Left-Extremist Endeavours

"Comradeships" as an
organization model for
neo-Nazis
"Karlsruhe Comradeship"
"Free Nationalists" as an
example of successful
regional networking
No centrally organized
"Rudolf Heß Memorial
March"
IV. Neo-Nazism
1. Overview
In 1999, the neo-Nazi member/supporter potential increased to
some 2,200 activists (1998: 2,400). Following the bans imposed
on associations over the past few years, neo-Nazis mainly get
organized in "comradeships" which by now number some 150
(1998: 80). These groups of neo-Nazis, which in most cases
number 10 to 15 members, operate independently of each other
and, as a rule, do not have any association-type structure or, at
best, have a very loose structure. They mostly call themselves
"comradeships" (for instance, "Kameradschaft Treptow"), but
also use designations such as "circle of friends", "front" or "home
guard"; others do not give themselves a name.
Exemplary of the neo-Nazi groups which also deploy outwarddirected
activities is the "Karlsruhe Comradeship". On 20 March,
under the motto of "Von ’Terrorist’ zu ’Terrorist’ ", it organized an
event with the former right-wing extremist Peter NAUMANN and
with Horst MAHLER, a former member of the "Rote Armee
Fraktion" (RAF - "Red Army Faction"). With its multifaceted activities,
this group has become a driving force within the neo-Nazi
scene in Baden-Wurttemberg.
Networking of the neo-Nazi scene was further developed and
consolidated at the regional level, with the main centre in Northern
Germany. The leading Hamburg neo-Nazi Thomas WULFF
propagandizes a concept for the co-operation of "comradeships"
and individual neo-Nazis within "non-organized units" which can
be mobilized at any time. These "Free Nationalists" are
supposed to show up at rallies and to be recognizable as an
independent group. North German "Free Nationalists" call
themselves "Nationales und Soziales Aktionsbündnis
Norddeutschland" ("National and Social Action Alliance Northern
Germany"); they succeeded in organizing a number of
demonstrations. Thus, for instance, some 400 neo-Nazis, among
them WULFF, held a demonstration in Ludwigslust (Mecklenburg-
Western Pomerania) on 5 June. With slogans and posters, they
agitated against NATO and its operation in Yugoslavia, the
alleged U.S. imperialism, and the travelling exhibition "War of
Extermination. Crimes of the Wehrmacht, 1941 - 1944".
Classical neo-Nazi agitation themes - such as foreigners, denial
of [Germany’s] war guilt, or adoration of leading representatives of
the Third Reich - receded into the background, at least in their
manifestation to the outside world. Thus, in 1999, no central
march was organized in commemoration of Hitler’s deputy Rudolf
Heß; the scene only succeeded in organizing smaller regional
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