In Germany, still atoning for its past, being a Nazi is hip again

Germany is moving to the right again.

This was not only made evident by February’s election results, but it’s also becoming more visible among ordinary folks, especially young people.

February’s snap vote, brought after the collapse of a centre-left administration, saw the conservative bloc come out on top ahead of the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD), which garnered its best-ever result in a federal vote amid discontent over immigration and the economy.

The soaring support for the AfD, in a country where being far-right was long considered a no-go in light of the atrocities committed by the Nazi regime, appears to be going hand in hand with a wider willingness to openly voice racist views.

Thanks to social media, the far-right scene is able to better target young people, on some of whom the irony of chanting Nazi slogans in a country that is responsible for the Holocaust appears to be lost.

Domestic intelligence officials in the western state of Rhineland-Palatinate say that right-wingers nowadays express their views more openly than they used to and are increasingly present on social media.

Meanwhile martial arts play a big role in recruiting youngsters, they say.

Strategies to express far-right views have changed, too, says Thorsten Hindrichs, musicologist at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and expert on the far-right music scene.

While in the 1990s, far-right music used to be quite explicit, since the turn of the century, code words are increasingly being used in song texts and chat groups to avoid prosecution, according to Hindrichs.

So instead of directly referring to Adolf Hitler or Der Führer, for example, people now speak of “the boss” when invoking the Nazi dictator, he explains.

‘Hip’ to be a Nazi?

In previous decades, far-right extremism was associated with hardcore punk rock, but that is changing too, the expert says, noting a turn to popular music and rap.

Reflecting that development, hit party song “L’Amour Toujours” by Gigi D’Agostino became a kind of anthem of the new far right, after a video of revellers on the chic, exclusive North Sea island of Sylt shouting “Foreigners out – Germany for Germans” to the tune prompted outrage nationwide.

Ever since, several similar incidents involving young people have been reported to police.

Hindrichs says he has noted an outright boom when it comes to “Nazi kids,” with social media playing a particular role in their radicalization.

“It has become a little bit hip to be a Nazi,” the expert says.

Combat boots make a comeback

Elmar May, head of domestic intelligence at the state Interior Ministry in Rhineland-Palatinate, reports of a tendency within the far-right scene to recruit youngsters via martial arts programmes.

He agrees that the scene operates more openly than it used to, with supporters increasingly making the white power salute in public – a hand gesture very similar to the “OK” gesture in which the thumb and index finger touch while the other fingers are outstretched.

It is used by some movements to signal support for white supremacy.

Skinhead culture also appears to be having a comeback, May says. While the hipster look of previous years still dominates among right-wingers, combat boots with white shoelaces – a common way to identify as white power – can be seen more frequently again.

Meanwhile, those standing up to far-right extremism are reporting an increase in threats, according to an employee of the regional advisory service against far-right extremism in Rhineland-Palatinate.

Amid this atmosphere, it is all the more important to make sure those people know they are not alone, he says.

Strong network

The far-right scene in the state is particularly active in the towns of Zweibrücken, Pirmasens and Kirchheimbolanden, but is also well connected to groups in other German regions, according to the employee.

He notes that the AfD has pushed out other parties in areas where the far-right scene has been able to establish itself.

But the presence of the new right is not limited to rural areas. Earlier this year, a group monitored by domestic intelligence distributed flyers at schools in the state capital Mainz.

In 2023, the AfD’s youth wing, which officially dissolved earlier this year after being classified as confirmed far-right extremist, celebrated its 10th anniversary in the city.

The venue chosen for the event quickly evolved into a popular meeting point for the new right, the AfD and the party’s former youth wing.

In 2024, the city administration issued a ban on using the venue, and right-wingers resorted to another location in the village of Heidesheim-Uhlerborn outside the state capital.

According to the employee of the advisory service, the ban was an important step as the prominent location of the venue in Mainz significantly contributed to the scene’s visibility nationwide.

May from the domestic intelligence service agrees, noting that events in the new venue are advertised less openly.