The Federal Administrative Court has banned the
right-wing extremist group Hammerskins Germany lifted. The court in Leipzig accepted complaints from several members and regional subgroups about the ban order
Federal Ministry of the Interior instead of.
Accordingly, the federal judges could not recognize that a nationwide Hammerskins umbrella organization actually existed. The Federal Ministry of the Interior assumed this. According to the court, the ministry was unable to provide sufficient evidence for this. Therefore, it was not allowed to issue a ban notice.
The German association law only allows the Federal Ministry of the Interior to ban supra-regional associations. If a group’s sphere of activity remains limited to one federal state, the states are responsible for bans. The Federal Administrative Court has not ruled on whether the Hammerskins are unconstitutional or not.
Plaintiffs insist on regional autonomy
The plaintiffs had denied that there was a national level and a federal leader of the Hammerskins. The regional branches were autonomous. A meeting called the National Officers Meeting was held four times a year. However, no decisions were made there that regional groups were subject to. Furthermore, no uniform nationwide symbols were used.
The regional branches of the Hammerskins can now continue for the time being. However, it is not certain that it will stay that way. “In cases of this type, however, the responsible federal and state authorities are free to ban individual chapters if reasons for the ban can be established,” said the Federal Administrative Court.
Faeser’s advance
In 2023, the then Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser (SPD) took action against the Hammerskins. She had banned the association and its regional branches. According to the Interior Ministry, the Hammerskins group had opposed the constitutional order. The police visited members in ten federal states deployed on raids. Faeser had spoken of a “hard blow against organized right-wing extremism”.
The Federal Ministry of the Interior justified its ban decision, among other things, by saying that the purpose of the Hammerskins was to live out their right-wing extremist worldview. The group also consolidates this among non-members, especially through rock concerts with performances by bands from the right-wing political spectrum.
According to the Association Act, an association can be banned if “its purposes or activities run counter to criminal law” or if it is directed “against the constitutional order or ideas of international understanding”. The Federal Ministry of the Interior considered all three formal reasons to be given.
According to the Brandenburg Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Hammerskins “do not achieve a particularly high external impact, as they mostly stay to themselves due to their elitist self-importance.”
Who are the Hammerskins?
The Hammerskins describe themselves as a brotherhood and see themselves as the elite of the skinhead movement. Anyone who wants to become a full member must go through a lengthy process and, according to the Federal Criminal Police Office, adhere to an “internal set of rules”. The motto “Hammerskins forever, forever Hammerskins” (abbreviated: “HFFH”) makes it clear that the organization views full membership as a lifelong commitment.
The Neo-Nazi movement
comes from the USA, but is represented internationally. It is close to the white supremacy movement, so it idealizes white people in a racist worldview, sees the “white race” as superior, wants to protect it and propagates a violent “race struggle” for this purpose.
From 1991 onwards, regional branches were founded in Germany. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Hammerskins had around 130 members in Germany at the time of the ban. Authorities assume there are around 13 German branches. The Hammerskins branches are particularly active in Saxony, Bremen and Bavaria, as the Federal Agency for Civic Education claims.
According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the main sources of income are, in addition to membership fees and concert tickets, the trade in recordings and merchandising. The Hammerskins Germany are also said to be behind right-wing extremist martial arts events such as the Battle of the Nibelungen.
