ExtremismGermany: 14 Soldiers, Defense Ministry Employees, Designated as Extremists
The German Military Counterintelligence Service (MAD) has classified 14 members of the armed forces as extremists in 2019. Eight soldiers were members of far-right extremist groups; four soldiers had ties with Islamist organizations; and two soldiers belonged to a violent anarchist movement which does not recognize the German state and its laws. The cases of more than 500 other soldiers and civilian employees of the Defense Ministry suspected of extremism are still being investigated. In the last three years, MAD has increasingly focused on combatting the spread of far-right extremism in the ranks of the Bundeswehr – especially in the ranks of elite units — in the wake of soldiers being found to have been involved in acts of terrorism against migrants.
The German Military Counterintelligence Service (Militärischer Abschirmdienst, or MAD) has classified 14 members of the armed forces as extremists in 2019, German media reported Tuesday.
The finding was detailed in the intelligence agency’s firster report on the issue.
MAD was created in 1990, and is one of the three federal intelligence agencies in Germany. It is responsible for military counterintelligence. In the last three years, MAD has increasingly focused on combatting the spread of far-right extremism in the ranks of the Bundeswehr – especially in the ranks of elite units — in the wake of soldiers being found to have been involved in acts of terrorism against migrants.
Der Spiegel reports that the document was submitted to Parliament, and that it lists fourteen soldiers who were involved in extremists activities. Eight soldiers were members of far-right extremist groups; four soldiers had ties with Islamist organizations; and two soldiers belonged to a violent anarchist movement which does not recognize the German state and its laws.
In addition, thirty-eight soldiers were found to lack allegiance to the German constitution (the report described these soldiers as having “ein verfassungsfeindliches Weltbild” – “anti-constitutional worldview”).
The number of suspected cases of far-right extremists in the Bundeswehr increased last year. The MAD describes soldiers as suspected extremists based on their membership in movements and group designated as extremist, violent, or anti-constitutional – and on their social media postings. As of 31 December 2019, 592 soldiers and civilian employees of the Defense Ministry were suspected of far-right extremism.
The MAD report does not provide a comparative figure from 2018.
The rise of far-right extremism in the ranks of the Bundeswehr mimics the rise of extremism in Germany more generally, and the German security services have been given additional powers by the Bundestag to monitor extremists and prevent the spread of extremism.
The most prominent example involved Franco A., a German army soldier now standing trial for terror-related offenses. In 2017, he was arrested and charged with leading a double life – a soldier by day, and posing as a Syrian refugee on his days off in order to carry out violent attack on German civilians which, he hoped, would be attributed to Islamist terrorism perpetrated by Syrian refugees in Germany.
The MAD report said the number of suspected cases of extremism within the German army had risen significantly in 2019, without offering details on the number of cases in previous years. MAD has also said it had improved its operating methods better to identify and track extremism.
