German spy agency says it is monitoring anti-lockdown conspiracy movement

GERMANY’S DOMESTIC INTELLIGENCE AGENCY said on Wednesday it has begun monitoring groups associated with conspiracy theories surrounding COVID-19, who are “challenging the legitimacy of the state”. Germany is home to one of the most vocal anti-lockdown movements in the Western world, with public rallies against lockdown measures taking place nearly every week across the country. These rallies attract a peculiar mix of participants who come from a variety of backgrounds, including anti-vaccination proponents, various conspiracy theorists, and supporters of both far-left and far-right parties.

In recent months, demonstrations against lockdown measures have been turning violent, as members of militant far-right groups have begun to participate in large numbers. They include members of Germany’s largest far-right party, Alternative für Deutschland (AfD), as well as the anti-Semitic Reichsbürger movement and followers of the Selbstverwalter —the Germany’s version of the American Sovereign Citizens movement. Some of these groups are coalescing around a new nucleus of anti-government activists, who describe themselves as members of the Querdenker movement.

The term Querdenker translates into “lateral thinkers”. It represents what Germany’s domestic spy agency, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV) describes as “a new category” of anti-government militancy. Its adherents do not conform to either far-left, far-right, or religiously motivated militancy. Over 90 percent of Querdenker followers are over the age of 30, with their average age being nearly 50. Over two thirds describe themselves as middle class, and vote for far left and the far right parties in equal numbers. Others do not vote at all. But, according to sociological studies, xenophobia and negative views of Muslims are prominent among Querdenker followers.

This is the first time that Germany’s domestic spy agency has formally identified a group that is associated with anti-lockdown activities as the target of a national security investigation. Meanwhile, Querdenker leaders have vowed to continue their anti-lockdown activities across Germany in the coming weeks.

► Author: Joseph Fitsanakis | Date: 29 April 2021 | Permalink