German neo-Nazis and white supremacists have been using the term "Fouth Reich" to refer to an imagined establishment of an new German state, based largely on the national socialism of the Third Reich. The establishment of the imagined state would involve the retrieval of West and East Prussia, (territory that is currently Poland and Russia), Silesia (territory that is today Poland and Czech Republic), Pomerania and East Brandenburg, parts of which were made part of Poland after WWII.
The profile picture of a neo-Nazi "Fourth Reich" Telegram channel
The following report will review neo-Nazi and white supremacist messaging on Telegram, BitChute, and German websites regarding the concept of the Fourth Reich.
German Political Activist And Former Lawyer Horst Mahler – Major Proponent Of The "Fourth Reich"
German political activist and former lawyer Horst Mahler is a leading proponent of the concept of the Fourth Reich. Mahler was a founding member of the Red Army Faction (RAF)[1] and was involved in several bank robberies and kidnappings on behalf of the group, for which he was imprisoned from 1970 to 1980,[2] reportedly after traveling to Jordan to train with Palestinian fighters.[3] German media has reported that he was an informant for the East German Ministry for State Security, also known as the Stasi.[4]
As head of the German veteran neo-Nazi network "Deutsches Kolleg [German College]" Mahler published on November 9, 1999, a proposal for a Reich constitution known as the "Reichsverfassungsentwurf."[5] This document became the legal framework of the proposed Fourth Reich, upon which new members of the network are sworn in. Mahler is not only a pioneer in actively advocating for the establishment of a Fourth Reich, but was also the first to officially declare the advent of the Reichsbürgerbewegung ("Reich Citizens' Movement"), a related movement, on December 14, 2003.[6] He was sentenced again to prison in 2009 and was released in 2020.[7]
Horst Mahler (source: Dw.com)
Statements Describing Planned "Fourth Reich" On Website Of Holst's "Deutsches Kolleg [German College]"
A memo titled "To The Fourth" published on the website of "Deutsches Kolleg," of which Holst is the head, states: "The FRG [Federeal Republic of Germany], a mere negative and vegetative state of the Third Reich persists in enternity to annihilate the German People and Germanic freedom. Consequently, the FRG must be terminated/replaced with the Fourth Reich."[8]
The proposal of the Reich constitution published on the website of "Deutsches Kolleg" is divided into 18 articles that determine: "Determination of the Nation; Heterogeneity of the Peoples; Sovereignty; Reich's Germans; Reich's Structure / Organization; Head of the Reich; Reichstag [i.e., Reich's Parliament]; Reich's Government; Reich's Assembly; Main Municipalities, Treasury, Flags, and Armorial Bearings; Churches, Parties, Associations; Referenda; Constitution on the Granting of Asylum; Political Constitution; Economic Constitution; Ideological Constitution; Organization of the Armed Forces; Historic-based Constitution."[9]
The rhetoric and tone of the proposal resembles much of that used under the Third Reich. For example: "Article 1(1) The German nation is a sovereign community of Germanic tribes for their presevation of honor, life and the wholesome belonging and all its members. (2) The Germans understand themselves as the continuous community of descent, of language, and therefore, as a nation. The nation of Germans endorses its history in its entirety and to the uniform Germanic preservation of its folklore. (3) The German nation integrates the expat-Germans... that remain living as Germans of the Nation...
"Article 2. The German nation recognizes the hetereogeneity of all nations and people. It recognizes the very right of every nation, the own ancestry, race and language, as well as its own affiliation, its preferred politics and economy, and to discriminate the alien...
"Article 16(b) The ideological constitution of Germany does not grant any freedom of religion for all and every one, but rather grants the freedom of conviction in the Reich. The Reich, as a state belief, is a German understanding of reconnection of the humankind beyond space and time. Foreign religions can be sanctioned / tolerated. Foreign belief cannot be granted..."[10]
The flag associated with the Fourth Reich, known as the "Wirmer Flag," is also on the Deutsches Kolleg website.[11] Ironically, the design was initially suggested by Josef Wirmer, a German lawyer and resistance fighter against the Nazi government. The flag includes a black-golden framed horizontally-placed asymmetrical cross on a red background, combining the colors of the Weimar Republic of 1848 and the Scandinavian cross.[12]
Posts Promoting Holst's Ideology
Horst Mahler has remained an influential figure in the Reich Citizens' Movement and in the neo-Nazi scene generally. A number of figures prominent in the neo-Nazi revisionist and Holocaust denial landscape have expressed support for Mahler, particularly during his 2009-2020 prison sentence.
A German extreme-right group posted on Telegram in early June 2021 a video featuring a lecture by Horst Mahler in which he said that the Talmud teaches the killing of all non-Jews. The comment accompanying the video states: "Please take the time to watch this video of Horst Mahler!... That means, it is not 'solely' the Zionists, Khasares, Ashkenazis, or whatever they are called. Because Jew is Jew! Same scum..."
