Matthew Hauser '23: Germany Confronts Far-Right Extremism in the Military

 

Germany is currently reckoning with far-right extremism in its military, especially in the Kommando Spezialkräfte, or KSK, Germany’s most elite counterterrorism force. The KSK is comparable in the US to Navy SEALs. However, the KSK is being viewed by German Counterintelligence as a hotbed for far-right activity, and even a terrorist threat. 

“Far-right extremism is the biggest threat to our democracy right now,” Christine Lambchet, Justice Minister of Germany, warned. 

The fear of right-wing extremism in the KSK was great enough for Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer to take the extraordinary step of permanently disbanding one of the KSK’s four companies on July 1st, 2020. 

“The KSK cannot persist in its current form. That it must be changed from the inside out and that it must be better reintegrated into the Bundeswehr,” Kramp-Karrenbauer said.

While leaving the disbandment of the entire KSK on the table, Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer prefers to try and reform from within. 

The disbandment of one company and rebuilding of the KSK came after a litany of scandals and discoveries. At one party hosted by 2nd Company, the Hitler salute was given by members and the commander multiple times. Additionally, the commander brought in a woman who was supposed to be a “prize.” The sergeant-major of 2nd Company was also discovered to have a secret weapons stash. The Defense Minister reported that the KSK has lost track of 48,000 rounds of ammunition and 137 pounds of explosives.

The scandal surrounding the KSK comes amidst a time when the entire Bundeswehr, or Germany Military, is reckoning with right-wing extremism in its ranks. The German counterintelligence service, Militärischer Abschirmdienst, or MAD, found over 550 cases of extremism in the Bundeswehr, a troubling 30% increase from last year. Caroline Walter, a co-author of Extreme Sicherheit (Extreme Security), told DW that such numbers are the “tip of the iceberg,” suggesting that the presence of extremism in Germany’s military, police, and intelligence agencies is likely far greater than currently known. 

As right-wing terrorist attacks are on the rise in Germany, rooting out dangerous extremists must remain a top priority for the Defense Ministry. Within the military, right-wing extremists fantasize about a “Day X” putsch, or coup, where society is reordered in a reactionary overthrow of the republic, where immigrants and left-leaning politicians are murdered. Such a fever dream is all too familiar to those looking back at the Weimar period. These fantasies have turned into actual plots to kill members of the Bundestag, terror attacks, and plots of an uprising. Fortunately, German intelligence has been able to disrupt plots before they occur. These recent discoveries will likely only lead to more scrutiny of terrorist threats from the KSK, the Bundeswehr, and German law enforcement.