Federal Minister Seehofer bans the association “Nordadler”

type: press release , Date: 23 June 2020

The organisation is a right-wing extremist association with National Socialist ideology.

Today Horst Seehofer, Federal Minister of the Interior, Building and Community, placed a ban on and dissolved the right-wing extremist association “Nordadler” in accordance with the Act Governing Private Associations (Associations Act). In the early morning, police officers searched premises of leading members of the association in North Rhine-Westphalia, Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony.

Federal Minister Seehofer said: "Extremist associations no longer need regular meetings in pubs, a treasurer or statutes to pursue their aims. The ban on “Nordadler” is directed against an association mainly operating online and on social media. I will always ban associations and groups which disseminate hatred and incitement and which hope to recreate a National Socialist state. We will not tolerate right-wing extremism or antisemitism, whether in the real or in the virtual world."

The association has been banned under section 3 (1) of the Associations Act. The association “Nordadler” (also active and appearing under the names “Völkische Revolution”, “Völkische Jugend”, “Völkische Gemeinschaft” and “Völkische Renaissance”, referred to in the following as NORDADLER) is directed against the constitutional order and opposes the concept of international understanding. The aims and activities of “Nordadler ” also violate criminal law. “Nordadler” is a right-wing extremist group which mainly uses the internet to promote its National Socialist and antisemitic ideology. It uses open and closed chat groups and channels on various platforms, on social media (Telegram, Instagram and Discord) and its own website to spread its views. Its leaders seek to recruit and indoctrinate mainly young internet users, winning them over to an anti-constitutional point of view.

The main feature of the group is its similarity to National Socialist organisations. Its structure has similarities to  the Nazi SS paramilitary organisation, its members identify with Adolf Hitler and other senior representatives of the National Socialist regime, and they use National Socialist symbols and language. The group’s leader declared in public that he thought of himself as a Nazi and that his group longed for the reinstitution of the Nazi state and its ideology.  He went on to say that “Nordadler” was planning to implement a National Socialist settlement project where like-minded persons lived together and from where they could spread their way of thinking.

Another feature of the group is strong antisemitism and a militant aggressive general attitude. The leader of the group, for instance, professed agreement with the attack on the synagogue in Halle in a public Telegram group.

“Nordadler” is the 20th right-wing extremist association to be banned by a federal interior minister, and already the third to be banned this year. The Federal Interior Minister banned the association “Combat 18” in January and the Reichsbürger association “Geeinte deutsche Völker und Stämme” in March.