A group of so-called Reich citizens is said to have planned the violent overthrow of the German federal government and a storming of the German parliament. The trial against nine people began on Tuesday at the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court. They are considered the ringleaders of the planned coup – the main character is the German aristocratic scion Heinrich XIII. Prinz Reuss, a 72-year-old real estate agent. Assessments by political scientist Jan Rathje.
SRF News: How far had the coup plans progressed?
Jan Rathje: It is known that members are said to have already scouted the Bundestag. This through connections through another alleged member, the then AfD member of the Bundestag, Birgit Malsack-Winkemann. The group is also said to have hoarded massive stocks of weapons and ammunition, as well as other military equipment, and carried out shooting training.
What kind of people are these nine defendants?
The group was able to unite a wide variety of milieus and become highly professional. On the one hand, we have a core of people who became radicalized as part of the Querdenker protests, but on the other hand, we also have people who have previously attracted attention through openly right-wing extremist statements. These people not only wanted to recruit civilians, but also placed great emphasis on winning over soldiers and veterans or even police forces for their own interests.
Particularly worrying: members of the German elite unit of the Bundeswehr are also said to have been involved.
It is particularly worrying that members of the German elite unit, the Special Forces Command of the Bundeswehr, were said to have been involved. What unites them is the idea that the Federal Republic of Germany is part of an evil conspiracy with the ultimate goal of exterminating the German people or parts of the population. They wanted to defend themselves against this with a counter-conspiracy, at least that’s what the prosecution said.
It is estimated that there are more than 20,000 Reich citizens in Germany. So are we only talking about the tip of the iceberg when it comes to this one group?
In a way. More current figures from the federal interior authority suggest that 23,000 people are members of this Reich citizen milieu. The number of unreported cases is much higher, as can be seen from the subscription numbers of relevant Telegram channels.
According to federal figures, 23,000 people are believed to be members of the Reich Citizens milieu. The number of unreported cases is much higher.
According to a study by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, 5 percent of the German population support the Reich Citizens’ theories. Not everyone has to take up arms or follow the recommendations of the Reich Citizens’ milieu. But they can provide resources to the relevant groups through other means and channels.
Can this process significantly weaken the organization?
The group is only the current form. It would be interesting to see to what extent other networks have been active. From the current investigation and an earlier one against another alleged group, we know that two Reich citizen groups have already tried to plan a coup during the Corona pandemic alone.
We know from investigations that two groups of Reich citizens tried to plan a coup during the Corona pandemic alone.
It is also not yet entirely clear how many other people might now try to implement such plans in a much more clandestine manner. The fact that people are trying to poach members from each other indicates that there is a lot of potential in the Reichsbürger milieu. As long as this ideology is not effectively combated, this potential will continue to exist.
Brigitte Kramer conducted the interview.