1 of 1 police officers searched 26 apartments of 39 members of the group in 12 federal states as well as locations used as clubs Photo: Justin Brosch/dpa/picture Alliance Police officers searched 26 apartments of 39 members of the group in 12 federal states and locations used as clubs — Photo: Justin Brosch/dpa/picture Alliance
The federal government banned this Wednesday (27) a rightwing extremist group called “Artgemeinschaft”, whose aim was to indoctrinate children.
On the same day, police in 12 of Germany’s 16 states conducted search and seizure operations at dozens of homes belonging to members of the organization and other locations.
A statement from the Ministry of the Interior reported the ban on the Artgemeinschaft, a neoNazi and antidemocratic pagan association with around 150 people, and all of its subdivisions with names such as Gewerbeschaft (“axis of companions”), guilds (“guild” or “society”), Circle of Friends and Family Work.
“We are banning a sectarian, deeply racist and antiSemitic association,” Interior Secretary Nancy Faeser said in a statement. “This is another blow to rightwing extremism and those who continue to spread Nazi ideologies to this day.”
Faeser said the group, founded in 1951, sought to indoctrinate children and young people with its Nazi and antidemocratic ideology under the facade of a Germanic pseudoreligious belief. The association sold children’s books with antiSemitic content, including several titles from the Nazi era.
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Similarities with Nazi ideology
The central goal of the group was to preserve and promote a racial theory that is equivalent to the term “race” as used by the National Socialists. The group’s symbolism, unconstitutional narratives and activities also show similarities to Nazi ideology, according to the ministry’s statement.
They taught their members how to select “suitable” marriage partners within Central and Northern European biotypes in order to pass on the “correct” genetic makeup in accordance with the group’s racist ideology. According to the Interior Ministry, people of other origins were humiliated.
During the searches this Wednesday, firearms, bulletproof vests, gold, cash and material with extremist content were found. Faeser reported that some crossbows were also confiscated and two firearms licenses were revoked.
Police also collected medals, flags and busts associated with Nazism. According to the minister, around 700 security forces were involved in the operations.
The ban on the group had been prepared for more than a year, based on investigations by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the secret service responsible for containing threats to Germany’s internal security.
Police disbanded supremacist group
Last week, the federal government banned the neoNazi group Hammerskins Deutschland and searched the homes of dozens of members.
The group, an offshoot of a rightwing extremist organization in the USA, has played a central role in the European neoNazi scene in recent years.
Hammerskins are known for their white supremacist rock shows, the Interior Ministry said.
The group, which had around 130 members, set itself the goal of spreading “racial theory based on Nazi ideology”.