Germany trial starts of neo-Nazi ‘Saxonian Separatists’

Protesters hold a German flag, left, and a 'Weimar' flag, right, during a demonstration against the accommodation for immigrants in Freital near Dresden, eastern Germany, Friday, June 26, 2015. (AP / Jens Meyer)

Eight alleged members of a German far-right militant group dubbed the “Saxonian Separatists” went on trial Friday in the eastern city of Dresden.

The men, aged between 22 and 26, face charges including membership in a terrorist organization and conspiracy to commit treason.

According to prosecutors, its members believed German society was on the brink of collapse and plotted to violently conquer part of the eastern German state of Saxony to create a new neo-Nazi state.

The defendants are accused of having stockpiled weapons and military equipment, conducted paramilitary training and made plans to “cleanse” the area of ethnic minorities and political opponents.

Prosecutors said the group -- whose initials SS match those of Adolf Hitler’s paramilitary organization the Schutzstaffel -- had procured fatigues, combat helmets, gas masks and bullet-proof vests.

According to prosecutors, the group was founded in February 2020 with roughly 20 members in total, motivated by “racist, antisemitic and in part apocalyptic ideas”.

They were arrested in November 2024 during a series of police raids in eastern Germany, neighbouring Poland and in Austria.

Three of the defendants had been active in local politics with the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD), an anti-immigration party that is especially strong in the ex-communist east of Germany.

The German domestic security service said after the arrests that some of the right-wing extremists were linked to groups active online and “glorify the actions of well-known right-wing terrorists” such as Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik.