Rechter Alltagsterrorismus in Deutschland. Das Beispiel Ballstädt

Abstract

[Right-wing everyday terrorism in Germany. The Ballstadt example] The village Ballstadt, of about 700 souls, is idyllically situated in the heart of Thuringia between Erfurt, Gotha and Crawinkel. There is a church inauguration society, a voluntary fire brigade, a folklore society and an annual communal spring-cleaning. Peaceful, almost sleepy, orderly and traditional – this little place, in the middle of Germany, so average and insignificant as German villages often are, is the scene of action for the example of what has been called “youth counterculture terrorism” which is the object of Tine Hutzel and Daniel Kohler’s article. In February 2014, fifteen neo-Nazis assaulted the guests at a local party. The brutal assault was well organized and clearly shows how right-wing extremist groups in Germany deliberately try to take control of small village communities. The perpetrators in Ballstadt were also members of a significant international network, comprising terror groups such as the Austrian Objekt 21 and the backers of the German terror squad Nationalsozialistischer Untergrund (NSU). But the case of Ballstadt is not only a prominent example of right-wing everyday terrorism in Germany, but also displays the difficulties that the civil society and state institutions have in handling it. Publication history: Translation of the article “Rechter Alltagsterrorismus in Deutschland. Das Beispiel Ballstadt” from Journal Exit-Deutschland. Zeitschrift fur Deradikalisierung und demokratische Kultur , issue 2 2014 ( http://journals.sfu.ca/jed/index.php/jex/article/view/81 ). (Published 18 April 2016) Citation: Hutzel, Tine & Daniel Kohler (2016) “Hogerextrem vardagsterrorism i Tyskland. Exemplet Ballstadt”, in Det vita faltet III. Samtida forskning om hogerextremism , special issue of Arkiv. Tidskrift for samhallsanalys , issue 5, pp. 141–155. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.13068/2000-6217.5.6