Although far-right politics remains a fringe movement in contemporary Germany,
one can observe its continuing presence in society given the rise of the National Democratic
Party (NPD) in the early 2000s, and the violent attacks led by the National Socialist
Underground (NSU) from 2000-2006. A divided opinion amongst Germans arises regarding
how best to address nationalism: should the state mandate an outright ban on all nationalist
groups, or foster a system that allows for close observation and monitoring of said groups?
Nonetheless, the nuanced elements of the far-right movement make it increasingly difficult to
achieve a definitive solution. While encompassing less than 1% of the population, supporters
of the far-right often possess distinctly cultural or political identities that compromise the
overall efficacy and legitimacy of the movement.
Given ambiguous rates of support due to these conflicting identities, as well as the
isolation of right-wing groups and individuals in specific regions, how has the contemporary
right-wing achieved such widespread publicity? More importantly, to what degree does this
movement pose a threat to German democracy? In this thesis, I provide an interdisciplinary
review of film (Dennis Gansel’s Die Welle), literature (Andres Veiel’s Der Kick and Timur
Vermes’ Er ist wieder da), journalism, and government publications to identify the societal
implications of the contemporary far-right in Germany. Specifically, I seek to address how,
if at all, these cultural representations of far-right ideology mirror the actual movement, and
to what extent this movement may subvert established German democracy.Bachelor of Art
