An everyday Neo-Nazi attack in Germany
During a peaceful street festival in Bad Freienwalde, a violent right-wing attack unfolded. Organizers later issued harsh accusations against the local police – who, as is too often the case in Germany, appeared reluctant to act decisively against Neo-Nazis. One is reminded, ominously, of the infamous Nazi Einsatzgruppen or Police Battalion 101.
Posted by Thomas Klikauer
Neo-Nazi attacks in Germany are neither new nor, sadly, particularly newsworthy anymore. Yet the recent assault in Bad Freienwalden, East Germany, carries troubling new significance.
It happened – one is tempted to say – again in East-Germany: a long-standing stronghold of Neo-Nazi activity and the birthplace of Germany’s most lethal far-right terror group, the NSU (National Socialist Underground).
But what sets this incident apart is twofold. First, it underscores the on-going institutional failure to confront right-wing extremism, especially in eastern regions.
Second – and more immediately – it was only the swift action of an anti-fascist self-defence group that prevented greater harm.
During a peaceful street festival in Bad Freienwalde, a violent right-wing attack unfolded. Organizers later issued harsh accusations against the local police – who, as is too often the case in Germany, appeared reluctant to act decisively against Neo-Nazis. One is reminded, ominously, of the infamous Nazi Einsatzgruppen or Police Battalion 101.
Of course, today’s democratic police forces are not the same as Hitler’s, and no direct line can be drawn. But the persistent institutional unwillingness – particularly in parts of East Germany – to recognise or respond swiftly to far-right extremism remains deeply disturbing.
On Sunday, June 15th, 2025, around noon, a group of masked men armed with clubs launched a broad-daylight assault. But this time, East Germany’s Antifa – anti-fascist action groups – were ready.
The festival had just begun. Families had arrived, children were getting their faces painted, and booths offering coffee, international food, and graffiti workshops were in full swing.
Organised by the progressive alliance Bad Freienwalde ist Bunt (Bad Freienwalde is Colourful), the event was meant to celebrate multiculturalism and protest rising anti-queer hatred and the far-right surge gripping the region.
At exactly noon, a dozen masked Neo-Nazis stormed the festival grounds. They tore down the flag at the booth of Germany’s environmentalist Green Party and began attacking bystanders.
Eyewitnesses say at least two people were punched in the face. Footage from local broadcaster RBB shows one masked man – wearing sweatpants and a balaclava, standard Neo-Nazi attire – striking a man violently. Some festival-goers at first failed to grasp the severity of what was unfolding.
One attacker wore a black, white, and red balaclava – colours associated with Imperial Germany, now a hallmark of Neo-Nazi iconography and their fantasy to “Make the Fourth Reich Great Again.”
Several attackers reportedly wore quartz sand gloves – a brutal weapon designed to maximize harm. Witnesses described the assault as highly organized and militaristic. The prearranged signal to end the attack was the shouted command “Abbruch!” (“Abort!”), after which they retreated with disturbing coordination.
Locals later likened the event to a “sporty field trip” for the attackers – a chilling window into a subculture where political violence has become recreation.
Initial police findings confirmed the use of batons and other weapons capable of causing “dangerous bodily harm.” Experts and observers described the assault as a clearly targeted and deliberate far-right operation.
While investigations continue, many point to Deutsche Jugend Voran (“German Youth Rise”), a known far-right youth group in the area.
It’s affiliated with the fringe Neo-Nazi mini-party Der III. Weg (“The Third Way”) and its militant youth arm, Nationalrevolutionäre Jugend (“National Revolutionary Youth”)—both increasingly visible in Bad Freienwalde.
Members of these groups have long been suspected of violent acts. In February 2025, Der III. Weg began targeting the same progressive alliance that organized the festival – echoing the Nazi-era demonization of anything deemed “un-German.”
The group’s own website even boasted of their presence at the June 15th rally, where they handed out propaganda calling to “fight the anti-German milieu” and “build a new Germany.”
Most disturbing of all: local police were entirely absent during the attack – despite prior warnings that local Neo-Nazis were armed, organized, and threatening violence.
The only reason this incident didn’t end in tragedy was because locals stood their ground. Some confronted the attackers, shouting them down. One Neo-Nazi was briefly detained by civilians before managing to escape.
Witnesses confirmed the total lack of police presence. When questioned, police claimed that “at the time the decision was made to respond, forces were not in proximity to the events to prevent the confrontation.” This raises two troubling points:
- The incident was downplayed as a “confrontation” rather than accurately described as a coordinated far-right assault.
- Police being stationed at a “safe distance” essentially enabled the attackers to act without interference.
Some might call this part of the “institutional memory” of reluctance among German police to confront Nazis – a pattern dating back to the 1930s.
Festival organizers were blunt: “They came late – again.” It’s a familiar refrain in the long and often shameful history of German police responses to right-wing extremism.
Organizers had warned authorities in advance and explicitly requested a visible police presence.
There had been signs. Posters advertising the event were torn down. Neo-Nazi graffiti had appeared in the market square in the days leading up to the festival.
Local officials expressed shock, noting that the rise in far-right aggression should have made constant police protection a given. Yet in the absence of deterrence, Neo-Nazi violence has escalated.
Over the past year, attacks by far-right groups have surged across Germany. Meanwhile, the far-right AfD – Germany’s most visible neo-fascist party – continues to normalize its presence under the misleading guise of “citizens’ dialogues,” even holding events in local schools.
Shockingly, the local CDU mayor of Bad Freienwalde supports the AfD’s activities and has publicly praised the “triumphal march of the AfD.”
There’s a haunting historical echo here. In 1933, Hitler’s Nazis lacked a majority and needed the conservatives to form a government. On January 30th, 1933, they got it.
Fast forward to August 2025: the neo-fascist AfD (26%) has now overtaken the conservative CDU (24%) to become Germany’s strongest political party.
Together, a hypothetical AfD-CDU coalition would command 50% of the vote – far more than the current SPD-CDU coalition (just 37%). If such a coalition were to govern Germany, attacks like the one in Bad Freienwalde are unlikely to remain isolated.
They would likely become the rule, not the exception. And once again, German Neo-Nazis might chant their favourite marching song:
Die Straße frei, SA marschiert
Clear the streets, the SA is marching
Photo: Screenshot of masked Neo-Nazi attacking Freienwalde street festival (source: German public TV: https://www.rbb24.de)
Subscribe to Cross-border Talks’ YouTube channel! Follow the project’s Facebook and Twitter page! And here are the podcast’s Telegram channel and its Substack newsletter!
Like our work? Donate to Cross-Border Talks or buy us a coffee!
About The Author
