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Qualitative Info |
The German national Office for the Protection of the Constitution reported the existence of 225 right-wing extremist organisations and associations of several persons in 2011 (2010: 219).
In the history of the Federal Republic of Germany about 35 extremist right-wing associations have been banned, most of them in the 1990s and 2000s.
The group which experienced the most rapid growth in the last years is called “Autonomous Nationalists” (Autonome Nationalisten). About 1.000 people represented this network in 2010 (2009: 800) (BVerfS 2010, p.46-47).
According to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution the majority of right-wing extremists are not organised or only joined in networks with only loose or without organisational structures (BA VerfS 2011, p.19-42; BVerfS 2010, p.53).
All of the following organisations and associations are observed by local and national Offices for the Protection of the Constitution.
“Young National-Democrats “ JN (Junge Nationaldemokraten)
The JN is the youth organisation of the NPD. The association's aim is an ethnically homogenous society where all living and being should be based on “German culture, German families and German life” (deutsche Kultur, deutsche Familien und deutsches Leben) (BVerfS 2010, p.92). For several years the members of the association also have been inciting hatred against Muslims. In its anti-Islamic campaigns, the JN stirs up fears about the Islamisation of Europe. According to the association, the mass immigration of Muslim people and their high fertility is going to eliminate the European people and their culture. Therefore the JN declared: “Us or sharia” (“Wir oder Scharia”). This shows that the JN represents right-wing extremist and anti-Islamic positions and poses a risk for hate speech against Muslims and other migrant minorities.
"Ring of National Women” RNF (Ring Nationaler Frauen)
By supporting the NPD in its work and by participating at demonstrations and events organised by the NPD or the JN, the RNF backs the nationalistic and anti-migrant ideology of the party. The RNF claims that Germany is endangered because of multiculturalism which arouses anger among the German population (BVerfS 2010, p.94).
„Local Political Association of the NPD“ KPV (Kommunalpolitische Vereinigung der NPD)
The KPV of the NPD constitutes a threat to the interests of migrants and ethnic minorities in the sense that the KPV is supporting the delegates of the NPD as well as the NPD´s electoral candidates in their political work and in preparation for future political tasks (BVerfS 2010, p.95). Therefore it can be assumed that the KPV of the NPD has an indirect but important influence on the formation of the nationalistic, anti-migrant and right-wing extremist policy of the NPD.
“Aid Organisation for National Political Prisoners and their Relatives“ HNG (banned in 2011) (Hilfsorganisation für nationale politische Gefangene und deren Angehörige e.V.)
The HNG was the biggest active, national association of neo-Nazis in Germany. The association aimed to support detained right-wing extremists. Thus, the HNG tried to maintain the integration of these prisoners in the neo-Nazi milieu during their term of imprisonment. By encouraging right-wing extremist ideology, the association wanted to promote future right-wing extremist acts of crime and violence by the detained extremists. In 2010, the interior ministry initiated a preliminary investigation against the HNG (BVerfS 2010, p.122). Finally, the organisation was banned in 2011.
Next to these organisations about 200 small right-wing extremist organisations exist (Kameradschaften etc.), such as the “Youth Association of East Germany” JLO (Junge Landsmannschaft Ostdeutschland) or the “National-Germanic Brotherhood” (National-Germanische Bruderschaft) (BVerfS 2010, p.56; Röpke 2006). The majority of these Kameradschaften and other neo-Nazi or right-wing extremist organisations normally involve up to 15 members (BVerfS 2010, p.62). The German fraternity DB (Deutsche Burschenschaft), an umbrella association of the German student leagues, is also claimed to have right-wing extremist attitudes since some of its members keep close contact to right-wing extremists of other organisations. For this reason the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution observed some of DB´s student leagues for several years during the mid 2000s (Schmidt 2011). Moreover, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Hamburg stated in its 2010 report that a few of these student leagues promote right-wing extremist positions (HH VerfS 2010, p.175).
Source:
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Verfassungsschutzbericht 2010, available at: http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/SHOW/vsbericht_2010.pdf , Accessed on 07.12.2011.
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Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (2011): Symbole und Zeichen der Rechtsextremisten. Available at: http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/pb_rechtsextremismus/broschuere_1210_re_symbole_und_zeichen/ , Accessed on 30.12.2011.
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Hamburger Verfassungschutzbericht 2010, available at: http://www.hamburg.de/contentblob/2898794/data/verfassungsschutzbericht-2010-nur-text-fassung.pdf, Accessed on 31.08.2011.
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Röpke, Andrea (2006): Braune Kameradschaften. Available at: http://www.bpb.de/themen/WXVB77,0,Braune_Kameradschaften.html, Accessed on 30.08.2011.
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Federal Ministry of the Interior (Bundesministerium des Innern, BMI) (2012), Verfassungsschutzbericht 2011, Berlin, p. 56, available at: http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/download/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/vsbericht_2011/vsbericht_2011.pdf, Accessed on 13.01.2013.
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