IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY

Intentions of Right-wing Extremists in Germany

Weiss, Alex 5/7/2011

Since the fall of the Nazi regime, Germany has undergone extreme changes socially, economically, and politically. Almost immediately after the Second World War, it became illegal, or at least socially unacceptable, for Germans to promote the or any of its ideologies. A strong international presence from the allies effectively suppressed the patriotic and nationalistic views formerly present in Germany after the allied occupation. The suppression of such beliefs has not eradicated them from contemporary Germany, and increasing numbers of primarily young males now identify themselves as neo-Nazis (1). This group of neo-Nazis hold many of the same beliefs as the Nazi party from the 1930’s and 40’s, which some may argue is a cause for concern. This essay will identify the intentions of right-wing extremists in contemporary Germany, and address how they might fit into Germany’s future.

In order to fully analyze the intentions of right-wing extremists today, it is critical to know where and how these beliefs came about. Many of the practices and ideologies of the former Nazi party are held today amongst contemporary extreme-right groups, often referred to as Neo-Nazis. A few of the behaviors of the Neo-Nazis that have been preserved from the former

Nazi party are anti-Semitism, xenophobia and violence towards “non-Germans”, and ultra- conservatism (1). The spectrum of varies greatly from primarily young, uneducated, violent extremists who ruthlessly attack members of minority groups in Germany to intellectuals and journalists that are members of the New Right with influence in conservative politics. The focus of this paper will be on extremists, but the relationship with the moderate rightist and extremists will be addressed.

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At the end of the WWII in 1945, fell to the allied powers of England, France, the US, and the . During the allied occupation of Germany, there were intense efforts to denazify Germany. The Nuremberg trials were held in the years 1945 and 1946 and

removed the majority of the living Nazi party leaders. Many of the leaders were executed or

sentenced to life in prison (2). The of Germany proved to be a challenge, as in the

case of the , or the Imperial Party of Germany. The presence of both of

these parties in the decades following WWII suggests that support for the Nazi party did not just

go away overnight.

The Reichspartei contained many old members of the Nazi party including the leader

Wilhelm Meinberg, a former SA member. This party’s major platform was to absolve

Germany’s guilt about both wars and “’to create a new epoch in history’ without repeating

Hitler's ‘mistakes.’” (Times-Article). A similar political organization, the Sozialistische

Reichspartei, split off from the Reichspartei and supported a more radical platform. These groups earned a combined 375,000 votes and 16 seats in the 1951 election with most of these votes coming from the Socialist Reichspartei (The Sozialistische Reichspartei was banned in 1952

(Times-Article)).

Another prominent rightist party, albeit the most moderate, is the Republikaner party formed in 1983. The Republikaner party does not boast about being anti-democratic nor does it support the radical principles of the Nazi party; however, the party was founded and led by former SA- officer Franz Schönhuber. One of the differences between extremist parties and the Republican

Party is a support for the standing parliamentary government in Germany. The Republican Party supports the government in Germany now, but extremist groups would like to see a radical shift in how the country is governed. (1)

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When analyzing the right-wing political parties in Germany since 1949, one must note how little support they receive when compared to the Nazi party in the 30’s and 40’s. Since

1960, no extremist right group has received enough votes to secure a seat in the national parliament and in general. Also these groups have not experienced notable gains in support since the 1960’s. Much of the attention and national concern directed towards these political parties does not reflect how much of a minority it actually is in the mainstream politics. Politically, since the fall of the Nazis, right-political parties have not managed to gain a foothold in the national scene.

In 1964 the National Democratic Party of Germany was founded, and it became the primary rightist party in Germany during this time period. As one would expect, many of the ranking officials in this political party were former Nazis, some of them officials in previously banned Socialist Reichspartei.(1) What was somewhat alarming is that the NPD grew rapidly between the years of 1964-1969, a time period in which Germany experienced an economic recession. The rise of the NSDAP was able to gain support partly due to the poor economic conditions in Europe during the 1930’s. The NPD never gained enough votes to secure a seat in the and support declined steeply after the country was out of an economic recession.

The NPD has maintained levels of local support but has never been a national competitor in

Germany’s parliament.

The insignificance of right-wing politics in Germany after the war can be attributed to the laws imposed on post-war Germany. In September 1945, the allied powers officially abolished the Nazi party as well as any affiliated sub organization. The agreement also required the

German authorities to prohibit any secret organization supporting (Law Journal). These

03 laws were generally effective in squelching the Nazi party, but support for ultra-conservatism remained prevalent in years following in cases such as the Reichspartei as well as the NPD.

Although politically the NPD and Republican Party are not a threat to Germany, the violent intentions of right-wing extremists are a cause for national concern. The NPD and

Republican party have been allowed to function because government officials fear that banning them will push the Neo-Nazi movement further underground. Members of the parliament feel that banning the NPD, assuming the NPD was in violation of the Basic Law, would not effectively combat right-wing extremism.

After the reunification of 1989, Germany has had difficulty dealing with Neo-Nazi promotion and gatherings. Section 86a. Of the German criminal code makes it illegal to

“domestically distributes or publicly uses, in a meeting or in writings symbols of one of the parties or organizations indicated in § 86 subsection” ( Law Journal). This law includes waving a flag with a Swastika or production of insignia containing swastikas. The German authorities are in a constant struggle with Neo-Nazi groups because members of these groups find new ways to promote their organization. Upon the collapse of the NSDAP and the division of Germany into territories in 1945, the national identity of Germany was shaken. Neither the German Democratic

Republic set up in the east nor the Federal Republic of Germany in the west supported national pride or patriotism due to ties it held with the third and the horrors of . The

Nazi party was by some to be considered capitalist system and was a threat to the new, socialist governments set up in Germany. (CC) Coupled with international pressure from the allied powers after the war and political pressure from the new standing governments, German patriotism and national pride diminished in the decades following the end of the war.

