What's fueling right-wing extremism in young German men?

DW (English)

Germany has seen as a jump in politically-motivated crimes. But what is feeding right-wing radicalization in young men? One of them shared his story with DW.

Transcript

00:00I have a right-wing past. Everything I did was wrong.

00:04Of course, I could pretend that I was never like that.

00:07But it's important for me to talk about it and own up to it precisely because it had such a negative impact on my life.

00:16Cliff was radicalized at the age of 12.

00:22His parents' separation was hard on him.

00:24He had little contact with friends and spent his time almost exclusively on social media.

00:30It was a gradual process that started with YouTube videos.

00:42Once you start clicking, it's difficult to stop.

00:44Within a few months, I was completely radicalized and indoctrinated.

00:51Cliff didn't become physically violent, but other young men do.

00:55Chat groups are often the first point of contact with right-wing extremism.

01:00In a recent raid against a suspected far-right terrorist group, police arrested several young people.

01:06The youngest was only 14 years old.

01:08According to investigators, the teenagers were using an extreme-right chat group to plan an attack on a refugee shelter.

01:14The German Domestic Intelligence Service is alarmed.

01:18We're seeing even younger people becoming radicalized online, being guided by others, and in some cases even taking action.

01:24According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the number of politically motivated crimes in Germany has risen by 40 percent.

01:32Most of them are motivated by right-wing extremism.

01:35Experts say that ideas about dominance and masculinity are a key factor in this radicalization.

01:39I was looking for a sense of belonging, people who accepted me for who I was, unconditional love.

01:47Because there were always arguments at home, and my mother was so distant, I never really felt that I was going to get that unconditional love.

01:54On the Internet, Cliff was exposed to influencers like Andrew Tate, whose misogynistic soundbites and toxic masculinity lured him in.

02:04Now the females have cumped men, and to sit in there, only having kids with them.

02:09Cliff was seduced by hate speech against women, foreigners, and members of the queer community.

02:13I think young men are very susceptible to radicalization, because they have very few positive male role models.

02:22You can't talk about feelings, and in right-wing circles, those taboos are still there.

02:28You're really afraid to talk about such things.

02:30It's all about asserting yourself and maintaining your status.

02:33There's no real communication.

02:36You're always trying to prove that you're superior to the next person.

02:39The statistics support this.

02:44While young women in Germany are increasingly adopting progressive and liberal views,

02:48young men are moving even further to the right.

02:54But Cliff made it out.

02:55Today he's standing against his former beliefs.

02:58Through the online initiative Men Against the Right,

03:01he's committed to ensuring that young people don't make the same mistakes he did.

03:09The extreme right is, of course, very strong on social media,

03:15where it has a large sphere of influence and attracts young men, in particular, who are easy-gain.

03:23We didn't want to hand over the field to them so easily.

03:26I think men are more open to talking about things with other men who feel the same way,

03:35who have exactly the same problems as they do.

03:38I had to go through it myself to be able to understand it.

03:42Cliff's journey away from the right-wing scene began when he finished school and moved away from home.

03:48I was doing an apprenticeship in Dusseldorf.

03:51One of my fellow apprentices, Bilal, was a refugee.

03:54And I realized that he was anything but a bad person.

03:58At first I had the typical thought,

04:00oh, so he's one of the good ones.

04:02That's what they say in far-right circles to justify there being the occasional good foreigner.

04:08That's how I viewed it at first.

04:09But then I started to question,

04:11what if everything I learned was just a load of garbage?

04:14That's true.

04:14It's not that way.

04:22What are you doing?

04:24I don't want to see swastikas or any other right-wing extremist symbols here.

04:29Since the city isn't taking care of it,

04:30your only option is to cover them with stickers or spray paint.

04:35Then, something happened that he previously would have thought impossible.

04:39He fell in love with a trans man.

04:41What really opened my eyes was my fiancé sitting in front of me crying and saying,

04:51I don't think you'd accept me if you knew what's happening inside me.

04:56If the person I love most thinks I don't accept them, what do I stand for?

05:02Today, Cliff is out and identifies as queer.

05:05But he is also concerned.

05:06The right-wing extremist scene he once belonged to is increasingly targeting queer people.

05:11Still, Cliff doesn't want to hide.

05:14I have more love in my life.

05:16There are more beautiful things.

05:18I have something to stand for, not just something to stand against.

05:21Absolutely.

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