German military authorities have dishonorably discharged three special forces troops out of 19 being investigated for far-right extremism and antisemitic rhetoric, an army spokesperson told the DPA news agency on Monday.
The investigation within Paratrooper Regiment 26, which has about 1,700 troops, involves more than 200 alleged offenses and 55 potential suspects, 16 of whom were subject to ongoing “dismissal proceedings,” the spokesperson said.
Several female soldiers complained to the commissioner for the armed forces of the Bundestag, the German parliament, about what they described as sexual and inappropriate conduct of troops from the Regiment, DPA reported. It triggered an investigation that revealed the use of Nazi imagery or slogans, as well as Jew hatred, according to DPA.
The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper reported that troops at the Regiment’s home base in Zweibrücken engaged in violent initiation rituals and drug use. There was a “right-wing extremist, openly antisemitic clique” in Zweibrücken, one unnamed source told the paper. There were reportedly “Hitler salutes and an alleged Nazi party.”
At least 30 soldiers are said to have been involved in right-wing extremist and antisemitic incidents, according to that report.
“When we realized what was going on in Zweibrücken, we were frankly speechless,” Field Army Commander Harald Gante told the paper. “Both because of the events themselves and the way they were handled.
According to Die Zeit, there were 280 right-wing extremist incidents reported last year within the German army’s ranks.
In addition to disciplinary action within the military, suspects may face criminal charges in the civilian justice system. The Zweibrücken public prosecutor’s office is investigating 19 soldiers, both regular troops and non-commissioned officers, a spokesperson said. They did not say whether the 19 suspects were the same individuals flagged for discharge by military authorities.