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After the Second World War, there was a major shortage of workers in Germany. This type of labor shortage appeared in Imperial Germany as early as the 18 th and 19 th century. Workers from countries such as Poland, Russia, and Turkey were allowed to work in Germany, but were never given full-citizenship. These “Fremdarbeiter”, or foreign workers, were considered a threat to German homogeneity and members of these labor groups were constantly persecuted. (4)

These sentiments towards foreigners were expressed by many right-wing nationalist groups in the Weimar republic, the Nazi party, and by many Neo-Nazis today. Rooting out this negative prejudice against foreigners is challenging because of long-held traditions and practices dating back to Imperial Germany.

This xenophobia and racism present in imperial Germany has remained prevalent

amongst contemporary right-extremists. The modern forms of racism and xenophobia are caused

by many of the same issue of labor shortages and competition in the workplace. Lower income

youth who are poorly educated are forced to compete with lower income groups in the

workplace, often time foreigners. This form of social pressure causes these individuals to

become close minded and they begin to blame foreigners for their hardships. Primary groups

receiving negative attention from skinheads are the Turkish, and often German born Turks. (1.6)

The extreme right offers a safe haven for this group of primarily young males to voice their

opinion and feel like part of a group.

The intention of right-wing extremists in regards to immigration and foreigners is one of

preservation. To them an ideal Germany is one with limited diversity and a homogenous

Germany. Extremists in Germany have resisted both politically and violently against legislation

which will allow foreigners to gain citizenship and assimilate into society. This includes denying

05 citizenship to certain groups of immigrants and children born in Germany to foreign parents.

Because right-wing extremism is also a minority group in Germany, they feel it is their job to persuade the German public to support their rigid policies against multiculturalism. (1)

Contemporary right-wing extremists hold negative sentiments towards Jews similar the former Nazi party. Anti-Semitism is highly prevalent amongst right-wing extremists; however most acts towards Jews are limited to vandalism and religious desecration. These extremists view

Jewish people as foreigners, or people non-essential to German society. Acts of vandalism towards synagogues and Jewish cemeteries has slowly risen, but should not be a matter of national attention as violent acts towards Jews in general have not seen a steep rise (1). The anti-

Semitic views held by contemporary-extremist groups should be more attributed to the general dislike of foreigners rather than a dislike for Jewish people in particular.

There are some anti-Semites and conspiracy theorists who believe that the Holocaust never happened and that Germans are actually the ones being wronged (1). These conspiracy theories about the existence of the Holocaust were propagated as early as the 1950s. Before it was banned in 1952, the and its leaders had already attempted to convince its supporters that enemies to Germany, specifically capitalists and communists, had built the showers in the concentration camps at Dachau (1). Conspiracies about the holocaust, often times called

“holocaust denial”, are anti-Semitic in nature and, attempt to remove the association of genocide to the Nazi party. In order to gain some credibility and to recruit new members, this conspiracy theory is promoted by extremist groups.

The first signed of German patriotism and reunification of the east and west occurred during the fall of the Berlin wall in 1989. This was a time period in which Germany was freed

06 from foreign occupation and was allowed to rebuild its national identity. The form of patriotism at this time was not one of the former Nazi party, but that Germany should no longer feel guilt for what happened during the Nazi regime. This form of acceptance carried on through the

1990’s and really showed during the 2006 world cup game hosted by Germany. This was the first time in decades that large public gatherings were occurring in the name of German pride and spirit. This also marked the first time in decades that flying a German flag became socially acceptable and viewed as support for Germany rather than support for the radical beliefs held by the Nazi party (Berlin Wall art.). Unfortunately all of the flag-waving and the singing of the national anthem have raised fear of the return of Nazism.

The extremists have generally always promoted national pride and patriotism, and the rise

in mainstream public support for patriotism has allowed them to become bolder. The intention of

the extremists is to raise widespread national pride to a level high enough to gain support an

authoritarian government. Their authoritarian government would allow right-wing extremism to

take hold of foreign policy and to reclaim areas of Germany forfeited at the end of the war. Many

of the members do not necessarily wish to adopt a form of national-socialism, but the system

they wish to put into place is strongly anti-democratic. (Braunthal)

The rise of patriotism, the push for conservative politics, and the hatred towards foreigners in

Germany are all things that are somewhat tied to neo-Nazism. The NPD wishes for a more

nationalistic government and is required to follow the guidelines set in the constitution which

include not promoting Nazism. Many members in neo-Nazi groups want to be part of a larger

group that is violent towards people viewed as “non-German”.

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There are two factors which help dissolve support for violent hate groups in Germany. One is the governments continued resistance to groups that promote violence and hatred. Another is the large majority of people in Germany who are not Neo-Nazis that are willing to speak out against these groups and wish for a better Germany.

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Works Cited:

Braunthal (1) http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremberg/nuremberg.htm (2) – Nuremberg trials http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,826046,00.html -- (times article) http://www.dipublico.com.ar/english/treaties/agreement-between-the-governments-of-the-united- kingdom-the-united-states-of-america-and-the-union-of-soviet-socialist-republics-and-the- provisional-government-of-the-french-republic-on-certain-add/ (Law Journal) cambridge companion (CC)- pg 97-98 on reparations http://www.jstor.org/pss/445708 (4) – DNVP post war http://www.dipublico.com.ar/english/treaties/agreement-between-the-governments-of-the-united- kingdom-the-united-states-of-america-and-the-union-of-soviet-socialist-republics-and-the- provisional-government-of-the-french-republic-on-certain-add/ (--) German law against Nazism

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