Introduction
In May 2022 in Germany, there were at 1st of May the ‘traditional’ fascist rallies on „Workers Day“. They remember the time the Nazis celebrated the day as „Tag der deutschen Arbeit“ („Day of German work“). In May 2022 there were two elections in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein and the federal state of Nordrhein. Westfalen, is the biggest federal state in Germany. The AfD was the largest player among the far-right parties, but also the AfD lost the vote in both federal states, in Schleswig-Holstein they didn’t get re-elected. The Ukraine war and price increases continued to be defining themes of the far right in Germany.
Updates in the National Landscape
In the election in the federal state of Schleswig-Holstein on 8 May 2022, the right-wing populist AfD won only 4.4% of the vote and was thus unable to re-enter the state parliament. It was the AfD’s first failed re-election. In the state election in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia on 15 May 2022, the AfD won only 5.4% of the votes and lost votes compared to the last election. These losses caused trouble and discussions about the strategy of the party. On May 20, 2022, Tagesschau published a report about an internal chat group called “Quasselgruppe” that was founded in 2017 and to which at least 76 of 92 AfD members of the Bundestag belonged. The internal communication showed not only the subversion fantasies of some deputies but also the deep divisions among them. (https://www.tagesschau.de/investigativ/ndr-wdr/afd-bundestagsfraktion-chats-101.html)
On May 1, 2022, Labor Day, several extreme right-wing demonstrations took place in Germany:
* In Zwickau (Saxony), “Der III. Weg” marched with 250 people. On the approach, leftists were attacked in the cities of Glauchau and Chemnitz.
* In Dortmund (North Rhine-Westphalia), “Die Rechte” marched with 200 to 300 people. Speakers were Sascha Krolzig, Thorsten Heise, Pierre-Marie Bonneau Pierre-Marie from France (lawyer for the CLAN) and representatives of the “Legion Hungaria” and the “Bulgarian National Alliance”, as well as a representative from the Czech Republic.
* In Erfurt (Thuringia), the “New Strength Erfurt” marched with 120 people. * In Zwönitz (Saxony), the “Free Saxons” marched with 200-260 people.
There are repeated house searches with weapons found against suspected right-wing terrorists. For example: On 12 May 2022, police in Essen seized material for several bombs, as well as right-wing extremist propaganda material, from a 16-year-old student. (https://news.yahoo.com/german-teen-detained-suspected-school-112505328.html)
Transnational Activities & Group Interactions
On May 1, 2022, in Dortmund allies from the fascist party „Die Rechte“, took part in the rally of the party (see above).
On the weekend of 7 May 2022, a neo-Nazi congress took place in Paris under the motto “NATO out – one Europe!”. The organiser was the organisation “Les Nationalistes France”. Delegations from the Alliance for Peace and Freedom (APF) and Fortress Europe (FE) came with representatives from France, Germany, Spain, the Czech Republic and Romania. Hervé van Laethem (Nation) from Belgium (Wallonia), as well as representatives from Portugal, Bulgaria and Italy, were connected via video stream. Individual participants were Claus Cremer (NPD, APF), Matthias Deyda (Die Rechte, FE), Pierre-Marie Bonneau (lawyer) from France, Yvan Benedetti (party leader of “Les Nationalistes”), Alexandre Brune (party “For the People – For France”), Gonzalo Martin (“Democracia Nacional”) from Spain and others. After the congress, they participated in the Jeanne D`Arc commemoration in Paris on 8 May.
From 19 to 23 May 2022, the right-wing lecture tour „Deutschland, was nun?“ (“Germany, what now?”) with Dr. Heinrich Fiechtner (ex-AfD-deputy), Michael Stürzenberger (anti-muslim-agitator), “Sebbe” (“Fakten Frieden Freiheit”), Miró Wolsfeld (far right blogger, “Unblogd”), Irfan Peci (nti-muslim-agitato, former islamist), Oliver Flesh, Maximilian Pütz (pick-up artist) and Gunnar Lindemann (AfD-deputy in Berlin) took place on Mallorca (Spain). It was probably a combination of vacation and agitation of German tourists.
At the “Conservative Political Action Conference Hungary” in Budapest (Hungary) on 19 and 20 May 2022, the anti-feminist Birgit Kelle from Germany also appeared as a speaker. Kelle is a member of the conservative CDU party. She can be categorized as part of the Christian right. Interestingly, no one from the AfD was invited.
There are extreme right-wingers in Germany who clearly posture themselves pro-Ukrainian and have connections with the far right in this country. The German neofascist Mailorder „PC Records“ announced at the beginning of May 2022 their support for Ukrainian Volunteers through their collaboration with the brand „Svastone“. from Ukraine The German neofascist Mail ordered „PC Records“ and „Oldschool Records“ and the band „Heiliger Krieg“ documented on the 11th of May 2022 their donations for Ukrainian Volunteers in the region of Odesa.
Transnational Developments on Discourse in Mainstream Media
The mainstream media spoke internationally about the Ukraine conflict, and some continued to argue about the character of the Azov regiment, which surrendered to the Russian invaders in Mariupol on May 20th, 2022. The high-circulation tabloid BILD headlined on May 20: “Das sind die Helden aus dem Mariupol-Stahlwerk” (English: “These are the heroes from the Mariupol steelworks”). (https://www.bild.de/politik/ausland/politik-ausland/sie-gehen-in-die-geschichte-ein-das-sind-die-helden-aus-dem-mariupol-stahlwerk-80155482.bild.html)
Transnational Social Media Activity & Propaganda/Narratives
Further, the core of right-wing pandemic deniers are still entering the streets with their rallies. The movement is partly trying to change the topic to the Ukraine war. They clearly support Putin-Russia and are currently the strongest promoters of pro-Putin propaganda in Germany. Inflation and especially high fuel prices were discussed as another mobilization issue.
In Germany, pro-Putin car rallies took place from the end of March 2022, sometimes involving several hundred cars and people. Officially, many of these demonstrations were directed against “Russophobia”, but partisanship with Putin-Russia was usually clearly visible.