West Germany Bans Neo-Nazi Group
The government today banned a neo-Nazi organization, and police found a cache of weapons and Nazi propaganda, including Adolf Hitler posters, during a sweep of the party’s headquarters.
The ban on the National Rallying group blocks it from having candidates in next month’s municipal elections and comes amid a fear of a resurgence of right-wing extremism in West Germany.
West Germany’s ARD television network showed police carrying knives, guns and a box of ammunition from the Frankfurt home of neo-Nazi Michael Kuehnen, head of the party.
“This blow against the neo-Nazis should be a renewed sign and an unmistakable warning signal,” Interior Minister Friedrich Zimmermann said in a statement. He said the country “is not about to become a roaming ground for right-wing extremists.”
The organization’s goals have included expulsion of foreign workers and people seeking asylum in the country. It has about 170 members.
Zimmermann said police staged coordinated raids on apartments belonging to National Rallying in Bavaria, North Rhine Westphalia and Hesse states.
Bavarian officials said their searches turned up an air rifle, two steel helmets, a gas mask, three pistols for firing blanks and Nazi propaganda.
The group had registered candidates for elections in Frankfurt and Langen. Its German initials, NS, are identical with the best-known German abbreviation for Hitler’s Nazi Party.
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