From Fringe to Mainstream: Understanding the Cultural and Political Identities of Contemporary German Nationalism

Although far-right politics remains a fringe movement in contemporary Germany, one can observe its continuing presence in society given the rise of the National Democratic Party (NPD) in the early 2000s, and the violent attacks led by the National Socialist Underground (NSU) from 2000-2006. A divided opinion amongst Germans arises regarding how best to address nationalism: should the state mandate an outright ban on all nationalist groups, or foster a system that allows for close observation and monitoring of said groups? Nonetheless, the nuanced elements of the far-right movement make it increasingly difficult to achieve a definitive solution. While encompassing less than 1% of the population, supporters of the far-right often possess distinctly cultural or political identities that compromise the overall efficacy and legitimacy of the movement. Given ambiguous rates of support due to these conflicting identities, as well as the isolation of right-wing groups and individuals in specific regions, how has the contemporary right-wing achieved such widespread publicity? More importantly, to what degree does this movement pose a threat to German democracy? In this thesis, I provide an interdisciplinary review of film (Dennis Gansel’s Die Welle), literature (Andres Veiel’s Der Kick and Timur Vermes’ Er ist wieder da), journalism, and government publications to identify the societal implications of the contemporary far-right in Germany. Specifically, I seek to address how, if at all, these cultural representations of far-right ideology mirror the actual movement, and to what extent this movement may subvert established German democracy.Bachelor of Art