They use buildings for right-wing rock concerts, martial arts events or as tattoo studios: More and more properties are being used by right-wing extremists. However, the authorities say it is unclear exactly how many there are.
The number of properties in Germany known to be used by right-wing extremists is increasing. This is according to information from the Federal Ministry of the Interior to the Die Linke group. “Welt” had previously reported on this. As of February 28, the authorities were aware of a total of 225 properties used for this purpose, according to the Ministry of the Interior. A good year earlier, on February 7, 2023, there were 210 properties.
This is not about normal private homes. “The data collection only included properties to which right-wing extremists have unrestricted basic access, for example in the form of ownership, rent, lease (i.e. ownership or possession) or through a relationship of knowledge and trust with the person responsible for the property. Other data collection criteria are politically targeted and purpose-oriented use as well as recurring use by right-wing extremists.”
High number of unreported cases of properties used by right-wing extremists
There is a particular concentration in eastern Germany – with 37 properties in Saxony, 36 in Saxony-Anhalt, 24 in Thuringia and 21 each in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Brandenburg. Two properties were initially confiscated last year as part of a ban on a right-wing extremist organization. 19 of the properties are in Bavaria, 16 each in Baden-Württemberg and North Rhine-Westphalia.
The number of properties actually used by right-wing extremists is likely to be even higher because the ministry does not want to provide more detailed information in all cases, for example in order to protect whistleblowers from the scene. “The constitutional protection authorities have confidential information on a further 125 properties,” the ministry wrote in its most recent statement. Here, too, the number is rising: last year there were 112 properties.
The properties are used for events such as right-wing rock concerts and martial arts events, for conferences and networking meetings, as well as for mail order companies, record companies, tattoo studios and publishers.
According to the government, the events taking place in the properties are “an important part of right-wing extremism in Germany, particularly because of their recruitment and retention function.” In addition, they serve “to finance the right-wing extremist scene.”
Source: Stern
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