NCJ Number
89588
Journal
Schriftenreihe der Polizei-Fuehrungsakademie Issue: 1 Dated: (1983) Pages: 69-83
Date Published
1983
Length
15 pages
Annotation
Recent West German studies have attempted to assess the extent of neofascist tendencies among the population. A research project funded by the Interior Ministry examined the transition from espousing conservative rightist views to engaging in right-wing terrorism by interviewing 32 juvenile and young adults known for their involvement with militant neonazi organizations.
Abstract
It is estimated that about 13 percent of the West German citizenry hold extreme rightist views and about 6 percent would endorse politically motivated violence on behalf of the nazistic ideology. Although some 59 percent of these are over age 50, and merely 5 percent are aged between 18 and 21, it is the latter group who present the greatest criminal danger and whose existence is most disturbing. Little is known about the psychological, biographical, and environmental factors that have contributed to distorting their development. Preliminary findings from the interviews with young neonazi militants indicate that they all have undergone personality crises and adjustment problems in adolescence and were exposed to rightist viewpoints. The normal conflicts of growing up found abnormal resolutions through initially incidental contacts with politically oriented, militant peer groups where a sense of belonging is fostered through shared hostility. The attitudes of self-righteous hatred of others, coupled with ascetic self-deprivation, appear conducive to the transition from ideology to action. This developmental pattern is not predestined and inevitable. Further study of politically motivated juvenile violence is imperative; preventive educational efforts must aim at forestalling the identification of troubled youngsters with extremist groups as well as at permanently discrediting their false ideologies. One table is provided.