extremism
Amadeu Antonio Foundation: Rich bourgeois scene was underestimated
During a raid on so-called “Reichsbürger” in Frankfurt/Main, masked police officers lead Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss away. photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
For a long time, so-called Reich citizens were smiled at as troublemakers, but now they are the focus of investigators. Too late, says an expert after the nationwide raid.
According to the Amadeu Antonio Foundation, the Reich citizen scene in Germany has been underestimated for too long. In the past few years, there have always been clear signs that the supporters are prepared to use violence and are apparently also organized, said extremism researcher Lorenz Blumenthaler.
“But especially in security circles, the groups were often laughed at and their enormous potential for danger was taken lightly, despite intensive warnings from civil society,” criticized the Berliner, who supports the foundation, which opposes right-wing extremism, racism and anti-Semitism, among other things with conspiracy ideologies and the milieu of the so-called Reich citizens.
Suspects in eleven federal states and abroad
“Reich citizens” are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic and its democratic structures. The protection of the constitution counts around 21,000 supporters in the scene, in Baden-Württemberg there are said to be 3,800. The federal prosecutor arrested suspects in eleven federal states as well as in Italy and Austria yesterday. The accused are said to have formed a terrorist organization that allegedly wanted to overthrow the political system in Germany.
“The topic was initially taken too lightly in Germany,” said Blumenthaler of the German Press Agency. He also warned that underestimating the Reichsbürger scene and its enormous radicalization potential was a mistake that could take revenge. The German authorities saw this mistake six years ago after a so-called Reich citizen from Georgensgmünd in Central Franconia shot and tried to capture the scene. In the end, this was done better, especially under the leadership of the traffic light coalition.
Call for more prevention work and law enforcement
“At the latest since the foiled kidnapping plans by Federal Health Minister Lauterbach in April, the topic has also been high on the political agenda,” said Blumenthaler. “No one actually laughs anymore today.”
From his point of view, however, the Reich citizen scene cannot be successfully fought overnight. “A lot has been missed over the years,” said the expert. “This raises the question of whether raids alone can turn back the wheel of time within a short period of time. What is needed instead is a holistic approach consisting of education, prevention work and also consistent criminal prosecution.”