According to a recent study conducted by the military’s own Bundeswehr Center of Military History and Social Sciences ( ZMSBw ), less than 1 % of German soldiers “have consistent right-wing-extremist attitudes.” Only 0.4 % of men, according to the review, have right-wing extremist attitudes. The proportion of civilian employees in the military is 0.8 %, which is significantly lower than the 5.4 % that the authors calculated in the general German population. However, the study did uncover some other troubling attitudes in the soldiers: 4.4 % have” consistent chauvinist attitudes,” and 3.5 % have” consistent xenophobic attitudes,” both of which are supported by the government. A Bundeswehr commander named Franco A. was found guilty in 2022 of conspiring to commit a” threatening the security of the state” while posing as a Palestinian refugee. A number of current and former soldiers were discovered in a global network of trained preppers who were suspected of planning a military coup in 2017. Some European media outlets have also mentioned a” dark troops” within the Bundeswehr that has been ignored by the government’s intelligence services, the MAD.
What can I expect from a deliberate study:
One of the scholars, Markus Steinbrecher, told DW,” Yes, I may say the study does give a certain amount of relief.” However, according to the Defense Ministry‘s data,” we also have a high number of people in the army with extremist views,” if you extrapolate the theoretical portion of 0.4 percent. There are now 180 000 men and 80 000 human employees working for the Bundeswehr, or just over 260 000. In late 2022, more than 4,300 military interviews and 18 small-group discussions were conducted at eight military installations across Germany for the fresh ZMSBw research. A study based mostly on voluntary research has its shortcomings, according to Steinbrecher. We are aware of the fact that people is, of course, place their passes wherever they choose, even if they have opposing viewpoints. Some people are wary about how beneficial the survey is, but at various points we conducted various checks to get a sense of how big the underestimate might be. The University of Applied Sciences in Dusseldorf, an expert on far-right fanaticism, acknowledged that the survey was professionally sound, but added that the ZMSBw is a member of the Bundeswehr itself. They are self-assured and adhered to academic standards, but they must always reside within the framework they are considering, Hoffstadt told DW. In addition, Häffstadt added that the responders may have been influenced by the survey’s schedule, which is in 2022, in the midst of more democratic scrutiny of right-wing fanaticism in the Bundeswehr and the police. After details of a famous “pig’s brain” party surfaced, then security minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer ordered the dissolution of an overall company in the city of Calw in 2020. Hitler salutes were reportedly displayed at the party in 2017, troops allegedly arranged sex acts, performed far-right rock music, and allegedly flung pigs heads around. Additionally, the Bundeswehr acknowledged that around 60 000 rounds of ammunition were missing in 2020. Everyone in the Bundeswehr is aware that they are in the spotlight at that time, according to Hoffstadt. Although the investigation was not a failure or in bad faith, I would suggest a crucial reading.
Citizens in even
The survey’s writers also noted that those who hold right-wing radical opinions” show an increased interest in joining the military forces,” but that does not imply that they will eventually find their way into the defense. Being curious doesn’t mean that someone applies, and applying doesn’t think they will be accepted, as Steinbrecher put it. In fact, there are some important obstacles: new applicants must pass security checks before becoming employees, and confidentiality laws are suspended for doctors who perform medical exams so they can review tattoo that might indicate extremist opinions. European military personnel are not only obligated to uphold the country’s constitution and its fundamental law, but they also have a legal duty to deliberately uphold democratic rights, such as voicing opposition when someone expresses fundamentalist views. In other words, German men are supposed to be” people in uniform” and fully accountable for upholding the Basic Law. In the military forces, holding specific beliefs, such as Holocaust neglect, are prohibited. Hoffstadt does not believe that the Bundeswehr is adequately protecting extremist beliefs from the military, especially in light of the wider society where right-wing beliefs have become increasingly accepted, as evidenced by the success of the far-right Alternative for Germany ( AfD ). There have been to many “isolated cases” in the military to put a lot of faith in the effectiveness of this gatekeeping, she said. They hold a lot of seminars, meetings, and social education, but in the foundations, there is not really much awareness of the complexity of the contemporary right-wing attitude. Reinbrecher is less skeptical, arguing that the European army has stronger anti-extremism measures in place than most. He said,” I do believe that it has become a priority.” Although I’m also involved in an international study task with Nato countries, I do have to suggest that Germany actually does lead the charge in terms of preventing extremism, especially now that the German government is determined to increase recruitment and perhaps even reintroduce some sort of military services. We didn’t put our hands in our laps, Hoffstadt remarked. We may say,” Oh, less than one percent, oops, everything is fine.” However, it might just be the edge of the ice. We must keep asking about the “iceberg” in its entirety.
