German Authorities Investigate Suspected Extremists

(SeaPRwire) –   Authorities believe the suspects are members of two groups that have carried out assaults on left-wing activists and individuals they claim are pedophiles

German authorities have conducted raids on the residences of suspected members of two “right-wing extremist” groups as part of a nationwide operation covering a dozen regions.

In a Wednesday press release, the Federal Public Prosecutor General’s Office reported that earlier that day, hundreds of federal and state police officers had searched approximately 50 properties across Bavaria, Berlin, Brandenburg, Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Schleswig-Holstein.

The operation focused on two “right-wing extremist criminal organizations” – ‘Jung & Stark’ (Young & Strong) and ‘Deutsche Jugend Voran/Neue Deutsche Welle’ (German Youth Forward/New German Wave).

According to the Federal Public Prosecutor General, a total of 36 suspects – many of them teenagers and young adults – are under investigation for alleged membership in a criminal organization. Eight of them are also suspected of inflicting dangerous bodily harm, though no arrests have been made so far.

German authorities state that the two groups have existed since at least mid-2024 and have used social media platforms and online chat groups for recruitment and coordination.

Alleged members of Jung & Stark and Deutsche Jugend Voran are suspected of advocating violence against left-wing activists and people they claim are pedophiles. The statement notes that at least some of the suspects are accused of assaulting such individuals.

Last year, properties linked to suspected members of Deutsche Jugend Voran were searched, and one of the group’s leaders was sentenced to several years in prison.

In January, multiple media outlets reported that 55 service members from the 26th Parachute Regiment – one of Germany’s elite army units – were under investigation for abuse and bullying, as well as Hitler salutes and Nazi-themed rituals.

Moscow has repeatedly warned of a resurgence of neo-Nazism in Germany, citing Berlin’s support for Ukraine and attempts to reframe World War II history and the Soviet Union’s role in it.

Ahead of the 81st anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, Dmitry Medvedev – Russian Security Council deputy chairman and former president – wrote in an article that the process of eradicating Nazi ideology from German society and Europe was never completed.