“Reichsbürger” scene: Dangerous mixture | tagesschau.de

The group said to have planned a coup is not homogeneous. Together, the members form a dangerous mix – also because there are people with military training and access to weapons.

There was audible unrest among the participants of the Worldwebforum in Zurich in January 2019, while Prince Heinrich XIII. Reuss stood on stage and stumbled through his manuscript, written in English. The prince put forward confused theses, typical of “Reichsbürger”, according to which the Federal Republic is not a sovereign state but is still controlled by the Allies. The thesis that Germany is actually run like a GmbH is also known from the pool of “Reichsbürger” ideology.

Everything crazy? Of course, what else. The only problem is that these people believe what they say. And the scene is growing steadily: the Office for the Protection of the Constitution last counted 21,000 “Reich citizens”, and the trend is rising. Among them are many who have declared house and yard an independent state and deduce from this that they supposedly do not have to pay any taxes and fees.

The scene is anything but homogeneous. However, there is no question that one part must be described as fire-hazardous. Especially those who have guns. Like the “Reichsbürger” Wolfgang P., who shot at an approaching SEK in Georgensgmünd in 2016 and killed an official. Or in April of this year in Boxberg-Bobstadt, where another “Reichsbürger” shot at the SEK, which wanted to confiscate a weapon from him.

disarming the scene

In recent years, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has set itself the task of disarming the scene: by the end of 2021, 1,050 “Reich citizens” had their gun permits revoked. But 500 “Reichsbürger” still have weapons. 2100 are considered violent.

This category also includes the Reussen prince, who according to the federal prosecutor’s office had bigger things in mind: namely to abolish the political order in Germany, depose the government and take over the “regency” himself. Whether that was realistic is another question. However, anyone who belittles the 71-year-old as a terror grandfather has not recognized the explosiveness. According to the investigators, the group was particularly dangerous because of the mixture that had come together. The designation as a “Reichsbürger” group does not go far enough: in addition to esotericists, there are also “lateral thinkers” with a military background, who actually make up the worrying part of the group.

Men like former Colonel Maximilian Eder, whose radicalization within the Corona protest movement was publicly visible when he called at an event for the Bundeswehr Special Forces Command to be sent to Berlin to “clean up properly”. The ex-colonel was involved in setting up the Bundeswehr’s special forces command, so he has special forces training.

police and army

The same applies to Rüdiger von P., who, according to the federal prosecutor, was the second ringleader of the group alongside the prince. He should therefore command the military arm. P. commanded a paratrooper battalion until it was merged into the KSK and he was dismissed from the Bundeswehr because of illegal arms deals. Marco van H. was also with the KSK when he was active in the Bundeswehr. In Pforzheim, he is said to have been active in the Corona protest movement, according to security circles, and to have recruited further members for the group there. Ex-policeman Michael F. also appeared publicly at corona protest events. He was fired from the police because he spread “Reichsbürger” theses and gave the Hitler salute at a Corona demo.

These men once swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, whether as soldiers or as police officers. A suspected member is even an active soldier within the KSK and is said to be deployed there as a logistician. In fact, the proportion of active and former soldiers and police officers raises the question of whether the security authorities are sufficiently aware of the danger of radicalized employees in the security apparatus.

An “intensified advanced security check”

With a view to the Bundeswehr and the reservists, there has been a lot of movement there: since 2017, everyone who wants to join the Bundeswehr and is to be trained in weapons of war has been security checked, even if only with the entry check, the so-called Ü1. However, this goes beyond the information in the police clearance certificate. The focus is on whether someone has committed a criminal offense or whether there are indications of extremism or a violent orientation. Since October of this year, an “intensified, extended security check” has been mandatory for all soldiers who are deployed with special forces, a kind of in-depth check, the so-called Ü3 plus.

Since October, the reservists have also had to undergo an Ü1 security check before they can be called up. However, in the case of the members of the group who have a background as ex-conscripts, military training dates back years. It would only attract attention in connection with a military exercise.

How did the group find each other?

The question of how the original core of the group around Prince Reuss found itself in the first place remains unanswered. It seems as if they found each other primarily through personal relationships, sort of like a snowball system. The group does not fit into the drawers of “right-wing extremists” or “Reich citizens”.

The Office for the Protection of the Constitution has created a new category for the phenomenon, which was initially observed in the Corona protest movement, which is called “delegitimization of the state relevant to the protection of the constitution”. She took into account the fact that although there are many right-wing extremists within the protest scene and events are also organized by right-wing extremists, especially in the east, the participants are by no means all right-wing extremists.

With regard to the group around Prince Reuss, the findings of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution are as follows: “The uncovered network is a prime example of the emergence of a new violent mixed scene in which Reich citizen ideologies, conspiracy stories from the area of ​​delegitimization and right-wing extremist narratives flow together,” explains the President of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution Thomas Haldenwang.

The federal prosecutor must now prove that the group actually planned what they are accused of. Until then, the presumption of innocence applies, even if detention has been ordered. It is doubtful whether the group would ever have been able to eliminate the political system of the Federal Republic. But even an attempted coup without any prospect of success can cause considerable damage to democracy and cost lives.