“Reichsbürger” – A Contemporary Historical Study of a Conspiratorial Ideological Movement with Links to Right-Wing Extremism

Since the murder of a policeman in Georgensgmünd in 2016 at the hand of one of its activists, the “Reichsbürger” (or “citizens of the Reich”) movement has been recognized in German public discourse as a threat to the rule of law. But who are the followers of this movement, and where do they come from? Are they right-wing extremists? Or are there merely a few loose connections to the far right?

A conspiratorial, subversive scene has existed not only in Bavaria but in Germany as a whole for several decades. Despite the diverse range of individuals and groups within this movement, what they all have in common is the belief that the Federal Republic of Germany is not a legitimate state but rather a tool controlled by elites to oppress the population. Consequently, they reject state institutions and resist what they perceive as its impositions—whether through pseudo-legal arguments, the establishment of so-called autonomous states, or outright violence. Closely tied to this movement is an anti-democratic and revisionist view of history. However, little is known about the origins, internal structures, and influences of the “Reichsbürger” scene. Some of its ideological roots can be traced back to the period immediately following World War II, while other influences on the movement are much more recent. This project examines the conspiratorial and historical revisionist narratives of the movement, as well as its confrontations with municipal and state institutions in Bavaria. International influences will also be considered, as similar movements that rigorously reject rule-of-law structures and violently claim so-called autonomous spaces of self-governance exist in other countries as well.