Germany has banned the extreme-right group known as Sturmbrigade 44 or Wolfsbrigade 44. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer accused the organization of aiming to "rebuild the former Nazi state."
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Sturmbrigade 44, Wolfsbrigade 44: The names sound militaristic — like war and aggression, like the name of an uncompromisingly fierce unit.
Members of the group wear its insignia in large white old-style German script lettered on their shirts and jackets. It is a look, a menacing style, that they wear with pride at militant gatherings. They see it as a statement, a philosophy.
For outsiders, it is certainly a threatening sight — even though many people may not be aware of the group's intent.
The crimes committed by the SS-Dirlewanger Sturmbrigade in World War II are so monstrous a dimension that it is difficult to put them into words. It was a "special unit" under the leadership of SS officer Oskar Dirlewanger.
In the course of the war, Dirlewanger and his men murdered tens of thousands of people. Most were unarmed civilians. They burned babies and children, raped women, and in Belarus shot every peasant they encountered.
The soldiers plundered the small village of Khatyn before locking the local people in a barn that they then set ablaze. Anybody trying to escape was gunned down. The 147 people killed included 75 children younger than 16. The village blacksmith, Yuzif Kaminsky, survived. After the SS forces had withdrawn, he found the body of his son, Adam, in the charred ruins of the barn.
Dirlewanger, who later received the SS honor the Knight's Cross, is revered by the now-banned Sturmbrigade 44. The number 4 stands for the fourth letter of the alphabet, D, so the 44 means "Division Dirlewanger."
Small but well-connected
The group does not appear to play a central role in Germany's far-right scene today. But it is believed to be well connected with other extremists. In 2019 Germany's chief federal prosecutor ordered raids on the suspicion that members of the group were engaged in the formation of a criminal association. This after they were suspected to have been involved in regional far-right rallies and smearing walls with swastikas.
Right-wing attacks in Germany
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David Begrich, of the anti-discrimination NGO Miteinander from the eastern state of Saxony-Anhalt, said the investigation into Sturmbrigade 44 had revealed once again that right-wing extremist sentiments and groups are rife all over Germany. "The networking they have done in the past three years has provided the basis for a radicalization and a propensity to violence against members of the migrant community and other political opponents," he told the online magazine Belltower News.
Interior Minister Horst Seehofer said banning Sturmbrigade 44 had sent a clear signal: "Any group that sows hatred and works to rebuild the former Nazi state does not belong in Germany." The December 1 order to ban Sturmbrigade 44 was the fourth time Seehofer had declared a far-right group illegal in 2020.
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Dirlewanger still worshiped
Despite all the well-meaning rhetoric, there still appear to be plenty of places around Germany where far-right hatred and incitement are rife. And the reverence devoted to the mass murderer SS officer is all perfectly legal under the initials "SKD," German for "Special Commando Dirlewanger." There are also plenty of right-rock bands and festivals, where the Aryan Brotherhood of prominent neo-Nazi Thorsten Heise and his followers provide security. Their emblem? Two crossed hand grenades: the symbol of the SS's Dirlewanger Brigade.
This article was translated from German.
Right-wing extremist terror attacks: A timeline
In the past 10 years, there have been numerous attacks targeting Muslim and Jewish communities, as well as people of color. DW examines some of the world's major right-wing extremist terror attacks.
Image: picture-alliance/empics/PA Wire/D. Lawson
Germany 2009: Stabbing of woman in Dresden court
Marwa El-Sherbini, a pharmacist who lived with her husband and son in Dresden, was killed in Dresden's district court on July 1, 2009. She was stabbed by a 28-year-old Russian-German man shortly after testifying against him in a verbal abuse case. He'd previously called her a "terrorist" and "Islamist." El-Sherbini is considered to be the first murder victim of an Islamophobic attack in Germany.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Hiekel
Norway 2011: Mass murderer Breivik carries out terror attacks
Right-wing extremist Anders Behring Breivik killed 77 people in two lone-wolf terror attacks on July 22, 2011. He first set off a bomb in the government district in Oslo before killing young people attending a summer camp on the island of Utoya. Prior to the attack, Breivik published a manifesto where he decried multiculturalism and the "Islamization of Europe."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R. Berit
USA 2015: Chapel Hill shooting
Three university students — Deah Barakat, his wife Yusor Abu-Salha, and her sister Razan Abu-Salha — were shot dead by their 46-year-old neighbor on February 10, 2015. The shooter described himself as an opponent of organized religion and reportedly repeatedly threatened and harassed the victims. The killings sparked outrage online, with millions of tweets using the hashtag #MuslimLivesMatter.
On June 17, 2015, a white supremacist opened fire at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina. Nine African-American worshipers were killed, including a pastor at the church, which is one of the oldest black congregations in the United States. The 21-year-old suspect was convicted of a federal hate crime and sentenced to death.
Image: Getty Images/J. Raedle
Germany 2016: Mass shooting in Munich
A mass shooting at a shopping mall in Munich on July 22, 2016 wounded some 36 people and killed 10 — including the 18-year-old shooter. The perpetrator, a German of Iranian descent, made xenophobic and racist comments and idolized school shooters, according to police. He also suffered from depression, was frequently bullied and wanted to take revenge on people with immigrant backgrounds.
Image: Getty Images/J. Simon
UK 2017: Attack on Finsbury Park mosque
On June 19, 2017, a 47-year-old man killed one person and wounded another 10 after driving a van into a group of pedestrians near the Finsbury Park mosque in north London. All of the victims were Muslims who were on their way to take part in special night prayers during Ramadan. The perpetrator later stated that he was motivated by a "hatred of Islam" and was sentenced to life in prison.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/F. Augstein
USA 2017: Car attack during neo-Nazi march in Charlottesville
One woman was killed and dozens were wounded when a white nationalist drove his car into a crowd of counterprotesters in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017. The counterprotesters had been demonstrating against the Unite the Right rally, a gathering of white supremacists, white nationalists and neo-Nazis. The suspect was sentenced to life in prison.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/P.J. Richards
Canada 2017: Attack on mosque in Quebec
A gunman opened fire on worshipers at the Islamic Cultural Center in Quebec City in late January 2017, killing six people and wounding over a dozen. The shooting took place during evening prayers. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the shooting as "a terrorist attack on Muslims in a center of worship and refuge."
Image: Reuters/M. Belanger
USA 2018: Tree of Life Synagogue shooting
On October 27, 2018, a 46-year-old gunman opened fire at a synagogue in the US city of Pittsburgh, killing 11 people and wounding seven. He reportedly shouted anti-Semitic slurs during the attack and previously posted conspiracy theories online. It was the deadliest attack on Jewish people in US history.
Image: picture-alliance/AP/M. Rourke
Germany 2019: New Year's attack in Bottrop and Essen
Shortly after midnight as people were out celebrating, a 50-year-old man carried out targeted attacks on immigrants in the western German cities of Bottrop and Essen — injuring eight people, one seriously. He deliberately drove his car at two Syrian and Afghan families who were out celebrating with their children in Bottrop. German authorities said "he had a clear intent to kill foreigners."
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Kusch
New Zealand 2019: Twin terror attacks on mosques in Christchurch
At least 50 people were killed and dozens others were injured in twin terror attacks at mosques in Christchurch. Officials called it a "right-wing extremist attack" and the deadliest shooting in New Zealand's history. One of the gunmen livestreamed the attack and posted a racist manifesto online before the attack. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern called it "one of New Zealand's darkest days."
