Otto Riehs

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Otto Riehs as a speaker at a neo-Nazi demonstration (2006)
Riehs together with Axel Reitz and Christian Worch at the head of a neo-Nazi rally on October 16, 2004 in Cologne

Otto Riehs (born August 12, 1921 in Marienbad , Czechoslovakia ; † May 29, 2008 in Frankfurt am Main ) was a soldier in the German Wehrmacht and holder of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross . After the end of the Second World War , he was involved in several right-wing extremist parties and organizations and appeared as a speaker at numerous events of the neo-Nazi scene.

Neo-Nazi activities

After the war, Riehs worked as a driver and taxi driver. At the beginning of the 1950s he was involved with the neo-Nazi Socialist Reich Party until it was banned in 1952 because of its open reference to the NSDAP , and later with the National Democratic Party of Germany . Michael Kühnen counted Riehs among the “friends and supporters” of the community of ideas of the New Front . In 1989 he stood as a candidate for the “National Collection”, which is closely related to the Freedom German Workers' Party , for the European elections. Riehs wanted to run as a top candidate in the local elections in Frankfurt am Main, but the organization was dissolved by the Ministry of the Interior in February 1989. With the establishment of the Kampfbund Deutscher Sozialisten , Riehs became an honorary member.

Riehs became one of the most popular speakers in the German neo-Nazi scene and appeared at numerous demonstrations and events. Riehs was a frequent speaker at the neo-Nazi "Heroes' Commemoration" at the Halbe forest cemetery and appeared, among other things, at a rally for the Waffen SS memorial in Marienfels on November 22, 2003 or on October 16, 2004 at a neo-Nazi demonstration in Cologne-Kalk, which he led together with Christian Worch and Axel Reitz . Since he regularly put his knight's cross with an engraved swastika on display at such events, in connection with his appearance in Marienfels in April 2004, by order of an investigative judge of the Frankfurt am Main district court, the apartment of Riehs was searched and the medals on suspicion of "using of labels of unconstitutional organizations ", which led to protests in the right-wing extremist scene, especially among the Free Comradeships and in the NPD party newspaper" Deutsche Demokratie " (German Voice ).

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Awarded on October 11, 1943, see Veit Scherzer : Die Ritterkreuzträger. Scherzers Militaer-Verlag, Ranis 2005, ISBN 3-938845-00-7 , p. 602.

Web links

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personal data
SURNAME Riehs, Otto
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German soldier of the German Wehrmacht
DATE OF BIRTH August 12, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Mariánské Lázně
DATE OF DEATH May 29, 2008
Place of death Frankfurt am Main