The German PST has long monitored the movement, which is said to have been planning to carry out a coup d’état in Germany for a long time. The police believe that approximately 20,000 people are more or less connected to the group. – What the German observers regard as the biggest threat to German democracy is the far right and such movements. That’s what Astrid Sverresdotter Dypvik says, who is editor of the journal Syn og segn and who has written a book about the far right in Germany. Did the people think they would join Around 50 women and men are accused of having formed the terrorist organization with the aim of abolishing the Federal Republic and establishing a state modeled after the German Reich in 1871. – Many of them had an idea that if they set embarking on a coup d’état, there are many others in the people who will follow suit. That they are a kind of elite that others want to join, says Dypvik to news. She says that there are several social leaders among them. Several people connected to the environment have been involved in violent acts, and some of them have been monitored since 2016. – No support among most people When asked if she thinks many Germans would support such a coup attempt, Dypvik replies that most of those active in this right-wing environment does not follow the usual public debate in the country. She says they get all their information from alternative media. They are not so concerned with what the majority thinks. – They have no support in the broad strata of the people. But they’re not Democrats, so they don’t care that the majority is against them. Dypvik says the security service monitors what they do to prevent violent actions. And she points out that these environments have had a large influx in recent years. – So there is a large and strong undercurrent in Germany that is dissatisfied. Who believe that the country is collapsing, she says. Astrid Sverresdotter Dypvik says the extremists are being monitored to prevent violent actions. She believes they have little support among most people. Photo: Tove K. Breistein The Reichbürger movement The suspects and those arrested in today’s operation are a complex group linked to the so-called Reichbürger movement. – This movement believes that today’s Germany is an illegitimate state that is controlled by the victorious powers after the Second World War. Dypvik says the Riksborgerbevelsen believes that Germany before 1918, when the country was an imperial state, is the legitimate German state. The coup plotters wanted to install the Prince of Reuss as their new head of state. She explains that he is one of several princes in the Reuss family, and says he has become more and more a fan of conspiracy theories recently. The family are said to have distanced themselves from the man, and call him an elderly, confused man. The Reichsbürger movement does not recognize the politicians in the German Reichstag, they do not accept the German Federation. Photo: LISI NIESNER / Reuters The Reichbürger movement believes that the state should not rule over the country’s citizens. Apart from that, they have no clear ideology or any clear spokesperson. – But they are clearly far-right and they are anti-Semitic, says Dypvik. They have been monitored because they are opposed to the German constitution, she explains further. Dypvik says that if the movement had been Nazi, it would have been banned. Because in Germany it is forbidden to be a Nazi association. – But these are heroes in borderlands, says Astrid Sverresdotter Dypvik. Don’t believe in a coup either. The head of the Center for Extremism Research at the University of Oslo, Tore Bjørgo, also says it is unlikely that a coup would have been carried out. What is new now is the extent of plans for a coup, and which people they have brought with them, he says. – What is special this time is that it involves people with high social status and competence. There are people with a noble background, people who have sat in the Riksdag and people with special military training. He believes it is not very realistic that the group could manage to carry out a coup. But he still believes it was crucial that the German police campaigned against the plans now. – If the attempt had been carried out, it would have led to violent confrontations. And it is very likely that people had lost their lives.
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Were the Reichbürger movement’s plans a real threat? – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
