Researchers: Extremism in Germany's military remains threat

Fewer than 1 per cent German soldiers harbor "consistent right-wing-extremist attitudes," according to a new study conducted by the military's own Bundeswehr Center of Military History and Social Sciences (ZMSBw).The study found that only 0.4 per cent of soldiers show right-wing-extremist attitudes.

Among the military's civilian personnel, the proportion is 0.8 per cent, much less than the 5.4 per cent measured in the general German population, the authors said.The report did, however, find other problematic views among the soldiers: 6.4 per cent have "consistent chauvinist attitudes," and 3.5 per cent have "consistent xenophobic attitudes."In general, the study appears to be positive news, especially as the Bundeswehr has been dogged in recent years with well-documented stories of far-right networks and terrorist plots involving members of the military.In 2022, a Bundeswehr lieutenant named Franco A. was convicted of planning to carry out an act "threatening the security of the state" while posing as a Syrian refugee. In 2017, a nationwide network of armed preppers suspected of planning a military coup was found to include several current and former soldiers. Some German media outlets have even spoken of a "shadow army" within the Bundeswehr that has been ignored by the military's intelligence service, the MAD.

What to expect of a voluntary survey:

"Yes, I would say the study does offer a certain amount of relief," one of the authors Markus Steinbrecher, told DW. "But if you extrapolate the percentage — 0.4 per cent — theoretically, we still have a high three-digit number of people in the army with extremist convictions."That broadly chimes in with the MAD's figures: Defense Ministry statistics say that, in 2023, the MAD was investigating 1,049 cases of suspected extremism in the armed forces, of which 776 were right-wing, 22 were left-wing, and 51 were Islamist.

The Bundeswehr currently employs just over 260,000 people, including 180,000 soldiers and 80,000 civilian personnel.For the new ZMSBw study, more than 4,300 interviews with military personnel were carried out in late 2022, as well as 18 small-group discussions at eight military bases across Germany.Steinbrecher admitted that a study primarily based on voluntary surveys has its shortcomings. "People can, of course, put their crosses anywhere, even if they have other opinions; we're aware of that," he said.

"That's why, at various stages we made various checks, in order to get behind an idea of how big the underestimate might be."However, some are skeptical about how useful the survey is. Anke Hoffstadt, a far-right extremism researcher at the University of Applied Sciences in Dusseldorf, said that the survey was academically sound but pointed out that the ZMSBw is part of the Bundeswehr itself."They are independent and fixed to scientific standards, but of course, they are within the structure they are looking at," Hoffstadt told DW.Hoffstadt also said that the respondents may have been influenced by the timing of the surveys, in 2022 — in the wake of extra political scrutiny on right-wing extremism in the Bundeswehr and the police.In 2020, then defense minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer disbanded an entire company of the elite KSK commando unit in the town of Calw after details of a notorious "pig's head" party emerged. At the party in 2017, soldiers allegedly showed Hitler salutes, hired sex workers, listened to far-right rock music, and flung pig's heads around.Also in 2020, the Bundeswehr admitted that some 60,000 rounds of its ammunition were unaccounted for."So at that time, everyone in the Bundeswehr knows they're in the spotlight," Hoffstadt said. "The study is not a failure, or in bad faith, but I would recommend a critical reading."

'Citizens in uniform'

The survey authors also said that people with right-wing extremist views "show an increased interest in joining the armed forces" — though that does not mean that they will find their way into the military.

"Being interested doesn't mean that they apply, and applying doesn't mean they will be accepted," as Steinbrecher put it.Indeed, there are significant hurdles: New applicants must pass security examinations before they become recruits, and confidentiality rules are suspended for doctors who carry out medical examinations, so they can report tattoos that might indicate extremist views.German military personnel are not only committed to defending the country and its constitution, or Basic Law, they also have a legal duty to actively defend democratic rights — that means, for example, voicing opposition when someone expresses extremist views.

German soldiers, in other words, are supposed to be "citizens in uniform," fully responsible for upholding the Basic Law. Holding certain opinions, such as Holocaust denial, are banned in the armed forces.Despite these safeguards, Hoffstadt does not believe that the Bundeswehr is doing enough to keep extremist attitudes out of the military, especially in the context of a wider society where right-wing attitudes have become increasingly normalized — as shown by the success of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD)."There have been too many 'isolated cases' in the military to trust in the power of this gatekeeping," she said. "They have a lot of seminars and meetings and political education, but in the bases, there is not a very close awareness of the complexity of the modern right-wing mindset."Steinbrecher is less pessimistic, arguing that the German military has stronger anti-extremism measures in place than most. "I do think that it has become a priority," he said. "I'm also involved in an international research project, with Nato countries, and I do have to say objectively that Germany really leads the way when it comes to extremism prevention."Nevertheless, Steinbrecher did warn that, with the German government now determined to ramp up recruitment, and perhaps even reintroduce some sort of military service, it might be much more difficult to carry out checks with the same degree of rigor."We can't put our hands in our laps," said Hoffstadt. "We could say, 'oh, less than one percent, phew, everything is fine.' But it could be the tip of the iceberg. We have to continue to ask about the whole iceberg."