The German Alternative (german: Deutsche Alternative or ) was a minor

neo-nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

group set up in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Michael Kühnen Michael Kühnen (21 June, 1955 – 25 April, 1991) was a leader in the German neo-Nazi movement. He was one of the first post-World War II Germans to openly embrace Nazism and call for the formation of a Fourth Reich. He enacted a policy of sett ...

in 1989.

Ideology

Its declared goal was the restoration of the

German Reich German ''Reich'' (lit. German Realm, German Empire, from german: Deutsches Reich, ) was the constitutional name for the German nation state that existed from 1871 to 1945. The ''Reich'' became understood as deriving its authority and sovereignty ...

and rejected the cession of German areas in Eastern Europe following World War II and all immigration to Germany, claiming that there were already too many foreigners in the country.

History

The group was a successor to the short-lived ''Nationale Sammlung'', itself set up following Kühnen's removal from the

Free German Workers' Party The Free German Workers' Party (german: link=no, Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; abbreviated FAP) was a neo-Nazi political party in Germany. It was outlawed by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1995. History The FAP was founded in 1 ...

due to his homosexuality. It was constituted as a legal political arm of the

Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front (GdNF) is a German organisation that was the main group for neo-Nazi activity during the 1990s. It translates into English as the Community of Like-Minded People of the New Front or the Covenant of the New Fro ...

(GdNF), Kühnen's more militant neo-nazi organization.Hajo Funke
'David Irving, Holocaust Denial, and his Connections to Right Wing Extremists and Neo-National Socialism (Neo-Nazism) in Germany'
After its founding, it received members from the GdNF, Republicans and the

National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Part ...

(NPD). The complete leadership of the NPD in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

defected to the DA in 1991.Profil: Deutsche Alternative (DA)
apabiz.de. Retrieved on 21 August 2007. The group organized under the name ''Nationale Alternative'' (National Alternative) in the former

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

, with Ingo Hasselbach as leader. This guise of the DA organized militia training camps in

East Berlin East Berlin was the ''de facto'' capital city of East Germany from 1949 to 1990. Formally, it was the Allied occupation zones in Germany, Soviet sector of Berlin, established in 1945. The American, British, and French sectors were known as ...

and established close links with other groups and with international figures such as

Gary Lauck Gerhard Rex Lauck (born 1953) is an American neo-Nazi activist and publisher. Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, he is sometimes nicknamed the "Farm Belt Fuehrer" due to his rural origins.Martin A. Lee, ''The Beast Reawakens'', Warner Books, 1997, p. ...

. However, after around a year of intense activity, this arm of the DA fell apart. After Kühnen's

AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual m ...

-related death in 1991, Frank Hübner became the organization's new chairman, while Rene Koswig assumed the role as deputy. Both hail from East Germany. This led about eighty members, primarily from the western part of the country leaving the DA to start the Deutsches Hessen, Nationaler Block, Volkstreue Liste, and Deutscher Weg. The group was banned in 1992 as were the Nationalist Front and

National Offensive The National Offensive (german: Nationale Offensive; abbreviated NO) was a German neo-Nazi party, which existed from 3 July 1990 to 22 December 1992. ''Verfassungsschutzbericht'' 1990. Verfassungsschutz. ISSN 0177-0357. Pg. 99 It was founded by M ...

following an arson attack on an asylum seekers refuge in Mölln,

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sch ...

. At the time, it had 340 membersSeit 1992 verbotene Organisationen
.

Verfassungsschutz The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (german: Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz or BfV, often ''Bundesverfassungsschutz'') is Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency. Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungss ...

Baden-Württemberg Baden-Württemberg (; ), commonly shortened to BW or BaWü, is a German state () in Southwest Germany, east of the Rhine, which forms the southern part of Germany's western border with France. With more than 11.07 million inhabitants across a ...

. Retrieved 21 August 2007. and affiliate organizations in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; german: link=no, Rheinland-Pfalz ; lb, Rheinland-Pfalz ; pfl, Rhoilond-Palz) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

and

Bremen Bremen (Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state consis ...

. In

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...

, it even had more members than the

Social Democratic Party of Germany The Social Democratic Party of Germany (german: Sozialdemokratische Partei Deutschlands, ; SPD, ) is a centre-left social democratic political party in Germany. It is one of the major parties of contemporary Germany. Saskia Esken has been the ...

. The decree banning it lists three attacks on hostel containing refugees for which DA members were arrested for participating in.

References

{{Authority control 1989 establishments in Germany 1992 disestablishments in Germany Banned far-right parties Banned political parties in Germany Defunct political parties in Germany Far-right political parties in Germany German nationalist organizations German nationalist political parties Neo-Nazism in Germany Political parties disestablished in 1992 Political parties established in 1989