Minister Herbert Reul welcomes the ban of the association "Geeinte deutsche Völker und Stämme" (GdVuSt) and its sub-organization "Osnabrücker Landmark" by Federal Minister of the Interior Horst Seehofer this morning (19 March 2020). Measures against the association have been in place since six o'clock in a total of ten federal states, including five properties in North Rhine-Westphalia. "Especially now, in times of the coronavirus crisis, we have to take action against people who spread conspiracy theories and want to undermine the state. We must not tolerate this. I am therefore grateful to the Federal Minister of the Interior for his consistent action against this brown sauce," said the Minister.
In North Rhine-Westphalia, homes were searched in Bünde, Preußisch Oldendorf and Gummersbach, among other places. Firearms, baseball bats, propaganda materials and narcotics were seized. Riot police were also deployed during the measures in North Rhine-Westphalia. The "United German Peoples and Tribes" association denies the legitimacy of the Federal Republic of Germany and its institutions. Ideologically, it belongs to the so-called "Reich citizens" and "self-administrators". The association is based in Berlin. The association has around 21 members across Germany, three of whom are active in North Rhine-Westphalia. In addition, there is a nationwide network of over 100 people, 15 of whom are from North Rhine-Westphalia. "We continue to take a clear stand against the right. There is no tolerance here, only a hard line. As difficult as these times are, they can never be as difficult as when we allow people like this to incite hatred against Jews and foreigners and make a mockery of our democracy. Even in times of coronavirus, these types can't be safe," says Reul. There are currently around 3,200 Reich citizens in North Rhine-Westphalia, almost three quarters of whom are men aged between 40 and 60.
The North Rhine-Westphalian Office for the Protection of the Constitution sees the movement as a group with considerable potential for danger. The legal basis for the ban is Article 9 Paragraph 2 of the Basic Law in conjunction with Section 3 of the Associations Act. According to the Federal and State Ministry of the Interior, the association violates the constitutional order, is contrary to criminal law in terms of its purpose and activities and is directed against the idea of international understanding.