Right-wing terrorism in the 21st century: the 'national socialist underground' and the history of terror from the far-right in Germany

This book is the first comprehensive academic study of German right-wing terrorism since the early 1960s available in the English language. It offers a unique in-depth analysis of German violent, extremist right-wing movements, terrorist events, groups, networks and individuals. In addition, the book discusses the so-called 'National Socialist Underground' (NSU) terror cell, which was uncovered in late 2011 by the authorities. The NSU had been active for over a decade and had killed at least ten people, as well as executing numerous bombings and bank robberies. With an examination of the group's support network and the reasons behind the failure of the German authorities, this book sheds light on right-wing terrorist group structures, tactics and target groups in Germany. The book also contains a complete list of all the German right-wing terrorist groups and incidents since the Second World War. Based on the most detailed dataset of right-wing terrorism in Germany, this book offers highly valuable insights into this specific form of political violence and terrorism, which has been widely neglected in international terrorism research.

1. Introduction -- 2. Methods and sources : the database on terrorism in Germany (DTG) -- 3. The definition problem -- 4. Right-wing violence and terrorism in post second world war Germany -- 5. The 'National Socialist Underground' (NSU) -- 6. Role of the intelligence and police agencies -- 7. The metrics of right-wing terrorism -- 8. German right-wing terrorist and violent actors between 1963 and 2015 -- 9. Conclusions and lessons learned.

This book is the first comprehensive academic study of German right-wing terrorism since the early 1960s available in the English language. It offers a unique in-depth analysis of German violent, extremist right-wing movements, terrorist events, groups, networks and individuals. In addition, the book discusses the so-called 'National Socialist Underground' (NSU) terror cell, which was uncovered in late 2011 by the authorities. The NSU had been active for over a decade and had killed at least ten people, as well as executing numerous bombings and bank robberies. With an examination of the group's support network and the reasons behind the failure of the German authorities, this book sheds light on right-wing terrorist group structures, tactics and target groups in Germany. The book also contains a complete list of all the German right-wing terrorist groups and incidents since the Second World War. Based on the most detailed dataset of right-wing terrorism in Germany, this book offers highly valuable insights into this specific form of political violence and terrorism, which has been widely neglected in international terrorism research.

Cover -- Title -- Copyright -- Dedication -- Contents -- List of figures -- List of tables -- Foreword -- Acknowledgements -- List of abbreviations -- 1 Introduction -- 2 Methods and sources - the Database on Terrorism in Germany (DTG) -- 2.1 Review of existing research -- 3 The definition problem -- 3.1 Terrorism and right-wing terrorism as concepts -- 3.2 Hate crimes and terrorism -- 3.3 A typology of right-wing criminal activities -- 3.4 Conclusion -- 4 Right-wing violence and terrorism in post-Second World War Germany -- 4.1 The emergence of right-wing terrorism -- 4.2 Lone actors