Rise of German Neo-Nazis

In Germany there is the worrying rise of Neo-Nazis, although they don’t call themselves the Neo-Nazis, rather “The Free Forces” or “The Immortals” along with numerous other groupings. This trend is epitomised in the 12 murders committed by the National Socialist Underground between 2001-2007 and the NPD (the legal wing of the far-right movement) getting seats as elected officials.

Germany’s post-war constitution is based on a “never again” attitude, many German’s feel huge guilt that it was their country that started a war that took 70 million lives. This fear of the far-right means that the far-right feel even more marginalised than in other countries, this makes them all the more dangerous. In the past 20 years there have been 180 murders committed by the far-right, more than any other group including Islamists and the far-left.

One of the more worrying elements of the resurgence is the ability of far-right groups to attract students, the middle class and intellectuals. This normalisation of far-right politics is dangerous as now there could be a pool of lawyers who will defend far-right groups in all sorts of cases as well as more NPD members as elected officials.

Although the far-right has no real power in Germany, it does display a worrying trend that is evident across Europe in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. History shows us that in a time of crisis, people lurch to extremes.

The location of the 12 murders by the NSU that shook Germany to its core.