German police raid supporters of banned racist organisation

German law enforcement began searches early Thursday at 15 locations in Saxony-Anhalt, Berlin, Brandenburg, Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The raids stem from an investigation by the Halle prosecutor's office into suspected violations of the ban on the Artgemeinschaft organisation, a spokesperson for the office confirmed.

Searches took place in, among other places, Lippstadt in North Rhine-Westphalia, Zossen in Brandenburg, and Gardelegen-Ipse in Saxony-Anhalt. Police had already carried out an operation in Gardelegen-Ipse in June over a so-called summer solstice celebration.

Link to a politician

That June event, officially described as private, took place on the estate of Simon Lansmann, a candidate for the Alternative for Germany party in state parliament elections. Police at the time monitored entry to the property and identified guests linked to Artgemeinschaft among those present. Some participants held a ceremony involving animal horns and phrases resembling rituals of the banned group, and a song associated with the "Hitler Youth" was also performed.

In July, responding to media inquiries, Lansmann said through his lawyer that no revival of the banned organisation's activities had taken place on his property, though he did not deny that the song may have been performed, stressing it was not part of an organised programme. He also said he distanced himself from Artgemeinschaft's ideology.

Banned since 2023

Artgemeinschaft has been banned since 2023. Its followers described themselves as guardians of the Germanic race, and their "moral codes" echoed Nazi-era views on "Aryans," including a demand for choosing a "homogeneous spouse." Saxony-Anhalt's domestic intelligence agency has called the group a significant node of Germany's neo-Nazi scene. In April, the Federal Administrative Court rejected the organisation's legal challenge against the ban.