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{{for|the East German political party|National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)}} | |||
{{article issues | |||
{{Short description|Far-right political party in Germany}} | |||
| refimprove=July 2007 | |||
{{Use American English|date=January 2024}} | |||
| cleanup=May 2009 | |||
{{Use dmy dates|date=November 2023}} | |||
}} | |||
{{for|the ] block party|National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany)}} | |||
{{Infobox political party | {{Infobox political party | ||
| name = The Homeland | |||
|country=Germany | |||
| logo = Heimat-Logo.png | |||
|party_name=National Democratic Party of Germany | |||
| logo_size = 250 | |||
|native_name = Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands | |||
| colorcode = {{party color|The Homeland (German political party)}} | |||
|party_logo = ] | |||
| abbreviation = | |||
|colorcode=brown | |||
| founder = {{plainlist| | |||
|leader = ] | |||
* {{ill|Waldemar Schütz|de}} | |||
|foundation = 28 November 1964 | |||
* ] | |||
|ideology = ]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />]<br />] | |||
* ''...and others''}} | |||
|position = ] <ref>http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4561154,00.html</ref> | |||
| foundation = {{Nowrap|{{start date and age|1964|11|28|df=yes}}}} | |||
|headquarters = ] | |||
| ideology = {{Nowrap|]<ref name="Liang2013">{{cite book|first=Christina|last=Schori Liang|chapter='Nationalism Ensures Peaces': the Foreign and Security Policy of the German Populist Radical Left After Reunification|editor=Christina Schori Liang|title=Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist Radical Right|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7I_pDb1O2EQC&pg=PA139|year=2013|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|isbn=978-1-4094-9825-4|page=139|access-date=17 March 2016|archive-date=15 May 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515165049/https://books.google.com/books?id=7I_pDb1O2EQC&pg=PA139|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{cite web|title = Neo-Nazi NPD party takes hold in municipal vote in Saxony|url = http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20080609-12381.html|publisher = thelocal.de/|date = 2008-06-09|access-date = 2009-06-10|archive-date = 28 September 2013|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023522/http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20080609-12381.html|url-status = live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title= Neo-Nazis push into town councils| url= http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20090609-19809.html| publisher= thelocal.de| date= 2009-06-09| access-date= 2009-06-09| quote= The neo-Nazi NPD party is entering several German city parliaments for the first time after this weekend’s local elections, news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Monday.| archive-date= 28 September 2013| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023518/http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20090609-19809.html| url-status= live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| title = Neonazis in der NPD auf dem Vormarsch| url = http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/550/469109/text/| work = Süddeutsche Zeitung| date = 2009-05-19| access-date = 2009-08-23| quote = Das neonazistische Spektrum hat seinen Einfluss innerhalb der NPD ausgebaut.| archive-date = 18 December 2009| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091218061436/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/550/469109/text/| url-status = live}}</ref><ref name="Nazis1">* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023518/http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20090609-19809.html |date=28 September 2013}} published by thelocal.de on 9 June 2009 "The neo-Nazi NPD party is entering several German city parliaments for the first time after this weekend’s local elections, news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Monday." | |||
|newspaper = ] | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218061436/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/550/469109/text/ |date=18 December 2009}} published by sueddeutsche.de on 19 May 2009 "Das neonazistische Spektrum hat seinen Einfluss innerhalb der NPD ausgebaut." | |||
|youth_wing = ] | |||
* published by the German Ministry of the Interior p. 67 "Die ethnisch homogene „Volksgemeinschaft“ stellt für sie das Kernelement dar." | |||
|europarl = ''None'' | |||
* The National Democratic Party: Left Radicalism in the Federal Republic of Germany by John D. Nagle and published by Hardcover on 1 December 1970 | |||
|european = ] | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190515165049/https://books.google.com/books?id=7I_pDb1O2EQC&pg=PA139 |date=15 May 2019}} Chapter: 'Nationalism Ensures Peaces': the Foreign and Security Policy of the German Populist Alt Right After Reunification by Christina Schori Liang and published by Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. in 2013 p. 139 | |||
|international = ] (UK) | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520173600/https://books.google.com/books?id=b8k4rEPvq_8C&pg=PA106 |date=20 May 2019}} by Stephen E. Atkins. p. 106 "the oldest of the German neo-Nazi parties" | |||
|website = | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190521074740/https://books.google.com/books?id=HUQGCmSxSXcC&pg=PA318 |date=21 May 2019}}, by Kendall L. Baker, Russell J. Dalton, Kai Hildebrandt. p. 318 "the neo-Nazi NPD (National Democratic Party of Germany)" | |||
|seats1_title = ] | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520031134/https://books.google.com/books?id=hafLHZgZtt4C&pg=PA903 |date=20 May 2019}}, by Bernard A. Cook. p.903 "possibly deserving of the label "neofascist" .... The NPD was founded in 1964 by survivors of the overtly neo-Nazi SRP" | |||
|seats1 = <timeline> | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520003515/https://books.google.com/books?id=shx4xET0JDIC&pg=PA287 |date=20 May 2019}} by Roderick Stackelberg. p.287 "a Neo-Nazi party founded in 1964 in West Germany" | |||
ImageSize = width:100 height:25 | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425135400/https://books.google.com/books?id=bW-Z-5q-5zIC&pg=PA180 |date=25 April 2016}} by Vinod K. Lall, Danial Khemchand. p. 180 "frankly fascist NPD", "the Neo-Nazi NPD", "this neo-Nazi organization" | |||
PlotArea = left:0 bottom:0 top:0 right:0 | |||
* {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519064308/https://books.google.com/books?id=SX4B7pNG3W8C&pg=PR23 |date=19 May 2019}} by Martin A. Lee. "neo-Nazi NPD"</ref><ref name="Al Jazeera, 31 Oct 2021"/><br />]<ref name="Al Jazeera, 31 Oct 2021">{{cite news |last= Pikulicka-Wilczewska |first= Agnieszka |date= 21 April 2018 |title= German town on alert as neo-Nazi festival, counter events held |url= https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/21/german-town-on-alert-as-neo-nazi-festival-counter-events-held |work= Al Jazeera |access-date= 31 October 2021}}</ref>}} | |||
TimeAxis = orientation:horizontal format:yyyy | |||
| headquarters = Carl-Arthur-Bühring-Haus, Seelenbinderstrasse 42,<br />12555 ] | |||
DateFormat = x.y | |||
| website = {{URL|https://die-heimat.de|die-heimat.de}} | |||
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| country = Germany | |||
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| native_name = Die Heimat | |||
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| leader1_title = ] | |||
Colors = | |||
| leader1_name = ]|] (1962)<ref>Stöss, Richard (1989). ''Die extreme Rechte in der Bundesrepublik: Entwicklung – Ursachen – Gegenmaßnahmen''. Westdeutscher Verlag. p. 126</ref> | |||
id:gray value:rgb(0.85,0.85,0.85) | |||
| seats2_title = ] | |||
id:brown value:rgb(0.55,0.27,0.07) | |||
| seats2 = {{Composition bar|0|736|hex={{party color|The Homeland (German political party)}}}} | |||
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bar:Wikipedias | |||
| seats3 = {{Composition bar|0|1821|hex={{party color|The Homeland (German political party)}}}} | |||
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bar:Wikipedias from:0 till:622 color:gray width:0.2in text:/622 | |||
| seats4 = {{Composition bar|0|96|hex={{party color|The Homeland (German political party)}}}} | |||
bar:Wikipedias from:0 till:0 color:brown width:0.2in text:0 | |||
| colors = {{ubl|{{color box|{{party color|The Homeland (German political party)}}|border=darkgray}} Gold|{{Color box|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}|border=darkgray}} Brown (NPD customary)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/wahl/archiv/2011-09-04-LT-DE-MV/|title=tagesschau.de|website=tagesschau.de}}</ref>|{{color box|white|border=darkgray}} White}} | |||
</timeline> | |||
| flag = Flag of The Homeland.svg | |||
|seats2_title = ] | |||
|seats2 = <timeline> | |||
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</timeline> | |||
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|colours = ], ], ] | |||
}} | }} | ||
The '''National Democratic Party of Germany''' ({{lang-de|Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands}}, NPD), is a ] ] political party. The party was founded in 1964 as a successor to the ] ({{lang-de|Deutsche Reichspartei}}, DRP) and is often classified as being on the ] of the political spectrum. The party bills itself "Deutschlands stärkste Rechte" (Germany's strongest right-wing party). ] has led the Party since 1996.<ref name=aust/> | |||
'''The Homeland''' ({{langx|de|Die Heimat}}), previously known as the '''National Democratic Party of Germany''' ({{langx|de|Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands|links=no}}, '''NPD'''), is a ]<ref name="farright">* {{Cite book |last1=Caiani |first1=Manuela |url={{Google Books URL|id=f93rxyrpw2cC|p=194}} |title=Mobilizing on the Extreme Right: Germany, Italy, and the United States |last2=della Porta |first2=Donatella |author2-link=Donatella della Porta |last3=Wagemann |first3=Claudius |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2012 |isbn=9780199641260 |publication-place=Oxford |page=194}} | |||
The mainstream media and the NPD’s political opponents often label the party as a Neo-Nazi organization.<ref name = "NPD">{{cite web | |||
* {{Cite news |date=2012-05-14 |title=European Court Could Thwart Bid to Ban Far-Right Party |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/european-court-could-block-german-bid-to-ban-npd-a-833053.html |access-date=2023-11-08 |work=Der Spiegel}} | |||
| title = Neo-Nazi NPD party takes hold in municipal vote in Saxony | |||
* {{Cite news |date=2019-01-04 |title=German far-right NPD threatens vigilante patrols |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-46757504 |access-date=2019-08-11 |work=BBC News}} | |||
| url = http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20080609-12381.html | |||
* {{Cite news |last=Berg |first=Nate |date=2019-05-14 |title=Germany's 'joke' party wants seat at EU table |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/die-partei-germany-satirists-want-seat-at-eu-table/ |work=Politico}} | |||
| publisher = | |||
</ref> ]<ref name="neonazi">* {{Cite book| access-date=2023-11-08| chapter-url={{Google Books URL|id=7I_pDb1O2EQC|p=139}}| chapter='Nationalism Ensures Peaces': the Foreign and Security Policy of the German Populist Radical Left After Reunification| first=Christina Schori| isbn=9781409498254| last=Liang| page=139| publication-place=Aldershot, England| publisher=Ashgate| title=Europe for the Europeans: The Foreign and Security Policy of the Populist Radical Right| year=2013}}* {{Cite web| access-date=2023-11-08| archive-date=2013-09-28| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023522/http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20080609-12381.html| date=2008-06-09| work=thelocal.de| title=Neo-Nazi NPD party takes hold in municipal vote in Saxony| url-status=dead| url=http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20080609-12381.html}}* {{Cite web| access-date=2009-06-09| archive-date=28 September 2013| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928023518/http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20090609-19809.html| date=2009-06-09| work=thelocal.de| quote=The neo-Nazi NPD party is entering several German city parliaments for the first time after this weekend’s local elections, news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Monday.| title=Neo-Nazis push into town councils| url-status=dead| url=http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20090609-19809.html}}* {{Cite web| access-date=2023-11-08| archive-date=2009-12-18| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091218061436/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/550/469109/text/| date=2009-05-19| quote=Das neonazistische Spektrum hat seinen Einfluss innerhalb der NPD ausgebaut.| trans-quote=The neo-Nazi spectrum has expanded its influence within the NPD.| title=Neonazis in der NPD auf dem Vormarsch| trans-title=Neo-Nazis in the NPD on the rise| language=de| url-status=dead| url=http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/550/469109/text/| work=Süddeutsche Zeitung}}* . German Ministry of the Interior. p. 67. {{lang|de|"Die ethnisch homogene „Volksgemeinschaft“ stellt für sie das Kernelement dar.}} ("The ethnically homogeneous 'national community' represents the core element for them.") | |||
| date = 9 Jun 08 | |||
* John D. Nagle (1 December 1970). ''The National Democratic Party: Right<!--originally cited as "Left" which is obviously incorrect--> Radicalism in the Federal Republic of Germany''. University of California Press. | |||
| accessdate = June 10, 2009 | |||
* Stephen E. Atkins. . p. 106. "the oldest of the German neo-Nazi parties" | |||
| quote =<small>The neo-Nazi NPD party has representatives in every county council in the eastern German state of Saxony after it increased its share of the vote in municipal elections on Sunday.</small> | |||
* Kendall L. Baker, Russell J. Dalton, Kai Hildebrandt. . p. 318. "the neo-Nazi NPD (National Democratic Party of Germany)" | |||
}}</ref><ref name = "NPD2">{{cite web | |||
* Bernard A. Cook. , Volume 2. p. 903. "possibly deserving of the label 'neofascist' ... The NPD was founded in 1964 by survivors of the overtly neo-Nazi SRP" | |||
| title = Neo-Nazis push into town councils | |||
* Roderick Stackelberg. p. 287. "a Neo-Nazi party founded in 1964 in West Germany" | |||
| url = http://www.thelocal.de/politics/20090609-19809.html | |||
* Vinod K. Lall, Danial Khemchand. {{Dead link|date=July 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}}. p. 180. "frankly fascist NPD", "the Neo-Nazi NPD", "this neo-Nazi organization" | |||
| publisher = | |||
* Martin A. Lee. . "neo-Nazi NPD"* {{Cite book| first=John D.| isbn=9780520016491| last=Nagle| oclc=95894| publication-place=Berkeley| publisher=University of California Press | |||
| date = 9 Jun 09 | |||
| title=The National Democratic Party : right radicalism in the Federal Republic of Germany| year=1970}} | |||
| accessdate = June 10, 2009 | |||
* {{Cite news| access-date=2023-11-08| date=2018-04-21| first=Agnieszka| last=Pikulicka-Wilczewska| title=German town on alert as neo-Nazi festival, counter events held| url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/21/german-town-on-alert-as-neo-nazi-festival-counter-events-held| work=Al Jazeera}}</ref><ref name="aljazeera20231108">{{Cite news | |||
| quote =<small>The neo-Nazi NPD party is entering several German city parliaments for the first time after this weekend’s local elections, news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Monday.</small> | |||
| access-date=2023-11-08 | |||
}}</ref><ref name="damagepoll"> | |||
| date=2018-04-21 | |||
{{cite web | |||
| first=Agnieszka | |||
| title = Poll shows majority of Germany believe NPD to be non-democratic and damaging to Germany's image | |||
| last=Pikulicka-Wilczewska | |||
| url = http://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/0,1518,438528,00.html | |||
| title=German town on alert as neo-Nazi festival, counter events held | |||
| publisher = | |||
| url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/4/21/german-town-on-alert-as-neo-nazi-festival-counter-events-held | |||
| date = 22 Sep 06 | |||
| work=Al Jazeera}}</ref> and ]<ref name="aljazeera20231108" /> ]. | |||
| accessdate = July 21, 2009}}</ref><ref name = "Neonazis in der NPD auf dem Vormarsch">{{cite web | |||
| title = Neonazis in der NPD auf dem Vormarsch | |||
| url = http://www.sueddeutsche.de/politik/550/469109/text/ | |||
| publisher = | |||
| date = 19 May 2009 | |||
| accessdate = August 23, 2009 | |||
| quote = <small>Das neonazistische Spektrum hat seinen Einfluss innerhalb der NPD ausgebaut.</small> | |||
}}</ref><ref name = "Neonazis kooperieren mit der NPD ">{{cite book | |||
| title = Verfassungsschutzbericht 2008 | |||
| url = http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/ | |||
| publisher = | |||
| date = May 2009 | |||
| accessdate = August 23, 2009 | |||
| page = 51 | |||
| quote = <small>Auch 2008 ist es in der Kooperation zwischen der NPD und der Neonazi-Szene zu erheblichen Spannungen gekommen.</small> | |||
}}</ref> The German Federal Agency for Civic Education, or BPB, has criticized the NPD for working with members of organizations which the federal courts later found to be unconstitutional and were disbanded.<ref name = "Rechtsextremismus">{{cite web | |||
| title = Rechtsextremismus | |||
| url = http://www.bpb.de/themen/CNCDW9,79,0,Glossar.html | |||
| publisher = Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung | |||
| date = 2006 - 2008 | |||
| accessdate = August 23, 2009 | |||
| quote = <small>Auch zeigte sich die NPD nun bereit, mit radikalen Kräften aus dem parteiungebundenen Spektrum zusammenzuarbeiten. Formal gilt nach wie vor ein Unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss der NPD-Mitgliedschaft mit der Mitgliedschaft in verbotenen Gruppierungen. Faktisch jedoch setzt sich die NPD mit ihrer Strategie bewusst über die offizielle Verlautbarung hinweg. Die NPD wolle in Zukunft mit denjenigen zusammenzuarbeiten, die dazu bereit seien, "als politische Soldaten zu denken und zu handeln", so die neue Strategie.</small> | |||
