A retired lieutenant in Germany’s armed forces lost his military rank because of his involvement in the anti-multiculturalism Identitarian Movement in the past. On Tuesday, the federal administrative court ruled that the unnamed soldier violated his “constitutional duty of loyalty” and must pay back over $25,000 USD in the transitional aid he received from the military.
The Identitarian Movement (IM) is a right-wing collective that claims to argue for the rights of European ethnic groups to their own homelands. In 2019, the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution classified it as “right-wing extremist” for opposing multiculturalism and the spread of Islam. As of January 2024, the southwest region of Germany alone had about 100 IM members, mostly in Ulm, Reutlingen, Pforzheim and Stuttgart.
A press release by Germany’s federal administrative court published Tuesday confirmed the lieutenant’s involvement in the IM in Germany in 2015 and 2016, which violates Section 8 of the German Armed Forces Act.
According to Section 8 of the Act, “a soldier must recognize the free democratic basic order in the sense of the Basic Law and work to preserve it through all of his conduct.”
In addition to organizing an IM group in Bavaria and appearing in a promotional film for the movement, the man also participated in several protests for the cause.
As a result, the 2nd Military Service Senate decided that the former first lieutenant could no longer hold his military rank. The court also ruled that the man is no longer eligible to receive transitional benefits and must pay back over $25,000 USD in financial aid.
In the ruling, the judges explain that the IM’s ideology violates equality because it “makes a distinction between ‘first’ and ‘second class’ Germans and demands ethnic groups to stay in or return to their home countries.
“[This] violates the right of non-ethnic German citizens to equal political participation and thus violates a core element of the constitutional principle of democracy.”
Identitarian ideology also rejects parliamentary and multi-party electoral systems, which the court believes to be a “clear contradiction to the free democratic basic order.”
“Since he knew the political goals of the Identitarian Movement and was able to evaluate them based on his studies in political science, his commitment to the Identitarian Movement was at least partially intentional and unconstitutional,” continues the ruling, adding that the former soldier’s participation in the movement justifies the highest disciplinary measure.
“There was no reason to deviate from this. For a retired soldier, the highest measure includes the loss of outstanding transitional benefits.”
This is not the first time a German has been reprimanded for opposing immigration. As previously reported by The Publica, Alternative for Germany politician Marie-Thérèse Kaiser was found guilty of “inciting hatred” toward migrants last spring after publishing gang rape statistics on social media.
Kaiser first shared an article in the summer of 2021 after the mayor of Hamburg announced the city was accepting hundreds of Afghan workers.
“Afghanistan refugees; Hamburg SPD mayor for ‘unbureaucratic’ admission; Welcoming culture for gang rape?” she wrote in a now-deleted post.
Although Germany does have limited freedom of speech protections, in May, Judge Heiko Halbfas ruled in the Verden regional court in Lower Saxony that she was guilty of attacking the human dignity of migrants.
“Anyone who attacks human dignity cannot invoke freedom of expression,” he stated, adding that Kaiser’s sentiments “lead to hatred of a nationally determined group.”
In addition to the judge ordering the 27-year-old representative to pay a fine of just over $6,400 USD, she will now have a criminal record.
