Source: Global Times
[Global Times Special Correspondent in Germany Aoki Global Times reporter Zhao Juezhang Global Times special correspondent Wang Li] Occupy the German Bundestag, overthrow the German government, and then restore the rule of German Empire - As the investigation into the far-right organization "Imperial Citizens", the organization's coup plan gradually surfaced. Members of this organization seem to be quite mainstream and are often considered "the pillars of democracy", but these "pillars" want to destroy their "superstructure." Some analysts believe that the views of the members of the "Imperial Citizen" that "Germany is a colony of the United States" reflect the current German-US relations to a certain extent, but their idea of launching a coup with the help of "the help of governments, intelligence agencies and military personnel from Russia and the United States" is like a fool's talk. The far-right forces represented by "imperial citizens" are constantly expanding in Germany, which is driven by historical reasons and real factors in their own country, and are also mixed with the influence of American conspiracy theorists. What makes the situation even more complicated is that some German and American media and their forces behind them have taken the opportunity to take advantage of the troubled waters, trying to turn their attention to investigating the "Imperial Citizen" coup to Russia, attracting the attention of geopolitics .
"ordinary" member, absurd plan
On the top of the hill in the small town of Batlo Benstein in the eastern German state of Thuringia, stands a hunting hut. Looking down from the hut, you can see the snow-covered villages around you. The place looks peaceful and peaceful, but the action of the German security forces code-named "Shadow" on December 7 was like a huge rock thrown into the lake, making the hot spring town and even the whole of Germany "shake". The above-mentioned hunting hut became one of the many targets raided by the German government.
Germany carried out the largest anti-terrorism operation since World War II to raid an organization called "Imperial Citizens". As of the 9th, 25 members of the organization were arrested and more than 30 other people were under investigation. Among the arrested people were former judges, doctors, famous chefs, pilots, classical tenors, policemen, active and retired soldiers, and the owner of the hunting hut, Heinrich XIII, who was born in a noble family, was an important figure in the organization.
German officials said Heinrich XIII turned his hunting hut into a place for "imperial citizens" to hold meetings. In the basement of the house, security forces found a large number of weapons and military equipment, as well as a "blacklist" with names of 18 politicians and journalists, among which several political leaders, including the German Chancellor and Foreign Minister. In the forest around the cabin, members of the "Imperial Citizen" sometimes practice target shooting.
There are also about 150 residences that were raided. In 50 of them, German police found a large amount of military equipment, hundreds of thousands of euros in cash, gold and silver, and an iridium satellite phone worth 20,000 euros. Even if the German power grid collapses, this kind of call can ensure smooth communication between members of the "Imperial Citizen".
The members of "Empire Citizens" appear to be the same as ordinary people, but their goals and some activities are absurd. According to media reports such as German News Agency, the "Imperial Citizen" intends to negotiate a peace treaty with the United States and Russia after overthrowing the German government, "rebuilding" the German order, and then Heinrich XIII will serve as the "head of state." Some members of the group plan to establish 280 armed forces across Germany, and are responsible for "arrest and execution" of people after the coup. German intelligence officials revealed that the far-right wing organization has been preparing for a coup twice this year — once in mid-March and once in September, but both operations were postponed. The British " Guardian " quoted German investigators as saying that "imperial citizens" even invited "people who can foresee the future" to check the feasibility of their plans and the credibility of their members.
They believe that Germany is a colony of the United States
Since the First World War , every German government has been illegal—this is the "theoretical basis" for the "imperial citizens" to overthrow their own government.According to the narrative of German historian Hoyer and some media reports, the internal ideas of this organization with about 21,000 members are actually not unified. Some want to restore the German Empire before World War I, and some want to restore Nazi Germany before World War II.
