The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000

Project Management: Prof. Dr. Frank Bösch (ZZF Potsdam), Prof. Dr. Gideon Botsch (MMZ Potsdam)
Supported by the Volkswagen Foundation

The research project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000" examines the contemporary history of the radical right with previously untapped sources and socio-historical approaches. The project uses the term "radical right" to focus on actors who reject the core elements of the existing democratic constitutional order as a representative parliamentary democracy on the basis of a nationalist, authoritarian and racist worldview. This includes the smaller group of the violent extremist right, but is not identical with it. The project focuses on the overarching question of the social practices through which the generational transformation of the radical right in Germany took place - from the actors socialized under National Socialism to the cohort that grew up under democracy and the SED dictatorship and has set the tone since the 1970s.

A short (german) description of the project "Die radikale Rechte in Deutschland, 1945-2000" can be found here (pdf)

To project website: https://projekt.radikale-rechte.de

Forschung

Projekte

Memorial in Munich for the killed victims of the Oktoberfest attack of September 26, 1980, Photo: Darius Muschiol

Single perpetrators? Right-wing terrorist actors in the old Federal Republic

 Darius Muschiol

Completed asociated PhD project
Supported by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000"

The work was located in the field of political social history as well as contemporary right-wing extremism research. The central starting point was the question of the extent to which the actors were “lone perpetrators” and / or groups of “half-crazy nuts”, as they were often referred to in politics, authorities and the public.

Leipzig, Demonstration of "Republikanern", Neonazis, January 1990, Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1990-0115-032 / Kluge, Wolfgang / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE

Work, Family, Fatherland - Everyday Life and Realities of the Radical Right (ca. 1960 to 1990)

Luisa Seydel (until 31.1.2023)
PhD project
Subproject of the VW Foundation-funded project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000"

With a primarily praxeological and actor-oriented approach, the project examines the extent to which the radical right developed a shared lifestyle based on its ideology. It is primarily devoted to the informal scene and various subcultures beyond formal associations such as parties and organizations. The focus is on the Federal Republic, combined with research on the GDR and East Germany.

Media Intellectuals from the Right? The Development of Right-Wing Ideology after 1945 in Germany and France

 Marie Müller-Zetzsche

Associated Postdoc project
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000"

The research project investigates how radical right-wing ideologies have changed since 1945 in the Federal Republic and in France. Which discourses remained stable over the decades and where and when did new elements appear?

Rightwing Training Ground: The „ Young National Democrats“ („Junge Nationaldemokraten“), ca. 1967–1994

 Laura Haßler

Associated PhD project
Supported by the Hans-Böckler Stiftung
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000"

The „Young National Democrats“ („Junge Nationaldemokraten“, JN) occupy a key position in the history of the ‚National Opposition‘ of the Federal Republic of Germany. How they attained and exercised this key position in the right-wing milieu has not yet been researched historically. The project pursues this question by analyzing their structures, alliances, and activities from the perspective of social history.

 

Die Deutsche Partei (DP) verspricht Rechtsdruck (1953), Foto: Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 124 Nr. 0026.

Nationalizing the Germans after Hitler. How Right-Wing Parties Shaped Occupied and Divided Germany

 Dominik Rigoll

Postdoc-Project
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000" supported by the Volkswagen Foundation

The influence and impact of right-wing parties in postwar Germany were much greater than often appears in historical overviews and current political debates.

Andernach, Adenauer visited the German military, photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1998-006-34 / Wolf, Helmut J. / CC-BY-SA 3.0

The Radical Right and the German military after 1945

 Jakob Saß

PhD project
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000" supported by the Volkswagen Foundation

Through archival research, this project analyses, on the one hand, different practices of right-wing soldiers within the armies of West and East Germany. On the other hand, the project takes a closer look at how the German authorities on both sides of the Wall responded to such incidents and structures, in order to understand how these exemplify the relationship between the state and the Radical Right after 1945.

