Monday 17th May 2021
Right-wing extremism in the Bundeswehr
According to the association, the problem is “not particularly big”
A chat group has only just been exposed in which soldiers are said to have shared Hitler’s pictures and other Nazi content. The Bundeswehrverband considers the problem with right-wing extremism in the troops to be manageable.
The Federal Armed Forces Association considers the proportion of right-wing extremists among the soldiers to be manageable. The problem of right-wing extremism in the Bundeswehr is “not particularly big,” said the chairman of the Bundeswehrverband, André Wüstner, the editorial network Germany (RND). “We have suspected cases in the lower four-digit range, but only very few have been confirmed. The Bundeswehr employs 250,000 people. If you consider the annual regeneration rate of more than 15,000 people, the percentage is in the per mille range.” Nevertheless: “Every case is one too many.”
Last year, according to the annual report by the Armed Forces Commissioner Eva Högl, the Military Counter-Intelligence Service processed a total of 843 suspected right-wing extremism cases, 477 of which were new cases. In 2019 there were 592 and 363 cases, respectively. The number of supporters of the Reich Citizens’ Movement rose from 34 to 53. Just a few days ago the “Spiegel” reported about house searches of three soldiers in several federal states, who are said to have shared Nazi symbols in a chat group. When they considered illegal arms procurement, investigators struck.
Wüstner also spoke out in favor of organizational reform of the Bundeswehr. “We have to move away from over-regulation and countless decision-makers without responsibility for results, towards more readiness for action through a better tailoring of responsibility and resources, decentralization and uninterrupted leadership,” he told the RND.
The reform of Federal Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer is about the structures below the ministry. This has been discussed for several years. It is necessary to present proposals now, even if the parliamentary term ends soon. In addition, however, a restructuring in the ministry is necessary. “Leadership, control and strategy skills are inadequate,” he said. “The restructuring in the course of the last reform was a mistake. This ministry is not like the others, but also a management ministry. Ultimately, it also needs a 24/7 management cell with a constant picture of the situation from which a minister can quickly make decisions. Incidentally, this is how it is in all of our partners’ defense ministries. “
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