Neo-Nazi investigation

Some of the facts that have emerged since two neo-Nazis died in a campervan in Zwickau late last year seem simply outrageous. For instance, the two men and their female companion from the National Socialist Underground group were able to go into hiding even though the police were searching for them. And then, for an entire decade, the trio went around robbing and killing people. Tip-offs given by the public always ran into the sand.

All of this makes it tempting for some people to allege that German authorities turned a blind eye to the threat from radical groups on the far right of the political spectrum. Some even see it as proof that Germany's security agencies and right-wing extremists are deeply intertwined.

And yet, while indignation is a matter of an instant, it takes rather longer to find out what really happened. Germany has just taken another small step in the long process of gaining a clearer understanding of the events and their background: a special commission of inquiry appointed by the German Parliament has questioned a staff member of the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Germany's domestic intelligence agency, who is known to have destroyed files after news broke about the neo-Nazi case. The committee also questioned his boss, the agency's outgoing president, Heinz Fromm. But it will probably take the committee until late next year to shed light on all aspects of the case.

Many German politicians are already jumping to conclusions. Some members of the Left and the Green Parties have been calling for the abolition of the agency altogether. But the co-chair of the Greens' parliamentary group, Renate Künast, has opposed this idea publicly - and rightly so. She told a news agency that such a step would "cancel the principle of separation between the Office for the Protection of the Constitution and the police, which is based on reasons of history. And it would give the latter an incredible amount of power." After its experience with Adolf Hitler's secret police, the Gestapo, Germany opted for a strict separation between the two services.

Other politicians are claiming that the disastrous failure of collaboration between state security agencies and the federal agencies is proof enough that Germany needs less federalism. In fact, centralized structures would probably (but by no means definitely) be more effective. But efficiency in security agencies is a double-edged sword. That's not just true for dictatorships - just think of the domestic secret service in the McCarthy era. Separation of powers is vital, to make sure those powers are not abused.

Of course, all the mistakes which were made in connection with the neo-Nazi murders have to have consequences. Germany has to learn from its errors and ensure that they aren't repeated. But in order to do that, you have to know first of all what errors were actually committed.

Author: Peter Stützle / nh
Editor: Michael Lawton