A biographical and family-historical perspective on female right-wing-extremism in Germany

Abstract of the open lecture

In November 2011 the German public was caught off guard by a case of right wing terrorism. The case disclosed a hitherto unknown extent of right wing violence. On the basis of weapon findings, two men and a woman were matched with countless burglaries and the murder of at least ten persons carried out during the last twelve years. Most of the victims were migrants from Turkey and they where murdered openly in the street of different cities.

The case was disclosed after the two suspected men presumably committed suicide in order to avoid being arrested. Subsequently, the suspected woman blew up their joint home and turned herself over to the police. She is one of the female terrorists in Germany, but only she has been convicted so far.

Media and also academic research reports focus on male youths and men, so the impression arose that girls and women aren’t involved in the right wing scene. The consequence of this gender stereotypic view is that women are not recognized as political actors in the public field. By the media, authorities and researchers, girls and women with this background are not seen as actively contributing, as they are not as frequently involved in violence, compared to boys or men. However, this widely spread view is specific to an orientation, which diminishes female participation in right-wing extremism, leading to a misinterpretation and trivialization of their actual involvement.

In the presentation, a biographical case study on the participation of girls and young women in the right-wing sphere of Germany will be introduced focusing also on the strategy of the right wing groups infiltrating public organizations and spaces.