The federal government says right-wing extremism is the greatest threat to democracy. The past few days have shown that there is a lot going on on the left.
Autonomists, anarchists, left-wing terrorists: The arson attack on the power supply of the US electric car manufacturer Tesla’s factory and the arrest of the former RAF terrorist Daniela Klette in Berlin have highlighted a scene that, according to the security authorities, has been growing again for several years.
The times when left-wing terrorists in Germany frightened the police and citizens with attacks were more than 30 years ago. However, in its report for 2022, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution reported an increase in left-wing extremist potential by 5.2 percent to 36,500 people, of whom more than one in four are viewed as violence-oriented. And this trend has continued since then, according to information from the dpa.
For comparison: the Office for the Protection of the Constitution assigned 38,800 people to the right-wing extremist spectrum in the same period, including 14,000 people who were prone to violence.
More solidarity with Lina E. than with RAF terrorists
The search for Klette and two other ex-members of the so-called third generation of the Red Army Faction (RAF) has sparked isolated expressions of solidarity in the left-wing extremist scene in recent days. A banner was put up at the left-wing autonomous cultural center Rote Flora in Hamburg wishing Klette and the still-fugitive former RAF terrorists Ernst-Volker Staub and Burkhard Garweg “health and happiness.”
A rally under the motto “Stop state terrorism – solidarity with those in hiding and prisoners” has been announced for this Saturday in Berlin-Kreuzberg, where Klette lived under a false name and where Garweg is said to have lived in a trailer park until recently. 300 participants are expected. “It is realistic that there will be more people,” said a police spokesman. The situation is being monitored and “sufficient forces” will be on site.
Hardly any understanding of the attack on the electricity pylon in Brandenburg
Support for the suspected left-wing extremists who interrupted the power supply to the factory of the US electric car manufacturer Tesla and several surrounding communities with an arson attack on Tuesday is more restrained. Environmentalists and residents who have long been protesting against an expansion of the factory distanced themselves from the sabotage. And radical climate protectors may not be able to explain why a pioneer of e-mobility has been targeted.
The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution report for Berlin for 2022 said that the left-wing extremist scene in the federal capital was in a phase of “stagnation”. The pressure from the police is growing. Fewer new people would join the scene. But that doesn’t mean the all-clear, because isolated small groups could become radicalized.
Leipzig hotspot
The situation is different in Saxony, where, according to the authorities, the scene has grown continuously over the past three years and the left-wing extremist group around Lina E. has recently caused a stir. The student was sentenced to five years and three months in prison last year for sometimes brutal attacks on right-wing extremists. The judgment is not final.
In response to the verdict, the radical left-wing scene mobilized nationwide for a “Day X” in Leipzig, the home of Lina E, who comes from Kassel. There were riots and riots on several days. During the trial, repeated expressions of sympathy appeared. The slogan “Free Lina” could often be read on the walls of houses in Leipzig.
Investigators are still searching nationwide for Johannes G., who has gone into hiding and is considered the actual head of the gang. He is also said to have good contacts with left-wing extremists outside Germany. Two suspected members of the group were also charged in Hungary for allegedly taking part in attacks on the right-wing extremist “Day of Honor” in Budapest last year.
A suspected left-wing extremist who was in hiding was arrested in Berlin in December. The Saxony State Criminal Police Office announced that the man was being investigated on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. He is suspected of having attacked several people from a group in Budapest from February 9th to 11th, 2023 from the presumably right-wing spectrum with striking instruments.
The man’s two apartments in Jena and Berlin were also searched, an LKA spokesman said. He was wanted on a European and a national arrest warrant.
Interior Minister Stübgen points to Berlin
Brandenburg’s Interior Minister Michael Stübgen (CDU), whose security authorities have to keep an eye on far more right-wing extremists than radical left-wing extremists, suspects that the group that carried out the arson attack on the electricity pylon also operated from Berlin. In a letter of responsibility, the left-wing extremist “Vulkan group” accuses the car manufacturer of, among other things, “extreme conditions of exploitation”.
Police officers who searched several properties in Berlin in recent days in search of Klette’s companion encountered no resistance. However, anonymous authors published photos of police vans and license plates of task forces from Berlin and Lower Saxony on the Indymedia website. They wanted to “do something to counter the manhunt,” it said.
Federal Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD) emphasizes that the security authorities have never neglected left-wing extremism. She said this week: “To be honest, it is a phenomenon for us that we have already seen in recent years that left-wing radicalism is becoming tougher, more violent and does not shy away from such actions, and tough action must be taken now.”