}}</ref><ref name = "zusammenspiel zwischen NPD und Neonazis">{{cite web | |||
| title = Zusammenspiel zwischen NPD und Neonazis im niedersächsischen Landtagswahlkampf | |||
| url = http://www.verfassungsschutzgegenrechtsextremismus.de/de/aktuelles/news-detailansicht/artikel/11/zusammenspiel-zwischen-npd-und-neonazis-im-niedersaechsischen-landtagswahlkampf.html | |||
| publisher = Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz Bremen | |||
| date = 30 November 2007 | |||
| accessdate = August 2, 2009 | |||
| quote = <small>Die Kooperation zwischen der NPD und den Freien Nationalisten (Angehörige von neonazistischen Kameradschaften) prägt das Auftreten der Partei im niedersächsischen Landtagswahlkampf. Bekannte Neonazis treten für die NPD als Direktkandidaten an, z.B. Dennis BÜHRIG in Bergen, Klaus HELLMUND in Celle, Mathias BEHRENS in Soltau oder Dieter RIEFLING in Hildesheim.</small>}}</ref> The German federal intelligence agency, the ], classifies the NPD as a "threat to the constitutional order" because of its ], and the party is under their observation.<ref name=aust>. ''''. Published April 8, 2009.</ref> | |||
The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the ] ({{langx|de|link=no|Deutsche Reichspartei}}, DRP). Party statements also self-identified the party as Germany's "only significant patriotic force" (2012).<ref>{{cite web |publisher=NPD |title=NPD – einzige ernstzunehmende nationale Kraft! |date=28 September 2009 |access-date=14 February 2012 |url=http://www.npd.de/html/714/artikel/detail/1015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121122195835/http://www.npd.de/html/714/artikel/detail/1015/ |archive-date=22 November 2012}}<!--Translating "national" as "patriotic"--></ref> On 1 January 2011, the nationalist ] merged with the NPD and the party name of the National Democratic Party of Germany was extended by the addition of "The People's Union".<ref name="npd.de">{{cite web |url=http://www.npd.de/html/1/artikel/detail/1933/ |title=NPD – Start |publisher=NPD |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101125171652/http://npd.de/html/1/artikel/detail/1933/ |archive-date=2010-11-25| access-date=2015-01-15| url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
In recent years, the Party has focused on broad social issues such as unemployment and economic problems.<ref name=sudden>. ]''. Published Feb. 28, 2005 .</ref> The Party currently is represented in two of Germany's sixteen state parliaments with no seats at the federal level. | |||
As a ] organization,<ref name="neonazi" /><ref name="aljazeera20231108" /> it has been referred to as "the most significant neo-Nazi party to emerge after 1945".<ref name="Nazis2">Peter Davies, Derek Lynch, , Psychology Press, 2002, pg. 315</ref> The German ], or BPB, has criticized the NPD for working with members of organizations which were later found unconstitutional by the federal courts and disbanded,<ref name="Rechtsextremismus">{{cite web|title= Rechtsextremismus|url= http://www.bpb.de/themen/CNCDW9,79,0,Glossar.html|publisher = Bundeszentrale für politische Bildung|date= 2006|access-date=2015-10-15|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120222032349/http://www.bpb.de/themen/CNCDW9,79,0,Glossar.html| archive-date=22 February 2012| url-status=dead|quote= Auch zeigte sich die NPD nun bereit, mit radikalen Kräften aus dem parteiungebundenen Spektrum zusammenzuarbeiten. Formal gilt nach wie vor ein Unvereinbarkeitsbeschluss der NPD-Mitgliedschaft mit der Mitgliedschaft in verbotenen Gruppierungen. Faktisch jedoch setzt sich die NPD mit ihrer Strategie bewusst über die offizielle Verlautbarung hinweg. Die NPD wolle in Zukunft mit denjenigen zusammenzuarbeiten, die dazu bereit seien, 'als politische Soldaten zu denken und zu handeln', so die neue Strategie.}}</ref><ref name="zusammenspiel zwischen NPD und Neonazis">{{cite web| title= Zusammenspiel zwischen NPD und Neonazis im niedersächsischen Landtagswahlkampf| url= http://www.verfassungsschutzgegenrechtsextremismus.de/de/aktuelles/news-detailansicht/artikel/11/zusammenspiel-zwischen-npd-und-neonazis-im-niedersaechsischen-landtagswahlkampf.html| publisher= Landesamt für Verfassungsschutz Bremen| date= 30 November 2007| access-date= 2 August 2009| quote= Die Kooperation zwischen der NPD und den Freien Nationalisten (Angehörige von neonazistischen Kameradschaften) prägt das Auftreten der Partei im niedersächsischen Landtagswahlkampf. Bekannte Neonazis treten für die NPD als Direktkandidaten an, z.B. Dennis BÜHRIG in Bergen, Klaus HELLMUND in Celle, Mathias BEHRENS in Soltau oder Dieter RIEFLING in Hildesheim.| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161002075503/http://www.verfassungsschutzgegenrechtsextremismus.de/de/aktuelles/news-detailansicht/artikel/11/zusammenspiel-zwischen-npd-und-neonazis-im-niedersaechsischen-landtagswahlkampf.html| archive-date= 2 October 2016| url-status= dead}}</ref> while the ] (BfV), Germany's domestic security agency, classifies The Homeland as a "threat to the constitutional order" because of its ], and it is under their observation.<ref name="aust"> (8 April 2009). {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531201818/http://www.austriantimes.at/index.php?id=12379 |date=31 May 2011}}. ''Austrian Times''.</ref> An effort to outlaw the party failed in 2003, as the government had many informers and agents in the party, some in high position, who had written part of the material used against them.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/v-mann-affaere-fatale-frenz-connection_aid_204938.html|title=V-Mann-Affäre|work=Focus|access-date=16 May 2017|archive-date=14 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014082844/http://www.focus.de/politik/deutschland/v-mann-affaere-fatale-frenz-connection_aid_204938.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Since its founding in 1964, the party has never managed to win enough votes on the federal level to cross Germany's 5% minimum threshold for representation in the ]; it has succeeded in crossing the 5% threshold and gaining representation in state parliaments 11 times, including one-convocation entry to seven West German state parliaments between November 1966 and April 1968 and two-convocation electoral success in two East German states of ] and ] between 2004 and 2011.<ref name="wahlrecht">{{cite web|last=Zicht|first=Wilko|title=Wahlergebnisse|url=http://www.wahlrecht.de/ergebnisse/|work=Wahlrecht.de|access-date=5 May 2014|language=de}}</ref> Since 2016, The Homeland has not been represented in state parliaments. ] led the NPD from 1996 to 2011.<ref name=aust/> He was succeeded by ],<ref>. {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120121070449/http://www.bnr.de/artikel/aktuelle-meldungen/stabwechsel-bei-der-npd |date=21 January 2012}} '']''. Accessed 14 November 2011.</ref> who in turn was replaced by ] in December 2013. In November 2014, Pastörs was ousted and ] became the party's leader. Voigt was elected the party's first ] in 2014. The party lost the seat in the ]. In June 2023, the party renamed itself to {{lang|de|Die Heimat}} after a party vote.<ref name=":3">{{cite news |date=3 June 2023 |work=Spiegel |title=Rechtsextreme NPD heißt jetzt 'Die Heimat' |trans-title=Right Wing NPD Now Named "Die Heimat" |language=de |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/npd-benennt-sich-in-die-heimat-um-a-803d45e1-d362-4294-b485-2fffaac355d4}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bundeswahlleiterin.de/dam/jcr/477203a4-8602-497d-9311-89d9a7c7b78a/anschriftenverzeichnis_parteien.pdf|title=Verzeichnis der Parteien und politischen Vereinigungen, die gemäß § 6 Absatz 3 Parteiengesetz bei der Bundeswahlleiterin Parteiunterlagen hinterlegt haben | |||
==Platform and philosophies== | |||
|website=bundeswahlleiterin.de|language=de}}</ref> | |||
On 23 January 2024, the ] excluded the party from ] for six years, arguing that it continued to oppose the fundamental principles that are indispensable for the free democratic constitutional state and aimed to eliminate them.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-01-23 |title=Die Partei Die Heimat (vormals NPD) ist für die Dauer von sechs Jahren von der staatlichen Parteienfinanzierung ausgeschlossen |url=https://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Pressemitteilungen/DE/2024/bvg24-009.html |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=Bundesverfassungsgericht.de}}</ref> | |||
], leader of the NPD, standing in front of a banner depicting ]. Hess is considered a martyr by the NPD.]] | |||
The NPD's political philosophy coincides with the notion of a ], an idea which developed amidst criticisms of both ] and ]. The NPD also endorses certain beliefs about human nature. NPD leader ] states that the philosophy of the NPD differs from both communism and ] in that it acknowledges people as unequal products of their societies and environments, largely governed by what is called ]. Voigt states that the party is also influenced by the views of modern ] such as ] and ]. The NPD calls itself a party of "grandparents and grandchildren" because the ] in Germany, known for the leftist ], seldom supports the NPD's policies. The NPD's economic program promotes ] for Germans and control against ], but the party does not oppose ]. Voigt has demanded the "dismantling" of the "liberal-capitalist system".<ref></ref> | |||
==History== | |||
The NPD argues that ] fails to represent the interests and needs of ]an people. The party considers the ] to be little more than a reorganisation of a soviet style Europe along financial lines.<ref>NPD party programme (in German) http://npd.de/medien/pdf/parteiprogramm.pdf</ref> Although highly critical of the EU, as long as Germany remains a part of it, the NPD opposes ] into the organisation. Voigt envisions future collaboration and continued friendly relations with other nationalists and European national parties. | |||
===20th century=== | |||
], the text saying "We're cleaning up")]] | |||
]In the 1950s, despite the lack of complete ], early right-wing extremist parties in ] failed to attract voters away from the moderate government that had presided over Germany's recovery.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Ignazi|first=Piero|date=2003|title=Extreme Right Parties in Western Europe|url=http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/0198293259.001.0001/acprof-9780198293255|url-status=live|page=66|publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/0198293259.001.0001|isbn=9780198293255|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327204923/http://www.oxfordscholarship.com/view/10.1093/0198293259.001.0001/acprof-9780198293255|archive-date=27 March 2019|access-date=27 March 2019}}</ref> In November 1964, however, right-wing splinter groups united to form the NPD.<ref name=Britannica1 /> One of the four founding members was ], who entered politics as a member of the ] and '']'' before joining the NPD and serving as its chairman from 1967 to 1971. Owing to von Thadden's effective leadership the NPD achieved success in the late 1960s, winning local government seats across West Germany. In 1966<ref name="wesley">{{Cite book|last=Chapin|first=Wesley D.|title=Germany for the Germans?|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|year=1997|isbn=0-313-30258-8|pages=70–73}}</ref> and 1967, fueled by West German discontent with a lagging economy and with the leadership of ],<ref name=Britannica1 /> the NPD won 15 seats in ], 10 in ], 8 in ], and several other seats. However, the NPD did not then and has never since received the minimum 5% of votes in federal elections that allow a party to send delegates to the ]. The NPD came closest to that goal in the 1969 election, when it received 4.3 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite web|title=Election Resources on the Internet: Elections to the German Bundestag - Results Lookup|url=http://www.electionresources.org/de/bundestag.php?election=1969|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170929020210/http://electionresources.org/de/bundestag.php?election=1969|archive-date=29 September 2017|access-date=2016-11-05|website=electionresources.org}}</ref> Helping pave the way for these NPD gains were an economic downturn, frustrations with the emerging leftist youth counter-culture, and the emergence of a tripartite ] among the centre-right ] (CDU), the ] (the CDU's present-day sister party), and the centre-left ] (SPD). The coalition government had created a vacuum in the traditional ], which the NPD tried to fill.<ref name="wesley" /> Additionally, the party benefited from hostility to the ] and fears that the government would relinquish claims to the "lost territories" (]).<ref>{{Cite book|last=Carr|first=William|title=A History of Germany: 1815-1990|publisher=Hodder & Stoughton|year=1991|edition=4th|location=London, United Kingdom|pages=383}}</ref> The historian ] has argued that the NPD in the 1960s cannot be classified as a neo-Nazi party.<ref name="Laqueur1996">{{cite book|last=Laqueur|first=Walter|url=https://archive.org/details/fascismpastprese00laqu|title=Fascism: past, present, future|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1996|isbn=978-0-19-509245-5|page=|access-date=14 November 2011|url-access=registration}}</ref> | |||
The party's platform says that Germany is larger than the present-day Federal Republic, and calls for revision of the post-war border acknowledgments.<ref>Party program, p. 13. ("Deutschland ist größer als die Bundesrepublik! ... Wir fordern die Revision der nach dem Krieg abgeschlossenen Grenzanerkennungsverträge.")</ref> A map of Germany on the party's website omits the border that divides Germany from ] and leaves out the ], which established the limits of federal Germany to the east and was agreed upon with ] in 1990.<ref> on NPD's website http://www.npd.de</ref> While this suggests a desire to renegotiate the status of ], it may be a ] effort to capitalise on the bitter sentiments of ] (especially ], ], ], and ]). The 2005 report of the ] federal agency contains the following description: | |||
<blockquote>"The party continues to pursue a "people's front" of the nationals the NPD, ], and forces not attached to any party, which is supposed to develop into a base for an encompassing "German people's movement". The aggressive agitation of the NPD unabashedly aims towards the abolition of ] and the democratic constitutional state, although the use of violence is currently still officially rejected for tactical reasons. Statements of the NPD document an essential affinity with ]; its agitation is ], ], ], and intends to disparage the democratic and lawful order of the constitution."<ref></ref></blockquote> | |||
Yet, when the coalition fell apart, around 75 percent of those who had voted for the NPD drifted back to the centre-right. During the 1970s, the NPD went into decline, suffering from an internal split over failing to get into the ]. The issue of ] spurred a small rebound in popular interest from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, but the party only saw limited success in various local elections.<ref name=wesley/> | |||
===Statements on the election of Barack Obama=== | |||
In November 2008, shortly after the ], the NPD published a document entitled "''Africa conquers the White House''" which stated that the election of ] as the first ] ] was the result of "the American alliance of ] and ]" and that Obama aimed to destroy the United States' "white identity." The NPD claimed that "A non-white America is a declaration of war on all people who believe an organically grown social order based on language and culture, history and heritage to be the essence of humanity" and that "Barack Obama hides this declaration of war behind his pushy sunshine smile." The NPD also stated that the extensive support for Obama in Germany "resembles an African tropical disease."<ref>, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), November 11, 2008 (retrieved on December 5, 2008.)</ref><ref>, BreitBart.com, November 10, 2008.</ref><ref> by Jon Swaine, Telegraph.co.uk, November 11, 2008.</ref><ref> by Craig Whitlock, Washington Post, page A15, November 11, 2008 (retrieved on December 5, 2008.)</ref> | |||
===Recent history=== | |||
==International connections== | |||
In September 2019, NPD politician ] was elected as representative of ]-Waldsiedlung. The unanimous election of the NPD politician by the local council led to irritation and horror in other parties, such as Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), whose local council members had voted for Jagsch.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Dikov|first=Ivan|date=7 September 2019|title=Far-Right Politician's Election as Town Council Head Shocks Germany's Mainstream Parties|url=https://www.european-views.com/2019/09/far-right-politicians-election-as-town-council-head-shocks-germanys-mainstream-parties/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191006203422/https://www.european-views.com/2019/09/far-right-politicians-election-as-town-council-head-shocks-germanys-mainstream-parties/|archive-date=6 October 2019|access-date=9 September 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Germany: Merkel party colleagues elect far-right extremist to local council|date=2019-07-09|url=https://www.dw.com/en/germany-merkel-party-colleagues-elect-far-right-extremist-to-local-council/a-50340079|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190909075650/https://www.dw.com/en/germany-merkel-party-colleagues-elect-far-right-extremist-to-local-council/a-50340079|archive-date=9 September 2019|access-date=9 September 2019|publisher=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> | |||
] ].]] | |||
Voigt has held meetings with various ] proponents, such as ] politician ].<ref>{{cite web | author = David Duke | title = My Awakening: A Path to Racial Understanding | publisher = Free Speech Press | url = http://shop.davidduke.com/cgi-bin/dukecat/00088.html | accessdate = 2007-09-17}}</ref> In 2009, ] said that the NPD supports ] and the Russian point of view in the ].<ref></ref> | |||
====Electoral history==== | |||
==History== | |||
