A high-profile trial of members of a far-right group accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the German government is set to begin in Frankfurt on May 21, amid concerns about growing “extremism” ahead of the European elections and national.
Leaders of the so-called “Reichsbuerger” movement are expected to take a stand on Tuesday for planning in 2022 to restore the pre-World War I German empire and “forcibly eliminate the existing state order.”
The alleged plot – the most notorious recent case of far-right violence – has raised concerns about the skyrocketing support for radical ideologies.
Although experts say that the threat of a coup d’état in Germany remains negligible, the trial takes place at a time when the German far right has good polls for the European elections in June and the national elections in 2025, which could give you a new launching pad to expand. its influence.
Who are the members of the “Reichsbuerger” movement?
The Reichsbuerger (“Citizens of the Reich”) movement is widely seen as an eclectic mix of monarchy supporters and conspiracy theorists with a few thousand followers. German authorities say, however, that the movement has access to a large arsenal of weapons and is prepared to kill to take over Berlin’s parliament building.
A former member of parliament from the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party – which is currently expected to come second in next year’s federal elections – is also suspected of having been part of his inner circle.
The movement centers on the belief that the pre-World War I Reich, or German empire, has been usurped by modern political structures. As a result, it does not recognize the Federal Republic of Germany, its laws or its institutions and instead claims the 1937 borders of the former German empire.
Often compared to the QAnon movement, the Reichsbuerger group espouses a mix of conspiracy theories, including the belief that the Federal Republic is not a state but a private company, and that Germany is still under occupation by the Allies. A secret international alliance must therefore take on the task of freeing it from the “deep state”.
German authorities believe the Reichsbuerger movement is led by Heinrich XIII Prince Reuss, a German businessman and former aristocrat who has peddled anti-Jewish conspiracy theories. The coup plotters intended to install Reuss as head of state after their takeover.
Suspected members include former AfD parliamentarian Birgit Malsack-Winkemann, who would be appointed Justice Minister, and a former special forces soldier, identified as Andreas M, who is accused of using his access to exploit army barracks.
How is the test configured?
The cases are divided between three courts in three cities. In total, 26 people are accused of belonging to the hardline network.
As part of the first set of proceedings in the extensive legal process, nine men appeared before a court in Stuttgart on April 29 for allegedly being part of the group’s “military arm”.
The second of the three cases is the most anticipated due to the defendant’s prominent role in the failed coup. Reuss is due to appear before the Frankfurt court on Tuesday alongside other alleged senior members.
Seven men and two women – Reuss’s Russian girlfriend and former AfD parliamentarian Malsack-Winkemann – are on trial in this case, which is expected to continue until at least January 2025.
A third trial in Munich will deal with eight more defendants accused of serving as the plot’s leadership council, which was reportedly tasked with forming a cabinet after the coup.
The alleged coup plotters face sentences of one to 10 years if convicted. A man, identified as Markus L, could be sentenced to life in prison for shooting at police officers during his arrest.
Is Germany at risk of a new coup attempt?
German police arrested most of the group in operations across Germany in December 2022, before they could mobilize what federal prosecutors said was a “huge arsenal of weapons.”
“The risk of a new coup in Germany is quite low,” Samuel Clowes Huneke, a historian of modern Europe at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera. “Coup attempts of this nature are much less dangerous than far-right attempts to work through the democratic system.”
European Parliament elections next month are expected to see a significant shift to the right in many countries, with radical right-wing populist parties possibly forming a coalition that could have significant consequences for European politics.
In Germany, the far-right AfD is expected to become the second-largest party in the October 2025 federal elections. Former Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) is expected to be the largest party.
The AfD’s popularity has remained stable despite revelations that senior party members participated in a “secret” meeting in November where mass deportations of citizens of foreign origin were allegedly discussed. Earlier this month, a German court found enough evidence to justify classifying the party as “extremist” and a threat to democracy.
Huneke stressed that although the AfD and the Reichsbuerger movement were two distinct realities – with the former not sharing the latter’s monarchical nostalgia and most of its conspiracy theories – their xenophobic ideology overlapped with the desire to keep Germany for the Germans and to rethink the way the former Nazi country honors the Holocaust.
The normalization of the far right in national contexts across Europe also gives rise to fears about the inclusion of more extremist groups, including a “long-standing pan-European movement to try to return monarchies to power,” Huneke said.
Therefore, elections, rather than armed coups, appear to be the greatest risk for modern democracies, the historian said. “21st century authoritarians have realized that it is not very popular to run against democracy as fascists did in the 1920s and 1930s,” Huneke said.
He cited Hungary and Russia as examples. “What we could see over time is a ‘managed democracy’, which has all the trappings of democracy, but control of key institutions that allows the ruling party to continue to perform well,” Huneke said.
“It’s a much more subtle way of building quasi-dictatorships that, over time, can become much more dictatorial.”
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
