The scene of the so-called Reich citizens includes esoterics as well as ethnic settlers and violent right-wing extremists. Many German citizens see this as a task for the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
Only about one in three German citizens can specifically imagine what “Reich Citizens” mean. This is shown by a representative survey by the opinion research institute YouGov. According to this, only 32 percent of Germans have a precise idea of what “Reich citizens” are. 44 percent of those surveyed said they only had a vague idea of what was behind it. A possible reason for this is the heterogeneity of the scene of so-called Reich citizens and self-administrators.
Last year, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution counted around 25,000 people as belonging to it, of which just over five percent (around 1,350 people) were also assigned to the right-wing extremist spectrum.
According to a YouGov survey, 62 percent of adult Germans consider “Reich citizens” to be dangerous. Even more people – namely 69 percent of German citizens – are in favor of “Reich citizens” being monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution. However, the domestic secret service only keeps an eye on those members of the scene who it classifies as extremists.
AfD supporters do not find “Reichsbürger” dangerous
What is striking is that the majority of people who stated that they had voted for the AfD in the recent federal election did not consider “Reich citizens” to be dangerous and expressed their opposition to the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s observation of the scene.
So-called Reich citizens do not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany as a state. Many of them claim that the historic German Empire still exists today. “Reich citizens” do not recognize democratic and constitutional structures such as parliament, laws or courts. They don’t want to pay taxes, social security contributions or fines. Some of them see themselves as heads of state of their own little empire.
The current trial against the members of Henry XIII’s group offers an insight into the mindset of “Reich citizens”. Prince Reuss in Frankfurt am Main. A total of nine defendants are accused of being members of a terrorist organization or of having supported it. They are said to have planned a political overthrow and drawn up the basic principles of a new government. With two parallel proceedings in Munich and Stuttgart, a total of 26 suspected conspirators have to answer for the complex. A former AfD member of the Bundestag is also among the accused. The presumption of innocence applies until the verdict is reached.
The Frankfurt trial last Wednesday was about a letter written by Reuss that the investigators had seized. In it, Reuss wrote: “The Empire of 1918 has not fallen,” and “the German Empire exists.” He “reactivated” it by proclaiming his principalities. The minutes of a meeting of the “Transitional Council” were shown, which, according to the indictment, was supposed to take over government business after the planned coup.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