Since its founding in 1964, The Homeland has only won seats in regional assemblies. Its successes in state parliaments can be grouped into two periods: the late 1960s (1966 in ]; 1967 in ], ], ], and ]; and 1968 in ] and ]), and former East Germany since reunification (2006 and 2011 in ], 2004 and 2009 in ]).<ref name=wahlrecht/> | |||
===Early history=== | |||
At the time of the NPD's founding in 1964, the ruling political coalition labeled it "a neo-Nazi party hiding behind a democratic facade." The Party rejected this image and claimed loyalty to both the constitution and the democratic system of representative government. During the 1960s, the party campaigned for ], endorsed ] feelings regarding the ] and promoted ].<ref name=wesley>{{Cite book|first=Wesley D.|last=Chapin|title=Germany for the Germans?|date=1997|publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group|pages=70–73}}</ref> | |||
In the ] in Saxony, the NPD won 9.2% of the overall vote. After ], the NPD sent eight representatives to the Saxony state parliament, having lost four representatives since the 2004 election. The NPD lost their representation in Saxony in the ]. They also lost all representation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the ]. | |||
The NPD achieved success in the late 1960s, winning local government seats across Germany. In 1966 and 1967, it won 15 seats in ], 10 in ], 8 in ], and several other seats. However, it has never received the minimum 5 percent of votes in federal elections that allow a party to send delegates to the ]. The NPD came the closest to that goal in the 1969 election, when it got 4.3 percent of the vote.<ref name=wesley/> An economic downturn, frustrations with the emerging leftist youth counter-culture and the emergence of a ] between the ] ] (CDU), the ] (the CDU's present-day sister party), and the ] ] (SPD) helped pave the way for the NPD's gains. The coalition government had created a vacuum in the traditional ], which the NPD had tried to fill; however, when the coalition fell apart, around 75 percent of those who had voted for the NPD drifted back to the center-right.<ref name=wesley/> | |||
The NPD maintained a non-competition agreement with the ] (DVU) between 2004 and 2009. The third nationalist-oriented party, ] (REP), has so far refused to join this agreement. However, Kerstin Lorenz, a local representative of the Republicans in Saxony, sabotaged her party's registration to help the NPD in the Saxony election.<ref>Kerstin Lorenz, ehem. Archived from on 9 November 2004. (German)</ref> | |||
During the 1970s, the NPD went into decline, suffering from an internal split over failing to get into the ]. The issue of immigration spurred a small rebound from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, but the party only saw limited success in various local elections.<ref name=wesley/> | |||
In the ], the NPD received 1.6 percent of the vote nationally. It garnered the highest percent of votes in the states of ] (4.9 percent), ] (3.7 percent), ] (3.5 percent) and ] (3.2 percent), all formerly part of ]. In most other states, the party won around 1 percent of the total votes cast. In the ], the NPD received 7.3% of the vote and thus achieved state representation there, as well.<ref>{{cite news|date=18 September 2006|title=Poll boost for German far right|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5349696.stm|access-date=19 April 2012}}</ref> | |||
===Recent history=== | |||
====Electoral history==== | |||
The NPD had 5,300 registered party members in 2004.<ref name="HochschildMollenkopf2009">{{cite book|first1=Jennifer L.|last1=Hochschild|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D5Ygz60rwHgC&pg=PA147|title=Bringing Outsiders in: Transatlantic Perspectives on Immigrant Political Incorporation|first2=John H.|last2=Mollenkopf|publisher=Cornell University Press|year=2009|isbn=978-0-8014-7514-6|page=147}}</ref> Over the course of 2006, the NPD processed roughly 2,000 party applications to push the membership total over 7,200. In 2008, the trend of a growing number of members has been reversed and the party's membership is estimated at 7,000.<ref name="NPD membership">{{cite web|date=May 2009|title=Verfassungsschutzbericht 2008|url=https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090224153421/http://verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht|archive-date=24 February 2009|access-date=23 August 2009|publisher=Verfassungsschutz.de|page=79|quote=Mit rund 7.000 Mitgliedern verzeichnete die NPD im Vergleich zum Vorjahr (7.200) einen leichten Rückgang, bleibt jedoch mitgliederstärkste Partei im rechtsextremistischen Spektrum.}}</ref> | |||
In the ] in ], the NPD won 9.2% of the overall vote. The NPD currently sends 12 representatives to the Saxony state parliament, the '']''. During the 2004 election, the NPD entered a non-competition agreement with the ] (DVU) and has since maintained that only one of the two parties will compete in any given election. The third white nationalist-oriented party, ] (REP), has so far refused to join this agreement. However, ], a local representative of the Republicans in Saxony, sabotaged her party's registration to help the NPD in the Saxony election.<ref>Kerstin Lorenz, ehem. Landeschefin der Republikaner in Sachsen, tritt in die NPD ein! http://www.wno.org/newpages/par46b.html</ref> | |||
In the ], Udo Voigt was elected as the party's first ].<ref>{{cite news|date=26 May 2014|title=Meet the new faces ready to sweep into the European parliament|work=The Guardian|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/26/meet-the-new-faces-in-the-european-parliament|url-status=live|access-date=11 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200227225722/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/may/26/meet-the-new-faces-in-the-european-parliament|archive-date=27 February 2020}}</ref> | |||
In the ], the NPD received 1.6 percent of the vote nationally. It garnered the highest percent of votes in the states of ] (4.9 percent), ] (3.7 percent), ] (3.5 percent) and ] (3.2 percent). In most other states, the party won around 1 percent of the total votes cast. In the ], the NPD received 7.3% of the vote and thus achieved state representation there, as well.<ref></ref> | |||
====2001–2003 banning attempt==== | |||
The NPD had 5,300 registered party members in 2004.<ref></ref> Over the course of 2006, the NPD processed roughly 2,000 party applications to push the membership total over 7,200. In 2008, the trend of a growing number of members has been reversed and NPD's membership is estimated at about 7000.<ref name = " NPD membership ">{{cite web | |||
In 2001, the federal government, the ], and the ] jointly attempted to have the ] ban the NPD. The court, the highest court in Germany, has the exclusive power to ban parties if they are found to be "anti-constitutional" through the ]. However, the petition was rejected in 2003 after it was discovered that a number of the NPD's inner circle, including as many as 30 of its top 200 leaders, were undercover agents or informants of the German secret services, like the federal ]. They include a former deputy chairman of the party and author of an anti-Semitic tract that formed a central part of the government's case. Since the secret services were unwilling to fully disclose their agents' identities and activities, the court found it impossible to decide which moves by the party were based on genuine party decisions and which were controlled by the secret services in an attempt to further the ban. The court determined that so many of the party's actions were influenced by the government that the resulting "lack of clarity" made it impossible to defend a ban. "The presence of the state at the leadership level makes influence on its aims and activities unavoidable," it concluded.<ref>{{cite news|last=Hooper|first=John|date=19 March 2003|title=German court rejects attempt to ban neo-Nazi party|work=The Guardian|location=London|url=https://www.theguardian.com/international/story/0,3604,917120,00.html|access-date=19 May 2010}}</ref> | |||
| title = Verfassungsschutzbericht 2008 | |||
| url = http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/ | |||
| publisher = | |||
| date = May 2009 | |||
| page = 79 | |||
| accessdate = August 23, 2009 | |||
| quote = <small>Mit rund 7.000 Mitgliedern verzeichnete die NPD im Vergleich zum Vorjahr (7.200) einen leichten Rückgang, bleibt jedoch mitgliederstärkste Partei im rechtsextremistischen Spektrum.</small> | |||
}}</ref> | |||
], a former member of the far-left terrorist organization ], defended the NPD in court. In May 2009, several state politicians published an extensive document<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gensing|first1=Patrick|date=5 April 2009|title=Die NPD bekämpft aktiv die Verfassungsordnung|language=de|work=tagesschau.de|url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/npd138.html|url-status=live|access-date=15 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090507114807/http://www.tagesschau.de/inland/npd138.html|archive-date=7 May 2009}}</ref> which they claim proves the NPD's opposition to the constitution without relying on information supplied by undercover agents. This move was intended to lead up to a second attempt to have the NPD banned. | |||
====The 2001–2003 banning attempt==== | |||
In 2001, the federal government, the ], and the ] jointly attempted to ban the NPD in a trial before the ], the ''Bundesverfassungsgericht'', the highest court in Germany with the exclusive power to ban parties if they are found to be "anti-constitutional". However, the case was thrown out in 2003 after it was discovered that a number of the NPD's inner circle were in fact undercover agents or informants of the German secret services, like the federal ]. They include a former deputy chairman of the party and author of an anti-Semitic tract that formed a central part of the government's case. Since the government assemblies were unwilling to fully disclose their agents' identities and activities, the court found it impossible to decide which moves by the party were based on genuine party decisions and which were controlled by the secret services in an attempt to further the ban. “The party was, in part, responding to the government's dictates”, the court said. “The presence of the state at the leadership level makes influence on its aims and activities unavoidable”, it concluded.<ref></ref> | |||
====Merger with DVU==== | |||
] (NPD), a former member of the ] terrorist organisation ], defended the NPD before the court. In May 2009, several state politicians published an extensive document<ref></ref> which they claim proves the NPD's opposition to the constitution without relying on information supplied by undercover agents. This move is intended to lead up to a second attempt to have the NPD banned. | |||
] | |||
At the 2010 NPD party conference at Bamberg it was announced that the party would ask its members to approve a merger with the ] (DVU).<ref>{{cite news|date=4 June 2010|title=German neo-Nazi parties 'consider merger'|work=The Daily Telegraph|location=London|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7804533/German-neo-Nazi-parties-consider-merger.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/7804533/German-neo-Nazi-parties-consider-merger.html |archive-date=12 January 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> After the merger on 1 January 2011, the combined party briefly used the name ''NPD – Die Volksunion'' (NPD - The People's Union).<ref name="npd.de"/> Between 2004 and 2009 the two parties had agreed not to compete against each other in elections. However, on 27 January 2011, Munich's '']'' (regional court) in a ] declared the merger ].<ref>{{cite web|first=Frank|last=Jansen|date=27 January 2011|title=Rechtsextreme Parteien: Fusion von NPD und DVU ist unwirksam – Politik – Tagesspiegel|url=http://www.tagesspiegel.de/politik/fusion-von-npd-und-dvu-ist-unwirksam/3773068.html|access-date=23 September 2018|work=Der Tagesspiegel|language=de}}</ref> | |||
====The Green Movement==== | |||
===World War II and Holocaust memory controversies=== | |||
The Homeland has recently{{When|date=November 2021}} supported the ]. This is one of many strategies the party has used to try to gain supporters. Historically the opposing party the ] have fully supported the green movement in Germany.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2012-04-28|title=German far-right extremists tap into green movement for support|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/apr/28/germany-far-right-green-movement|access-date=2021-11-23|website=The Guardian|language=en}}</ref> The German Greens group was a successful European ecological group that began in 1980. Kate Connolly who is a correspondent for ] wrote the article: ''German far-right extremists tap into green movement for support''. In the article Connolly explains the opposition between these two political groups pertaining to the green movement.<ref name=":2" /> The ] is essential in understanding the green movements history. This was a farming movement that was inspired by the "]" ruralist ideology adopted from the ].<ref name=":2" /> This farming movement affected the ] region of Germany during the 19th century. Settlers at this time took advantage of the cheap cost of land in these rural communities. These settlers were in support of the Artaman league and continued to reinforce the ideology.<ref name=":2" /> | |||
] | |||
On 21 January 2005, during a silence in the Saxon state assembly in ] to mark the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi ], twelve members of the NPD walked out in protest. The NPD was upset that a moment of silence was being held for those who died in the Auschwitz camp and that none was being given for those who died during the ], with the anniversary of both events falling relatively close to each other. ], leader of the NPD in ] and deputy leader of the party nationwide, made a speech in the ] in which he called the ] of the ] and ] "mass murderers" because of their role in the bombing. His colleague, ] went on to describe the bombing itself as a "holocaust of bombs". | |||
The NDP's plans are to take the ecological movement back from the German Greens group. Connolly spoke to different farmers, organizations, and employees of the government to represent the different perspectives of the ecological movement.<ref name=":2" /> Hans-Gunter Laimer, a farmer who ran for office for the NPD, mentions his frustration that the German Greens groups has dominated the organic farming market for too long. He has also been linked to other German groups specifically Umwelt and Aktiv. Both political parties are concerned with the ways they are in opposition to one another.<ref name=":2" /> The Homeland supporters of the green movement are in favor of local produce. However, they are against ], ]s, and ].<ref name=":2" /> Organizations involved in the farming industry have lost consumers because they are not able to state what the political views of the farmers products are to the consumer. For example, BioPark is an organic cultivation organization with a vetting process to certify organic farmers. The vetting process is strictly based on cultivation methods and not on political affiliations. BioPark has lost customers because left-leaning supporters worry buying local organic produce is supporting the far-right extremist.<ref name=":2" /> | |||
Voigt voiced his support and reiterated the statement, which some controversially claimed was a violation of the German law which forbids ]. However, after judicial review, it was decided that Udo Voigt's description of the 1945 RAF bombing of Dresden as a holocaust was an exercise of free speech and "defamation of the dead" was not the purpose of his statement.<ref>Hannah Cleaver, , Telegraph.co.uk, April 12, 2005.</ref> | |||
The department of rural enlightenment has supported the importance of distinguishing between these two political parties. The department created a brochure called "Nature Conservation Versus Right-wing Extremist".<ref name=":2" /> The brochure was created in order to help consumers distinguish from the far-right extremists. Other representatives from the government have spoken on this divide. For example, Connolly mentions a representative of the Centre for Democratic culture in Mecklenburg who chose to stay anonymous in order to protect themself.<ref name=":2" /> The representative stated the goal of the NDP is to build bridges between citizens. The NDP is strategic in the way they are going about this in a subtle quite manner. The result the NDP is trying to achieve is to reinforce the division between the two political parties for when NDP no longer becomes associated with politics.<ref name=":2" /> | |||
In 2009, the NPD joined the ] in a march of mourning on the anniversary of the ]. Over 8000 people took part in the event.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/neonazis-hijack-dresden-ceremony-in-the-biggest-farright-demonstration-since-hitler-483337.html|title=Neo-Nazis hijack Dresden ceremony in the biggest far-right demonstration since Hitler}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGstsMp983DI&refer=worldwide|title=Skinheads, Neo-Nazis Draw Fury at Dresden 1945 ‘Mourning March’ |accessdate=2009 02 14|author=Patrick Donahue}}</ref> | |||
====World War II and Holocaust commemoration controversies==== | |||
] | |||
In 2005, the Landtag of Saxony held a ] for the ]. ], leader of the NPD in ] and deputy leader of the party nationwide, boycotted the remembrance along with 11 other NPD politicians and staged a walkout from the Landtag chamber. He also gave a speech in which he demanded a moment of silence be held for the victims of the ] in 1945 and called the ] "mass murderers", stating that "Today we in this parliament are taking up the political battle for historical truth, and against the servitude of guilt of the German people... The causes of the holocaust bombing of Dresden have nothing to do with either ] or with ]." Apfel's speech caused politicians from other parties in the Landtag to walk out in protest.<ref name="guardian">{{cite news |last=Traynor |first=Ian |date=19 December 2013 |title=Dresden parliament in uproar at neo-Nazi outburst |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/jan/22/secondworldwar.thefarright |work=] |access-date=12 August 2014}}</ref> | |||
