German Defense League

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The German Defense League ( English , abbreviation: GDL) is a right-wing extremist , Islamophobic organization. The GDL, founded in 2010, is based on the British organization English Defense League and, according to its own information, has more than 20 "divisions". The organization has been monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution since 2013.

Goal setting

The aim of the GDL is stated to be to preserve the “ Judeo - Christian ” and “ Greco-Roman ” tradition. This is threatened by Islam . The organization sees itself as a non-partisan, independently operating and independent human rights organization. It operates nationwide under the English-language motto: " Maximum Resistance and No Surrender " (German: "Maximum resistance and no surrender"). Their “street actions” include marches against the Koran distribution campaigns and demonstrations against the persecution of Christians .

organization

Around 100 permanent supporters are assigned to the GDL nationwide. It also specifically recruits supporters from right-wing extremist hooligans . According to AfD founder Bernd Lucke , the chairman of the AfD-affiliated youth organization Junge Alternative , Markus Frohnmaier , was a member of the German Defense League.

According to the Lower Saxony Office for the Protection of the Constitution , the GDL has a new organizational structure. There are no longer any regional or local divisions, but only four supraregional legions: North, South, East, and West.

Cooperations

The GDL is close to the so-called “ Identitarians ”. She also maintains contact with internet blogs such as Pax Europa and Politically Incorrect and works with right-wing populist organizations and parties such as Freedom , the Republicans and parts of the pro-movement . Right-wing populist politicians like Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen are supported in statements.

Symbols

Flag used in the GDL logo

As a logo, the GDL used a modified form of Wirmer flag , a "to the Reichskriegsflagge reminiscent" black-red-golden flag arranged "in northern European cross shape ".

classification

Patrick Gensing refers to the militaristic language of the organization and cites the GDL as an example of the radicalization in the militant area. Andreas Speit sees the GDL as “radical enemies of Islam with neo-Nazi connections”. The Lower Saxony Interior Minister Boris Pistorius counts the GDL to the right-wing extremist groups. In the Bremen Constitutional Protection Report 2014, the organization was described as right-wing extremist and Islamophobic. Lower Saxony's constitution protection agency does not classify the GDL as right-wing extremist, but Islamophobic and right-wing populist. However, the allegedly independent "Legion Hildesheim" maintains contacts with right-wing extremists.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Firuzan Ertürk, Theo McCarthy: The German Defense League marches through Cologne , Vice , August 13, 2012
  2. ↑ Andreas Speit : The Right Edge: Network Against Islam , Taz , April 18, 2012
  3. ^ A b Steven Geyer: Enemy Islam: New Right Meets Neo-Nazis , Berliner Zeitung , October 28, 2014
  4. ↑ Former AfDlers want to do everything better at Alfa , Schwäbische.de from 23 August 2015
  5. ↑ a b Christian Wolters: "Legion Hildesheim" in sight , Hildesheimer Allgemeine Zeitung , July 22, 2016
  6. ↑ a b c Andreas Speit : Nationalists and Salafists: Rights versus Rights . In: the daily newspaper . May 29, 2014, accessed January 21, 2015
  7. ↑ Carina Klammer: Imaginations of the downfall. On the construction of anti-Muslim external images in the context of the FPÖ's identity policy. Lit, Vienna / Berlin / Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-50520-0 , p. 53f.
  8. ^ Jan Lukas Strozyk: Ring of liberal youth Germany: Offensive of the Islam haters . In: Spiegel Online . October 18, 2012
  9. ↑ Wirmer flag: Pegida and the symbol of the Hitler assassin. Süddeutsche Zeitung , August 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ Patrick Gensing : Polemics, Islamophobia and Radicalism - About the public climate on the Internet that creates xenophobia , in: Michael Haller (Ed.): Right-wing terrorism in the media: the murderer Breivik in Norway and the NSU terrorist cell in Germany - like the journalists deal with it and what they can learn from each other , Lit, Berlin Münster 2013, ISBN 978-3-643-12297-1 , p. 64 f.
  11. ↑ Report by the Minister of the Interior: Many right-wing extremists join Hagida , Hannoversche Allgemeine Zeitung , January 22, 2015
  12. ↑ Minister: “Hagida participants partly right-wing extremists” ( Memento from January 27, 2015 in the Internet Archive ), NDR 1 , January 23, 2015
  13. ↑ Constitutional Protection Report 2014 ( Memento of the original from June 13, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in Bremen @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / ssl.bremen.de