Sometimes real-life stories are the equal of the best screenplays for breathtaking action movies. You can’t make this stuff up — the facts seem stranger than fiction.
It’s clear to everyone how political polarization is tearing up German society. Violence has become widespread and is drawing in the extreme right, radical left, and Salafists. In October, German police arrested six men on suspicion of belonging to a far-right terrorist group that had attacked foreigners in the city of Chemnitz. This time that terror ring had devised a conspiracy to sow chaos throughout the entire country and put an end to democracy.
According to the British Sun, Germany’s Focus magazine has reported that some 200 far-right special operations forces (KSK) soldiers and vets had conspired to kill Green Party leader Claudia Roth, Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, and former President Joachim Gauck, as well as the leaders of asylum groups. The plot was uncovered by German criminal police.
The investigation found that far-right groups had tried to establish neo-Nazi cells within the German armed forces. A lieutenant colonel from military intelligence tried to obstruct the investigation and warned the plotters. This was surprising. Usually very serious vetting procedures are conducted before anyone can become a German serviceman, especially a commissioned officer. Far-right elements have normally been barred from military service, even back in the days of conscription. Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, defense spokeswoman for the Free Democratic Party (FDP), has demanded that the military conduct their own investigation.
Their final goal was to unleash Day-X, thus ending any semblance of law and order in the country. The plotters regarded this as an imminent development. Weapons, ammunition, and fuel had been secretly stockpiled. Training camps had been established near the Austrian and Swiss borders.
This was not the first time. Last year, Wehrmacht memorabilia and Nazi-era artifacts were discovered inside several military barracks. In January, Focus reported that the 16,000-member, far-right “Reich citizens” faction had begun preparing for "Day X," which included the creation of armed units. It’s an open secret that the neo-Nazi movement is growing stronger in Eastern Germany. This time it’s much more serious, as the plotters were actually planning a coup d’état. It looks like Germany is not fit to lead Europe, as it is clearly unable to lead itself.
The news from Germany came just as French security services arrested a group of individuals over an alleged far-right plot to attack President Emmanuel Macron. Activity by armed groups and the creation of anti-migrant militias has become routine in Europe. Authorities in Eastern Europe are sounding the alarm over the rise of heavily armed paramilitary units that have access to heavy weapons. The Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Slovenia are among the nations affected. According to Europol, Greece, Italy, and Spain are facing threats of left-wing violence. While Brexit is overshadowing all other problems, far-right extremists in the UK are preparing a “war against Islam.” According to the Straits Times, “The emergence of the neo-Nazi group National Action in 2014, and similar fringe outfits like Generation Identity, has helped forge a new, younger pool of extremists, according to the ‘2018 State of Hate’ report by the anti-racism organization Hope Not Hate.” The Intercept warns that “British Nazis are on the rise — and they’re becoming more organized and violent.” Sweden is plunging into violence.
Dissatisfaction with migrants and other problems are fueling popular anger, which is the underlying cause of far-right and far-left populism and the formation of armed militias. The EU has turned a blind eye toward neo-Nazi activities in Ukraine. Will it adopt the same approach when it comes to its own neck of the woods?
Russia is being blamed for the world’s every woe, but what about the extremists who are joining the military and gaining access to lethal weaponry and advanced training? Are they not a threat? Remember the group of British Army servicemen who were arrested under the Terrorism Act in September 2017 for their membership in National Action, a prohibited neo-Nazi group? There was a National Action's link man to the Army. Who knows how many British servicemen belong to this or other extremist organizations?
Should the recent news from Germany be shrugged off? No one can say how much of a threat is posed to Europe by these armed groups with ties to the military, but that danger is growing, because the root causes of the problem are not being addressed.