Udo Voigt voiced his support for Apfel's and reiterated the statement, which some controversially claimed was a violation of the German law which forbids ]. However, after a judicial review, it was decided that Voigt's description of the Allied bombing of Dresden as a "]" was an exercise of free speech and "] of the dead" was not the purpose of his statement.<ref>Hannah Cleaver, , Telegraph.co.uk, 12 April 2005.</ref> | |||
In 2009, the NPD joined the ] in a demonstration on the anniversary of the bombing of Dresden in World War II. Roughly 6,000 people came to participate in the event.<ref>{{cite news|date=14 February 2005|title=Neo-Nazis hijack Dresden ceremony in the biggest far-right demonstration since Hitler|work=The Independent|location=London|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/neo-nazis-hijack-dresden-ceremony-in-the-biggest-far-right-demonstration-since-hitler-483337.html|url-status=live|access-date=19 May 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305085843/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/neo-nazis-hijack-dresden-ceremony-in-the-biggest-far-right-demonstration-since-hitler-483337.html|archive-date=5 March 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Donahue|first=Patrick|date=14 February 2009|title=Skinheads, Neo-Nazis Draw Fury at Dresden 1945 'Mourning March'|work=Bloomberg L.P.|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGstsMp983DI&refer=worldwide|url-status=live|access-date=2009-02-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402065630/https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aGstsMp983DI&refer=worldwide|archive-date=2 April 2021}}</ref> | |||
===Activism and controversy=== | ===Activism and controversy=== | ||
] demonstration at the ] calling for the NPD to be banned. The banner reads "Auschwitz gedenkt" ("Remember ]").]] | |||
] | |||
The NPD's strategy has been to create "nationally liberated zones" and circumvent its marginal electoral status by concentrating on regions where support is strongest. In March 2006, musician ] tried to set up an in-school ] concert in ], Saxony-Anhalt two weeks before the state elections. The NPD argued that because of politics, the date and the in-school venue, the concert "was an unacceptable form of political campaigning."<ref>{{cite web|title=Deutsche Welle article|url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1929110,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1124-rdf|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080209221757/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,1929110,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1124-rdf|archive-date=9 February 2008|access-date=19 April 2012|publisher=Dw-world.de}}</ref> In protest, the NPD vowed to buy the tickets and turn up en masse at Wecker's show, which led local authorities to cancel the event. The ] and the ] were outraged by the decision, which the ] criticized as "politically bankrupt". | |||
The NPD was going to sponsor a march through ] on 21 June 2006, as the ] was going on. The party wanted to show its support for the ], which was playing in ], and ] ]. However, the NPD decided against the demonstration; only a counter-demonstration took place that day, in support of ].<ref>Laura Smith-Spark, {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230032043/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/5098036.stm|date=30 December 2018}}, BBC News (20 June 2006)</ref> During the World Cup, the party's web site stated that due to the prevalence of people of non-German descent on the ], the team "was not really German". | |||
The NPD's strategy has been to create "national free-zones" and circumvent its marginal electoral status by concentrating on regions where support is strongest. In March 2006, musician ] tried to set up an in-school ] concert in ], ] two weeks before the state elections. The NPD argued that because of politics, the date and the venue, the concert "was an unacceptable form of political campaigning."<ref></ref> In protest, the NPD vowed to buy the tickets and turn up en masse at Wecker's show, which led local authorities to cancel the event. The ] and the ] were outraged by the decision, which the Central Council for Jews called "politically bankrupt". | |||
Later in 2006, the party designed leaflets, which said "White – not just the color of a jersey! For a true National team!"<ref name="nonwhite">{{cite web|date=25 March 2008|title=NPD leader charged for racist campaign against black player in national football team|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,543287,00.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090819080548/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,543287,00.html|archive-date=19 August 2009|access-date=21 July 2009|work=Der Spiegel}}</ref> This leaflet was never mass-distributed, but copies were confiscated during a raid on the NPD's headquarters, when authorities had been hoping to find material linking the party to Nazism. ] was later informed about the poster after it was noted that the image depicted a footballer wearing a white jersey with Owomoyela's number on it. Owomoyela, of Nigerian descent, had played for the Germany national team in the years before the World Cup and proceeded to file a lawsuit against the party. The party was able to delay the procedures but in April 2009 three party officials, ], Frank Schwerdt, and Klaus Beier, were convicted of {{Lang|de|]}} (incitement to hatred). Voigt and Beier were sentenced to 7 months of probation, and Schwerdt was sentenced to 10 months of probation.<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304102920/http://www.sueddeutsche.de/055384/870/2860615/Volksverhetzung-und-Beleidigung.html|date=4 March 2012}}, sueddeutsche.de, 25. April 2009</ref> | |||
The NPD was going to sponsor a march through ] on 21 June 2006, as the ] was going on. The party wanted to show its support for the ], which was playing in Leipzig, and ] ]. However, the NPD decided against the demonstration; only a counter-demonstration took place that day, in support of ].<ref></ref> However, during the World Cup, the party's web site complained that due to the prevalence of people of non-German descent on the ], the team "was not really German". That same year, the party designed leaflets which said ''"White - not just the color of a jersey! For a true National team!"''<ref name="nonwhite"> | |||
{{cite web | |||
| title = NPD leader charged for racist campaign against black player in national football team | |||
| url = http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,543287,00.html | |||
| publisher = | |||
| date = 25 Mar 08 | |||
| accessdate = July 21, 2009}}</ref> This design was never mass produced for public distribution, but copies were confiscated during a raid on the NPD's headquarters. Authorities had been hoping to find material linking the party to Nazism. When news of the poster spread, it was discovered by ], who noted that the image depicted a footballer wearing a white jersey with his number on it. Owomoyela, who played for the German national team in the years before the World Cup, proceeded to file a lawsuit against the party. Owomoyela is a German citizen of ]n descent. The party was able to delay the procedures but in April 2009 three party officials (], ] and ]) were sentenced for ] (Voigt and Bieler to 7 months on probation, Schwerdt to 10 months on probation)<ref>, sueddeutsche.de, 25. April 2009</ref>. | |||
In November 2008, shortly after the ], the NPD published a document entitled "Africa conquers the White House" which stated that the election of ] as the first ] ] was the result of "the American alliance of ] and ]es" and that Obama aimed to destroy the ]' "]". The NPD claimed, "A non-white America is a declaration of war on all people who believe an organically grown social order based on language and culture, history and heritage to be the essence of humanity" and "Barack Obama hides this declaration of war behind his pushy sunshine smile." The NPD also stated that the extensive support for Obama in Germany "resembles an African tropical disease."<ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206001453/http://www.jta.org/2008/11/11/news-opinion/world/german-pol-decries-jewish-negro-alliance|date=6 February 2016}}, Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA), 11 November 2008 (retrieved on 5 December 2008.)</ref><ref> by Jon Swaine, Telegraph.co.uk, 11 November 2008.</ref><ref> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210402065702/https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/10/AR2008111002810_pf.html|date=2 April 2021}} by Craig Whitlock, Washington Post, page A15, 11 November 2008 (retrieved on 5 December 2008).</ref> | |||
In September 2009, another incident involving the NPD and a football player of the German national team was reported. In a television show of a regional channel, NPD spokesman Beier called midfielder ] a "Plaste-Deutscher", meaning someone who is not a born German, but one that is made by naturalization, particularly for certain benefits. The ] announced that they would immediately file a lawsuit against the NPD and their spokesman, should the player want it.<ref>http://sport.de.msn.com/fussball-article.aspx?cp-documentid=149765548</ref> | |||
In September 2009, another incident involving the NPD and a football player of the Germany national team was reported. In a television show of a regional channel, NPD spokesman Beier called midfielder ] a "Plaste-Deutscher" ("Plastic German" or "ID Card German"), meaning someone who is not born German, but becomes German by naturalization, particularly for certain benefits. The ] announced that they would immediately file a lawsuit against the NPD and their spokesman, if requested by Özil.<ref>{{cite web|date=31 December 1999|title=NPD-Politiker beleidigt Özil – DFB prüft Klage – Fußball – MSN Sport|url=http://sport.de.msn.com/fussball-article.aspx?cp-documentid=149765548|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090922191454/http://sport.de.msn.com/fussball-article.aspx?cp-documentid=149765548|archive-date=22 September 2009|access-date=15 October 2015|publisher=Sport.de.msn.com}}</ref> | |||
The NPD also took part in a "holocaust vigil" for Gaza against Israel during ] in support of the Palestinians.<ref>http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull&cid=1232292928927</ref> Charlotte Knobloch, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, warned ""Joint hatred of everything Jewish is unifying neo-Nazis and Islamists... German-Palestinians protestors unashamedly admitted that they would vote for the NPD during the next election."<ref>http://www.eurojewcong.org/ejc/news.php?id_article=3517</ref> | |||
During the ] in 2009, the NPD planned a "Holocaust" vigil for ] in support of the ]. Charlotte Knobloch, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said "joint hatred of everything Jewish is unifying neo-Nazis and ]s." Knobloch claimed German-Palestinian protestors "unashamedly admitted" that they would vote for the NPD during the next election.<ref>{{cite web|last=Weinthal|first=Benjamin|date=22 January 2009|title=European Jewish Congress – Neo-Nazis plan Gaza 'Holocaust' vigil in Berlin|url=http://www.eurojewcong.org/20/3517-neo-nazis-plan-gaza-holocaust-vigil-in-berlin.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030647/http://www.eurojewcong.org/20/3517-neo-nazis-plan-gaza-holocaust-vigil-in-berlin.html|archive-date=4 March 2016|access-date=19 April 2012|publisher=Eurojewcong.org}}</ref> | |||
In April 2009, the party was fined 2.5 million ] for filing incorrect financial statements, resulting, according to ], in "serious financial trouble" for its administration.<ref name=con>. ]. Published April 24, 2009.</ref> | |||
In 2009, the NPD hung ] posters with ] ''"Polen-Invasion Stoppen"'' ("Stop the Polish invasion") in ] and ]. Mayor of Görlitz and then ], ], condemned the posters.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Polen Invasion stoppen! - reakcja włodarzy i Merkel |url=https://www.zinfo.pl/artykuly/1399 |access-date=2022-07-03 |website=www.zinfo.pl}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2009-08-02 |title=Antypolskie plakaty na niemieckich słupach |url=https://wiadomosci.dziennik.pl/wydarzenia/artykuly/92500,antypolskie-plakaty-na-niemieckich-slupach.html |access-date=2022-07-03 |website=wiadomosci.dziennik.pl |language=pl}}</ref> | |||
On Wednesday the 23rd of September 2009, four days before the ], German police raided the Berlin headquarters of the NPD to investigate claims that letters sent from the NPD to politicians from immigrant backgrounds incited racial hatred. The NPD leader in Berlin, defended the letters saying that "As part of a democracy we're entitled to say if something doesn't suit us in this country,".<ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref><ref></ref> | |||
In April 2009, the party was fined 2.5 million ]s for filing incorrect financial statements, resulting, according to German broadcaster ], in "serious financial trouble" for its administration.<ref name="con"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427091913/http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,4204566,00.html|date=27 April 2009}}. ]. Published 24 April 2009.</ref> | |||
==Party leaders of NPD== | |||
*] 1964-1967 | |||
On 23 September 2009, four days before the ], German police raided the Berlin headquarters of the NPD to investigate claims that letters sent from the NPD to politicians from immigrant backgrounds ]. The NPD leader in Berlin defended the letters saying that "As part of a democracy, we're entitled to say if something doesn't suit us in this country."<ref>{{cite news|date=23 September 2009|title=German 'race hate' letters probed|publisher=BBC News|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8270598.stm|url-status=live|access-date=19 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120416042034/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8270598.stm|archive-date=16 April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=22 September 2009|title=NPD sends offensive letter to candidates with Turkish background|publisher=Deutsche Welle|url=http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,4713188,00.html?maca=en-currentaffairs_germany-77-rdf|url-status=dead|access-date=15 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121009175425/http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,4713188,00.html?maca=en-currentaffairs_germany-77-rdf|archive-date=9 October 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=23 September 2009|title=Neo-Nazis tell immigrants to 'go home'|agency=Agence France-Presse|url=http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,26113608-401,00.html|url-status=dead|access-date=15 October 2015|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231034847/http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,26113608-401,00.html|archive-date=31 December 2012}} </ref><ref>{{cite web|date=22 September 2009|title=Anger results after German neo-Nazis tell immigrant candidates to 'go home'|url=http://www.canada.com/news/Anger+results+after+German+Nazis+tell+immigrant+candidates+home/2019845/story.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091107230726/http://www.canada.com/news/Anger+results+after+German+Nazis+tell+immigrant+candidates+home/2019845/story.html|archive-date=7 November 2009|access-date=15 October 2015|website=Canada.com}}</ref> | |||
*] 1967-1971 | |||
*] 1971-1990 | |||
On 24 June 2024, it was announced that two parliamentary groups consisting of members of the ] and ''Die Heimat'' had been formed in the ] town of ] and the district of ]. In Lauchhammer, the joint parliamentary group will be represented in the town council under the name "AfDplus", while the "Heimat & Zukunft" parliamentary group has been formed in the district council of Oberspreewald-Lausitz. Thomas Gürtler from ''Die Heimat'' will play a leading role in both bodies. This development is seen as the first official coalition between the AfD and the far-right party ''Die Heimat''. The formation of the parliamentary groups was supported by statements made by AfD chairman ], who emphasised that there would be no "firewalls" to other parties at local level.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Müller |first=Ann-Katrin |date=2024-06-24 |title=AfD gründet erste Fraktionen gemeinsam mit Neonazipartei |url=https://www.spiegel.de/politik/deutschland/afd-gruendet-in-brandenburg-erste-fraktion-mit-die-heimat-ex-npd-a-f48d35cc-4113-4709-bc8c-081aae4de979 |access-date=2024-06-26 |work=Der Spiegel |language=de |issn=2195-1349}}</ref> | |||
*] 1991-1996 | |||
*] 1996-present | |||
====2011 banning attempt==== | |||
In 2011, authorities were reportedly trying to link the party, and specifically 30-year-old national organization director Patrick Wieschke, to the so-called "]". This raised the possibility of another effort to outlaw the party. The cell had been implicated in a string of murders and the November robbery of a savings bank in ]. Authorities were also pursuing a gun case against Ralf Wohlleben, former deputy chairman of the party's branch in ], though the latter case was reportedly unlikely to translate into a national-level challenge to the party's legal standing.<ref>Bartsch, Matthias et al. (alpha list), | |||
{{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111208124921/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,802014,00.html|date=8 December 2011}}, Der Spiegel, 12/07/2011. Trans. from the German by Christopher Sultan. Retrieved 8 December 2011.</ref> The likelihood of success of renewed banning attempts has been questioned, given the ] has over 130 informants in the party, some in high positions, raising the question of whether the party is effectively controlled by the government.<ref>{{cite news|title=Infiltrating the Far-Right: German Intelligence Has 130 Informants in Extremist Party – SPIEGEL ONLINE|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,803136,00.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120322000003/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,803136,00.html|archive-date=22 March 2012|access-date=19 April 2012|work=Der Spiegel|date=12 December 2011}}</ref> | |||