Although their opinions on which period Germany was the real Germany, according to the Australian Dialogue News Network, members of the "Imperial Citizen" basically believe that Germany lacks sovereignty and is a "limited limited liability." In the eyes of these people, the United States, Britain and France still maintained control over Germany after the occupation of West Germany in 1955. Therefore, Germany is currently a "puppet regime" and has not safeguarded the interests of the German people. French 24-hour news TV said that many members of the "Imperial Citizen" believe that Germany is a colony of the United States. The Russian Eastern Europe and Central Asia Research Institute of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences Tian Dewen told the reporter of " Global Times " that the above idea of "imperial citizen" reflects to a certain extent the relationship between Germany and the United States: most of Germany's defense work was handed over to the NATO led by the United States, and Germany's political culture also fundamentally changed after World War II, and it accepted the concept of liberalism.
Members of "Imperial Citizens" are often regarded as weirdos and "trolls" because on the one hand they deny the legitimacy of government agencies and refuse to pay taxes and fines, but on the other hand they send a large number of complaints, motions, etc. to local governments and courts. Bartlo Benstein Town Councilman Berkhard and his colleagues often set up stalls at local markets to listen to local people’s concerns. Whenever this happens, they are abused by members of the "Imperial Citizen" and their supporters. "They shouted to us: 'We are not Germans. This is not a real country! We are just a branch of a limited company!'" Berkhard said.
American conspiracy theory "infects" German far-right
Although Germany is not a colony of the United States, reports from media such as Germany, the United States and Britain show that some of Germany's political situations, especially those related to the far-right wing, have many similarities with the United States, including a large number of far-right wing elements, are conspiracy theorists, and support violent actions.
German "Imperial Citizen" was established 40 years ago and mainly carried out activities in the form of small groups. French 24-hour news TV said that for a long time, the German far-right group is estimated to have only hundreds of members. However, in the Internet age, especially in the past few years, the number of members of the organization has increased exponentially. In addition, the main members of the "Imperial Citizen" are middle-aged white men, who believe in right-wing populism , anti-Semitism or Nazism.
German intelligence agencies said that "Imperial citizens" have begun to carry out violent activities in the past four or five years. In 2016, a man who claimed to be a member of the organization killed a policeman in Bavaria; in 2020, members of the organization participated in an event protesting the restrictions on the COVID-19 epidemic, trying to hit the German Bundestag building. In 2021, German intelligence agency believed that members of the "Imperial Citizen" committed about 1,011 extremist crimes. According to BBC, members of the "Imperial Citizen" believe that they can only achieve their goals through "military means and violence against those who represent the country," including killing.
The ideas of many members of the "Imperial Citizen" coincide with the American conspiracy theory organization "Anonymous Q". The most typical example is that both countries are controlled by some "deep forces" and therefore need to be overthrown. According to some German scholars, the unique American conspiracy theory of "deep forces control the government" has become part of German extremist ideas. In the "Anonymous Q" chat room on social media Telegram, the second most used language is German . In addition, the second most popular language for videos and files published by "Anonymous Q" is also German. Tian Dewen reminded that Germany's far-right forces are connected with the far-right forces in the United States and other European countries.
"Why" is the key to the problem
" This ('Imperial Citizen') is a threat to German society."Entrepreneur Posier, a living in , Lower Saxony, told the Global Times reporter that many members of the "Imperial Citizen" are elites. The British Guardian believes that the arrested "Imperial Citizen" members are usually considered "the pillars of democracy." German historian Hoyer said that this shows that Germany's far-right forces have evolved from neo-Nazis in the 1990s to a more "diversified" composition.
Like many Germans, Posier also supports fighting such organizations, but he believes that it is clear that Germany is Why such an organization is the key to the problem. Posir said that there are many reasons for the rise of the "Imperial Citizens" power. One of the important factors is their dissatisfaction with government policies, including the measures taken by the government in response to the refugee crisis, the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, high inflation, the energy crisis, and other issues. This can also be seen from the German polls. A recent YouGov poll showed that 66% of Germans are quite or very dissatisfied with the government's work.
Professor at King's College London, UK, and the issue of terrorism Expert Neumann said that the COVID-19 epidemic is a major driving force for the growth of "Imperial Citizens". When the lockdown measures were implemented, protests broke out in many places in Germany, and "Imperial Citizens" took the opportunity to form alliances with other far-right groups, making the group more organized and the connections between members more smoothly.
