Principality of Germania

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Flag of the Principality of Germania

The Principality of Germania was a micronation that resided for three months in 2009 in a dilapidated former manor house, known as a "castle", in Krampfer in the Brandenburg municipality of Plattenburg . This project was reported regionally and on Spiegel TV . The public interest was mainly directed to suspected links to right-wing extremism .

history

"Krampfer Castle"

At the end of 2008 Michael Freiherr von Pallandt acquired the Moellendorff manor and the associated land with the aim of founding a sovereign and self-sufficient "principality". The so-called castle, actually just a manor house belonging to the Prussian aristocratic Moellendorff family from the mid-18th century, was practically uninhabitable at that time. It was partly in danger of collapsing and had neither running water nor a connection to the sewer system.

On February 15, 2009, the "Principality" started with an official proclamation as a "grassroots democratic church state". No reliable data is available on the number of “citizens” of this “state”. The Berliner Morgenpost reported that during weekend events more than 150 people are said to have stayed on the property, but the number of residents of the property was significantly lower. According to its own information, the principality had 300 "citizens" at times. Due to the persistent refusal to comply with building regulations, the administrative district had the manor house cleared and sealed on May 19, 2009. At that time there were only two other people in the building besides the "Prince".

Representative

Representatives of the principality were next to von Pallandt, who acted as prince and financed the company, but remained largely in the background after the founding act, especially the conspiracy theorists Jessie Marsson and Jo Conrad . The external representation of the micronation was mainly done by Conrad. Marsson was particularly noticeable by provocative anti-Semitic statements in public, which seriously damaged the image of the project. Neither Marsson nor Conrad and von Pallandt were among the residents of the building, but only stayed there temporarily.

Following

The principality's supporters were very heterogeneous and came from various alternative milieus. The basic common ground was a dissatisfaction with the social conditions and the search for alternatives. Of particular importance were esoteric concepts, conspiracy theories and the idea of ​​the continued existence of the German Reich in the sense of the Reich Citizens Movement . This idea, combined with the rejection of the Federal Republic of Germany and the assertion that it lacks an international and constitutional basis, was also incorporated into the “constitution” of the principality. The historical revisionist views of the “Reichsbürger” led, in addition to the anti-Semitic provocations of Marsson, that the principality gained the reputation of a right-wing extremist project.

activities

The principality was conceived as an autarkic community with a grassroots democratic organization. In this context, numerous projects and initiatives were discussed, but only a few were initially implemented in practice. This mainly concerned a provisional repair of parts of the dilapidated building and an ecologically oriented management of the surrounding area. Attempts to come to an understanding with other residents of the village got stuck at first. Two websites operated by the Principality and live broadcasts by the online television broadcaster Jeet-TV received significantly more feedback .

reception

The press, radio and television reported on the project primarily regionally and at the state level. For example, the Berlin-Brandenburg radio broadcast a TV report on March 3, 2009 entitled Sect wants to found its own 'empire' . In it, the residents are referred to as a “mixture of anti-Semites, esoteric fascists and nuts”. Most of the other media reports were also critical, with doubts about the goals and particularly the suspicion that the principality was open to racist and anti-Semitic ideas. Marsson in particular encouraged this suspicion by allowing himself to be carried away with cynical anti-Semitic remarks in front of the camera , but Conrad was also unable to dispel the fears, especially since he was already considered an anti-Semite due to previous publications.

On the Internet, where the principality was much more active than at "Schloss Krampfer", lively arguments took place between supporters, sympathizers and critics, especially within the framework of the Nu Era network . Initially, discussions within the supporters predominated, but then critical questions also arose about positions that were represented in the supporters, such as Germanic New Medicine or the concepts of statehood and self-sufficiency. The predominantly esoteric or conspiracy-oriented supporters had little to counter well-founded criticism. As a result, the previously open forum at Nu Era was limited to an internal circle and finally abandoned.

The project also met with considerable reservations in the municipality of Plattenburg because the rumor arose in 2007 that the well-known neo-Nazi Jürgen Rieger wanted to purchase a plot of land in the village of Kleinow, only two kilometers away from Krampfer, and this led to massive defensive reactions in the population and in led the authorities.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Berliner Zeitung: Police vacate “Principality of Germania” ; Berliner Morgenpost: "Principality of Germania" evicted .
  2. ↑ Götterdämmerung in Germania: “Principality” before eviction. In: Spiegel Online. Retrieved August 18, 2016 .
  3. ^ Mitteldeutsche Zeitung : Finstere Mächte , April 15, 2009, accessed on September 27, 2013.
  4. ↑ Mario Feist: The “Principality of Germania” - “Not right, not left, but in front”? , in: Dirk Wilking and Michael Kohlstruck (eds.): Insights III - A workshop book (PDF; 3.1 MB), 2010, pp. 109–124, here p. 109.
  5. ↑ Gabriele Schlamann: The discussion about the "Principality of Germania" in the municipality of Plattenburg 2009 , in: Dirk Wilking and Michael Kohlstruck (eds.): Insights III - A workshop book , 2010, pp. 125-139, here p. 128.
  6. ↑ Berliner Morgenpost: "Principality of Germania" evicted
  7. ↑ New Principality: The Hippies of Germania . ( tagesspiegel.de [accessed on March 27, 2017]).
  8. ↑ Feist, p. 110; Schlamann, p. 135.
  9. ↑ Feist, pp. 115-118.
  10. ↑ Feist, pp. 109–115 and 117 f.
  11. ↑ a b Sect wants to found its own 'empire' ( memento from February 19, 2010 in the Internet Archive ), RBB, March 3, 2009, accessed on February 15, 2013.
  12. ↑ Feist, pp. 109 f, 112–115 and 119.
  13. ↑ a b Feist, p. 122.
  14. ↑ Feist, pp. 122-124.
  15. ↑ Schlamann, S. 126th

literature

  • Mario Feist: The “Principality of Germania” - “Not right, not left, but in front”? , in: Dirk Wilking and Michael Kohlstruck (eds.): Insights III - A workshop book (PDF; 3.1 MB), 2010, pp. 109–124.
  • Gabriele Schlamann: Dealing with the “Principality of Germania” in the municipality of Plattenburg 2009 , in: Dirk Wilking and Michael Kohlstruck (eds.): Insights III - A workshop book (PDF; 3.1 MB), 2010, pp. 125–139 .

Coordinates: 53 ° 3 '37.4 "  N , 12 ° 1' 0.1"  E