====2012 Thor Steinar clothing controversy==== | |||
In June 2012, several NPD members of Saxony's parliament attended the parliament's sittings wearing clothing from ], a clothing brand that is popular amongst neo-Nazis; the legislature responded by saying that such provocative clothing was not permitted to be worn in the parliament and demanded that the NPD's members remove and replace their attire; the NPD's members refused, resulting in the members being expelled from the parliament and banned from attending the next three parliamentary sittings.<ref name="bbc.co.uk">" {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181020225719/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-18429463|date=20 October 2018}}", BBC News, 13 June 2012. Accessed on 17 June 2012.</ref> The NPD members denied accusations that they wore the shirts as a deliberate provocation.<ref name="bbc.co.uk"/> | |||
====2012 banning attempt==== | |||
German officials tried to outlaw the party again in December 2012, with the interior ministers of all 16 states recommending a ban. The Federal Constitutional Court is yet to vote on the recommendation.<ref>{{cite news|date=6 December 2012|title=Germany seeks to ban far-right party|work=3 News NZ|url=http://www.3news.co.nz/Germany-seeks-to-ban-far-right-party/tabid/417/articleID/279402/Default.aspx|url-status=dead|access-date=5 December 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130928210537/http://www.3news.co.nz/Germany-seeks-to-ban-far-right-party/tabid/417/articleID/279402/Default.aspx|archive-date=28 September 2013}}</ref> In March 2013 the Merkel government said it would not try to ban the NPD.<ref> 20 March 2013 New York Times</ref> | |||
====2016 banning attempt==== | |||
German officials again tried to outlaw the NPD by submitting a request to the Federal Constitutional Court in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web|date=4 March 2016|title=Germany wants to ban the neo-Nazis of the NPD again, but why now? | Cas Mudde|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2016/mar/04/germany-ban--neo-nazi-npd-refugees-far-right|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210211222635/https://www.theguardian.com/world/commentisfree/2016/mar/04/germany-ban--neo-nazi-npd-refugees-far-right|archive-date=11 February 2021|access-date=2 April 2021|website=the Guardian}}</ref> | |||
On 17 January 2017, the second senate of the Federal Constitutional Court rejected the attempt to outlaw the party. The reasoning behind the decision was that the NPD's political significance is virtually nonexistent at both the state and federal levels and that as such, the party had no chance of posing a significant threat to the constitutional order. It was also reasoned that outlawing the party would not change the mindset and political ideology of its members and supporters, who in the event of a ban could simply form a new movement under a different name. | |||
However, the Court also openly acknowledged that NPD is unconstitutional based on its manifesto and ideology, citing "links to neo-Nazism" and that "anti-semitism was a structural element of the party ideology" in its reasoning.<ref name=":0">BVerfG, Urteil des Zweiten Senats vom 17 January 2017 | |||
- 2 BvB 1/13 - Rn. (1-1010), http://www.bverfg.de/e/bs20170117_2bvb000113.html {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170118053803/http://www.bverfg.de/e/bs20170117_2bvb000113.html|date=18 January 2017}} ''(in German)''</ref> The Court also indirectly suggested that state grants or other financial contributions should not be given to such parties to further their unconstitutional cause.<ref name=":0" /> This prompted calls by the public for the proposal of a ] which would forbid unconstitutional parties' financing to the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. The proposal was criticized by the interior policy spokesman of ],<ref name="G">, Ben Knight. Deutsche Welle. 20 January 2017. Accessed 20 January 2017</ref> who claimed that such a constitutional amendment could stand to serve as a politically dubious way to remove a political opponent. Constitutional law professor {{Interlanguage link|Hans Herbert von Arnim|de}} warned that such a constitutional amendment would apply to all extra-parliamentary parties, not just the NPD.<ref name="G" /> | |||
The German legislative bodies then created the possibility of a funding freeze for parties after the second NPD ban procedure failed in 2017. In 2019, the ], ] and ] jointly submitted a proposal to exclude the NPD from state funding. In January 2024 the Federal Constitutional Court allowed the freezing of state funding for six years, saying that the party "aimed to undermine or eliminate the country’s democratic system".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/1/23/german-court-cuts-funding-to-radical-far-right-party|title=German court cuts funding to hardline far-right party|work=]|date=23 January 2024|access-date=23 January 2024}}</ref> | |||
The German ], in its verdict, considered the party's demand for a referendum on the ] as anti-constitutional and incompatible with the ].<ref name="bverg-urteil">{{Cite web|url=http://www.bundesverfassungsgericht.de/SharedDocs/Entscheidungen/DE/2017/01/bs20170117_2bvb000113.html|title=Bundesverfassungsgericht - Entscheidungen - Kein Verbot der NPD wegen fehlender Anhaltspunkte für eine erfolgreiche Durchsetzung ihrer verfassungsfeindlichen Ziele}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
===2023 renaming to ''Die Heimat''=== | |||
The party renamed itself to {{Lang|de|Die Heimat}} ("The Homeland") at the party congress in ] in early June 2023. 77% voted in favor of the name change.<ref name=":3" /> | |||
==Platform and ideology== | |||
{{neo-fascism}} | |||
], former leader of the NPD, standing in front of a banner depicting Nazi leader ]. Hess, who died in prison in 1987, is considered a martyr by the NPD,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article712475/Ehemaliger_Pfleger_von_Rudolf_Hess_wirbt_bei_NPD.html |title=Ehemaliger Pfleger von Rudolf Heß wirbt bei NPD |publisher=Morgenpost.de |date=23 July 2008 |access-date=19 April 2012 |archive-date=25 March 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120325030308/http://www.morgenpost.de/berlin/article712475/Ehemaliger_Pfleger_von_Rudolf_Hess_wirbt_bei_NPD.html |url-status=live}}</ref> and the party attempted to nominate him for a ] in 2007.<ref>{{cite news|title=After Nominating Rudolf Hess for Nobel Peace Prize: NPD Leader Charged with Inciting Race Hate|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/after-nominating-rudolf-hess-for-nobel-peace-prize-npd-leader-charged-with-inciting-race-hate-a-501910.html|access-date=15 October 2015|work=Der Spiegel|publisher=Reuters|date=24 August 2007|archive-date=24 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924145730/http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/after-nominating-rudolf-hess-for-nobel-peace-prize-npd-leader-charged-with-inciting-race-hate-a-501910.html|url-status=live}}</ref>]] | |||
The Homeland is a ] political party.<ref name="neonazi" /><ref name="aljazeera20231108" /> It calls itself a party of "grandparents and grandchildren" because the ] in Germany, known for the leftist ], strongly opposes the NPD's policies. The NPD's economic program promotes ] for Germans and control against ]. They discredit and reject the "liberal-capitalist system".<ref name="auto"> {{dead link|date=December 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes}} Verfassungsschutz MV, 2 December 2008</ref> | |||
The Homeland argues that ] fails to represent the interests and needs of European people. The party considers the ] to be little more than a reorganization of a ]-style government of Europe along financial lines.<ref>NPD party programme (in German) http://npd.de/inhalte/daten/dateiablage/br_parteiprogramm_a4.pdf {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319035429/https://npd.de/inhalte/daten/dateiablage/br_parteiprogramm_a4.pdf |date=19 March 2016}}</ref> Although highly critical of the EU, as long as Germany remains a part of it, The Homeland opposes ] into the organization. Voigt envisions future collaboration and continued friendly relations with other nationalists and ]. The Homeland is strongly ], frequently criticizing the policies and activities of ].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Schreiber |first1=Manfried |last2=Chen |first2=Yung Ping |title=Ideology of the National Democratic Party of Germany |date=1971 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/42588238 |journal=Journal of Thought |volume=6 |issue=2 |pages=88–104 |jstor=42588238 |issn=0022-5231}}</ref> | |||
The Homeland's platform asserts that Germany is larger than the present-day Federal Republic, and calls for a return of ], a foreign policy position abandoned by the German government in 1990.<ref name="auto1"/> | |||
In the early 21st century, long-standing efforts to ban the party were renewed.<ref name="Britannica1">{{cite web|title=National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD)|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Democratic-Party-of-Germany|publisher=]|access-date=9 November 2015|archive-date=17 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117032806/https://www.britannica.com/topic/National-Democratic-Party-of-Germany|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2005 report of the ] contains the following description: | |||
<blockquote>The party continues to pursue a "people's front" of the nationalists the NPD, ], and forces not attached to any party, which is supposed to develop into a base for an encompassing 'German people's movement'. The aggressive agitation of the NPD unabashedly aims towards the abolition of ] and the ], although the use of violence is currently still officially rejected for tactical reasons. Statements of the NPD document an essential affinity with Nazism; its agitation is ], ], ], ], and intends to disparage the democratic and lawful order of the constitution.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht |title=Report of the Verfassungsschutz |publisher=Verfassungsschutz.de |access-date=2012-04-19 |archive-date=11 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130111220158/http://www.verfassungsschutz.de/de/publikationen/verfassungsschutzbericht/ |url-status=live}}</ref></blockquote> | |||
], NPD leader from 2011 to 2013]] | |||
== Organization == | |||
=== Chairmen === | |||
{|class="wikitable" | |||
|- | |||
! colspan="2" | Leader | |||
! Tenure | |||
|- | |||
| 1 | |||
| ] | |||
| 1964–1967 | |||
|- | |||
| 2 | |||
| ] | |||
| 1967–1971 | |||
|- | |||
| 3 | |||
| ] | |||
| 1971–1990 | |||
|- | |||
| 4 | |||
| ] | |||
| 1991–1996 | |||
|- | |||
| 5 | |||
| ] | |||
| 1996–2011 | |||
|- | |||
| 6 | |||
| ] | |||
| 2011–2013 | |||
|- | |||
| 7 | |||
| ] | |||
| 2013–2014 | |||
|- | |||
| 8 | |||
| ] | |||
| 2014–present | |||
|} | |||
=== Youth wing === | |||
] | |||
{{lang|de|'''Junge Nationalisten'''}} (short: '''JN'''; until 13 January 2018 {{lang|de|'''Junge Nationaldemokraten'''}}) is the official youth organization of the party, founded in 1967. According to The Homeland's statutes, the JN are an "integral part" of the party.<ref name="Nationaldemokratische">{{cite web |date=16 June 2011 |title=Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands |url=https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/parteien/downloads/parteien/Nationaldemokratische_Partei_Deutschlands.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616051839/https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/de/parteien/downloads/parteien/Nationaldemokratische_Partei_Deutschlands.pdf |archive-date=16 June 2011 |access-date=29 September 2021}}</ref> | |||
The JN are committed to the basic program of the party, but represent these points of view much more aggressively, which is evident both during demonstrations and in political style. They are observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and classified as right-wing extremists. Their regular publication is called ''The Activist''.<ref> bundestag.de (in German)</ref> In this central organ, under the heading "The Federal Leader Has the Word", they describe themselves as "representatives of the national revolutionary wing within the NPD". The youth organization criticizes those in The Homeland who have made the "fight for parliaments" the "most important goal". Instead, "resistance and criticism are appropriate, since these developments run the risk of gradual adjustment and bourgeoisie".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://verfassungsschutzberichte.de/pdfs/vsbericht-2007.pdf|title=Verfassungsschutzbericht 2007|date=18 May 2008|publisher=Federal Office for Protection of the Constitution|via=Verfassungsschutzberichte.de}}</ref> The JN describe themselves as anti-imperialist. Among other things, they call for the withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://starweb.hessen.de/cache/hessen/vsbericht2009.pdf |title=Hessischer Verfassungsschutzbericht 2009 |access-date=9 October 2020 |archive-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202073305/http://starweb.hessen.de/cache/hessen/vsbericht2009.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> describe Israel as the "enemy of all peoples", and refer to it as becoming a parasitic state.<ref>{{lang|de|italic=no|"Lagebild Antisemitismus"}} | |||
Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. July 2020. p. 27.</ref> | |||
The JN maintains active contacts with a network of neo-Nazi organizations across Europe, like the ] whose ] it has attended, along with ] of Ukraine, ], ] and others.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://junge-nationalisten.de/allgemein/elaekoeoen-suomi-hurra-finnland/| title=Eläköön Suomi! – Hurra Finnland!| date=9 October 2020| work=Junge Nationalisten| access-date=9 October 2020| archive-date=10 October 2020| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201010165604/https://junge-nationalisten.de/allgemein/elaekoeoen-suomi-hurra-finnland/| url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://junge-nationalisten.de/europa/europa-jugend-regeneration-3-jn-europakongress-ein-rueckblick/ | title=Europa – Jugend – generation. 3. JN-Europakongress: Ein Rückblick | date=15 April 2020 | work=Junge Nationalisten | access-date=9 October 2020 | archive-date=22 October 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201022201358/https://junge-nationalisten.de/europa/europa-jugend-regeneration-3-jn-europakongress-ein-rueckblick/ | url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
=== Women's wing === | |||
In mid-September 2006, ''the Homeland'' founded a nationwide women's organisation, the ''Ring Nationaler Frauen'' (RNF). The party sub-organisation within ''the Homeland'' aims to act as a voice for female party members and provide a contact point for women who share nationalist views but are not affiliated with any political party.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Schierholz |first=Alexander |title=Gründung: NPD-Frauen knüpfen ein Netzwerk in Sachsen-Anhalt |url=https://www.mz.de/deutschland-und-welt/politik/grundung-npd-frauen-knupfen-ein-netzwerk-in-sachsen-anhalt-2802074 |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=www.mz.de |language=de}}</ref> Since late May 2017, ] has served as the national chairperson of this organization. | |||
=== Associated organizations === | |||
The Homeland runs its own "security service" ({{Lang|de|Ordungsdienst}}). The group is led by Manfred Börm.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Gewalttätiger NPD-Tross |url=https://www.endstation-rechts.de/news/gewalttaetiger-npd-tross |access-date=2023-07-19 |website=Endstation Rechts |language=de-DE}}</ref> | |||
==== Press organ and other party newspapers ==== | |||
''The Homeland'' has had various newspapers throughout its history. The official press organ was initially the ''Deutsche Nachrichten''. After a merger with the ''Deutsche Wochen-Zeitung'' (DWZ), bought by publisher and ''DVU'' chairman ] in 1986, it was renamed Deutsche Wochen-Zeitung - ''Deutscher Anzeiger''. In 1999, it was merged with the ], also published by Frey. The ''National-Zeitung'' was discontinued in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National-Zeitung - Deutsche Wochen-Zeitung |url=https://www.national-zeitung.de/ |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=National-Zeitung |language=de-DE}}</ref> | |||
The party's current press organ is ''Deutsche Stimme'', which has been published since 1976 and currently has a monthly circulation of 10,000. There are also regional and local publications such as ''Sachsen-Stimme'' and ''Zündstoff-Nachrichten''. | |||
=== Finances === | |||
The NPD's party assets were only small. At the end of 2005, property worth around 700,000 euros was offset by a loan, guarantee and credit burden of around one million euros.<ref name=":4"> (PDF; 29,4 MB)</ref> | |||
==== Shareholdings ==== | |||
''The Homeland'' holds a 100 per cent stake in ''Deutsche Stimme Verlags GmbH'' in ]. The publishing house, originally based in Bavaria, publishes the party newspaper ] as its main product. | |||
==== Financial assets ==== | |||
The party is dependent on donations due to its low financial reserves. Its income from contributions amounts to only half a million euros and it receives around one million euros from donations and contributions from elected representatives.<ref name=":4" /> In 2005, the NPD received seven donations totalling more than 10,000 euros, mainly from its own Members of Parliament. | |||
