For many years, German security services and law enforcement agencies as well as the political elite viewed the so-called “Reichsbürger” (literally “citizens of the Reich”) as a small, albeit bizarre group that posed no particular threat. However, this changed when, in October 2016, a member of the Reichsbürger movement opened fire on police officers, killing one and injuring three others. The incident changed the way law enforcement viewed the group, which now monitors its members more stringently. The 2017 report of the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz, the Germans’ Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution or BfV, detailed, for the first time, extremist crimes perpetrated by individuals belonging to Reichsbürger. While 911 crimes may appear negligible in comparison to the total of 29,855 crimes related to extremism in Germany in 2017, 345 of these were perpetrated in the state of Bavaria alone.[1] While a nation-wide phenomenon, Reichsbürger attacks occur in some states more frequently. Bavarian authorities are now paying closer attention to this phenomenon in order to assess the dangers posed by the group.
The Reichsbürger ideology and organization
As matters stand now, Reichsbürger cannot be classified as an organization — not yet. So far, the group is loosely structured with multiple autonomous groups, including “Königreich Deutschland” (The German Kingdom), “Das deutsche Polizeihilfswerk” (The German Police Relieve Agency) or “Reichsbewegung- neue Gemeinschaft von Philosophen” (Reichsmovement – new community of philosophers).
Because the movement is made up of various splinter groups, it is difficult to assess the actual number of Reichsbürger members. The BfV classified around 18,000 individuals as Reichsbürger in 2018,[2] and recent years have observed increased activity online suggesting that the number of adherents to the Reichsbürger ideology is growing.
What unites the Reichsbürger is their shared system of belief. A large part of their ideological foundation revolves around the narrative that the Federal Republic of Germany does not exist and is not an actual state. To them, the German Reich did not perish in 1945 and remains the legitimate German authority, while the Federal Republic as an illegitimate creature of foreign occupation and exploitation. They believe that because there has never been an official peace treaty, the occupation continues until this day, with the Federal Republic an instrument of the Allied powers that allows Germans the illusion of independence and democracy. According to the Reichsbürger, Merkel, her cabinet, as well as parliament, the judiciary, and the security agencies are all puppets installed and controlled by foreigners.
Since the group perceives the official government as illegitimate, they naturally disobey state authority, down to refusing to pay taxes. Reichsbürger adherents also deem their personal property, such as their houses, independent entities, outside the authority of the Federal Republic of Germany. The group also rejects German basic law (the constitution) and other legal texts. It was in this context — of believing state agents are illegitimate pawns of foreigners — that a Reichsbürger member shot several police officers in 2016.
The refusal to accept any form of state authority automatically puts Reichsbürger in conflict with the law and mainstream society. Several splinter groups have taken it even further, moving from disobedience to creating their own parallel, competing pseudo-state organizational structures. For instance, Alexander Schlowak, the self-proclaimed head of the ‘legitimate’ government-in-exile of the German Reich, and his supporters adhere to laws from 1867 or 1913 and issue “Reichspässe”, an alternative passport.[3] Other Reichsbürger groups ‘found’ their own kingdoms or governments and issue their own money, such as the “Engelgeld” (Angel money) from the “King of Germany” Peter Fitzek.[4]
While some individual Reichsbürger members may be motivated largely by the wish to evade taxation and other costs, the ideological foundation of the movement can be traced back to a right-wing extremist worldview, including racist and antisemitic beliefs.[5] Reichsbürger have called the Federal Republic of Germany a “Zionist-freemason conspiracy” and some perceive the German government as controlled by Zionist forces. This is a clear indication that the ideology of the Reichsbürger movement builds upon the antisemitic beliefs of a Jewish world conspiracy already popular in the Nazi era.[6]
Another strong indication that the group has its foundation in right-wing ideology is the historical revisionism practiced by many supporters.[7] Not only is the defeat and subsequent downfall of the Reich not accepted, as underlined by the wish to restore Germany within the borders it had in 1937, but the Reichsbürger passport goes back to the Reichsbürger-Law of 1935, which clearly differentiated between ‘real Germans’ (with German blood) and those who simply had a passport but were not considered German by blood. Works of several figures belonging to the right-wing extremist scene in Germany, such as holocaust-denier Horst Mahler, are cited as basic narratives of the movement.[8]
We should, however, not make the mistake of simplifying the phenomenon and discounting all supporters as neo-Nazis. The website of another self-proclaimed government-in-exile attests to the fact that while anti-immigration, antisemitic, and extremist narratives exist, the Reichsbürger worldview is more complex than that. It is based on the wish to display patriotism overtly and the feeling that Germans are still disadvantaged due to their history of national-socialist rule. There are elements of anti-Americanism and a corresponding fear of the forces of globalization on both the economy and culture. The latter also features prominently in the anti-EU sentiments the group postulates and the corresponding feeling of being left-behind or left-out by the economic, political and social integration of the European countries or, as Reichsbürger classify it, of the ‘European dictatorship’. On the group’s website are several conspiracy theories, such as the CIA’s alleged control of the Vatican, supposed ‘false-flag’ terrorist attacks sanctioned by the government to justify their rule, as well as US hegemony over the European Union.[9]
Assessing the dangers
Many Reichsbürger followers defy state authority without the use of violence. This includes evading taxes or spamming of ministries with made-up claims and demands. These actions are more annoying than actually dangerous. In fact, the majority of Reichsbürger actions, to this day, have been harmless. However, there are two developments which could make Reichsbürger potentially dangerous.
