It was that time again a few days ago – Michael Müller needed a break, so he went hiking with friends. A picnic together should give him the peace and serenity that he rarely finds alone. He can hardly sleep at night. Müller, whose real name is different, is plagued by nightmares, the content of which he does not like to talk about. He only says this much: They get worse the closer the date approaches, for which he has been waiting for years, but which he also fears. Because this appointment brings back memories of the afternoon of April 29, 2018, when neo-Nazis attacked him in the Thuringian province – with a wrench, baseball bat and a knife.
The trial of the alleged perpetrators begins this Tuesday at the Mühlhausen district court. Nordulf H. and Gianluca B. are charged, among other things, with property damage and dangerous bodily harm. The court has scheduled eleven days of the trial. As a joint plaintiff, Michael Müller does not have to be there all the time: “But I will be in the courtroom every single day.” He wants to know how the criminal chamber deals with the defendants and questions the witnesses. It is important to him that the court take the time to examine all aspects of this brutal act of violence. And Michael Müller is interested in whether well-known right-wing extremists come to support Nordulf H. and Gianluca B.
Researching right-wing extremist networks is his job, says Müller. When he talks about it, it sounds more like a calling. The 29-year-old lives in Göttingen. Almost every week he travels through Germany to right-wing extremist marches. Müller takes photos, documents which neo-Nazi greats are teaming up. He publishes his research results under a pseudonym on Twitter or on blogs on the left. Sometimes TV stations also ask for his expertise. Because Müller is well networked, receives information about conspiratorial neo-Nazi meetings that not even the police or the Office for the Protection of the Constitution know about. It was the same in April 2018.
“Suddenly someone jumped over the wall”
One of his informants gave him the tip that a preparatory meeting for a neo-Nazi march should take place in the small Thuringian village of Fretterode. In an old manor house. Müller knows the building well. He knows even better about the man who lives there. Thorsten Heise is one of the most influential neo-Nazis in Germany. Those familiar with the scene consider him the central figure of the “Combat 18” movement, which has meanwhile been banned in Germany, and he was also active in “Blood & Honor”. There are connections between him and those around the NSU terrorist group. Heise also knows the murderer of the Kassel District President Walter Lübcke, Stephan E., personally. The former NPD politician earns good money from the scene he helped build. He sells CDs by right-wing extremist bands, batons and wooden wine bottle holders through his online shop.
When Müller heard of the planned meeting in Fretterode, he went there. Together with his colleague Hannes Rau, who is also called differently. They parked their black BMW near the manor house. From the car, Müller photographed the men who were going in and out there. “Suddenly someone jumped over the wall,” says Michael Müller. He and Rau drove away, but then decided to drive past the house again. Suddenly a man ran towards her car. He had pulled a black cloth over his mouth and nose and held a wrench in his fist. The public prosecutor’s office in Mühlhausen is convinced that the attacker must have been Nordulf H., Thorsten Heise’s son.
At the sight of H. rushing towards him, Hannes Rau put into reverse gear and accelerated. Müller kept pressing the shutter release on his camera. His heart palpitations for a moment when he looks at the photos from back then, he says.
Nordulf H. finally gave up his sprint and jumped into a waiting car. According to the indictment, behind the wheel was Gianluca B. The two men followed the black BMW, trying to push it off the road. When Hannes Rau tried to turn the car around, it landed in the ditch. Nordulf H. smashed the windows of her car, stabbed Michael Müller over and over again with a knife, caught him in the thigh. When Hannes Rau got out of the car, Gianluca B. hit him in the head with the wrench.
Although the police were able to quickly identify the alleged perpetrators with the help of photos and statements, it took weeks to summon them. And when the public prosecutor brought charges in February 2019, the allegation was not attempted manslaughter, as Müller and Rau’s lawyers would have expected given the brutal behavior of the perpetrators.
Müller drives on to neo-Nazi marches
Then the regional court repeatedly postponed the start of the process, first because of Corona, then there was a lack of staff in the responsible criminal chamber. It has now been more than three years since the attack. “Much too much time,” says Michael Müller. When he shows up with his camera at neo-Nazi marches, he is often recognized. Some right-wing extremists openly ask him if he wants a knife in his thigh again. He experiences a scene that is self-confident, not afraid of the consequences. Which may also be due to the fact that in the past the judiciary has repeatedly dragged off proceedings against violent right-wing extremistse, judgments were therefore milder.
Hannes Rau had to give up his work as a freelance journalist. Since the blow to the head, he has suffered from headaches again and again. When he went to the hospital about it, the x-ray showed a fractured skull that had also become infected. Rau had to be operated on. Since then, his lawyer has considered it possible that the court could convict Nordulf H. and Gianluca B. for attempted manslaughter.