In late 2006, it was revealed that the German ] administration demanded the return of approximately 870,000 euros in ] from the party due to the issuance of fraudulent donation receipts in the Thuringia state association after 1996. These irregularities led to higher party financing, with false donations accounting for six percent of the total in 1997 and ten percent in 1998. Consequently, the Bundestag administration deemed the financial reports for these years to be significantly incorrect, leading to the complete recovery of the funding for those years.<ref>{{Cite web |last=tsarchive |date=2006-11-10 |title=Bundestag will 870.000 Euro von NPD zurück |url=https://tsarchive.wordpress.com/2006/11/10/meldung90338/ |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=tagesschau.de-Archiv |language=de-DE}}</ref><ref>''.'' Archived from the (no longer available online) on April 23, 2007; retrieved on July 3, 2024.</ref> As a result of this financial crisis, the party dismissed ten of its twelve employees at the federal headquarters. Additionally, reports indicated that much of The Homeland's real estate assets were heavily mortgaged, potentially rendering them unusable as collateral for future party financing payments.<ref>{{Cite web |last=tsarchive |date=2006-12-07 |title=NPD-Führung allein zu Hause |url=https://tsarchive.wordpress.com/2006/12/07/meldung76228/ |access-date=2024-07-03 |website=tagesschau.de-Archiv |language=de-DE}}</ref> | |||
=== International connections === | |||
Voigt has held meetings with various proponents of ], including ], a ] ], author, politician, and activist.<ref>{{cite web | last= Duke |first=David | author-link = David Duke | title = My Awakening: A Path to Racial Understanding | publisher = Free Speech Press | url = https://archive.org/stream/MyAwakeningAPathToRacialUnderstandingByDavidDuke/my-awakening-david-duke | access-date = 15 October 2015 | year=1998}}</ref> Between 1989 and 1992, the ] began to ally itself with the NPD in Germany and '']'' in ].<ref name="Feldman2004">{{cite book|first=Matthew|last=Feldman|title=Fascism: Post-war fascisms|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kne26UnE1wQC&pg=PA371|year=2004|publisher=Taylor & Francis|isbn=978-0-415-29020-3|page=371}}</ref> | |||
They have been in contact with ], the Irish anti-abortion group, since 1996.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/extreme-right-group-confirms-barrett-link-1.1098654|title=Extreme-right group confirms Barrett link|date=11 October 2002|page=1|quote="Justin Barrett was an honorary guest at our event in Passau. I invited him. He sat with the delegates," said Mr Holger Apfel, the deputy leader of the NPD. "We have been in contact with his group since 1996. We are friendly with his Youth Defence organisation."|first=Derek|last=Scully}}</ref> ], former leader of Youth Defence and former president of the ], has spoken at their events in Passau in 2000.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/neo-nazis-affirm-links-with-youth-defence-1.1098966|title='Neo-Nazis' affirm links with Youth Defence|first=Derek|last=Scully|date=12 October 2002|newspaper=The Irish Times|page=9|quote=A leading far-right politician in Germany has described the anti-abortion group Youth Defence as "an important part of our international network". Youth Defence is the backbone of the No to Nice Campaign, whose chief spokesman is Mr Justin Barrett.|access-date=5 January 2017|archive-date=14 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014083010/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/neo-nazis-affirm-links-with-youth-defence-1.1098966|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/barrett-admits-he-attended-far-right-meeting-1.1098970|date=12 October 2002|page=9|first=Joe|last=Humphreys|title=Barrett admits he attended far-right meeting|quote=Mr Barrett, who earlier this week declined to confirm or deny to The Irish Times his attendance at the meeting in the Bavarian city of Passau in May 2000, yesterday admitted he attended the conference, as well as an estimated two other events linked to the NPD.|access-date=5 January 2017|archive-date=14 October 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171014083022/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/barrett-admits-he-attended-far-right-meeting-1.1098970|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-08-27 |title=Far-right National Party's new leader James Reynolds says rural voters to be targeted in local elections |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/far-right-national-partys-new-leader-james-reynolds-says-rural-voters-to-be-targeted-in-local-elections/a75184170.html |access-date=2024-01-24 |website=Independent.ie |language=en}}</ref>] ]|214x214px]]The Homeland has also links with the Romanian ] group ].<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.vice.com/ro/article/jpmamb/extremist-din-noua-dreapta-care-era-sa-fie-parlamentar-in-romania | title=Am vorbit cu extremistul din Noua Dreaptă, cu nume de străin, care era să fie parlamentar în România | date=14 December 2016 }}</ref> | |||
==== Connections with Croatian far right ==== | |||
The party also has connections with ] parties and politicians in ]. In 2017, according to Dražen Keleminec, president of the marginal far-right ] (A-HSP), NPD party member Alexander Neidlein took part in the party's march to show their support and declare allegiance to then-recently elected American president ]. During the march, the party's members, dressed in black uniforms, waved NPD and American flags while shouting the ] salute {{Lang|hr|]}}. The following day, the ] in ] reacted by publishing a statement in which they strongly condemned the march and rejected any attempts to connect the United States with Ustasha ideology.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://balkaninsight.com/2017/02/27/us-condemns-zagreb-neo-nazi-march-for-trump-02-27-2017/|title=US Condemns Croatian Neo-Nazi March for Trump|date=27 February 2017|access-date=2 April 2021|archive-date=15 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210315155648/https://balkaninsight.com/2017/02/27/us-condemns-zagreb-neo-nazi-march-for-trump-02-27-2017/|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
In 2018, Croatian far-right MP ] took part in the NPD party congress in the town of ], and expressed his support for the party.<ref>{{ | |||
Cite web | |||
| access-date=2023-11-08 | |||
| date=2018-11-17 | |||
| first=Srećko | |||
| language=hr | |||
| last=Matić | |||
| title=Željko Glasnović – počasni gost na kongresu NPD – DW – 17.11.2018 | |||
| url=https://www.dw.com/hr/%C5%BEeljko-glasnovi%C4%87-po%C4%8Dasni-gost-na-kongresu-njema%C4%8Dkih-ekstremnih-desni%C4%8Dara/a-46341790 | |||
| website=dw.com | |||
}}</ref> | |||
==Election results == | |||
] | |||
===Federal Parliament (''Bundestag'')=== | |||
{| class=wikitable | |||
|- | |||
! rowspan=2|Election year | |||
! colspan=3|Constituency | |||
! colspan=3|Party list | |||
! rowspan=2|Seats won | |||
|- | |||
! Votes | |||
! % | |||
! +/– | |||
! Votes | |||
! % | |||
! +/– | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 587,216 | |||
| 1.8 | |||
| {{increase}} 1.8 | |||
| 664,193 | |||
| 2.0 | |||
| {{increase}} 2.0 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|518|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 1,189,375 | |||
| 3.6 | |||
| {{increase}} 1.8 | |||
| 1,422,010 | |||
| 4.3 | |||
| {{increase}} 2.3 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|518|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 194,389 | |||
| 0.5 | |||
| {{decrease}} 3.1 | |||
| 207,465 | |||
| 0.6 | |||
| {{decrease}} 3.7 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|518|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 136,023 | |||
| 0.4 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.1 | |||
| 122,661 | |||
| 0.3 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.3 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|518|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| style="background:lightgrey;"| | |||
| style="background:lightgrey;"| | |||
| style="background:lightgrey;"| | |||
| 68,096 | |||
| 0.2 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.1 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|497|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 57,112 | |||
| 0.1 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.3 | |||
| 91,095 | |||
| 0.2 | |||
| {{steady}} 0.0 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|498|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 182,880 | |||
| 0.5 | |||
| {{increase}} 0.4 | |||
| 227,054 | |||
| 0.6 | |||
| {{increase}} 0.4 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|497|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 190,105 | |||
| 0.4 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.1 | |||
| 145,776 | |||
| 0.3 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.3 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|662|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 45,043 | |||
| 0.1 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.3 | |||
| 126,571 | |||
| 0.3 | |||
| {{steady}} 0.0 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|669|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 103,209 | |||
| 0.2 | |||
| {{increase}} 0.1 | |||
| 215,232 | |||
| 0.4 | |||
| {{increase}} 0.1 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|603|hex=brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 857,777 | |||
| 1.8 | |||
| {{increase}} 1.6 | |||
| 748,568 | |||
| 1.6 | |||
| {{increase}} 1.2 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|614|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 768,442 | |||
| 1.8 | |||
| {{steady}} 0.0 | |||
| 635,525 | |||
| 1.5 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.1 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|620|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 634,842 | |||
| 1.5 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.3 | |||
| 560,828 | |||
| 1.3 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.2 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|630|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 45,239 | |||
| 0.1 | |||
| {{decrease}} 1.4 | |||
| 176,715 | |||
| 0.4 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.9 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|709|hex=Brown}} | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 1,089 | |||
| 0.0 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.1 | |||
| 64,608 | |||
| 0.1 | |||
| {{decrease}} 0.3 | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|709|hex=Brown}} | |||
|} | |||
===European Parliament=== | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;" | |||
! Election | |||
! Votes | |||
! % | |||
! Seats | |||
! +/– | |||
! EP Group | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 198,633 | |||
| 0.80 (#7) | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|81|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| New | |||
| rowspan=6 | – | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| colspan=2 | ''Did not contest'' | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|81|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| {{steady}} 0 | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 77,227 | |||
| 0.22 (#19) | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|99|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| {{steady}} 0 | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 107,662 | |||
| 0.40 (#10) | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|99|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| {{steady}} 0 | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 241,743 | |||
| 0.94 (#11) | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|99|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| {{steady}} 0 | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| colspan=2 | ''Did not contest'' | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|81|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| {{steady}} 0 | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 301,139 | |||
| 1.03 (#11) | |||
| {{Composition bar|1|99|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| {{increase}} 1 | |||
| '']'' | |||
|- | |||
! ]<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/europawahlen/2019/ergebnisse/bund-99.html|title=Results Germany - The Federal Returning Officer|website=bundeswahlleiter.de|access-date=2019-06-10|archive-date=10 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610173127/https://www.bundeswahlleiter.de/en/europawahlen/2019/ergebnisse/bund-99.html|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
| 101,323 | |||
| 0.27 (#16) | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|99|{{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| {{decrease}} 1 | |||
| rowspan=2 | – | |||
|- | |||
! ] | |||
| 41,006 | |||
| 0.10 (#27) | |||
| {{Composition bar|0|99|{{party color|The Homeland (German political party)}}}} | |||
| {{steady}} 0 | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
|+'''Best historic results for state parties''' | |||
!State | |||
!Seats / Total | |||
! % | |||
!Position/Gov. | |||
!Year | |||
!Lead Candidate | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|12|127|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 9.82 (#3) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| 1968 | |||
| Wilhelm Gutmann | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|15|204|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 7.42 (#3) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| 1966 | |||
| Siegfried Pöhlmann | |||
|- | |||
| ] {{efn|(formerly part of ])}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|149|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 2.56 (#8) | |||
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| ] | |||
|- | |||
| ] {{efn|(formerly part of ])}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|88|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 2.56 (#6) | |||
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| Klaus Beier | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|8|100|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 8.8 (#4) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| 1967 | |||
| Otto-Theodor Brouwer | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|120|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 3.9 (#4) | |||
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| ''unknown'' | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|8|96|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 7.9 (#4) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| ] | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|10|149|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 7.0 (#3) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| 1967 | |||
| ] | |||
|- | |||
| ] {{efn|(formerly part of ])}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|6|71|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 7.3 (#5) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| ] | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|200|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 1.08 (#4) | |||
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| ''unknown'' | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|4|100|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 6.9 (#4) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| Fritz May | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|51|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 4.0 (#5) | |||
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| Peter Marx | |||
|- | |||
| ] {{efn|(formerly part of ])}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|12|124|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 9.2 (#4) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| ] | |||
|- | |||
| ] {{efn|(formerly part of ])}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|105|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 4.6 (#5) | |||
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| Matthias Heyder | |||
|- | |||
| ] | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|4|73|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 5.85 (#4) | |||
| {{no2|Opposition}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| 1967 | |||
| Karl-Ernst Lober | |||
|- | |||
| ] {{efn|(formerly part of ])}} | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| {{composition bar|0|90|hex={{party color|National Democratic Party of Germany}}}} | |||
| 4.3 (#6) | |||
| align=center style="background:#ddd;"| No seats | |||
| style="text-align:center;"| ] | |||
| Frank Schwerdt | |||
|} | |||
== Literature == | |||
* Ackermann, Robert: ''Warum die NPD keinen Erfolg haben kann – Organisation, Programm und Kommunikation einer rechtsextremen Partei.'' Budrich, Opladen 2012, {{ISBN|978-3-86388-012-5}}. | |||
* Brandstetter, Marc: ''Die „neue“ NPD: Zwischen Systemfeindschaft und bürgerlicher Fassade. Parteienmonitor Aktuell der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung.'' Bonn 2012 | |||
* Brandstetter, Marc: ''Die NPD unter Udo Voigt. Organisation. Ideologie. Strategie'' (= ''Extremismus und Demokratie''. Bd. 25). Nomos Verlag, Baden-Baden 2013, {{ISBN|978-3-383-29708-3}}. | |||
* Prasse, Jan-Ole: ''Der kurze Höhenflug der NPD. Rechtsextreme Wahlerfolge in den 1960er Jahren.'' Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2010, {{ISBN|978-3-8288-2282-5}}. | |||
* Philippsberg, Robert: ''Die Strategie der NPD: Regionale Umsetzung in Ost- und Westdeutschland.'' Baden-Baden 2009. | |||
* apabiz e. V.: ''Die NPD – Eine Handreichung zu Programm, Struktur, Personal und Hintergründen.'' Zweite, aktualisierte Auflage. 2008. (PDF; 671 kB) | |||
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
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==Notes== | == Notes == | ||
{{ |
{{notelist}} | ||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
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Latest revision as of 17:35, 14 January 2025
For the East German political party, see National Democratic Party of Germany (East Germany). Far-right political party in Germany
The Homeland Die Heimat | |
---|---|
Party Chairman | Peter Schreiber |
Founder |
|
Founded | 28 November 1964; 60 years ago (1964-11-28) |
Headquarters | Carl-Arthur-Bühring-Haus, Seelenbinderstrasse 42, 12555 Berlin |
Ideology | Neo-Nazism German ultranationalism |
Colors |
|
Bundestag | 0 / 736 |
State Parliaments | 0 / 1,821 |
European Parliament | 0 / 96 |
Party flag | |
Website | |
die-heimat.de | |
The Homeland (German: Die Heimat), previously known as the National Democratic Party of Germany (German: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands, NPD), is a far-right neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany.
