Germany bans far-right group ‘Sturmbrigade 44’
Germany has banned the far-right group “Sturmbrigade 44” for spreading hatred, the country’s Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said on Tuesday.
The move followed a series of raids against several group members across three German states, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and North Rhine-Westphalia and aimed to confiscate the association’s assets and possible right-wing extremist propaganda. Almost 200 police officers found weapons, including knives and crossbows, as well as propaganda items such as swastikas and Nazi flags, the Interior Ministry added.
The group, also known as “Wolf Brigade 44” has existed since 2016, was initially active under the name Storm Brigade 44, and has an established structure. Its members have “openly declared their support for Adolf Hitler,” the ministry said, adding that the group was “particularly characterized by militaristic appearance” and “pronounced racism” as part of an “inhuman ideology.”
“Anyone who combats the basic values of our liberal society will feel the decisive reaction of our constitutional state,” Steve Alter, the spokesperson of the Interior Ministry wrote in a Twitter post, quoting Seehofer as saying.
Bundesinnenminister #Seehofer hat heute die rechtsextreme „Sturmbrigade 44“, auch „Wolfsbrigade 44“, verboten. BM #Seehofer: „Wer die Grundwerte unserer freiheitlichen Gesellschaft bekämpft, bekommt die entschlossene Reaktion unseres Rechtsstaates zu spüren.“ #Rechtsextremismus
— Steve Alter (@BMISprecher) December 1, 2020
The country has already banned three right-wing extremist organisations earlier this year, including “Combat 18,” “Nordadler” and the “Reichsbuerger-Vereinigung.”
