Neo-Nazi scandal

After raid: Was Austrian Jörg S. the mastermind?

The raid in Grimma (Saxony) is part of a crackdown on a suspected right-wing extremist terrorist group. The links also lead to Austria.

(Bild: ©Animaflora PicsStock - stock.adobe.com)

Following the arrest of eight suspected members of the militant neo-Nazi group "Saxon Separatists" in Germany and Poland, a seventh suspect is now also in custody. It is unclear when the last of the eight men - the alleged ringleader - will be brought before the investigating judge: the Austrian Jörg S. was arrested in Poland and is being held there until his extradition. 

Seven of the eight accused are already in custody. The last of the eight men, Jörg S. - the alleged ringleader of the neo-Nazi group "Saxon Separatists" - was arrested in Poland and is being held there until his extradition. 

Three of the eight accused have deep connections to the German right-wing populist party AfD. Among them: Local politician Kurt H., who was apparently injured by a shot from a gun during the raid on Tuesday. Due to his injury, he could not initially be handed over to the investigators in Karlsruhe. The arrest warrant for the AfD politician in Leipzig followed on Thursday. 

The entire S. family belongs to the "extreme right"
According to media reports, the two Austrians and suspected terrorists Jörg S. and his brother Jörn S., who has also been arrested, belong to the family of an FPÖ politician and a well-known Austrian right-wing extremist. Jörg S. and his brother Jörn S. are said to have founded the "Saxon Separatists" with others four years ago. The two men have two other brothers. At least one of them is also allegedly accused.  

The brothers' father, a neo-Nazi convicted in Austria in the 1990s for Nazi reactivation, had emigrated to Germany after serving a prison sentence. Searches were also carried out in the course of the raid in Austria, specifically in Vienna and in the district of Krems-Land. Numerous pieces of evidence were seized, according to the investigators.

It goes in the direction of militant, violent right-wing extremism, neo-Nazism. I see a continuity with today, where the aim is to make neo-Nazism defensible.

Rechtsextremismusexperte Andreas Peham im Ö1-Morgenjournal

Right-wing extremism expert Andreas Peham would attribute the entire S. family to the "organized extreme right", as he said in an interview with Ö1-Mittagsjournal on Thursday. It goes in the direction of "militant violent right-wing extremism, to neo-Nazism". Peham sees a "continuity with today, where it was about making neo-Nazism capable of defense, i.e. at the interface with paramilitary activities such as military sports exercises, war games in the forest, preparations for an emergency, or as it is called today: day X."

Families often formed the basis for this, said the researcher at the Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance. These were so-called "fortress families". "A parallel world is created, a so-called nationally liberated zone, and the enemy is always outside."

Racist and anti-Semitic ideology
According to the German authorities, the "Saxon Separatists" group was founded in November 2020 at the latest. "This is a militant group consisting of fifteen to twenty people whose ideology is characterized by racist, anti-Semitic and in parts apocalyptic ideas," the statement from the federal prosecutor's office reads. "Its members are united by a deep rejection of the free and democratic basic order of the Federal Republic of Germany."

According to the statement, the association assumes that Germany is facing a "collapse". If the state and society collapse, the group wants to use armed force to conquer areas in Saxony and possibly also in other East German states "in order to establish a state and society based on National Socialism", the statement continued. "Unwanted groups of people are to be removed from the area through ethnic cleansing if necessary."

AfD politician is a hunter and has a gun permit
According to information from security circles, the AfD man was allegedly holding a long gun when he was arrested on Tuesday, which is why the police fired two warning shots. The accused suffered a fracture to his jaw and underwent surgery. Further details of the incident are not yet known. According to the German media, the arrested man is a hunter and has a firearms license.

Members of the AfD have repeatedly attracted attention in the past due to their links to the right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi scene. According to media reports, Kurt H. had been active in the far-right scene for some time. As recently as June 2024, he was involved in a midsummer celebration in Oberlausitz, where 150 AfD politicians, neo-Nazis, right-wing activists and hooligans sang Hitler Youth songs and honored an SS great.

Kurt H. had also attracted increasing attention in previous years due to his links to right-wing extremist circles. The three suspected AfD members, who allegedly belong to the "Saxon Separatists" group, have been active in the party for several years. During this time, they have taken on various functions at local and regional level. 

The state executive committee of the Saxon AfD has now decided to expel Kurt H. and two other party members, who are allegedly members of the right-wing extremist terrorist group, from the party. The state arbitration court still has to decide.