The growth of "Imperial Citizens" is also a microcosm of the continuous rise of German far-right forces in recent years. This force has entered German military and political institutions, some are constantly "striving cities" in the political circle, and some are committing crimes.
Why can the far-right forces continue to expand in Germany? Dancigil, a professor of political science at Princeton University in the United States, said after analyzing thousands of German intelligence reports, parliamentary speeches and police publications, that this is closely related to German history. After World War II, the German government did not completely remove former Nazis from their intelligence and law enforcement agencies. In the first decades of the Cold War, Germany focused on opposing communism and left-wing extremism, and most political parties, especially center-right parties, intelligence agencies and police departments, systematically downplayed right-wing extremism. Threat.
Many media and scholars have also listed inequality between the east and west of Germany as the reason for the rising extreme right forces in the country. According to the Australian Dialogue News Network, for many people in eastern Germany, after the merger of East and West Germany, they became second-class citizens. Against this background, many people do not trust the current German political system. A poll released by the South German newspaper in September showed that only 39% of people in eastern Germany are satisfied with the way the country operates democratically.
In addition, Researcher of the Chinese Institute of Modern International Relations and vice president of the German branch of the European Society of China Sun Keqin told the Global Times reporter that the misinterpretation of history and culture is also the breeding ground for the far-right forces in Germany. Taking the "Imperial Citizen" as an example, the organization has a "special" historical memory of the German Empire's rule, regards Bismarck and others as heroes, and gains a sense of superiority from their "noble identity". They believe that Germany's current constitutionalism comes from the coercion of the victorious country, so they oppose Germany The political system of the country is taking it as its mission to restore the rule of the German Empire. Australian Dialogue News stated that similar historical revisionism is common among the German far-right.
"involved" German Choice Party and Russia
After the surprise inspection on the 7th, the German Choice Party became the target of public criticism because the party is not only a far-right party, but its member Marsack Winkman is also one of the 25 people arrested this time. According to Associated Press , the center-right Foundation The alliance's Bavarian governor Sodel said that the German Selection Party is closely linked to "imperial citizens". Groz, a member of the ruling German SPD, believes that it is necessary to conduct a more stringent scrutiny of the German Selection Party. Klinbel, one of the leaders of the SPD, said that all members of the German Selection Party should be included in the "watch list" of intelligence agencies.
, the leader of the German Selection Party, is in the "eye of the storm", and others issued a statement saying that the party condemns and firmly opposes the coup plan of the "imperial citizens".However, at the forum on the German party choosing the party, some people believe that this is the government deliberately creating the so-called "right-wing threat" because how could more than 50 "retired personnel" launch a coup? Some people also said that the raid was a public relations stunt planned by the security department, with the goal of diverting the public's attention to some negative news.
Russia is also implicated. Many German media such as "Focus" and "Birds" emphasized that Heinrich XIII visited the Russian Consulate General in Leipzig in June last year to celebrate Russia's National Day with his Russian girlfriend. In the view of Clins, a legal policy spokesman for the Coalition Party (CSU/CSU), this is a warning sign, and it is necessary to urgently check whether there is a connection between these conspiring coupers and Russia.
Some German and American media have also taken the opportunity to exaggerate that Russia poses a "threat" to Germany. Germany's West German Radio and Television cited the Constitutional Protection Agency of North Rhine-Westphalia that Russia "used 'imperial citizens' to destabilize Germany." The American " News Weekly" claims that there is a shadow of Russia in the "Imperial Citizen" incident. The report also tried to link the German Party and Russia, saying that Guer, a scholar at the British think tank Institute of Strategic Dialogue, said that organizations that believe in conspiracy theories such as "Imperial Citizens" are generally very pro-Russian, and there are also some supporters within the German Party.
The Russian Embassy in Germany issued a statement denied that it had connections with "Imperial Citizens". Tian Dewen said that the remarks that point to the "Imperial Citizen" coup to Germany's choice party and even Russia cannot resist scrutiny. Although the German Choice Party is considered a far-right party, it also operates within the framework of formal political rules, and criticizing Russia has become a kind of "political correctness." Tian Dewen believes that such remarks are more likely to be a means of party struggles in Germany.
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