R 291601Z OCT 08
FM AMCONSUL LEIPZIG
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 0124
INFO FRG COLLECTIVE
AMCONSUL LEIPZIG

UNCLAS LEIPZIG 000021 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/CE, INR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PINS GM CASC PREL
SUBJECT: GERMANY'S ONGOING STRUGGLE WITH RIGHT-WING EXTREMISM 
 
REF: A. 08 HAMBURG 004,  B. 07 LEIPZIG 020, C. 06 HAMBURG 055, D. 06 
HAMBURG 054, E. 06 HAMBURG 046, F. 05 LEIPZIG 018, G. 05 LEIPZIG 019 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This is a Mission-wide message and has been coordinated 
with Embassy Berlin and Consulates Frankfurt, Munich, 
Duesseldorf, and Hamburg. 
 
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Summary 
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¶2.  (U) Germany has extensive government and civic efforts 
against right-wing extremism, including legal and constitutional 
provisions.  Right-wing extremists -- also referred to as 
neo-Nazis -- remain a cause for concern, however, and will 
require continued attention.  Right-wing politically-motivated 
crime is an ongoing problem with over 17,000 cases reported in 
¶2007.  Although in absolute terms right-wing violence is most 
prevalent in the populous states of North-Rhine Westphalia and 
Lower Saxony, on a per capita basis the eastern German states 
exhibit a higher rate of right-wing violence.  Importantly, 
Germany's mainstream political parties have rejected any 
involvement with right-extremists and no right-wing party is 
represented in the Bundestag.  Three parties have found 
resonance at the local and state levels, mostly in eastern 
Germany.  Overall, support for right-wing parties remains 
relatively low, tied primarily to social and economic issues and 
immigration.  Public and private initiatives to fight extremism 
and foster tolerance receive funding from the German government 
and the European Union.  Mission Germany promotes these goals as 
well, including through the International Visitors Leadership 
Program.  End Summary. 
 
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Right-Extremist Crimes 
---------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Germany's 1949 constitution aims to prevent the 
formation of Nazi-like parties.  Political parties seeking to 
undermine freedom and democracy may be banned by the Federal 
Constitutional Court.  Right-wing extremist associations which 
are not registered political parties may be banned by federal 
and state-level interior ministries. Nazi-related paraphernalia 
and publications are prohibited; many groups utilize foreign 
internet service providers to establish websites or publish and 
print materials outside of Germany.  To date, 24 right-extremist 
groups, including two political parties, have been banned. 
 
¶4.  (U) The Office for the Protection of the Constitution (OPC) 
also monitors politically motivated right-wing extremist crime: 
in 2007, 17,607 politically motivated criminal incidents 
involving right-wing extremists were recorded -- a 3 percent 
decline from 2006.  Of these, 1,054 were acts of violence.  For 
the first half of 2008, right-extremist incidents ranging from 
vandalism to attacks on foreigners rose slightly from 2007 
levels.  (Note:  Americans in Germany have reported incidents of 
being assaulted for racial reasons or because they appeared 
"foreign;" none appears to have been attacked because of being 
an American citizen.  End note).  Right-wing crimes account for 
only a small fraction of total crimes committed in Germany; for 
example, the Federal Criminal Police Office recorded 
approximately 495,000 non right-wing extremist criminal offenses 
in Berlin alone in 2007. 
 
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Right-extremist parties remain state/local phenomena 
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¶5.  (U) There are three main right-extremist parties:  The 
National Democratic Party (NPD), The German People's Union 
(DVU), and the Republicans (REP).  These parties use 
differentiated strategies to seek public support, often not 
revealing immediately or directly their basic white-supremacist 
and German nationalist ideology -- which would defy the 
constitution and might result in a ban by the Federal 
Constitutional Court.  The DVU and the REP had limited success 
in state elections in Saxony-Anhalt, Baden-Wuerttemburg, and the 
state of Berlin.  The DVU won 6.1 percent of the vote in 
Brandenburg's 2004 elections and the REP has not held seats in 
any state parliaments since 1996.  Right-wing extremist parties 
have consistently poor showings in federal level elections; in 
2005, a DVU-REP alliance won only 1.6 percent of the vote. 
 
