Neo-Nazi movement in Germany

Moreover, one of the most susceptible nations to fall prey to such radical ideologies is Germany. Considering its long history of Nazism, followed by a period of denazification, the old notions of anti-Semitism that cost the lives of six million Jews seems to be making a return. One recent incident that proves this fact, is the shooting at the synagogue in Halle, a town in eastern Germany. When 28-year-old Stephan Balliet, carried firearms and attempted to enter the building, which had around 51 people celebrating Yom Kippur (a holy day for the Jews). After failing to get past the doors, he went on a killing spree where he shot a 40-year old woman, and a man at a nearby Turkish restaurant as well as a couple. He live streamed the entire event on an online gaming site, Twitch. Apart from that, earlier this year on 19th February, a right wing extremist entered two shisha bars in the city of Hanau, and started attacking individuals he considered as “foreigners”. This attack cost the lives of 11 people, and led to large-scale public outrage.

Nevertheless, this is not the only instance that marks the beginning of such violence. In 2018, a violent group took to the streets of Chemnitz, where they waved German flags and chased after dark-skinned individuals whilst hunting for Syrian and Iraqi refugees and flashing the Nazi salute. Exactly a year after that, eight individuals were sentenced to prison for attempting to launch a “civil-war like” uprising in Berlin. These eight far-right extremists, all between the ages of 21 and 32, claimed to belong to a group called “Revolution Chemnitz”. Over the past year alone, anti-Semitic crimes in Germany have surged by 13 per cent, with cases rising up to 2,032.

Politicians of Germany too have not been spared by such violent attacks. In November of 2017, mayor of Altena, Andreas Hollstein was stabbed in the neck by a 52-year-old man. The mayor belongs to Chancellor Angela Merkel's CDU (Christian Democratic Union of Germany) and is known for his pro-refugee policies. A similar attack took place in October of 2015, when an independent candidate, Henriette Reker was also stabbed. She was supported by the CDU party, and was in favour of pro-refugee policies. She later won the election to become the mayor of Cologne. Apart from that the members of the left wing CDU party have also received threatening hate mails which contained their personal information and Nazi phrases. Victims of such incidents were the leader of the Left Group in the Hessian state parliament, Janine Wissler, Hesse’s interior minister Peter Beuth and head of government Volker Bouffier. The mails received by Wissler were supposedly signed by Nationalist Socialist Underground 2.0 (NSU), a notorious underground pro-Nazi extremist group. But these events do not compare to the brutal murder of Walter Lübcke, who served as a member of the Center-Right Christian Democrats on a regional council in Hesse. The perpetrator was 46-year-old Stephan Ernst, who had long standing ties with many far-right extremist groups.

It does not take long to see the similarities in all the above mentioned events. Most of the victims have either been members of the CDU party or have been in favour of pro-refugee policies. Ever since Angela Merkel made the decision to open the borders of Germany for immigrants in 2015, there has been a significant rise in far-right extremism. The targets of such attacks are mostly members of the CDU, refugees, immigrants and Jews. But these politically motivated attacks do not simply stop at uprisings and assaults on politicians. This issue runs deep into the very institutional and political fault lines of the nation, making it a grave threat to the national security of Germany. But the question prevails, that even after the haunting history of the Holocaust, how do such pro-Nazi sentiments still persist? And why are they making a comeback now?

Even though Germany is considered a success story with regards to the denazification programs that were carried out, a few sympathizers have always remained. In May 2007, the interior minister of Saxony, Albrecht Buttolo banned a far- right extremist group called “Sturm 34”, on the grounds of propagating Nazism. One of the most historically notable cases is that of the NSU’s series of violence in the earlier half of the 2000s. “National Socialist Underground” (NSU) is a neo-Nazi group, which made headlines after a failed attempt at bank robbery followed by one of its core members turning herself in and the other two members being found dead. Uwe Mundlos (38) and Uwe Bönhardt (38), who were alleged bank robbers were found dead on the 4th of November, 2011, while the third member Beate Zschäpe (37), turned herself to the police four days later. This group was held responsible for many attacks including the Cologne bombings in 2004. They had also sent out DVD’s to various media houses soon after their arrest where they claimed responsibility for the murder of nine migrants of Turkish, Kurdish and Greek descent. As per sources, the trio had been active since the 1990’s where they had been a part of a militant neo- Nazi organization called “PEGIDA”, which was also a part of a bigger organization called “Thüringer Heimatschutz” (Thuringian Homeland Security). Even though the NSU is currently disbanded, smaller extremist factions inspired by similar ideas have arisen over the decade.