The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Party (German: Deutsche Reichspartei, DRP). Party statements also self-identified the party as Germany's "only significant patriotic force" (2012). On 1 January 2011, the nationalist German People's Union merged with the NPD and the party name of the National Democratic Party of Germany was extended by the addition of "The People's Union".
As a neo-Nazi organization, it has been referred to as "the most significant neo-Nazi party to emerge after 1945". The German Federal Agency for Civic Education, or BPB, has criticized the NPD for working with members of organizations which were later found unconstitutional by the federal courts and disbanded, while the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), Germany's domestic security agency, classifies The Homeland as a "threat to the constitutional order" because of its platform and ideology, and it is under their observation. An effort to outlaw the party failed in 2003, as the government had many informers and agents in the party, some in high position, who had written part of the material used against them. Since its founding in 1964, the party has never managed to win enough votes on the federal level to cross Germany's 5% minimum threshold for representation in the Bundestag; it has succeeded in crossing the 5% threshold and gaining representation in state parliaments 11 times, including one-convocation entry to seven West German state parliaments between November 1966 and April 1968 and two-convocation electoral success in two East German states of Saxony and Mecklenburg-Vorpommern between 2004 and 2011. Since 2016, The Homeland has not been represented in state parliaments. Udo Voigt led the NPD from 1996 to 2011. He was succeeded by Holger Apfel, who in turn was replaced by Udo Pastörs in December 2013. In November 2014, Pastörs was ousted and Frank Franz became the party's leader. Voigt was elected the party's first Member of the European Parliament in 2014. The party lost the seat in the 2019 European Parliament election. In June 2023, the party renamed itself to Die Heimat after a party vote.
On 23 January 2024, the Federal Constitutional Court excluded the party from party funding for six years, arguing that it continued to oppose the fundamental principles that are indispensable for the free democratic constitutional state and aimed to eliminate them.
History
20th century
In the 1950s, despite the lack of complete de-Nazification, early right-wing extremist parties in West Germany failed to attract voters away from the moderate government that had presided over Germany's recovery. In November 1964, however, right-wing splinter groups united to form the NPD. One of the four founding members was Adolf von Thadden, who entered politics as a member of the German Right Party and Deutsche Reichspartei before joining the NPD and serving as its chairman from 1967 to 1971. Owing to von Thadden's effective leadership the NPD achieved success in the late 1960s, winning local government seats across West Germany. In 1966 and 1967, fueled by West German discontent with a lagging economy and with the leadership of Chancellor Ludwig Erhard, the NPD won 15 seats in Bavaria, 10 in lower Saxony, 8 in Hesse, and several other seats. However, the NPD did not then and has never since received the minimum 5% of votes in federal elections that allow a party to send delegates to the German Parliament. The NPD came closest to that goal in the 1969 election, when it received 4.3 percent of the vote. Helping pave the way for these NPD gains were an economic downturn, frustrations with the emerging leftist youth counter-culture, and the emergence of a tripartite Grand Coalition among the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the Christian Social Union (the CDU's present-day sister party), and the centre-left Social Democratic Party (SPD). The coalition government had created a vacuum in the traditional political right wing, which the NPD tried to fill. Additionally, the party benefited from hostility to the growing immigrant population and fears that the government would relinquish claims to the "lost territories" (pre-World War II German territory east of the Oder-Neisse River). The historian Walter Laqueur has argued that the NPD in the 1960s cannot be classified as a neo-Nazi party.
Yet, when the coalition fell apart, around 75 percent of those who had voted for the NPD drifted back to the centre-right. During the 1970s, the NPD went into decline, suffering from an internal split over failing to get into the German Parliament. The issue of immigration spurred a small rebound in popular interest from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, but the party only saw limited success in various local elections.
Recent history
In September 2019, NPD politician Stefan Jagsch was elected as representative of Altenstadt-Waldsiedlung. The unanimous election of the NPD politician by the local council led to irritation and horror in other parties, such as Angela Merkel's Christian Democratic Union (CDU), the centre-left Social Democrats (SPD), and the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), whose local council members had voted for Jagsch.
Electoral history
Since its founding in 1964, The Homeland has only won seats in regional assemblies. Its successes in state parliaments can be grouped into two periods: the late 1960s (1966 in Hesse; 1967 in Bremen, Lower Saxony, Rhineland-Palatinate, and Schleswig-Holstein; and 1968 in Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria), and former East Germany since reunification (2006 and 2011 in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, 2004 and 2009 in Saxony).
In the 2004 state election in Saxony, the NPD won 9.2% of the overall vote. After the 2009 state election in Saxony, the NPD sent eight representatives to the Saxony state parliament, having lost four representatives since the 2004 election. The NPD lost their representation in Saxony in the 2014 state election. They also lost all representation in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern in the 2016 state election.
The NPD maintained a non-competition agreement with the German People's Union (DVU) between 2004 and 2009. The third nationalist-oriented party, the Republicans (REP), has so far refused to join this agreement. However, Kerstin Lorenz, a local representative of the Republicans in Saxony, sabotaged her party's registration to help the NPD in the Saxony election.
In the 2005 federal elections, the NPD received 1.6 percent of the vote nationally. It garnered the highest percent of votes in the states of Saxony (4.9 percent), Thuringia (3.7 percent), Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (3.5 percent) and Brandenburg (3.2 percent), all formerly part of East Germany. In most other states, the party won around 1 percent of the total votes cast. In the 2006 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern state election, the NPD received 7.3% of the vote and thus achieved state representation there, as well.
The NPD had 5,300 registered party members in 2004. Over the course of 2006, the NPD processed roughly 2,000 party applications to push the membership total over 7,200. In 2008, the trend of a growing number of members has been reversed and the party's membership is estimated at 7,000.
In the 2014 European elections, Udo Voigt was elected as the party's first Member of the European Parliament.
2001–2003 banning attempt
In 2001, the federal government, the Bundestag, and the Bundesrat jointly attempted to have the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany ban the NPD. The court, the highest court in Germany, has the exclusive power to ban parties if they are found to be "anti-constitutional" through the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. However, the petition was rejected in 2003 after it was discovered that a number of the NPD's inner circle, including as many as 30 of its top 200 leaders, were undercover agents or informants of the German secret services, like the federal Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. They include a former deputy chairman of the party and author of an anti-Semitic tract that formed a central part of the government's case. Since the secret services were unwilling to fully disclose their agents' identities and activities, the court found it impossible to decide which moves by the party were based on genuine party decisions and which were controlled by the secret services in an attempt to further the ban. The court determined that so many of the party's actions were influenced by the government that the resulting "lack of clarity" made it impossible to defend a ban. "The presence of the state at the leadership level makes influence on its aims and activities unavoidable," it concluded.
Horst Mahler, a former member of the far-left terrorist organization Red Army Faction, defended the NPD in court. In May 2009, several state politicians published an extensive document which they claim proves the NPD's opposition to the constitution without relying on information supplied by undercover agents. This move was intended to lead up to a second attempt to have the NPD banned.
Merger with DVU
At the 2010 NPD party conference at Bamberg it was announced that the party would ask its members to approve a merger with the German People's Union (DVU). After the merger on 1 January 2011, the combined party briefly used the name NPD – Die Volksunion (NPD - The People's Union). Between 2004 and 2009 the two parties had agreed not to compete against each other in elections. However, on 27 January 2011, Munich's Landgericht (regional court) in a preliminary injunction declared the merger null and void.
The Green Movement
The Homeland has recently supported the green movement. This is one of many strategies the party has used to try to gain supporters. Historically the opposing party the German Greens have fully supported the green movement in Germany. The German Greens group was a successful European ecological group that began in 1980. Kate Connolly who is a correspondent for The Guardian wrote the article: German far-right extremists tap into green movement for support. In the article Connolly explains the opposition between these two political groups pertaining to the green movement. The Artaman league is essential in understanding the green movements history. This was a farming movement that was inspired by the "blood and soil" ruralist ideology adopted from the Nazis. This farming movement affected the Mecklenburg region of Germany during the 19th century. Settlers at this time took advantage of the cheap cost of land in these rural communities. These settlers were in support of the Artaman league and continued to reinforce the ideology.
The NDP's plans are to take the ecological movement back from the German Greens group. Connolly spoke to different farmers, organizations, and employees of the government to represent the different perspectives of the ecological movement. Hans-Gunter Laimer, a farmer who ran for office for the NPD, mentions his frustration that the German Greens groups has dominated the organic farming market for too long. He has also been linked to other German groups specifically Umwelt and Aktiv. Both political parties are concerned with the ways they are in opposition to one another. The Homeland supporters of the green movement are in favor of local produce. However, they are against GMOS, pesticides, and intensive livestock. Organizations involved in the farming industry have lost consumers because they are not able to state what the political views of the farmers products are to the consumer. For example, BioPark is an organic cultivation organization with a vetting process to certify organic farmers. The vetting process is strictly based on cultivation methods and not on political affiliations. BioPark has lost customers because left-leaning supporters worry buying local organic produce is supporting the far-right extremist.
The department of rural enlightenment has supported the importance of distinguishing between these two political parties. The department created a brochure called "Nature Conservation Versus Right-wing Extremist". The brochure was created in order to help consumers distinguish from the far-right extremists. Other representatives from the government have spoken on this divide. For example, Connolly mentions a representative of the Centre for Democratic culture in Mecklenburg who chose to stay anonymous in order to protect themself. The representative stated the goal of the NDP is to build bridges between citizens. The NDP is strategic in the way they are going about this in a subtle quite manner. The result the NDP is trying to achieve is to reinforce the division between the two political parties for when NDP no longer becomes associated with politics.
World War II and Holocaust commemoration controversies
In 2005, the Landtag of Saxony held a minute of silence for the victims of Nazi Germany. Holger Apfel, leader of the NPD in Saxony and deputy leader of the party nationwide, boycotted the remembrance along with 11 other NPD politicians and staged a walkout from the Landtag chamber. He also gave a speech in which he demanded a moment of silence be held for the victims of the bombing of Dresden in 1945 and called the Allies of World War II "mass murderers", stating that "Today we in this parliament are taking up the political battle for historical truth, and against the servitude of guilt of the German people... The causes of the holocaust bombing of Dresden have nothing to do with either 1 September 1939 or with 30 January 1933." Apfel's speech caused politicians from other parties in the Landtag to walk out in protest.
Udo Voigt voiced his support for Apfel's and reiterated the statement, which some controversially claimed was a violation of the German law which forbids Holocaust denial. However, after a judicial review, it was decided that Voigt's description of the Allied bombing of Dresden as a "holocaust" was an exercise of free speech and "defamation of the dead" was not the purpose of his statement.
In 2009, the NPD joined the Junge Landsmannschaft Ostdeutschland in a demonstration on the anniversary of the bombing of Dresden in World War II. Roughly 6,000 people came to participate in the event.
Activism and controversy
The NPD's strategy has been to create "nationally liberated zones" and circumvent its marginal electoral status by concentrating on regions where support is strongest. In March 2006, musician Konstantin Wecker tried to set up an in-school anti-fascist concert in Halberstadt, Saxony-Anhalt two weeks before the state elections. The NPD argued that because of politics, the date and the in-school venue, the concert "was an unacceptable form of political campaigning." In protest, the NPD vowed to buy the tickets and turn up en masse at Wecker's show, which led local authorities to cancel the event. The Social Democrats and the Greens were outraged by the decision, which the Central Council of Jews in Germany criticized as "politically bankrupt".
The NPD was going to sponsor a march through Leipzig on 21 June 2006, as the 2006 World Cup was going on. The party wanted to show its support for the Iranian national football team, which was playing in Leipzig, and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. However, the NPD decided against the demonstration; only a counter-demonstration took place that day, in support of Israel. During the World Cup, the party's web site stated that due to the prevalence of people of non-German descent on the Germany national football team, the team "was not really German".
Later in 2006, the party designed leaflets, which said "White – not just the color of a jersey! For a true National team!" This leaflet was never mass-distributed, but copies were confiscated during a raid on the NPD's headquarters, when authorities had been hoping to find material linking the party to Nazism. Patrick Owomoyela was later informed about the poster after it was noted that the image depicted a footballer wearing a white jersey with Owomoyela's number on it. Owomoyela, of Nigerian descent, had played for the Germany national team in the years before the World Cup and proceeded to file a lawsuit against the party. The party was able to delay the procedures but in April 2009 three party officials, Udo Voigt, Frank Schwerdt, and Klaus Beier, were convicted of Volksverhetzung (incitement to hatred). Voigt and Beier were sentenced to 7 months of probation, and Schwerdt was sentenced to 10 months of probation.
In November 2008, shortly after the 2008 United States presidential election, the NPD published a document entitled "Africa conquers the White House" which stated that the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American President of the United States was the result of "the American alliance of Jews and Negroes" and that Obama aimed to destroy the United States' "white identity". The NPD claimed, "A non-white America is a declaration of war on all people who believe an organically grown social order based on language and culture, history and heritage to be the essence of humanity" and "Barack Obama hides this declaration of war behind his pushy sunshine smile." The NPD also stated that the extensive support for Obama in Germany "resembles an African tropical disease."
In September 2009, another incident involving the NPD and a football player of the Germany national team was reported. In a television show of a regional channel, NPD spokesman Beier called midfielder Mesut Özil a "Plaste-Deutscher" ("Plastic German" or "ID Card German"), meaning someone who is not born German, but becomes German by naturalization, particularly for certain benefits. The German Football Association announced that they would immediately file a lawsuit against the NPD and their spokesman, if requested by Özil.
During the Gaza War in 2009, the NPD planned a "Holocaust" vigil for Gaza in support of the Palestinians. Charlotte Knobloch, the head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, said "joint hatred of everything Jewish is unifying neo-Nazis and Islamists." Knobloch claimed German-Palestinian protestors "unashamedly admitted" that they would vote for the NPD during the next election.
In 2009, the NPD hung anti-Polish posters with slogan "Polen-Invasion Stoppen" ("Stop the Polish invasion") in Dresden and Görlitz. Mayor of Görlitz and then Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, condemned the posters.
In April 2009, the party was fined 2.5 million euros for filing incorrect financial statements, resulting, according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle, in "serious financial trouble" for its administration.
On 23 September 2009, four days before the federal elections, German police raided the Berlin headquarters of the NPD to investigate claims that letters sent from the NPD to politicians from immigrant backgrounds incited racial hatred. The NPD leader in Berlin defended the letters saying that "As part of a democracy, we're entitled to say if something doesn't suit us in this country."
On 24 June 2024, it was announced that two parliamentary groups consisting of members of the AfD and Die Heimat had been formed in the Brandenburg town of Lauchhammer and the district of Oberspreewald-Lausitz. In Lauchhammer, the joint parliamentary group will be represented in the town council under the name "AfDplus", while the "Heimat & Zukunft" parliamentary group has been formed in the district council of Oberspreewald-Lausitz. Thomas Gürtler from Die Heimat will play a leading role in both bodies. This development is seen as the first official coalition between the AfD and the far-right party Die Heimat. The formation of the parliamentary groups was supported by statements made by AfD chairman Tino Chrupalla, who emphasised that there would be no "firewalls" to other parties at local level.
2011 banning attempt
In 2011, authorities were reportedly trying to link the party, and specifically 30-year-old national organization director Patrick Wieschke, to the so-called "Zwickau terrorist cell". This raised the possibility of another effort to outlaw the party. The cell had been implicated in a string of murders and the November robbery of a savings bank in Eisenach. Authorities were also pursuing a gun case against Ralf Wohlleben, former deputy chairman of the party's branch in Thuringia, though the latter case was reportedly unlikely to translate into a national-level challenge to the party's legal standing. The likelihood of success of renewed banning attempts has been questioned, given the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has over 130 informants in the party, some in high positions, raising the question of whether the party is effectively controlled by the government.
