Far-right extremists stage rural land grab across Germany
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Rightwing extremist organizations have purchased 40 houses across Germany in the last two years in an effort to create independent communities.
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A supporter of Germany’s AfD participates in an anti-government march in Berlin in 2018 (AP)
According to the domestic intelligence agency and government ministries, right-wing extremists are grabbing crucial rural land across Germany with the goal of forming communities independent of the state.
According to authorities and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) monitoring far-right groups, members of the Reichsbürger movement who oppose the post-1945 German state are making a concerted attempt to form alternative societies and infiltrate existing structures such as schools, clubs, and public offices.
Martina Renner of the opposition leftwing Die Linke party's recent request for information to the federal interior ministry revealed that rightwing extremist organizations have purchased 40 houses across Germany in the last two years.
The statistics represent an acceleration of a long-term trend in which hard-to-sell houses, pubs, and farming holdings are being purchased and used by rightwing groups for anything from living space to maternity houses, sports halls, and party facilities.
Renner explained that the groups do not see the purchases as investments but rather as “establishing their parallel societies and creating spaces of fear for all those who don’t share their view of the world."
The Königreich Deutschland (KRD), created in 2012 in an elaborate ceremony, is one of the most notable organizations, having its own currency and constitution that gives it a state-like framework.
It has pursued expansionist goals by obtaining "national territory" through land and real estate purchases.
Read more: The Spectator: The rise of the AfD in Germany explained
The phrase Reichsbürger (citizens of the empire) is used by German authorities to refer to any far-right groups that oppose the Federal Republic of Germany and seek to destroy the government, including the KRD, which rejects the label.
Rutenberg is one of the KRD's latest targets for establishing a community or what its leader Peter Fitzek refers to as Gemeinwohldorf (common good village).
Fitzek, a former chef and karate instructor, founded the self-governing KRD in 2012.
He and his estimated 5,000 followers oppose the current German state and wish to take it over and replace it with their own country. To that purpose, the KRD already has its own passports, currency, the Engelgeld (angel money), and bank.
The group offers seminars on how to become a "system drop-out" that promises things like freedom from taxes and conventional healthcare in what authorities have described as a "huge scam".
According to the BfV domestic intelligence agency, similar "Völkisch" (folkist or ethno-nationalist) land grabs are occurring elsewhere in Germany, according to the BfV domestic intelligence agency, frequently in abandoned areas and forgotten communities where life goes on mostly unnoticed.
While villagers expressed shock at the news, the authorities in Germany also found that a separate armed rightwing extremist Reichsbürger gang led by the self-proclaimed Heinrich XIII, Prince Reuss, had plotted a putsch, planning to attack the Bundestag, abduct MPs, and overthrow the state.
In December 2022, German authorities charged 25 people with terrorism in connection with the conspiracy, including Heinrich XIII and a former far-right legislator.
Germany bans neo-Nazi Hammerskins and cracks down on far-right groups
In September, Hammerskins Germany, an offshoot of a long-standing ultra-racist organization originating in the US, was banned in Germany by the Interior Minister.
According to the Ministry, the extremist group was promoting racial theories with ties to Nazi ideology.
Searches were conducted in 10 regions across the country, focusing on 28 residences owned by members of Hammerskins Germany.
The ban also applies to their regional branches and the sub-group "Crew 38," in accordance with Germany's laws against organized activities opposing the German constitution.
