Germany’s domestic intelligence agency is creating 300 jobs to crackdown on right-wing terrorism and “extremist activities in the public sector”.

Following a series of high-profile incidents of right-wing extremism — such as the murder of the pro-refugee politician Walter Lübcke in June — the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz (Germany’s domestic intelligence agency) is to be massively upgraded.

That’s according to a plan presented Tuesday by Federal Interior Minister Horst Seehofer (CSU) and domestic intelligence President Thomas Haldenwang in Berlin.

The 300 additional jobs are being created to better monitor the right-wing extremist scene, including identifying terrorist cells and individual perpetrators at an early stage, according to information obtained by Spiegel Online.

Social networks and the Internet are also to be monitored more closely to identify possible extremists who could use violence, radicalize themselves or network with other extremists.

The planned “Central Office for the Investigation of Right-wing Extremist Activities in the Public Sector” will be set up as a division of the intelligence agency.

The office will also establish a stronger exchange of information with foreign governments on right-wing extremist terrorism.

The plans materialized after incidents in New Zealand and the US, in which assassins attacked mosques, synagogues and migrants, killing numerous people.

The mosque attacker in New Zealand’s Christchurch had contacts with Europe’s “Identitarian Movement”, of which there is also a strong presence in Germany.

In its current annual report, German intelligence counts 24,100 right-wing extremists in Germany, more than half of whom, according to the authority, are “oriented towards violence”.

Two weeks ago Interior Minister Seehofer said that right-wing extremism in Germany poses just as great a danger for security agencies as Islamic terrorism, and announced additional jobs and restructuring.

Vocabulary

Right-wing scene – die rechtsextreme Szen
Crackdown/combat – (die) Bekämpfung
Upgraded – aufgerüste
Attacks – (die) Anschläge
Restructuring – (die) Umstrukturierung