Germany bans neo-Nazi group with US links, conducts raids in 10 states

The German government on Tuesday banned the neo-Nazi group Hammerskins Germany and raided the homes of dozens of its members.

The group is an offshoot of an American right-wing hardline group and plays a prominent role across Europe.

The Hammerskins Germany is a local chapter of the Hammerskins Nation founded in the United States in 1988, according to the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community.

It plays a prominent role in the far-right scene in Europe.

Worldwide, members of this association refer to themselves as “brothers” and see themselves as an elite “brotherhood” practicing their subcultural way of life. The group also sees itself as the elite of the right-wing skinhead scene, according to the ministry.

“The ban of the Hammerskins Germany is a hard blow against organised right-wing extremism,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said, adding that the ban included the association’s regional chapters and its suborganisation Crew 38.

“With this ban, we are putting an end to the inhumane activities of an internationally active neo-Nazi association in Germany,” she added. “This sends a clear signal against racism and anti-Semitism.”

In Germany, the grouping comprises around 130 members. During the early morning raids in 10 states, police searched the homes of 28 group members. It was not immediately clear if any members were detained.

Ahead of the ban, the German federal and state governments cooperated intensively for more than a year, Faeser said, adding that “we also worked closely with our American partners”.

The core element of the group’s ideology is the propagation of a racial doctrine based on Nazi ideology. The purpose of the association Hammerskins Germany is to consolidate its far-right worldview, particularly through concerts where it tries to appeal to non-members, the ministry said.

“The right-wing extremist orientation of the internationally networking group manifests itself in particular through the distribution of recordings of right-wing extremist and anti-Semitic music, the organisation of right-wing extremist concerts, and the sale of right-wing extremist merchandise,” it said.

The ban of the Hammerskins Germany is the 20th ban of a right-wing hardline association by the German interior ministry.