Ayhan Şimşek
13 May 2025•Update: 14 May 2025
BERLIN
German police launched a nationwide crackdown on Tuesday against the country's largest “Reich Citizens” organization, in what officials called a significant blow against far-right extremism.
Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the group “Kingdom of Germany” (Konigreich Deutschland), which rejects the legitimacy of the modern German state, has been banned and had its assets seized.
“Today, we struck a significant blow against the so-called Reich Citizens and self-administrators,” Dobrindt said in a statement. “The members of this organization have created a 'counter-state' in our country and established criminal economic structures,” he said.
The early morning operation involved hundreds of police officers conducting searches in seven federal states, including Baden-Wurttemberg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Thuringia. Officials seized assets and gathered evidence of the group's anti-constitutional activities.
Founded in 2012 by Peter Fitzek, who called himself the “Supreme Sovereign,” the organization represents a growing movement of German citizens who reject the authority of the Federal Republic of Germany. With approximately 6,000 members, the group had created its own parallel institutions, including a “Royal Bank,” healthcare system, insurance businesses, and aid organizations.
“They consistently undermine the legal order and the state's monopoly on the use of force,” Dobrindt said. “They reinforce their supposed claim to power through antisemitic conspiracy narratives. This cannot be tolerated in our constitutional state.”
The Reichsburger (Reich Citizens) movement rejects Germany's legitimacy and claims the country is governed by a so-called “deep state.” Members typically refuse to pay taxes and frequently clash with authorities. Germany's domestic intelligence agency BfV estimates that the movement has 23,000 followers.
