German far-right group ‘who wanted to resurrect Nazi state’ banned and homes raided by police

Weapons including crossbow found during searches

German interior minister Horst Seehofer said there is ‘no place’ in the country for a group like 'Wolf Brigade 44’ (Getty)

Police raided houses linked to a Neo-Nazi group in three German states on Tuesday morning, the country’s interior ministry has said.

The raids, which came after a ban on the far-right extremist group “Wolf Brigade 44”, took place in Hesse, Mecklenburg West-Pomerania and North Rhine-Westphalia.

Weapons such as a crossbow and Nazi symbols including swastikas were found during searches of 11 organisation member’s homes, according to Reuters.

Horst Seehofer, the German interior minister, said: "There is no place in our country for a group that sows hate and propagates the re-establishment of a Nazi state.

“Whoever fights against the basic values of our free society will get to feel the resolute reaction of our government.”

Members of “Wolf Brigade 44”, which was founded in 2016, seek to re-establish a Nazi dictatorship and sow racism and antisemitism, according to the German government.

The “44” in its name refers to the fourth letter in the alphabet and is an abbreviation for “Division Dirlewanger”.

Oskar Dirlewanger, a Nazi war criminal, lead a paramilitary SS unit which was known for its brutality and perpetrated massacres in Belarus. 

The German government has banned other similar organisations including the Combat 18 this year, amid a rise in the number of far-right extremists.

A racist extremist killed nine people in two shisha bars in the city of Hanau in February in a racially-motivated attack, while another far-right extremist killed a pro-refugee mayor in June 2019.

Agencies contributed to this report