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The Interior Ministry has dissolved the far-right group “Sturmbrigade 44”. Previously, there were raids against 13 members of the group in three federal states.
By Michael Stempfle, ARD capital studio
The Federal Ministry of the Interior has banned and dissolved the far-right group “Sturmbrigade 44”. The group also appears under “Wolfsbrigade 44” and similar names. Your symbols may no longer be displayed. The aim of the Federal Minister of the Interior, Horst Seehofer, is to collect evidence for the clarification of right-wing extremist structures, confiscate assets and obtain propaganda material.
This was preceded by raids against 13 members of the group in three federal states: Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and North Rhine-Westphalia. In reality, the Federal Ministry of the Interior had four federal states in mind: however, a search in Saxony-Anhalt was not possible because the administrative court in Halle (Saale) did not see a sufficient basis for issuing search warrants. A complaint to the Magdeburg High Administrative Court was also unsuccessful.
In the tradition of the National Socialists
Similar to the far-right combat group “Combat 18”, the number in the name is a code. While the 18 in “Combat 18” stands for Adolf Hitler’s initials, 44 stands for “Dirlewanger Division”. This is Oskar Dirlewanger, a Waffen SS war criminal, whose unit was mainly made up of criminals. In other words: the storm or wolf brigade This is how he sees himself in the tradition of the National Socialists.
Therefore, it is not surprising that the group is considered to be particularly prone to violence. His followers were initially noticed at the demonstrations with an unusual logo on their clothing: a skull with crossed knives. This symbol is evidently based on the Waffen-SS, that is, on the military associations of the Nazis. It is later said that they acted conspiratorially.
Determined federal prosecutor
The Federal Prosecutor’s Office also investigates the accused. The Federal Attorney General had already registered houses on July 30 last year, at that time in four federal states, not only in Hesse, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and North Rhine-Westphalia, but also in Saxony-Anhalt. Networking in several federal states shows that the group has a supra-regional structure.
Already in 2019, the Federal Ministry of the Interior responded to a request from the Left Party: the group had granted itself its own statutes with a clear division of roles. This includes a clear hierarchy and a strict code of conduct. The “Sturmbrigade 44” sees itself in a National Socialist tradition and also uses National Socialist terms and symbols. The group’s goal is to “regain the strength of a free homeland” according to the “Germanic moral law”.
The group is not large: its supporters are estimated to be in the lower double-digit range. However, he is considered to be well connected on the right-wing extremist scene.