But a more pressing concern is, what has caused this resurgence of far-right sentiments in Germany? This revival of the far right movements is said to have been closely linked to Angela Merkel's decision to shelter immigrants. Since then a wave of xenophobia and islamophobia has taken over the nation, which is being bolstered by far-right political parties like Alternative for Germany (AfD). The members of the AfD are notorious for being associated with various neo-Nazi movements in the recent past. One of the party’s senior officials Andreas Kalbitz, was found guilty of partaking in a neo-Nazi camp in 2007. This led to his immediate expulsion from the party, but he still continues to be an influential figure. Another prominent member of the party, Björn Höcke, referred to the Holocaust memorial in Berlin as a “monument of shame” and called for a “180 degree turn” in German policies, instigating the masses. This soon led to a series of controversy and a heated political debate. Höcke was eventually accused of inciting racial discrimination. AfD has been very vocal about their opposition to the entry of immigrants and Muslims in the nation, and most of their speeches do carry a Nazi undertone.

However, the party’s radical side has become more noticeable in the past few years, especially when it openly expressed support for the anti-islam group called PEGIDA (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West). The group has carried out many violent demonstrations in Dresden, which was part of the previously communist Germany. On one occasion, PEGIDA was accused of throwing homemade bombs at a mosque in Dresden. The leader of the group, Lutz Bachmann fled to a Spanish island off the coast of Africa in 2016 to escape persecution at the hands of German authorities. Apart from that, Andreas Kalbitz, was recently seen instigating mobs to carry out rallies against the current government’s policies to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Slogans that said “corona is fake” could be seen along with other Nazi symbols. The fact that such violent groups are openly being supported by political parties, is a clear indication that far-right extremist movements have a potential to turn extremely ugly in the near future.

When this political support is clubbed with the presence of similar sentiments being seen in the law enforcement ranks of the nation the threat exponentially increases.

In July of this year, the New York Times reported on a special elitist military unit, which is known by its German acronym KSK, and its infiltration by far-right extremists. In May of 2020, German authorities found two kilograms of PETN plastic explosives, a detonator, a fuse, an AK-47, a silencer, two knives, a crossbow and thousands of rounds of ammunition, all of which was believed to have been stolen from the German military. Along with these, an SS songbook, 14 editions of a magazine for former members of the Waffen SS and a host of other Nazi memorabilia was all unearthed from the property of a sergeant major who worked for the KSK. The raid was carried out on the suspicion that the accused was a neo-Nazi. Defence minister, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, reportedly disbanded the KSK on the grounds that it had been too infiltrated to be fixed.

Another striking incident that highlights the penetration of far-right extremist ideologies in the German military is the formation of the Nordkreuz (Northern cross), which is a far right extremist group which grew out of a nationwide chat network of soldiers. They are driven with anti-immigration and anti-muslim sentiments and also include members from the police force. After three years of their discovery the group is currently being held for trial. However this raises some serious concerns regarding the investigation of such matters, as it is highly probable that the accused might go free due to the political leanings of a few individuals handling the case. This institutional loophole has been pointed out time and again, by many analysts. Who believe that this was the primary reason for terror cells like the NSU, who managed to evade German authorities for over 13 years.

