Info-direkt’ and ‘Heimatkurier’ (identitarian media), ‘Aktives Österreich’ (Twitter/donation account), ‘Aktivismus Wien’ (propaganda campaign), “Eisenfaust – Nonkonforme Ästhetik”, “Kontrakultur”, “Kulturfestung/Kulturverein Kreidfeuer” (section in Styria), “Patrioten in Wien, Graz, Linz, Salzburg und Kärnten”, “Patriotisches Weinviertel”, “Widerstand in Bewegung/Patrioten in Bewegung”, and most recently: ‘Aktion 451’.
The different names also have their own objectives, for example the Aktion 451 reading group is an attempt to re-establish the right-wing hegemony at universities that existed in Austria in the first half of the 20th century.
In Austria, the symbol with the Greek letter “Lambda” is no longer be used, as it was banned under the Symbol Act of 2017. It is sometimes replaced by identitarian activists with the similar-looking Overwatch logo, while the yellow flag (without logo) and the ‘White Power’ salute also serve as distinctive symbols.
Adress: Ramperstorfferstraße 31, 1050 Wien
Sources:
• https://www.standpunkt.press/das-sind-die-tarnnamen-der-gruppe-identitaere/
• https://www.doew.at/erkennen/rechtsextremismus/rechtsextreme-organisationen/identitaere-bewegung-oesterreich-iboe
• https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Identit%C3%A4re_Bewegung_%C3%96sterreich