Far-right extremism probe into elite German army unit opens
August 17, 2017
State prosecutors in the city of Tübingen have begun investigating whether right-wing activities took place at a farewell party for special forces in the Bundeswehr. It is the latest scandal to rock the German army.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/K. Nietfeld
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A prosecutor spokesperson from the state attorney's office in the German city of Tübingen confirmed to DW on Thursday that it had begun looking into whether right-wing extremist behavior took place among Germany's Special Force Commando (KSK), the nation's elite military troops.
"We are examining the incident," Nicolaus Wegele said via phone. He added that the investigation may eventually be taken over by the Stuttgart attorney since the alleged incidents took place near to that city in the town of Calw.
Stuttgart lies some 45 kilometers north of Tübingen in the federal state of Baden-Württemberg.
The badge of the KSK (above), the German army's elite special forcesImage: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Seeger
Hitler salutes and pig heads
According to research undertaken by public German radio stations Radio Bremen, NDR, ZDF and ARD, KSK troops allegedly displayed extreme right-wing behavior at a goodbye party that took place on April 27, 2017 at a shooting range near Stuttgart. The troops reportedly gave the Hitler salute, listened to right-wing extremist rock music, and also organized a pig's head toss.
Slaughtered pig heads are commonly used in right-wing extremist activities due to the animal's association with the Kosher and Halal dietary restrictions for Jews and Muslims respectively. Read more: German army sees spike in internal abuse complaints
Testimony from an eyewitness present at the events lead the Tübingen office to open its probe. The eyewitness said that a soldier friend of hers had invited her to the goodbye party so she could be the "main prize" for the head of the military company. She also reported having WhatsApp messages on her phone as proof.
The elite KSK troops were founded in 1996 in order to free and evacuate German hostages in war zones. Their operations are secret and have included missions in Afghanistan and the Balkans. Very little information about the KSK is made public due to the need to protect the soliders and their families.
The KSK practice hostage rescue at their base in Calw in 2014Image: picture-alliance/dpa/P. Seeger
The Bundeswehr has also opened an internal investigation into the matter, a military spokesperson confirmed to German news agency dpa, while emphasizing that none of the acts had yet been confirmed. The army reportedly knew of the incident in Calw as early as July 13.
On Thursday, military commissioner Hans-Peter Bartels on Thursday questioned why the Bundeswehr did not notify the state prosecution themselves once the incident became known, rather than wait for the eyewitness to come forward independently.
"Giving the Hitler salute is not a question of taste. Playing music that disparages a democratic Germany is not a question of taste," Bartels said. He called upon any soldiers with information to come forward. "Soldiers should defend democracy, not disparage it," he added.
The Bundeswehr's latest far-right extremism scandal
The alleged far-right extremist incidents in Calw lengthens the list of scandals that the Bundeswehr has faced in recent months.
In April 2017, authorities arrested Franco A., an army lieutenant who was reportedly planning a terrorist attack and had been posing as a Syrian refugee. The odd case put the Bundeswehr on the defensive since it allegedly knew of Franco A.'s right-wing leanings as early as 2014 but did not intervene.
Just a few week's after the arrest, investigators also uncovered Nazi memorabilia in troop barracks in Donaueschingen, including helmets from the Wehrmacht - the German military under Hitler. The Bundeswehr was founded in 1955, and many once-soldiers in the Wehrmacht began serving in the Bundeswehr.
Bundeswehr scandals: Von der Leyen on the defensive
For German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, 2017 has so far been a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year. She's had to weather numerous Bundeswehr scandals and is under fire for not supporting her own troops.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Sauer
Von der Leyen under fire
Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen wanted to show she's not blind to problems among her own troops. In light of the most recent scandal, she openly criticized army leadership, saying the Bundeswehr had an "attitude problem." But Bundeswehr officials found her comments to be outrageous. Their response to the defense minister's criticism: "Leadership goes from the top down."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/G. Fischer
A fake Syrian refugee
The story causing the uproar: Bundeswehr lieutenant Franco A. was allegedly planning a terrorist attack and led a double life, pretending to be a Syrian refugee. He was granted partial asylum status as a war refugee in December 2016. His alleged goal: another attack blamed on a refugee. Bundeswehr officials are said to have known about Franco A.'s right-wing tendencies since 2014, but did nothing.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Rumpenhorst
Abuse in Bad Reichenhall mountain rangers unit
The Bundeswehr is currently investigating 275 cases of suspected right-wing extremism. But they're also dealing with other types of scandals. In March 2017, the public learned about the case of a lance corporal who had suffered months of abuse in a Bavarian mountain rangers unit. The victim reported being threatened and sexually harassed in 2015 and 2016. Prosecutors investigated 14 people.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Hoppe
Female recruits forced to pole-dance
The biggest scandal of von der Leyen's term so far: the horror stories coming out of the Staufer army base in Pfullendorf. In January, it was revealed that superior officers there forced recruits to undress and perform sexually-motivated acts and filmed them. Female recruits were forced to pole dance as part of an "entrance exam." The top Bundeswehr training commander was fired as a result.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/T. Warnack
Many cases of right-wing extremism investigated
According to a report from Germany's federal parliamentary commissioner for the Bundeswehr, Hans-Peter Bartels, 2016 wasn't a great year for the Bundeswehr, either. There were around 60 incidents related to alleged right-wing extremism or "violations against the bases of Germany's free democratic constitutional structure." Troops shared anti-Semitic images and music or did the Nazi salute.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/S. Sauer
Death on board the Gorch Fock
The Bundeswehr wasn't immune to scandals before von der Leyen became defense minister in December 2013. One that garnered significant public attention was the death of a 25-year-old recruit on the Navy training vessel Gorch Fock in 2010. The woman fell from the rigging during an exercise. As a consequence, other cadets refused to climb the rigging. Officer training on the ship was suspended.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/C. Rehder
The birth of the Bundeswehr
Directly after World War II, Germany was not allowed to have an army. The Bundeswehr had its start in West Germany in 1955. After reunification, the Bundeswehr took in 20,000 soldiers from East Germany's armed forces. A big change came in 1999, when the Bundeswehr first participated in an international conflict: the Kosovo War. Before that, they had only gone abroad for peacekeeping missions.
Image: picture alliance/akg-images
No more mandatory service
Today the Bundeswehr has roughly 178,200 active soldiers. As of March 2017, 11.4 percent of them are women. Until 2011, men were required to do mandatory military service, the length of which varied between nine and 18 months. Today, the Bundeswehr has to appeal to young people to recruit soldiers. The most recent scandals are making that that more and more difficult.
