Chances are high that you’ve not heard of Hans-Georg Maassen — unless maybe you are German. However, he got himself in a heap of trouble and caused a government crisis, Germany’s DW TV said on the 13th of September 2018.
Maassen is the country’s domestic spy chief; he heads up its domestic intelligence service, the BfV.
Maassen said a video of right-wing protesters chasing foreigners in Chemnitz, a city in Eastern Germany, was not authentic. Chancellor Merkel and others disagreed. Maassen’s boss, Interior Minister and Bavarian conservative, Horst Seehofer, came to his defense.
German politicians called for Maassen to be fired and some urged Seehofer to resign.
What’s the big deal? Why should non-Germans or even Germans, for that matter, care? Here’s the pertinent background.
After WW2
Adolf Hitler, physical founder of the extreme right movement known as Nazism, would be 130 years old in 2019 if he were alive. It’s safe to say, therefore, he isn’t going to be staging a comeback.
Numerous books have been written about his Nazi regime. One book, however, stands out for a couple of reasons.
The book, The Nazis Go Underground, by Curt Riess was first published in 1944 and republished in 2013. Imprecise scans of the original book are readily available online as well.
Unlike other books about that period, the date shows this one was released shortly before World War2 ended. Also, it covers the detailed plan devised by the Nazis to survive defeat.
The Open Secret
That the plan was revealed didn’t really matter.
Recent events have shown that the Nazis successfully carried out a key part of the plan — infiltrating critical parts of the new post-war German government. Declassified American documents indicate their former enemies even helped.
Post-war Nazis
The major German magazine, Der Spiegel, the daily Bild, and DW News have not shied away from stories exposing Nazis or Nazi sympathizers have who worked in strategical areas like the BfV and it’s counterpart, the BND, Germany’s foreign intelligence service.
According to Der Spiegel’s January 2011 article titled, Germany Knew Eichmann’s Hiding Place Years Before His Capture,
“The BND was riddled with former SS officers and Nazi officers. Many of the BND agents who were supposed to keep an eye on the Nazis abroad had been Nazis themselves.”
UK’s BBC News revealed more information in its January 2011 article, “Nazi revelations stir Germany’s post-war ghosts”.
The Spy Chief
A few days later, DW News pointed out that,
“In 2012, Maassen was tapped to lead Germany’s top spy agency. He promised to restore faith in the BfV, which was embroiled in controversy over its entanglement in the right-wing extremist scene and his predecessor’s decision to destroy files related to the neo-Nazi NSU murders.”
DW News also wrote,
“Before Maassen made headlines by questioning the veracity of videos of right-wing protesters chasing foreigners through the streets of Chemnitz, he was under fire for advising right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) on how to avoid scrutiny from his agency. Now he is accused of sharing confidential documents with the AfD before presenting them to the public.”
Breaking News 09-18-18
DW News just reported the following,
“The latest quarrel within Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government … has ended with a somewhat surreal compromise. Hans-Georg Maassen, the under-fire head of the domestic intelligence agency … will be stripped of his current job but gain a theoretically better one as a deputy head of the interior ministry.”
Other Germans
A large number of Germans deplore extremism no matter the guise. Chancellor Angela Merkel dislikes extremism in any form; other top German politicians do as well.
And, some Germans also fully embrace the beliefs and practices of first century Christianity, the antithesis of misguided ideologies. Thankfully, a day is coming when no one will be deceived by concepts like Nazism.
Photo Credits: German Parliament Building courtesy of BadzioITV, License: CC Zero; Nazi book cover courtesy of Amazon Digital Services.