Another German group posted its Telegram channel in July 2021 a video featuring a recorded statement by Horst Mahler from 2020, in which he argues that "all of Europe lost WWII, not only Germany, and all of post-WWII politics has been shaped by this defeat. And now the time has come for awareness, and with this awareness the power balance shifts... prior to WWII, the Communists as well as the National Socialists took an anti-capitalist stance that endangered the American capitalist system..." The comment accompanying the video states: "Very important, please share! Already 15 years ago, Horst Mahler explained how the system collapse could be carried out regarding with the regime."
Posts About Holst's Trial And Imprisonment
In January 2020, a German group forwarded on Telegramchannel a post stating: "On the upcoming Thursday, January 23, Horst Mahler approaches his 83rd birthday – still behind bars! Whoever wants to congratulate him..." The post entails the direct contact address of Horst Mahler.
A German celebrity and activist posted in April 2021 a statement on Telegram proclaiming his unconditional support for Horst Mahler, and two other prominent German Holocaust deniers Ursula Haverbeck and Nikolas Nerling: "The Germans on the ground (in Germany) should now be in solidarity with the real German heroes and should unconditionally support them, they know the truth: Horst Mahler, Ursula Haverbeck, and Nikolai Nerling."
On October 27, 2020, a German neo-Nazi vlogger and Holocaust denier posted the day Mahler was released from prison, on his Telegram channel a comment that reads: "Welcome to 'freedom,' dear Horst!" in response to a shared article link titled "Sentenced Holocaust denier Horst Mahler discharged from prison" published the same day by the German newspaper FAZ.
He posted on December 7, 2018, on BitChute a video featuring a brief update on the health situation of Horst Mahler, who had been recovering from a leg amputation surgery and was at that time returning to prison. Nerling encourages donating to help pay for Mahler's medical expenses by stating: "In this case your help is needed and justified as I believe, as Horst Mahler has advocated for a long time for freedom of speech, free research, the free word, and this benefits us as well, therefore, we should support him when he needs our help..." Nerling concluded the video with a song dedicated to Mahler.
The youth branch of a German political party posted a comment on an article titled about Holst and a link to the article. The comment states: "After a more than 10-year-long imprisonment, Horst Mahler was released from prison. However, its nowhere near a reason to celebrate: The prosecution... currently attempts to push forth a new arrest warrant..."
Another group published on February 12, 2021, on its website a podcast episode featuring Horst Mahler's attorney praising and reflecting on Mahler's "brilliant" advocacy in court.
Posts And Accounts Promoting The Concept Of A "The Fourth Reich"
A German nationalist news and radio platform posted on September 11 on its Telegram channel a link to a blog entry. The blog post argues that "Nazi Germany still lives and was the continuation of the Weimar Republic under Reich Chancellor Adolf Hitler, whose borders remain legally binding today [...]" The article argues that "the constitution assumes that the German Reich has outlasted the collapse of 1945 [...] The Republic of Germany is not 'legal successor' to the German Reich, but is a state identical with the 'German Reich' [...]"
An American teenager hosts a podcast whose name references the concept of the Fourth Reich.
On June 19, the podcast's Telegram channel announced that they accept Cash App.
The latest episode of the podcast was released on October 3.
The Telegram channel promoted a document that promotes a combination of neo-Nazism and Satanism with the stated goal of bringing about the collapse of society and the establishment of the "Fourth Reich." Several chapters in the book talk about the formation of a Forth Reich.
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[1] Thetimes.co.uk/article/hungary-denies-asylum-to-neo-nazi-on-the-run-gc3qg0w05, May 15, 2017.
[2] Dw.com/en/hungary-hands-over-holocaust-denier-horst-mahler-to-germany/a-39236515, June 13, 2017.
[3] Newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/baader-meinhof-even-more-complex, August 31, 2009.
[4] Theguardian.com/world/2011/aug/01/baader-meinhof-gang-founder-stasi, August 1, 2011.
[5] Brd-ende.com/1999/11/rverfe99, November 9, 1999.
[6] Web.archive.org/web/20040602233745/www.aufstand-fuer-die-wahrheit.net/reichsbuergerbewegung.html, accessed September 13, 2021.
[7] Dw.com/en/german-neo-nazi-horst-mahler-released-from-prison/a-55412553, October 27, 2020.
[8] Brd-ende.com, accessed September 13, 2021.
[9] Brd-ende.com/1999/11/rverfe99, November 9, 1999.
[10] Brd-ende.com/1999/11/rverfe99, November 9, 1999.
[11] Reichstr.eu/felder/viertes-reich, accessed September 13, 2021.
[12] Liederschatz.net/deutschtum/stellungnahme.htm, accessed September 13, 2021.
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