The Federal Administrative Court in Leipzig has confirmed the ban on the right-wing extremist group “Die Artgemeinschaft – Germanische Glaubens-Gemeinschaft wesensgemäßer Lebensgestaltung e. V”. The court announced this decision on Wednesday. The ruling came after the association filed a lawsuit contesting the ban imposed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior (BMI) on August 4, 2023.
During its deliberation, the court concluded that the organization violates the constitutional order and the fundamental principles of global understanding.
The plaintiffs, who describe themselves as the oldest Germanic pagan faith community, promote an ideology that, according to the court’s reasoning, is modeled after National Socialist racial theory. The court noted that the organization seems to restrict membership to people of specific “races” and propagates a notion of a “people’s community” based on biological criteria. This stance is fundamentally at odds with the core values of the Basic Law, particularly the principle of human dignity, which the law maintains is independent of origin or race.
Furthermore, the court emphasized that all religious and spiritual communities must adhere to general laws. The Artgemeinschaft was found to have adopted and disseminated key elements of Nazi ideology through its publications and organized events. The group’s close ties to right-wing extremist circles, coupled with the use of Nazi symbolism, were key factors that solidified the confirmed ban.
