Germany Disbands Elite Military Unit Following Reports Of Right Wing Extremism

Enlarge this image

Soldiers of the Command Special Forces (KSK) of the Bundeswehr are preparing to rappel from a helicopter during an exercise in 2004.

hide caption

toggle caption

Thomas Kienzle/AP

Europe
German Special Forces Officer To Be Suspended Over Ties To Right-Wing Extremism

Defense Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer said the KSK had created a «wall of secrecy» around itself and she told the Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper on Tuesday that the elite force had developed a «toxic leadership culture» and «cannot continue to exist in its present form.»

Enlarge this image

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the Inspector General of the German Armed Forces Bundeswehr Eberhard Zorn (left) inspect the guard of honour during a swearing-in ceremony of German Bundeswehr soldiers at the Bendlerblock in Berlin, last July.

hide caption

toggle caption

Michael Kappeler/DPA/AFP via Getty Images

German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer and the Inspector General of the German Armed Forces Bundeswehr Eberhard Zorn (left) inspect the guard of honour during a swearing-in ceremony of German Bundeswehr soldiers at the Bendlerblock in Berlin, last July.

Michael Kappeler/DPA/AFP via Getty Images

Some of the 70 soldiers from the disbanded company would be reassigned to one of the KSK’s three other combat companies, Kramp-Karrenbauer said.

«We will give the KSK time to press the reset button,» she said.

However, Kramp-Karrenbauer insisted «we need the KSK.»

«The vast majority of the men and women in the KSK and in the Bundeswehr as a whole are loyal to our constitution, with no ifs or buts,» she said.

According to Deutsche Welle, the extremism allegations date back to 2017, when KSK members at a party performed the Nazi salute and played right-wing extremist music.

In May, investigators discovered Nazi memorabilia, weapons and explosives on the property of a sergeant major assigned to the KSK, according to Deutsche Press-Agentur.

In yet another incident, which Kramp-Karrenbauer called «disturbing» and «alarming,» authorities were looking into the disappearance of 48,000 rounds of ammunition and more than 135 pounds (62 kilograms) of explosives from the elite unit’s arsenal.

The KSK’s training and deployments have been scaled back while the investigation continues, according to Deutsche Welle.