In a fire letter to Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU), an elite soldier of the KSK denounces right-wing extremist attitudes and other grievances within the unit.
- The elite unit of the Bundeswehr KSK is under fire
- An officer and whistleblower sends a fire letter to the Department of Defense
- According to the letter, there are massive grievances and extreme right-wing tendencies within the troop
Berlin - A captain of the KSK (Special Forces Command) has warned Defense Minister Kramp-Karrenbauer (CDU) of significant grievances in the elite unit of the Bundeswehr, according to a report by the news magazine "Spiegel" .
Right-wing extremism in the Bundeswehr: Ministry of Defense confirms KSK fire letter
In a twelve-page letter, the soldier described that extreme right-wing tendencies within the Bundeswehr unit KSK were tolerated and sometimes even knowingly covered up, the media reported on Friday (June 12, 2020). The members of the elite KSK unit were told not to report any incidents.
At the request of the German Press Agency, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the receipt of a letter without giving any further details. According to the ministry, Kramp-Karrenbauer has a zero tolerance line against any case of extremism. After several cases, the CDU politician had set up a working group in the KSK, which is to deliver results by summer.
News from the command single case: Where anti-democratic and extremely right-wing beliefs and actions are denied or covered up, the problem lies in the system. After a series of scandals, time for resolution #KSK has come https://t.co/uHSgeVACZ4
- Martina Renner (@MartinaRenner) June 12, 2020Elite unit KSK under fire: Bundeswehr officer describes extreme right-wing activities
The author of the letter, a captain, complained that extreme right-wing activities in the Bundeswehr unit were “ignored or even tolerated”, according to the “Spiegel”. The soldier, who has been serving at the KSK since 2018, gives examples of a culture of looking away when it comes to extreme right-wing tendencies.
So one of his trainers made no secret of his "aggressively national-conservative attitude". His command center always used the code "Y-88" as a "call sign", which the soldiers use to identify themselves in radio communications. The recruits had noticed this allusion to the Hitler salute, but no one said anything for fear of reprisals.
Right-wing extremism at the KSK (Bundeswehr): "Long live holy Germany"
Using the example of an instructor, the author of the letter describes how far KSK executives could go wrong without fear of consequences. As early as 2007, a captain attracted attention because he described a member of the critical soldiers' working group "Darmstadt Signal" in a letter as "enemy inside". The comrade was threatened and the letter ended with the words "Long live holy Germany".
The whistleblower's letter also describes how the instructors silenced their recruits. An obedience was raised, "which were to be assessed as incompatible with the limits of command and obedience according to the Bundeswehr standards ". Penalties were used "to make soldiers and especially critical officers compliant". The consequences are "a kind of cadaver obedience", a "culture of accepting illegal behavior" and a "toxic association culture".
Right-wing extremism at the KSK: Again and again allegations against the Bundeswehr
Right-wing extremism allegations are repeatedly made in the Bundeswehr . "No general suspicion", but a thorough revision, that is how the new military commissioner described her future work: Eva Högl immediately had a topic * with the discussion about right-wing extremism in the Bundeswehr.
There are extreme right-wing activities not only in the Bundeswehr. The Federal Government is therefore compiling a list of all cases of right-wing extremism and Reich citizens in the police, Bundeswehr and authorities *.
tvd with dpa
* fr.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editors network.
