German neo-Nazis and ultranationalists comprise an active community that includes political parties, online and offline stores and businesses, athletic clubs, and music groups, and produces online and print publications, graphic art, and assorted merchandise, among other things. They are limited in their public activities by the attention that Germany’s “Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution” pays to Article 86 of the German Constitution. The article outlaws the dissemination of propaganda material of unconstitutional organizations as well as the symbolism and rhetoric of former National Socialist organizations. This law means that in general members of the community must operate more covertly and present their message in a more veiled manner than their American counterparts do.
Nevertheless, the community is thriving and expanding more than it has since WWII, reaching beyond the familiar neo-Nazi and ultranationalist scene, into the “alternative media” and elsewhere. The COVID-19 pandemic and related government policies, mass immigration from the Middle East and Africa, and the Russia-Ukraine War have contributed to this growth. The community’s success in gaining supporters is due in particular to highly influential, well-connected, and adaptable players.
Though there are many Germans who adhere to and promote this ideology, it is possible to identify major figures in the community, especially those often overlooked in the Western press. This report will review eight such figures: Thorsten Heise, Andreas Deptolla, Nikolai Nerling, Daniel Sebbin, Tommy Frenck, Tobias Schulz, Sascha Krolzig, and Frank Kraemer. These are men publish magazines, organize events, manage companies, raise funds, purchase property, push candidates in elections, run branches of political parties, and more to spread their message and gain supporters.
Thorsten Heise
Thorsten Heise, whose operations and influence extend beyond the borders of Germany into the United States and South Africa, is the most influential and well-connected German neo-Nazi and activist. He is the main organizer of Germany’s most prominent neo-Nazi networking events, festivals and concerts, and, with his substantial financial resources and his immense capacity to recruit, mobilize, and organize logistics, he is the principle string-puller in the German neo-Nazi underground.
He has been charged on accounts of attempted homicide, ownership of illegal firearms, grievous bodily harm, and coercion. Many pistols and rifles have been seized in police raids against him. German police reportedly found him to be connected to neo-Nazi military training camps in South Africa, though Heise rejected these claims.
A member of two major underground neo-Nazi groups in Germany, Heise has been an affiliate of the dismantled and abolished neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU). Heise is a member of the NPD and is a leader in the local politics of Eichsfeld, a district in the state of Thuringia. In his municipality Fretterode, which is home to a large neo-Nazi community, Heise has significant influence. He is closely connected to Björn Höcke, the leader of the Thuringia branch of ultranationalist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) and member of the Thuringia state parliament.
Heise, further, operates an online merchandise platform. Its merchandise ranges from propaganda material and neo-Nazi music products to apparel and defense equipment. Heise is well-established in Switzerland, a country that is home to numerous persecuted German neo-Nazi activists and groups that are outlawed in Germany, allowing him to be a point of contact between Germany and Switzerland.
Andreas Deptolla And The Kampf Der Nibelungen
Alexander Deptolla is the founder and leader of a German neo-Nazi martial arts event and networking platform, which is the largest neo-Nazi martial arts event in Europe. Deptolla, who is a closely affiliated with an international skinhead gang and had been convicted on multiple occasions, is a leading neo-Nazi figure in the city of Dortmund and throughout the state of Lower Saxony.
Due to the neo-Nazi community’s interest in martial arts, Deptolla, being the organizer of the event, is close to many neo-Nazi parties and sports clubs throughout Germany and Europe. His group frequently organizes martial arts camps and tournaments, while sponsoring neo-Nazi festivals and other networking events. His martial arts group has established its own brand with merchandise and collaborations with other European martial arts brands.
Deptolla consistently engages in community activities and has mobilized numerous protest marches and neo-Nazi events. He is a board member of the Dortmund district association of German neo-Nazi party “Die Rechte” and has significant influence on Dortmund’s large and well-connected neo-Nazi community. Before working with the party, he was a leader in a regional neo-Nazi group which has since been abolished. His influence in the Dortmund community enabled him to run as a candidate for the Dortmund city council. His commitment to the party and his Dortmund community is particularly characterized by his own launched projects, including solidarity actions, and calls for donations.
