Germany's Far Right Gains on the Ground and in Opinion Polls

Supporters of the German radical right-wing party, the NPD, attend a May Day gathering near NPD party headquarters in Berlin, Germany.

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Germany's far-right scene is becoming more violent and crimes committed by right-wing extremists are on the rise. Those are the sobering findings of the new annual report (published on May 19) compiled by Germany's domestic intelligence agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. In 2008, 19,894 far-right motivated crimes were recorded —up 15.8% on the previous year. These crimes range from assault and arson to propaganda offenses. In a worrying development, Neo-Nazis are resorting to increasingly violent tactics. 1,042 violent far-right crimes were reported in 2008, a rise of 6.3% on the previous year. Using the internet to spread their anti-Semitic, xenophobic message, far-right groups are also becoming adept at mobilising supporters. The number of neo-Nazi demonstrations rose to 80 in 2008, compared with 66 in 2007.

And growing support for the far right isn't limited to the fringe. On June 7, Germans in seven regions will vote in municipal elections which are expected to give a boost to the far-right National Democratic Party (NPD), pushing extremist ideology further into the mainstream. According to the German authorities, there are 30,000 right-wing extremists in Germany, including a hard-core of 9,500 Neo-Nazis bent on violence. Experts link the rise in far-right violence to the emergence of the so-called "Autonomous Nationalists," who wear black clothes and trainers, with hooded tops, baseball caps and sunglasses shielding their faces. It is a look they've borrowed from their counterparts on the far left scene, known as "Black Bloc" anarchists; even their slogans, like "Fight the system," are similar. But the two groups occupy diametrically opposed positions on the political spectrum. (Read: "Germany Confronts Its Dark Past.")

"The Autonomous Nationalists are the most violent group of right-wing extremists in Germany," Hajo Funke, a professor of politics at Berlin's Free University tells TIME. "They deliberately provoke violence and they target foreigners, leftists, punks and democrats, anyone they regard as their opponents."

The German authorities say the "Autonomous Nationalists" have been increasingly active, especially in Berlin, the Ruhr Valley in western Germany and in the southwest of the country. Their tactics are simple but dangerous: they turn up in force at demonstrations, where they target political opponents. The far-right militants were blamed for sparking bloody street battles at a May Day rally organized by trade unions in the Ruhr city of Dortmund. A mob of around 300 Neo-Nazis broke through police barricades and attacked trade unionists with stones and bottles. The authorities were taken aback by the scale of the violence. At a press conference in Berlin, Germany's Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble spoke of a "new dimension" on the far-right scene. (See pictures of Kristallnacht in Words and Photographs.)

While the Autonomous Nationalists are bent on violence, they are still small in number. The authorities estimate there are around 500 members, or about 5% of the total number of Germany's Neo-Nazis. But the Autonomous Nationalists are becoming more powerful, and they're pulling out all the stops to recruit new members. Observers warn their potential for violence should not be underestimated. "The Autonomous Nationalists are mostly young men who use the Internet to communicate with each other and attract more members," says Funke, as well as staying in contact with other small Neo-Nazi groups, known as the "Kameradschaften," or "Brotherhoods." (See pictures of East Germany making light of its dark past.)

The new report has also raised new concerns about Germany's more traditional far-right grouping, the NPD, which traces its origins to the 1960s. Unlike their black-clad brethren, the NPD contends at the polls, and while it has made no headway at the national level, it is represented in two state parliaments. In last year's municipal elections, the NPD won seats in every local council in the eastern German state of Saxony, a traditional stronghold of rightwing extremists. (Read: "The Man Who Beheaded Hitler.")

Social Democrat governors have called for a ban against the NPD, but Interior Minister Schäuble, a member of Chancellor Merkel's conservative CDU party, has vetoed the idea. Schäuble contends that Germany's highest court, the Federal Constitutional Court, has imposed too many legal hurdles to such a ban. The German government tried to outlaw the NPD in 2003, but the country's top court threw out the case, ruling that it depended on statements of NPD members who were uncovered as agents of the intelligence services. The failure to ban the NPD was a major embarrassment for the Social Democratic-led government of the day.

Recently the NPD, which has 7,000 members, has been torn apart by internal rifts and an embezzlement scandal. In May, Berlin's administrative court slapped a $1.8 million (€1.27 million) fine on the party for accounting irregularities. But that hasn't stopped them: the NPD is stepping up its campaign at the grassroots level in the run-up to municipal elections which are being held in seven regions on June 7. Polls suggest the party will add to their gains in the eastern German states of Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Despite its divisions and the prospect of financial collapse, the NPD remains the "face of rightwing extremism" in the municipal elections, Heinz Fromm, the head of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, told the Tagesspiegel newspaper. They will be a crucial test for the far-right party ahead of federal elections in September.

Read: "Germany Confronts Its Dark Past."

See pictures of Kristallnacht in Words and Photographs.