extremism
Every second person sees a serious danger in “Reichsbürger”.
25 people were arrested during the raid on so-called “Reich citizens”. photo
© Boris Roessler/dpa
An armed group of “Reich citizens” is said to have planned a coup. 53 percent of people in Germany see this as a threat to democracy. In the east, the situation is assessed somewhat differently.
About half of the German population believes that so-called Reich citizens pose a serious threat to democracy and its representatives. In a recent survey by the opinion research institute YouGov, 53 percent of the participants took this view. 31 percent of those surveyed do not see such a risk. 15 percent of the participants in the representative survey commissioned by the German Press Agency were undecided on this question.
According to the information, the danger is estimated to be somewhat greater in the west than in eastern Germany. While around 56 percent of the population in the West believes that these extremists pose a serious threat to democracy and its representatives, only 44 percent of people in the new federal states believe this.
Only a minority think that “Reich citizens” could pose a threat to themselves. According to a survey, 63 percent of people in Germany do not see such a personal risk. Almost one in five respondents (19 percent) said they felt somewhat threatened by these extremists. Only seven percent of adult citizens are of the opinion that “Reich citizens” are very threatening to them personally.
25 arrests in raid
“Reich citizens” are people who do not recognize the Federal Republic and its democratic structures. Federal prosecutors arrested 25 people last Wednesday, including former officers and police officers. She accuses 22 of those arrested of being a member of a terrorist organization that wanted to overthrow the political system. Three arrested are considered supporters. The 23 suspects arrested in Germany are in custody. The federal prosecutor also spoke of 27 other suspects.
An AfD politician is also among those arrested. Berlin judge Birgit Malsack-Winkemann is a member of the party’s Federal Arbitration Court and was in the Bundestag for the AfD between 2017 and 2021.
Every second person (50 percent) takes the view that the AfD is partly responsible for the radicalization in the “Reichsbürger” scene. Almost every fourth (24 percent) does not believe that. About the same number of people (26 percent) either had no opinion or did not provide any information.