The first is a spike in gun ownership. While Germany has a rather low rate of gun ownership compared to other countries, the rate is very high among Reichsbürger supporters and the aforementioned case of the police officer who was shot dead shows the group is prepared to use them. German authorities have also uncovered a plot of a Reichsbürger splinter group called the “Free State of Prussia” to obtain AK-47 rifles.[10] This shows that the potential for violent extremism should be classified as substantial, especially in light of the Reichsbürger’s rejection the state’s monopoly on the use of force and the legitimacy of law enforcement actions. Furthermore, verbal threats of Reichsbürger supporters against employees of bureaucratic structures attest to the potential for violence. For instance, Brandenburg’s minister of justice received a letter threatening him with nuclear weapons, while other bureaucrats received threats of being put to death by firing squads.[11]
The second factor are so-called ‘lone wolves’ or individuals perpetrating attacks inspired by Reichsbürger ideology. For instance, in 2014, customs officers noticed a vehicle with a counterfeit license plate. When they stopped the vehicle they found the drive was in possession of multiple guns, knives and right-wing propaganda.[12] In a video later found by police the driver allegedly denied the holocaust and threatened to destroy the Federal Republic of Germany.[13] He was later identified as a ‘lone wolf’ with loose online ties to the Reichsbürger ideology.
The increasing online presence of Reichsbürger groups and propaganda makes the radicalization of lone actors more likely and increases the risk that violence is justified by referencing the Reichsbürger narrative. The ideological foundations of the movement in rejecting the legitimacy of the German state puts supporters in automatic conflict with state authority and law enforcement, which has the potential to lead to violent behavior. The BfV is reportedly debating the possibility that a German Anders Breivik could emerge from the Reichsbürger group. This scenario would put the movement on the forefront domestic terrorism in Germany.[14]
Conclusion
As long as the Reichsbürger movement remains split into various groups, which are sometimes in competition with one another, the organizational threat beyond lone actors remains low. Without clear structures, hierarchy and a shared strategy, and with the current focus on jamming bureaucratic structures, coordinated attacks and actions requiring large-scale cooperation will remain unlikely. Nevertheless, the potential for violence exists and conflict with authority is innate in the movement’s ideology. For this reason, Reichsbürger will remain a phenomenon that needs to be closely monitored by authorities and researched by experts in order to understand and adequately counter their behavior.
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[1] Bader, N. (2018). Gefahr durch „Reichsbürger“ vor allem in Bayern. Retrieved from: https://www.br.de/nachricht/verfassungsschutzbericht-2017-gefahr-durch-reichsbuerger-in-bayern-100.html
[2] Die Welt (2018). Warum die Zahl der „Reichsbürger“ rasant wächst. Retrieved from: https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article175916927/Reichsbuerger-Warum-ihre-Zahl-rasant-waechst.html
[3] http://www.reichsmeldestelle.org/
[4] Cieschinger, A. (2016). Wer sind die „Reichsbürger“? – Und was wollen sie? Retrieved from: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/reichsbuerger-wer-sie-sind-was-sie-wollen-a-1117364.html
[5] Bierman, K. and Geisler, A. (2016). Ein Volk, viele Reiche, noch mehr Führer. Retrieved from: https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2016-04/reichsbuerger-verfassungsschutz-radikalisierung-einzeltaeter
[6] Cieschinger, A. (2016). Wer sind die „Reichsbürger“? – Und was wollen sie? Retrieved from: http://www.spiegel.de/panorama/gesellschaft/reichsbuerger-wer-sie-sind-was-sie-wollen-a-1117364.html
[7] Amadeo Antonio Stiftung (2018). „Reichsbürger“: Fragen und Antworten. Retrieved from: https://www.amadeu-antonio-stiftung.de/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/aas_lpb_broschuere-reichsbuerger.pdf
[8] Bierman, K. and Geisler, A. (2016). Ein Volk, viele Reiche, noch mehr Führer. Retrieved from: https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2016-04/reichsbuerger-verfassungsschutz-radikalisierung-einzeltaeter
[9] http://friedensvertrag.org/
[10] Innenministerium NRW (2017). Reichsbürger und Selbstverwalter. Retrieved from: https://www.im.nrw/sites/default/files/documents/2017-11/jb2016_nrw_reichsbuerger.pdf
[11] Bierman, K. and Geisler, A. (2016). Ein Volk, viele Reiche, noch mehr Führer. Retrieved from: https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2016-04/reichsbuerger-verfassungsschutz-radikalisierung-einzeltaeter
[12] Bierman, K. and Geisler, A. (2016). Ein Volk, viele Reiche, noch mehr Führer. Retrieved from: https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2016-04/reichsbuerger-verfassungsschutz-radikalisierung-einzeltaeter
[13] Kontraste (2016). Wie gefährlich sind die Reichsbürger? Retrieved from: https://www.rbb-online.de/kontraste/ueber_den_tag_hinaus/terrorismus/wie-gefaehrlich-sind-die-reichsbuerger.html
[14] Bierman, K. and Geisler, A. (2016). Ein Volk, viele Reiche, noch mehr Führer. Retrieved from: https://www.zeit.de/politik/deutschland/2016-04/reichsbuerger-verfassungsschutz-radikalisierung-einzeltaeter
