Even Donald John Drumpf didn’t have German coup attempt to install a Thuringian aristocrat as kaiser and have another go at the second Reich on his bingo card either.
The Reichsbürger believe that the modern German state, the Federal Republic of Germany, is a fake. They believe that it is not a state, but a private company (GmbH, German for Ltd.) They have many explanations for that, but I do not want to go into the details. Important is 2/x
..that as they think that Germany is a private company, founded in 1949 by the Allies, no state power comes from it. No taxes, no police, no laws, nothing. The "real" German state for them is the German Reich (Empire), which they believe exists legally, but w/out institutions 3/x
So they "form" these "provision" institutions (they even issue "Reich Passports" and try to travel with them abroad), form "governments", "parliaments" etc. as "provisional" institutions, and dream about the "restoration" of the "real Reich". 4/x
You would say, these people are crazy. But they are pretty numerous and active. The German intelligence service BfV names them regularly in its annual report as one of the biggest threats to German democracy. The BfV even has a separate page on them: 5/x
What is important: many members of the Reichsbürger movement are former policemen, army officers, or other state servants. I have not read any explanation for that. My bold guess is that this conspiracy theory is VERY German in the way how legalistic it is. For example... 6/x
...it "explains" the "fake" status of the German state with the help of a resolution of the UN General Assembly, with the articles of the German Basic Law, with the process of how the German Basic Law was adopted etc. It is actually legalistic diarrhea (sorry) and very German 7/x
So it is not a surprise that those who used to work within the German state and love the law labyrinth, catch this bait. Because it is their passion! For the intelligence service, it is really bad, as these people are well-connected, and know from within how the police works. 8/x
Another important group within the movement is the German aristocrats, especially those from the Eastern part of Germany. It is not only because parts of the movements are monarchists, but also because Eastern German aristocracy felt somehow betrayed after unification. 9/x
As aristocrats hoped, that the unification will mean restitution and the return of all their property, which was stolen by the communists after WWII, they were utterly disappointed, as this has not happened. This led to a certain radicalization of many of them. 10/x
Many joined the Alternative for German (AfD) far-right party, but some opted for more radical ways like the Reichsbürgers. So what do we have as the result? The German far-right scene is broad and active. Only within the last few years, several armed groups were neutralized. 11/x
In 2000-2007, a neonazi "National Socialist Underground" (NSU) group organized a chain of terror attacks including bombings and shootings, mostly killing Turkish migrants, but also one police officer. The core group of NSU consisted out of 3 people, but the police believed.. 12/x
...that up to 150 persons belonged to supporters of the core killer group. Many believe, that the NSU could not act for so long without support from the police or intelligence services. In 2018, the case was classified by authorities for 120 years (!) 13/x
In 2017, German authorities arrested a group of active German soldiers, incl. their leader, 1st lieutenant of the Bundeswehr, who repeatedly stole weapons and ammo, and planned an armed coup. The leader has even registered himself as a "Syrian refugee" (he was not a migrant) 14/x
It is believed, that he planned a terror attack under a false flag (as a "migrant"), with the following coup. He was arrested in the Vienna airport with an illegally obtained gun. 15/x
In 2018-2020, numerous active and retired soldiers of the KSK elite unit of the Bundeswehr (something like Delta Force) were arrested for stealing weapons, and ammunition, preparing for a guerilla war. They also stored the SS and other Nazi emblems. 16/x
German authorities believed, these KSK elite unit soldiers belonged to the underground neonazi "Hannibal" network, uniting former elite soldiers, judges, elite police units officers etc. from Germany, Austria and Switzerland, preparing for the "Day X" 17/x
In 2019, in eastern German Rostock town authorities arrested a group of police officers who stole guns, explosives, and dozens of thousands of ammo rounds. The operation was so secret, that not the local, but the police from another region was used taz.de/Polizei-in-Mec… 18/x
So finalizing - yes, Germany has A LOT o far-right groups, which are well-armed, well-trained, and absolutely reckless. It is not clear up to date to what extent the German law enforcement authorities and intelligence services are infested by the supporters of these groups. 19/x
The reason why you don't know about it may be the same as why you don't know about the fact, that the Berlin airport was built with a delay of 12 years. It is simply too terrible, and overwhelming and does not suit the picture of a well-functioning and rational Germany. 20/x
And yes, as a person with my primary focus on Ukraine, I cannot leave this thread without adding my sarcastic "but let us talk all these years about the Neonazis in Ukraine". /END
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