The Ku Klux Klan Is Growing—in Germany
Ku Klux Klan Is Growing—in Germany
They have white hoods, Ku Klux Klan badges, and stockpiles of weapons. But these Klansmen aren’t in America—they’re in Germany, where a new wave of far-right extremism is taking cues from the U.S.
Police in eight German states led raids last week on suspected members of a group called the National Socialist Knights of the Ku Klux Klan Deutschland, a name that glorifies both the American Klan and the Nazi party of Germany’s past. The raid, which reportedly turned up more than 100 weapons, comes amid a surge of far-right activity as Germans rally against immigrants.
The Klan isn’t banned in Germany, but its symbols are. A German law aimed at crushing neo-Nazi propaganda also outlaws the Klan’s trademark burning cross, alongside white power symbols, ISIS flags, and symbols of Germany’s Communist Party.