 However, it would be wrong to assume that Germany is the only European nation that faces the increasing violence unleashed by such far-right extremist groups. This security threat is no longer confined within the borders of Germany but has also reached other nations like Canada, United States and Australia. The Christchurch attacks were a resounding confirmation of the same. Other far-right extremist groups like Combat 18 and Blood and Honor, which took roots in Britain in the early 1990’s are already on Canada’s list of terror organizations. The United States, too, has not been spared by these anarchists. The Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburg which was bombed in 2018, shows the increasing anti-Semitic sentiments in the US.

Similar to the jihadists, far-right extremists too have found the use of the internet as a viable tool of propaganda. Online presence of such terrorist groups has significantly increased over the last five years. From releasing hate messages to connecting with fellow extremists, the internet provides these groups with easy access to all. As per reports, around 6,600 right wing extremist social media channels have been linked to Canada. Andrew Anglin, an American citizen and also the founder of the neo- Nazi website, Daily Stormer, is single-handedly responsible for motivating attacks in El Paso, New Zealand, Poway and California. In February this year FBI director, Christopher Wray mentioned that over 107 cases of domestic terrorism had been reported in the US as of 2019. He also stressed upon that fact that white supremacist and neo- Nazi radicalization cases, today posed the same level of security threat as that of the ISIS. The United Nations too has expressed concerns over the matter. With cases of violence by right wing terror groups surging up to 320 percent in the last five years alone, it is a cause for alarm.

But there are other factors to be considered as well, while analyzing such data. If cyberspace can be used as a tool for propaganda it can also be used to spread misinformation regarding such issues. Ever since Germany has taken a stance in favor of migrants entering their borders, other nations in Europe have not been particularly pleased with such a decision. Russia happens to be one of them. Over the past few years, Russian involvement in the democratic elections of other nations has been a topic of controversy. But Russia has also found a way to exploit the migrant crisis in Europe and contort facts in order to serve itself. Given the historical and demographic ties between Germany and Russia, the right wing movements in Germany are being fueled with the misinformation spread by Russian media sites. The “Lisa case” is one such famous example of how a tale weaved over social media was enough to cause a diplomatic row between Germany and Russia. The case was about a 13-year-old Russian-German girl who was allegedly kidnapped and raped by Arab migrants. However, later investigation revealed that the accused was not an Arab, and that the Russian media had twisted facts to cater to their political intentions. Russia’s state propaganda channel Rossiya 1, on multiple occasions has targeted individuals of migrant status for cases of violence. As per one source, a Bulgarian national who had kicked a woman in the Berlin metro was depicted to be ‘an Arab’.

Russian media not only propagates news that is aimed at immigrants but is also biased towards the AfD party of Germany. A study conducted by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) brought to light the close links that are shared between the AfD and Russian media as well as the rampant use of social media to spread misinformation. Right wing extremists in Germany heavily depend on social media sites for information. There have been multiple cases where fake news has instigated riots in some parts of Germany. There have been reports of neo-Nazis seeking training in Russia. Russia has been accused of meddling with the elections of many nations in the past, and its attempt to bolster right wing extremist movements in Germany can be seen as a deliberate attempt to incite structural violence.

Today, Germany does not stand alone in its fight against right wing extremism. However, as this issue increasingly becomes a threat to international security, there are a lot of factors that need to be considered while combating this new form of terrorism. With online radicalization being an accessible tool for terror groups, lone wolf attacks can be a major concern for domestic security of nations. And given the political nature of this form of radicalization, it is very likely some of these terror groups might receive backing either covertly or overtly from political parties. An example of which could be seen in the association of AfD and PEGIDA. Bearing in mind the current wave of nationalist and populist ideologies that most head of states subscribe to today and the shifting political tides of the 21st century might result into providing these radical groups with a perfect breeding ground. Given that fact, most research regarding terrorism till date has been on Islamic radicalization, not much attention has been paid to politically motivated acts of terror. Right wing terror groups currently seem to be progressing from their nascent stages and becoming bolder day by day, and the elements of radicalization mixed with political violence could only bolster its growth. The question is, will these right wing extremists be deemed as terrorists or used as tools for structural violence?

(The views expressed are personal)