2012 Thor Steinar clothing controversy
In June 2012, several NPD members of Saxony's parliament attended the parliament's sittings wearing clothing from Thor Steinar, a clothing brand that is popular amongst neo-Nazis; the legislature responded by saying that such provocative clothing was not permitted to be worn in the parliament and demanded that the NPD's members remove and replace their attire; the NPD's members refused, resulting in the members being expelled from the parliament and banned from attending the next three parliamentary sittings. The NPD members denied accusations that they wore the shirts as a deliberate provocation.
2012 banning attempt
German officials tried to outlaw the party again in December 2012, with the interior ministers of all 16 states recommending a ban. The Federal Constitutional Court is yet to vote on the recommendation. In March 2013 the Merkel government said it would not try to ban the NPD.
2016 banning attempt
German officials again tried to outlaw the NPD by submitting a request to the Federal Constitutional Court in 2016.
On 17 January 2017, the second senate of the Federal Constitutional Court rejected the attempt to outlaw the party. The reasoning behind the decision was that the NPD's political significance is virtually nonexistent at both the state and federal levels and that as such, the party had no chance of posing a significant threat to the constitutional order. It was also reasoned that outlawing the party would not change the mindset and political ideology of its members and supporters, who in the event of a ban could simply form a new movement under a different name. However, the Court also openly acknowledged that NPD is unconstitutional based on its manifesto and ideology, citing "links to neo-Nazism" and that "anti-semitism was a structural element of the party ideology" in its reasoning. The Court also indirectly suggested that state grants or other financial contributions should not be given to such parties to further their unconstitutional cause. This prompted calls by the public for the proposal of a constitutional amendment which would forbid unconstitutional parties' financing to the Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany. The proposal was criticized by the interior policy spokesman of Die Linke, who claimed that such a constitutional amendment could stand to serve as a politically dubious way to remove a political opponent. Constitutional law professor Hans Herbert von Arnim [de] warned that such a constitutional amendment would apply to all extra-parliamentary parties, not just the NPD.
The German legislative bodies then created the possibility of a funding freeze for parties after the second NPD ban procedure failed in 2017. In 2019, the Bundestag, Bundesrat and federal government jointly submitted a proposal to exclude the NPD from state funding. In January 2024 the Federal Constitutional Court allowed the freezing of state funding for six years, saying that the party "aimed to undermine or eliminate the country’s democratic system".
The German Federal Constitutional Court, in its verdict, considered the party's demand for a referendum on the reintroduction of capital punishment as anti-constitutional and incompatible with the liberal democratic basic order.
2023 renaming to Die Heimat
The party renamed itself to Die Heimat ("The Homeland") at the party congress in Riesa in early June 2023. 77% voted in favor of the name change.
Platform and ideology
The Homeland is a neo-Nazi political party. It calls itself a party of "grandparents and grandchildren" because the 1960s generation in Germany, known for the leftist student movement, strongly opposes the NPD's policies. The NPD's economic program promotes social security for Germans and control against plutocracy. They discredit and reject the "liberal-capitalist system".
The Homeland argues that NATO fails to represent the interests and needs of European people. The party considers the European Union to be little more than a reorganization of a Soviet-style government of Europe along financial lines. Although highly critical of the EU, as long as Germany remains a part of it, The Homeland opposes Turkey's incorporation into the organization. Voigt envisions future collaboration and continued friendly relations with other nationalists and European nationalist parties. The Homeland is strongly anti-Zionist, frequently criticizing the policies and activities of Israel.
The Homeland's platform asserts that Germany is larger than the present-day Federal Republic, and calls for a return of German territory lost after World War II, a foreign policy position abandoned by the German government in 1990.
In the early 21st century, long-standing efforts to ban the party were renewed. The 2005 report of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution contains the following description:
The party continues to pursue a "people's front" of the nationalists the NPD, DVU, and forces not attached to any party, which is supposed to develop into a base for an encompassing 'German people's movement'. The aggressive agitation of the NPD unabashedly aims towards the abolition of parliamentary democracy and the democratic constitutional state, although the use of violence is currently still officially rejected for tactical reasons. Statements of the NPD document an essential affinity with Nazism; its agitation is racist, antisemitic, homophobic, revisionist, and intends to disparage the democratic and lawful order of the constitution.
Organization
Chairmen
Leader | Tenure | |
---|---|---|
1 | Friedrich Thielen | 1964–1967 |
2 | Adolf von Thadden | 1967–1971 |
3 | Martin Mussgnug | 1971–1990 |
4 | Günter Deckert | 1991–1996 |
5 | Udo Voigt | 1996–2011 |
6 | Holger Apfel | 2011–2013 |
7 | Udo Pastörs | 2013–2014 |
8 | Frank Franz | 2014–present |
Youth wing
Junge Nationalisten (short: JN; until 13 January 2018 Junge Nationaldemokraten) is the official youth organization of the party, founded in 1967. According to The Homeland's statutes, the JN are an "integral part" of the party.
The JN are committed to the basic program of the party, but represent these points of view much more aggressively, which is evident both during demonstrations and in political style. They are observed by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and classified as right-wing extremists. Their regular publication is called The Activist. In this central organ, under the heading "The Federal Leader Has the Word", they describe themselves as "representatives of the national revolutionary wing within the NPD". The youth organization criticizes those in The Homeland who have made the "fight for parliaments" the "most important goal". Instead, "resistance and criticism are appropriate, since these developments run the risk of gradual adjustment and bourgeoisie". The JN describe themselves as anti-imperialist. Among other things, they call for the withdrawal of German troops from Afghanistan, describe Israel as the "enemy of all peoples", and refer to it as becoming a parasitic state.
The JN maintains active contacts with a network of neo-Nazi organizations across Europe, like the Nordic Resistance Movement whose Finnish independence day march it has attended, along with National Corps of Ukraine, Bulgarian National Union, Serbian Action and others.
Women's wing
In mid-September 2006, the Homeland founded a nationwide women's organisation, the Ring Nationaler Frauen (RNF). The party sub-organisation within the Homeland aims to act as a voice for female party members and provide a contact point for women who share nationalist views but are not affiliated with any political party. Since late May 2017, Antje Mentzel has served as the national chairperson of this organization.
Associated organizations
The Homeland runs its own "security service" (Ordungsdienst). The group is led by Manfred Börm.
Press organ and other party newspapers
The Homeland has had various newspapers throughout its history. The official press organ was initially the Deutsche Nachrichten. After a merger with the Deutsche Wochen-Zeitung (DWZ), bought by publisher and DVU chairman Gerhard Frey in 1986, it was renamed Deutsche Wochen-Zeitung - Deutscher Anzeiger. In 1999, it was merged with the National-Zeitung, also published by Frey. The National-Zeitung was discontinued in 2019.
The party's current press organ is Deutsche Stimme, which has been published since 1976 and currently has a monthly circulation of 10,000. There are also regional and local publications such as Sachsen-Stimme and Zündstoff-Nachrichten.
Finances
The NPD's party assets were only small. At the end of 2005, property worth around 700,000 euros was offset by a loan, guarantee and credit burden of around one million euros.
Shareholdings
The Homeland holds a 100 per cent stake in Deutsche Stimme Verlags GmbH in Riesa. The publishing house, originally based in Bavaria, publishes the party newspaper Deutsche Stimme as its main product.
Financial assets
The party is dependent on donations due to its low financial reserves. Its income from contributions amounts to only half a million euros and it receives around one million euros from donations and contributions from elected representatives. In 2005, the NPD received seven donations totalling more than 10,000 euros, mainly from its own Members of Parliament.
In late 2006, it was revealed that the German Bundestag administration demanded the return of approximately 870,000 euros in party financing from the party due to the issuance of fraudulent donation receipts in the Thuringia state association after 1996. These irregularities led to higher party financing, with false donations accounting for six percent of the total in 1997 and ten percent in 1998. Consequently, the Bundestag administration deemed the financial reports for these years to be significantly incorrect, leading to the complete recovery of the funding for those years. As a result of this financial crisis, the party dismissed ten of its twelve employees at the federal headquarters. Additionally, reports indicated that much of The Homeland's real estate assets were heavily mortgaged, potentially rendering them unusable as collateral for future party financing payments.
International connections
Voigt has held meetings with various proponents of white nationalism, including David Duke, a US white nationalist, author, politician, and activist. Between 1989 and 1992, the International Third Position began to ally itself with the NPD in Germany and Forza Nuova in Italy.
They have been in contact with Youth Defence, the Irish anti-abortion group, since 1996. Justin Barrett, former leader of Youth Defence and former president of the National Party of Ireland, has spoken at their events in Passau in 2000.
The Homeland has also links with the Romanian neo-Legionary group Noua Dreaptă.
Connections with Croatian far right
The party also has connections with far-right parties and politicians in Croatia. In 2017, according to Dražen Keleminec, president of the marginal far-right Autochthonous Croatian Party of Rights (A-HSP), NPD party member Alexander Neidlein took part in the party's march to show their support and declare allegiance to then-recently elected American president Donald Trump. During the march, the party's members, dressed in black uniforms, waved NPD and American flags while shouting the Ustasha salute Za dom spremni. The following day, the U.S. embassy in Zagreb reacted by publishing a statement in which they strongly condemned the march and rejected any attempts to connect the United States with Ustasha ideology.
In 2018, Croatian far-right MP Željko Glasnović took part in the NPD party congress in the town of Büdingen, and expressed his support for the party.
Election results
Federal Parliament (Bundestag)
Election year | Constituency | Party list | Seats won | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | +/– | Votes | % | +/– | ||
1965 | 587,216 | 1.8 | 1.8 | 664,193 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 0 / 518 |
1969 | 1,189,375 | 3.6 | 1.8 | 1,422,010 | 4.3 | 2.3 | 0 / 518 |
1972 | 194,389 | 0.5 | 3.1 | 207,465 | 0.6 | 3.7 | 0 / 518 |
1976 | 136,023 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 122,661 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 / 518 |
1980 | 68,096 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0 / 497 | |||
1983 | 57,112 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 91,095 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0 / 498 |
1987 | 182,880 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 227,054 | 0.6 | 0.4 | 0 / 497 |
1990 | 190,105 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 145,776 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0 / 662 |
1998 | 45,043 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 126,571 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0 / 669 |
2002 | 103,209 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 215,232 | 0.4 | 0.1 | 0 / 603 |
2005 | 857,777 | 1.8 | 1.6 | 748,568 | 1.6 | 1.2 | 0 / 614 |
2009 | 768,442 | 1.8 | 0.0 | 635,525 | 1.5 | 0.1 | 0 / 620 |
2013 | 634,842 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 560,828 | 1.3 | 0.2 | 0 / 630 |
2017 | 45,239 | 0.1 | 1.4 | 176,715 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0 / 709 |
2021 | 1,089 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 64,608 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 0 / 709 |
European Parliament
Election | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | EP Group |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1984 | 198,633 | 0.80 (#7) | 0 / 81 | New | – |
1989 | Did not contest | 0 / 81 | 0 | ||
1994 | 77,227 | 0.22 (#19) | 0 / 99 | 0 | |
1999 | 107,662 | 0.40 (#10) | 0 / 99 | 0 | |
2004 | 241,743 | 0.94 (#11) | 0 / 99 | 0 | |
2009 | Did not contest | 0 / 81 | 0 | ||
2014 | 301,139 | 1.03 (#11) | 1 / 99 | 1 | NI |
2019 | 101,323 | 0.27 (#16) | 0 / 99 | 1 | – |
2024 | 41,006 | 0.10 (#27) | 0 / 99 | 0 |
State | Seats / Total | % | Position/Gov. | Year | Lead Candidate |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Baden-Württemberg | 12 / 127 | 9.82 (#3) | Opposition | 1968 | Wilhelm Gutmann |
Bavaria | 15 / 204 | 7.42 (#3) | Opposition | 1966 | Siegfried Pöhlmann |
Berlin | 0 / 149 | 2.56 (#8) | No seats | 2006 | Udo Voigt |
Brandenburg | 0 / 88 | 2.56 (#6) | No seats | 2009 | Klaus Beier |
Bremen | 8 / 100 | 8.8 (#4) | Opposition | 1967 | Otto-Theodor Brouwer |
Hamburg | 0 / 120 | 3.9 (#4) | No seats | 1966 | unknown |
Hesse | 8 / 96 | 7.9 (#4) | Opposition | 1966 | Heinrich Fassbender |
Lower Saxony | 10 / 149 | 7.0 (#3) | Opposition | 1967 | Adolf von Thadden |
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern | 6 / 71 | 7.3 (#5) | Opposition | 2006 | Udo Pastörs |
North Rhine-Westphalia | 0 / 200 | 1.08 (#4) | No seats | 1970 | unknown |
Rhineland-Palatinate | 4 / 100 | 6.9 (#4) | Opposition | 1967 | Fritz May |
Saarland | 0 / 51 | 4.0 (#5) | No seats | 2004 | Peter Marx |
Saxony | 12 / 124 | 9.2 (#4) | Opposition | 2004 | Holger Apfel |
Saxony-Anhalt | 0 / 105 | 4.6 (#5) | No seats | 2011 | Matthias Heyder |
Schleswig-Holstein | 4 / 73 | 5.85 (#4) | Opposition | 1967 | Karl-Ernst Lober |
Thuringia | 0 / 90 | 4.3 (#6) | No seats | 2009 | Frank Schwerdt |
Literature
- Ackermann, Robert: Warum die NPD keinen Erfolg haben kann – Organisation, Programm und Kommunikation einer rechtsextremen Partei. Budrich, Opladen 2012, ISBN 978-3-86388-012-5.
- Brandstetter, Marc: Die „neue“ NPD: Zwischen Systemfeindschaft und bürgerlicher Fassade. Parteienmonitor Aktuell der Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung. Bonn 2012 (online)
- Brandstetter, Marc: Die NPD unter Udo Voigt. Organisation. Ideologie. Strategie (= Extremismus und Demokratie. Bd. 25). Nomos Verlag, Baden-Baden 2013, ISBN 978-3-383-29708-3.
- Prasse, Jan-Ole: Der kurze Höhenflug der NPD. Rechtsextreme Wahlerfolge in den 1960er Jahren. Tectum-Verlag, Marburg 2010, ISBN 978-3-8288-2282-5.
- Philippsberg, Robert: Die Strategie der NPD: Regionale Umsetzung in Ost- und Westdeutschland. Baden-Baden 2009.
- apabiz e. V.: Die NPD – Eine Handreichung zu Programm, Struktur, Personal und Hintergründen. Zweite, aktualisierte Auflage. 2008. (online) (PDF; 671 kB)
See also
- Far-right politics in Germany
- German nationalism
- Irredentism
- Politics of Germany
- List of political parties in Germany
- Frank Rennicke
- Frank Franz
- List of National Democratic Party of Germany politicians
Notes
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
- (formerly part of East Germany)
References
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External links
- 2010 party platform of the NPD (in German)
- History of the National Democratic Party
- BBC news: Poll boost for German far right
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Represented in the Bundestag (733 seats) | |||||||
Represented in the European Parliament (96 seats for Germany) |
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Represented in the 16 state parliaments (1,893 seats) |
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Minor parties (without representation at the state level or above) |
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Notes:
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Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present) | |||
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Political parties and groups |
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People |
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German law | |||
Lists | |||
Related articles |
- 1964 establishments in West Germany
- Antisemitism in Germany
- Anti-Zionism in Germany
- Eurosceptic parties in Germany
- Far-right political parties in Germany
- Neo-Nazi political parties in Germany
- Political parties established in 1964
- Anti-immigration politics in Germany
- Economic nationalism
- Social conservative parties
- Organizations that oppose LGBTQ rights in Germany