Youths Fuel Right-Wing Extremism in Germany: Studies

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, April 02, 2002

Youths Fuel Right-Wing Extremism in Germany: Studies

Right-wing extremist crimes in Germany are generally carried out by youths and young adults, according to three studies released on Monday.

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Right-wing extremist crimes in Germany are generally carried out by youths and young adults, according to three studies released on Monday.

Suspects in such cases usually have little education, the studies commissioned by the German Interior Ministry report. But the research challenges the belief that most of these offenders are unemployed -- around 80 percent of young right-wing extremist offenders are still in school, are attending job training or have a job, according to the studies.

The research also made clear that 91 percent of the criminals are male.

The researchers analyzed more than 6,000 cases in police archives and 217 court cases. They also interviewed a total of 115 offenders.

Their results showed a clear increase in the number of repeat offenders. More than two-thirds of those questioned in connection with right-wing extremist crimes had a record of at least one nonpolitical offense. About one-third had carried out a politically motivated crime at least once before.

The German government says the fight against right-wing extremism remains one of its priorities. It has earmarked an additional 47.5 million euro (42 million U.S. dollars) to finance the battle. The Interior Ministry also said a large part of the budget of the Federal Center for Political Education was being spent on programs aimed at expanding citizens' awareness of democracy and promoting participation in politics.

The issue of right-wing violence became a political priority for the government of Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder during the summer of 2000, when a Mozambican man who had lived in Germany more than 10 years was killed in the eastern city of Dessau and 10 recent immigrants were wounded in a bomb attack in the western city of Duesseldorf.

The federal and state governments are planning a joint offensive on extremist groups. Officials said their work so far -- bans on rightist groups, police surveillance and tough sentences for offenders -- had "noticeably weakened" the right-wing extremist milieu.

After analyzing the studies, government officials said they thought that patterns of behavior that could lead to extremism could be recognized as early in a person's life as kindergarten and elementary school. The officials also said they thought that these patterns must be countered at these early stages -- nine out of 10 right-wing extremist offenders were considered to socially difficult cases during their elementary school years.

Interior Minister Otto Schily said there should be more comprehensive youth and social work for endangered families to counter the influence of criminal elements.

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