MAINZ (Germany) — Germany security services are increasing efforts to monitor and contain threats from modern far-right extremes in the face of a rise in hate crimes motivated by politics.
The country’s intelligence service labeled the youth wing, or “extremist” group, of the largest far-right party in the country earlier this week.
According to Kai Arzheimer a professor of political science at the University of Mainz, Germany, who studies extreme right-wing extremism, the seriousness of the authorities’ approach has dramatically increased in the last few years.
Since decades, politicians and security agencies have undervalued or minimized the magnitude of the problem. He said that thankfully, things began to improve even during the previous administration.
Multiple criminal investigations have been launched into a small, but potentially dangerous group of far-right Reichsburger extremeists who allegedly plotted the overthrow of the government and installation of an obscure hereditary Prince. They were inspired by a mixture of right-wing conspiracy theories.
The German acronym BfV, the country’s internal intelligence service, has labeled the youth wing of the Alternative for Germany (AfD) as extremist.
A decade after its founding as a conventional party that criticized the European Union and the integration of Germany, the far right AfD has become a major player in the German political landscape. A ZDF opinion poll conducted on Friday showed that the far-right party had 17% of national votes, making it the third strongest party in Germany.
German experts on far-right extremism tell NBC News the rise of far-right extremism is real and dangerous. Ex-military and police officers who have access to guns are allegedly involved in a conspiracy, and the AfD’s popularity has reshaped the political thinking and dragged the centrist parties towards the right.
AfD gained prominence during the 2015 refugee crises when Angela Merkel , then Chancellor, invited hundreds of thousands of migrants to settle in Germany. Most of them were fleeing civil war in Syria. The arrival of more than a half-million migrants sparked anti-immigrant sentiment in Germany and Europe.
Thomas Haldenwang, BfV president, described the group’s youth wing as “arsonists” and “cue-givers for hate”. In 2021, the domestic intelligence service placed AfD in its entirety under official surveillance.
Arzheimer stated that the AfD could choose to challenge the extremism ruling in court, and despite “well-documented links” to far-right radical activity, they still have enough support to be considered a mainstream party by some.
The AfD has a strong presence in certain eastern regions and enjoys a high level of national support. They have large delegations in the Bundestag and European Parliament as well as most state legislatures. This gives them access to funding and media, but also legal protection.
It is the most popular party in the eastern regions of the former East Germany that reunified in 1991.
A survey conducted by the Bertelsmann Foundation ahead of the federal elections of 2021 in Germany found that a little under 8% German voters have “manifest” right-wing extremist views. The number is nearly four times higher for AfD supporters.
Björn Höcke, chairman of the right-wing AfD, which enjoys the support of roughly a quarter of voters.
Bodo Schackow / DPA via Getty Images
The AfD denies it promotes extremist views.
NBC News has not received a response from the AfD or Young Alternative. In a statement published on the party website Wednesday, Tino Chrupalla said: “There’s no progressive radicalization within the AfD.” They added that the BfV decision to classify the youth wing of the AfD as extremists was “an outrageous action.”
The rise of right-wing politics is felt throughout society.
The number of hate crimes has increased by 10% compared to 2021, and three quarters are inspired by far-right ideology. In 2021, the number of hate crimes recorded increased by 10%. Three quarters of these crimes were motivated by far-right ideologies, officials said in a statement earlier this month.
After revealing the figures, Interior minister Nancy Faeser announced that she would propose new and stricter gun laws.
And 79% of those surveyed by the German Center for Integration and Migration Research (a think tank funded by the state) said that German democracy is in greater danger than five years ago.
The German federal prosecutor announced on Tuesday that it had arrested three more suspected anti-democracy far-right extremists who were linked to a alleged plot of the Reichsburger movement. This group is accused of a alleged conspiracy to overthrow government.
In a press release, the prosecutor’s statement said that all three suspects are suspected of belonging to a terrorist group. 25 members of the group were arrested by 3,000 police officers in December. They recovered bullets, firearms and detailed plans.
Experts say that the group is dangerous, even though few people believe it could reach its goal.
“There was an extremely high risk of death.” “We see more and more that these groups are made up of former military personnel or police officers,” said Miro Dittrich, an analyst at CeMAS in Germany, which monitors right-wing extremeism.
Like the far-rightof Europe, resistance to pandemic restrictions was another catalyst of this movement.
Dittrich stated that “a lot of people were part of this movement, and they promised people would rise up. But it never happened.”
“So, the inner core of this group believes there is a plot to eliminate Germans. It is war. And it’s okay to use violence at a time of crisis.”
According to Vicente Valentim a political scientist from the University of Oxford, England, who studies the way politics affects social norms, there is another, more subtle, but equally important, aspect of the rise of Germany’s far-right: a rightward shift in the language and policies of mainstream parties.
It’s not that people are becoming more extreme, but rather people who have these views already are more likely to express them in public. He said that it gives voters the impression that others share their opinions and that they are accepted.
Valentin OR Valentim said that there had been a shift in voting patterns and attitudes over the past 10 years. But just as important was the empowerment of those who already were anti-migration, and concerned about radical Islam. The center right changed accordingly.
“It has also affected the way other politicians talk — the center-right takes on some rhetoric from the far-right. It is a powerful tool for changing social norms. “We have a great deal of evidence to show that the other parties shifted their views about migration once the far-right became successful,” said he.
Andy Eckardt and Patrick Smith both reported from Mainz.