¶6.  (U) The NPD is the largest right-extremist party with a 
membership of 7,200.  It was established in 1964 and has an 
underlying racist, anti-Semitic, and revisionist ideology.  In 
2003, the German Government, Bundestag, and Bundesrat sought a 
Constitutional Court ban of the NPD, arguing the party's goal is 
to abolish parliamentary democracy and the democratic 
constitutional state.  The case was rejected, however, when it 
was discovered that part of the NPD's leadership were Federal 
OPC informants, which according to German law made the evidence 
inadmissible.  The NPD is active in all states but has seats in 
only two state parliaments: Saxony (9.2 percent result in 2004) 
and in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania (7.3 percent result in 
2006).  Reinhard Boos, president of Saxony's OPC, predicts the 
party might enter the state parliament again in 2009, but with 
fewer seats.  In North-Rhine Westphalia (NRW), the NPD has is 
developing close relationships with the extreme groups Pro NRW 
and Pro Cologne -- groups that style themselves as 
"anti-Islamization." 
 
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Non-party affiliated right-wing organizations 
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¶7.  (U) Neo-Nazis also group themselves into loosely knit groups 
called "Free Associations" (FA).  There is a wide variety of FA 
and they do not all conform to the model of combat-booted 
skinheads.  They are well-organized, sometimes violent, and use 
intimidation to frighten minorities.  The FA often try to 
recruit members by appealing to youth and initially playing down 
neo-Nazi ideology.  It is generally agreed that there are close 
relations between functionaries of the NPD and members of FA. 
 
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Efforts to Fight Right-Wing Extremism 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) All levels of government and the mainstream political 
parties are committed to fighting right-extremism.  States and 
communities cooperate; the states of Brandenburg and Saxony work 
to counter cross-border cooperation of right-wing extremists 
more effectively.  Between 2001 and 2006, the German government 
provided 192 million euros for 4500 projects and initiatives 
implemented on at the state and communal level.  NGOs have 
partnered with federal-level organizations to address this 
problem.  For example, several states support Mobile Counseling 
Teams (Mobit), which teach people to recognize right-wing 
extremist structures, music, and symbolism, and encourage voters 
to support mainstream political parties and steer clear of FA. 
Some NGOs have found creative ways to tackle the dual problems 
of unemployment and intolerance by grouping underprivileged 
youth of different ethnic backgrounds in programs combining 
diversity awareness and vocational training. 
 
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Comment 
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¶9.  (U) Right-extremists have achieved only limited electoral 
success: only at the state and local level and primarily in 
eastern German states.  They are ostracized by all mainstream 
parties at all levels.  In Saxony's and Mecklenburg-Western 
Pomerania's parliaments, members of mainstream parties jointly 
rebuke NPD proposals and speeches, which is encouraging.  The 
support for right-wing parties at the local level appears 
correlated with voter concerns about social programs, 
unemployment, and immigration.  We can expect the NPD and the 
DVU to campaign on these issues in forthcoming state elections 
and elections to the European Parliament; in the current 
economic climate it is possible these parties could enjoy an 
increase in temporary support.  Their limited influence, 
however, will remain focused on the local level. 
 
¶10.  (U) The significant public funding to combat right-wing 
extremism and the negative press such activities generate 
illustrates the powerful public and political commitment to 
combating right-wing extremism and promoting tolerance.  Mission 
Germany's interest in diversity, tolerance, and democratization 
programs and in efforts against right-wing extremism helps 
pressure political leaders to confront it.  In addition to our 
public engagement, the Mission created an International Visitors 
Leadership Program designed specifically for activists and law 
enforcement officials involved in anti right-wing extremist 
programs, which will take place in 2009.  End Comment. 
 
BRUCKER