Is right-wing extremism still concentrated largely in the eastern states?
Unfortunately, these structures are clearly recognizable in the west as well. Of course, not in the magnitude that they are in the east, but in Hesse, where I come from, a neo-Nazi framework has been firmly established across the region. In most of the wine-growing villages with populations from five to seven thousand, there may only be two or three far-right youths. But when they get together at a wine festival in the region, then you have about 80 young people in one place who are prepared to use violence. It can be difficult for other young people, who don’t adhere to the right-wing dress code or are of foreign origin, to get through the mob. So it could be problematic if a lot of far-right youths in the west decided to band together? The networks are, in any case, definitely there and are expanding. In the Rhine Valley region in the last few years we’ve seen the development of something remarkable. The concentration of new right-wing groups here is approaching levels we see in the
