Today, Federal Minister of the Interior Nancy Faeser took a tough stance against the right-wing extremist movement by banning a far-right magazine called “Compact.” The ban also extended to the company that publishes the magazine Compact-Magazin GmbH and a film production company called Conspect Film. These companies are accused of going against the constitutional order, as outlined in Article 9 of the Basic Law and Section 3 of the Associations Act. The ban came after thorough preparations and cooperation between the federal and state governments.
The Federal Minister of the Interior accused these companies of stirring up hatred against Jews, people with immigrant roots and parliamentary democracy. Intensive preparations and cooperation between the federal and state governments preceded the ban on associations.
“Today, I banned the right-wing extremist ‘COMPACT Magazine’. It agitates unspeakably against Jews, against Muslims and our democracy. Our ban is a hard blow against the right-wing extremist scene,” Germany’s top security official posted on X.
Today, authorities in the states of Brandenburg, Hesse, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt have been conducting searches at the properties of the organisations and the homes of their leaders, management, and significant shareholders. The purpose of these searches is to seize assets and gather evidence. Also, today’s ban prohibits these organisations from carrying out their previous activities. Any violation of this ban is considered a criminal offence.
Federal Minister Nancy Faeser has described the banned organisations as “a central mouthpiece of the right-wing extremist scene.”
“The ban shows that we are also taking action against the intellectual arsonists who are stirring up a climate of hatred and violence against refugees and migrants and who want to overthrow our democratic state. Our message is very clear: We will not allow ethnic definitions of who belongs to Germany and who does not. Our constitutional state protects all those who are attacked because of their faith, their origins, their skin colour or because of their democratic stance,” the Minister of Interior stated.
Minister Faeser thanked the security authorities at the federal level and the states involved for their closely coordinated, consistent measures.
“I would especially like to thank the emergency services who have been searching various properties since the early morning hours,“ she emphasised.
According to a press release issued by the Federal Ministry of the Interior and Community, “COMPACT-Magazin GmbH“ is managed by the right-wing extremist Jürgen Elsässer. The multimedia-oriented company’s main products are the monthly “COMPACT-Magazin“ (40,000 copies) and the online video channel “COMPACT-TV.”
In addition, “COMPACT-Magazin GmbH” is present in numerous social media and operates an online shop through which, in addition to its own printed products, books, audiobooks, CDs and DVDs as well as merchandise items such as clothing, posters, stickers, cups and medals are sold. In its wide-reaching publications and products, “COMPACT-Magazin GmbH” spreads anti-Semitic, racist, anti-minority, historical revisionist and conspiracy-theoretical content. It agitates against a pluralistic social system that respects the individual’s human dignity and provides for the free and equal participation of all citizens in the political decision-making process. In its publications and online presence, “COMPACT-Magazin GmbH” propagates an ethnic-nationalist concept of society which, in its view, seeks to exclude “ethnic strangers” from the nation. “COMPACT-Magazin GmbH” uses resistance and revolutionary rhetoric and deliberately crosses boundaries and distorted and manipulative representations.
The content distributed by “COMPACT-Magazin GmbH” also aims to denigrate members of certain ethnic groups, particularly those of Arab descent, as second-class citizens, intending to create a social and political climate of exclusion for these population groups.
“COMPACT-Magazin GmbH” also spreads anti-Semitic content. Conspiracy theories are spread, for example, about an omnipotent Jewish financial elite to stir up hatred against Jews. The Federal Ministry’s press release highlights the risk that recipients of media products will be incited by publications that openly advocate the overthrow of the political order and encourage them to take action against the constitutional order.
The central role of “COMPACT-Magazin GmbH“ lies in the popularisation and widespread dissemination of the right-wing extremist ideology of the “New Right“ through numerous publications and events. “COMPACT-Magazin GmbH“ is a crucial player in networking the “New Right”. The association has close ties to the right-wing extremist “Identitarian Movement“ (IB) and the right-wing extremist party spectrum. The close networking is reflected, among other things, in the mutual participation in and support of events.
Jürgen Elsässer, a journalist, is a known figure in the German extremist milieu. He uses anti-American, homophobic, racist, and Islamophobic rhetoric and embraces conspiracy theories. Since 2016, the Compact has been an election campaign organ for the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).
Reacting to the ban, AfD’s co-chairwoman Alice Weidel posted on X:
“Freedom of the press and freedom of opinion are valuable assets. Worldwide, especially in Germany, we have learned that it is generally a bad sign when the state bans individual press organs. The legal situation is not yet fully clear, so it is difficult to highlight individual points of criticism. #AfD will, therefore, monitor and critically accompany the upcoming proceedings. #Compact.”