The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000

Project Management: Prof. Dr. Frank Bösch (ZZF Potsdam), Prof. Dr. Gideon Botsch (MMZ Potsdam)
Supported by the Volkswagen Foundation

The research project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000" examines the contemporary history of the radical right with previously untapped sources and socio-historical approaches. The project uses the term "radical right" to focus on actors who reject the core elements of the existing democratic constitutional order as a representative parliamentary democracy on the basis of a nationalist, authoritarian and racist worldview. This includes the smaller group of the violent extremist right, but is not identical with it. The project focuses on the overarching question of the social practices through which the generational transformation of the radical right in Germany took place - from the actors socialized under National Socialism to the cohort that grew up under democracy and the SED dictatorship and has set the tone since the 1970s.

A short (german) description of the project "Die radikale Rechte in Deutschland, 1945-2000" can be found here (pdf)

To project website: https://projekt.radikale-rechte.de

Forschung

Projekte

Memorial in Munich for the killed victims of the Oktoberfest attack of September 26, 1980, Photo: Darius Muschiol

Single perpetrators? Right-wing terrorist actors in the old Federal Republic

 Darius Muschiol

Completed asociated PhD project
Supported by the Hans-Böckler-Stiftung
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000"

The work was located in the field of political social history as well as contemporary right-wing extremism research. The central starting point was the question of the extent to which the actors were “lone perpetrators” and / or groups of “half-crazy nuts”, as they were often referred to in politics, authorities and the public.

Leipzig, Demonstration of "Republikanern", Neonazis, January 1990, Photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 183-1990-0115-032 / Kluge, Wolfgang / CC BY-SA 3.0 DE

Work, Family, Fatherland - Everyday Life and Realities of the Radical Right (ca. 1960 to 1990)

Luisa Seydel (until 31.1.2023)
PhD project
Subproject of the VW Foundation-funded project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000"

With a primarily praxeological and actor-oriented approach, the project examines the extent to which the radical right developed a shared lifestyle based on its ideology. It is primarily devoted to the informal scene and various subcultures beyond formal associations such as parties and organizations. The focus is on the Federal Republic, combined with research on the GDR and East Germany.

Media Intellectuals from the Right? The Development of Right-Wing Ideology after 1945 in Germany and France

 Marie Müller-Zetzsche

Associated Postdoc project
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000"

The research project investigates how radical right-wing ideologies have changed since 1945 in the Federal Republic and in France. Which discourses remained stable over the decades and where and when did new elements appear?

Rightwing Training Ground: The „ Young National Democrats“ („Junge Nationaldemokraten“), ca. 1967–1994

 Laura Haßler

Associated PhD project
Supported by the Hans-Böckler Stiftung
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000"

The „Young National Democrats“ („Junge Nationaldemokraten“, JN) occupy a key position in the history of the ‚National Opposition‘ of the Federal Republic of Germany. How they attained and exercised this key position in the right-wing milieu has not yet been researched historically. The project pursues this question by analyzing their structures, alliances, and activities from the perspective of social history.

 

Die Deutsche Partei (DP) verspricht Rechtsdruck (1953), Foto: Staatsarchiv Freiburg W 124 Nr. 0026.

Nationalizing the Germans after Hitler. How Right-Wing Parties Shaped Occupied and Divided Germany

 Dominik Rigoll

Postdoc-Project
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000" supported by the Volkswagen Foundation

The influence and impact of right-wing parties in postwar Germany were much greater than often appears in historical overviews and current political debates.

Andernach, Adenauer visited the German military, photo: Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-1998-006-34 / Wolf, Helmut J. / CC-BY-SA 3.0

The Radical Right and the German military after 1945

 Jakob Saß

PhD project
Part of the project "The Radical Right in Germany, 1945-2000" supported by the Volkswagen Foundation

Through archival research, this project analyses, on the one hand, different practices of right-wing soldiers within the armies of West and East Germany. On the other hand, the project takes a closer look at how the German authorities on both sides of the Wall responded to such incidents and structures, in order to understand how these exemplify the relationship between the state and the Radical Right after 1945.