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Berlin has banned “Kingdom of Germany”, a separatist organisation that sees modern German institutions as illegitimate, amid growing debate over how to curb far-right sentiment in Europe’s largest democracy.
Announcing the ban on Tuesday, interior minister Alexander Dobrindt said he had ordered police raids on premises owned by the group, whose purpose and activities he said were “directed against the constitutional order”.
Kingdom of Germany, which has a self-declared king, is part of a broader movement of Reichsbürger (citizens of the Reich) or Selbstverwalter (self-administrators). Political analysts say it is emblematic of the democratic malaise in Germany that has also fuelled support for far-right party Alternative for Germany (AfD).
The move against the separatists comes as the AfD, which secured more than a fifth of the votes in federal elections in February, was earlier this month designated as “rightwing extremist” by the domestic intelligence agency. The designation gives the state the right to monitor the party more closely, including with tapping. It has sparked a debate over whether to ban the party.
A survey by polling institute Insa released at the weekend showed that 53 per cent of Germans were in favour of banning the AfD.
“Today, a significant blow was struck against the so-called Reich Citizens and Self-Governors,” Dobrindt, a member of Bavaria’s Christian Social Union, said on X. “With the so-called ‘Kingdom of Germany,’ the largest association of this scene, which has been growing for years, was banned.”
The Kingdom of Germany was created in 2012 by Peter Fitzek, or Peter I, its self-proclaimed sovereign. It lies over a hectare near the eastern German city of Wittenberg, and has a flag, constitution, bank and its own currency, the e-mark. Its members deny the legitimacy of the 1949 constitution and many believe that the country remains under allied occupation.
The federal prosecutor said on Tuesday that it had detained four men in connection with the group, including a “Peter F”. A legal representative for the now-disbanded group and for Fitzek could not be reached for comment.
Fitzek, a 49-year-old trained chef born in eastern Germany, has been on the radar of the authorities for years. In 2017, he was convicted of embezzlement and illegal banking activities. The verdict was overturned by a higher court a year later.
In 2022, the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), the domestic intelligence agency, designated the group as extremist. The organisation has since been under close observation.
The group, which has about 6,000 followers, had “created a ‘counter-state’ in our country and built up economic criminal structures”, Dobrindt said on Tuesday. “They are persistently undermining the legal system.”
Germany, whose 1949 constitution includes a provision to prevent another fascist party from taking over after the Nazi regime, has banned groups, including political parties before. In the 1950s, it dissolved neo-Nazi group SRP and the communist KPD party. In 2017, it failed to ban the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD), after the supreme court ruled that while it was an anti-democratic organisation, it was too small to do any harm.
The resolve in banning Kingdom of Germany may not extend to the AfD, which is the second-largest group in the Bundestag and has risen in the polls since the elections.
The government of conservative Chancellor Friedrich Merz has signalled it would not seek a ban of the far-right party, arguing that AfD voters could be won over by tackling the root causes of their discontent.
“I am convinced that the AfD does not need to be banned,” Dobrindt said when the extremist designation was made public earlier this month. “We must address the issues that have made the AfD so big.”
