How dangerous is the "last wave of defense"?

With searches and arrests in five federal states, over 200 police officers are closing in on a right-wing extremist group. Its suspected members are still very young and, according to the Federal Public Prosecutor General, do not shy away from serious acts of violence. The most important questions and answers:

Since when has this group existed?

The suspects are said to be members - in one case supporters - of a right-wing extremist terrorist group that was founded in mid-April 2024 at the latest and calls itself "Letzte Verteidigungswelle" (Last Wave of Defense). Five of them have now been arrested. Three other suspects were already previously in custody.

What crimes are involved?

On the night of October 23, 2024, a cultural center in Altdöbern, Brandenburg, was set on fire. Two members of the group are said to have been involved in the arson. There were people living in the building complex who, according to the federal prosecutor's office, were only uninjured by chance. A third is suspected of having drafted a speech in which one of them announced the crime in a video.

According to the Federal Public Prosecutor General, two members of the group, who are already in custody, smashed a window at an inhabited asylum seekers' accommodation in Schmölln, Thuringia, on 5 January and attempted - albeit unsuccessfully - to set the building on fire with pyrotechnics. The attackers left swastikas and slogans such as "Foreigners out" on the accommodation.

At the beginning of January, three members of the group planned an arson attack on a shelter for asylum seekers in Senftenberg, Brandenburg, according to a statement. On February 12, an apartment and another property in Meißen, Saxony, were then searched. Among other things, explosives in the form of two ball bombs were found. According to the public prosecutor's office, these were industrially manufactured pyrotechnics.

What role does the age of the suspects play?

The suspects are teenagers and young adults. The five suspects who have now been arrested are - with the exception of one - all minors. The youngest of them - who is suspected of aiding and abetting - is only 14 years old. Due to their age, some of them have to appear before the investigating judge in Karlsruhe with their parents. The statement from the federal prosecutor's office states that those now arrested acted "as juveniles with a mature sense of responsibility". This means that they were mature enough at the time of the crime to recognize the wrongfulness of their actions. This is a prerequisite for them to be held criminally responsible.

What accusations are being made by the federal prosecutor's office?

The federal prosecutor's office classifies the "Letzte Verteidigungswelle" as a right-wing extremist terrorist organization. Of the five people arrested, four are said to have been members of this terrorist group, three of them even ringleaders. The fifth is accused of supporting the organization. Some of the suspects are also accused of attempted murder, particularly serious arson and damage to property, while others are accused of aiding and abetting these acts.

What penalties apply in the event of a conviction

The Juvenile Courts Act regulates how the justice system deals with crimes committed by young people who were at least 14 years old but not yet 18 at the time of the crime. Adolescents who are at least 18 years old but not yet 21 at the time of the offense are also partially covered by these regulations.

The punishments that the juvenile court can impose include so-called educational measures such as participation in social training courses or anti-aggression training, or so-called correctional measures such as the repair or replacement of a damaged object. However, a juvenile sentence of at least six months up to a maximum of ten years can also be imposed. For adolescents sentenced under juvenile criminal law, it can be up to 15 years.

Are there other new right-wing extremist youth groups?

Yes. The Berlin Office for the Protection of the Constitution classifies the group "Deutsche Jugend Voran" as right-wing extremist and violence-oriented. The group "Jung und Stark" is active nationwide and has mobilized against Christopher Street Day events, among other things. In Bavaria, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution is keeping an eye on this relatively new group. "Der Störtrupp" is also one of the new right-wing groups that are very active on social media.

What is behind this phenomenon?

"We are seeing a trend of young people from the right-wing extremist scene who are willing to use violence, are violence-oriented and action-oriented, coming together," says Sinan Selen, Vice President of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution. This has been happening in the digital space for some time, "but we are also seeing a leap into the analog space". One example of this is attacks on Christopher Street Day events.

Young extremists with a tendency towards violence were also the subject of this week's presentation of the annual statistics on politically motivated crime. The police counted 1,488 right-wing motivated acts of violence last year - around 17 percent more than in the previous year. The President of the Federal Criminal Police Office, Holger Münch, said: "Of course, we have to realize that we are seeing a shift to the right in ideology in society as a whole, as is now the case with some young people, and also an increase in the acceptance of violence." He added: "If violence is seen more as a means of exchanging opinions, then something is wrong in society."