German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen has vowed to smoke out neo-Nazi sympathisers in the Bundeswehr army, after police arrested a soldier with far-right views who secured asylum – and planned a suspected terrorist attack – after posing as a Syrian green grocer.
The Bundeswehr has closed ranks after Ms von der Leyen criticised the soldier’s superiors and military intelligence for failing to heed warning signs about the man, identified as Franco A. These included a 2014 master’s thesis claiming mass immigration meant Europe was facing “mass genocide”.
A complaint about the thesis by his supervisor was ignored, it later emerged, military police were not informed and the German soldier was allowed to rewrite his thesis.
“We have to ask systematically how someone with such clear right-wing, extremist views, who writes a master’s paper with clearly nationalistic ideas . . . could continue to pursue a career in the Bundeswehr,” said Ms von der Leyen.
Originating from Offenbach, near Frankfurt, the lieutenant was posted to the French town of Illkirch-Graffenstaden where he served as part of a Franco-German unit.
Two years ago he filed for asylum, claiming to be a Syrian man named “David Benjamin”. His application was granted, despite him speaking no Arabic, and he received a monthly allowance of €409 from January 2016. A year later, he was detained after going back to Vienna airport to retrieve a gun he had hidden there. Surveillance of his email and phone revealed extremist, xenophobic views.
Under fire
Ms von der Leyen has come under fire for criticising the army – over this and other cases, including abuse, sexual degradation and so-called hazing among Bundeswehr ranks.
After she accused the Bundeswehr of “weak leadership” and an “attitude problem”, armed forces representatives hit back, saying that “leadership comes from the top”.
On Wednesday the minister postponed a trip to the US to visit the Illkirch base instead, inspecting items seized in a search of the soldier’s quarters, including a machine gun with a Nazi swastika carved into the case, a pamphlet about the Nazi-era Wehrmacht and the letters HH (Heil Hitler) engraved in the wall.
“The vast majority of soldiers earn our respect but because they do such good service it is all the more bitter that a small minority damage the Bundeswehr’s reputation,” she said, predicting a long review process of the soldier’s Bundeswehr career, of the wider corps culture and of disciplinary procedures that failed in this case.
“More will come to light,” she predicted. According to media reports, the defence ministry believes Franco A was part of a five-member cell with extremist views.
Police have also arrested a 24-year-old friend of the soldier, suspected of being a co-conspirator, and secured explosives at his home. A five-member hit list was also discovered, with targets including centre-left justice minister Heiko Maas.
“These findings, as well as other evidence, point towards a xenophobic motive for the soldier’s suspected plan to commit an attack using a weapon deposited at Vienna airport,” said German prosecutors in charge of the case.
