The German government on Tuesday outlawed a neo-Nazi group it accused of trying to indoctrinate children and teenagers. The group’s summer camps included military-style drills and courses on “racial purity.”
The German government on Tuesday banned the far-right youth organisation “Heimattreue Deutsche Jugend”, or German Youth Faithful to the Homeland, for seeking to indoctrinate children with racist and National Socialist ideology.
Police searched the homes and offices of leading members of the group in Berlin and the states of Lower Saxony, Brandenburg and Saxony. The ban means the HDJ is dissolved with immediate effect and its assets have been confiscated.
“Today’s ban puts a stop to the disgusting activities of the HDJ,” Interior Minister Wolfgang Schäuble said in a statement. “We will do everything in our power to protect our children from these rat catchers.”
By organising supposedly harmless outdoor activities such as summer camping holidays, the HDJ had tried to turn children and teenagers into Nazis, the ministry said, adding that outlawing the group underscored the government’s commitment to fighting right-wing extremism in Germany.
Police had been investigating the group since last October when it searched the homes of HDJ activists and found evidence that the group was opposed to the country’s democratic constitution and worshipped the Nazis.
