Germany creates central database of dangerous neo-Nazis, including those from abroad

The German government has approved the creation of a central database of dangerous neo-Nazis. The database will include files on right-wing extremists with violent tendencies and those in contact with them. Files on extremists from abroad, including Czech citizens, can also be included in the database, according to Heinz Fromm, the head of German counter-intelligence.

“Nationality cannot and does not play any role in this. Only the neo-Nazis’ relationships to Germany and to violence play a role. Even if such persons are foreigners and live abroad they can still be included in the database,” Fromm said.

The government of German Chancellor Angela Merkel proceeded with the creation of a database of dangerous neo-Nazis in response to a series of murders of immigrants between 2000 and 2007 committed by a group of right-wing extremists from the eastern town of Zwickau. The authorities did not succeed in uncovering the group until last year, during which it was revealed that the secret services had committed many errors when investigating the murder cases. The recently created Center for the Fight against Right-wing Extremism in Germany is meant to prevent such errors in future, and the upcoming database is meant to serve that purpose as well.

German right-wing extremists maintain numerous contacts with like-minded groups abroad, including Czech ones. For example, the Workers’ Social Justice Party of the Czech Republic has concluded a cooperation agreement with the NPD in Germany. The parties want to jointly focus on promoting cross-border cooperation and promoting measures against immigration.

Four years ago, Udo Voigt, the NPD chair who has been invited by the DSSS to the Czech Republic, cast doubt on the extent of the murder of Jewsh people during WWII and demanded the return of the territory which Germany lost after 1945, including the Sudetenland, which is now part of the Czech Republic. Members of the NPD and people sympathizing with the party have been brought to trial more than once in Germany for their revisionist declarations and speeches bordering on Holocaust denial.