Manfred Roeder

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For the German military judge (1900–1971), see Manfred Roeder (judge).

Manfred Roeder in 2009

Manfred Roeder (6 February 1929 – 30 July 2014) was a German lawyer and

Neo-Nazi terrorist. Roeder was a prominent Holocaust denier. He has also been described as an early representative of the Reichsbürger movement.[1]

Life

Born in Berlin, Roeder attended the

far-right political scene in Germany and abroad, including the Ku Klux Klan.[2][4]

By 1974, Roeder had begun to believe in the conspiracy theory that West Germany's constitution was invalid, as the German Reich had allegedly never ceased to exist. To affirm his belief, he contacted Karl Dönitz, the last leader of Nazi Germany. Dönitz regarded Roeder's ideas as ridiculous, and firmly stated that he no longer considered himself President of Germany. However, Roeder saw this as a resignation declaration; thus, he declared himself Dönitz's successor as the "Reichsverweser" (i.e. new German head of state) and announced a new government in form of the "Freiheitsbewegung Deutsches Reich" (Freedom Movement German Reich). Researcher Tobias Ginsburg argued that this move probably made Roeder the first Reichsbürger to claim a high-ranking title for himself. His activities as conspiracy theorist ultimately led Roeder to become a militant activist and eventually outright terrorist.[1]

Roeder's career was marked by an abundance of criminal charges, including resistance against state authority,

neo-Nazi organisation founded by Roeder, carried out attacks against buildings that housed foreign workers and asylum seekers.[2][5][6] Two people were murdered in these attacks. Roeder was classified as a terrorist by German legal authorities as a result of these activities.[7]

In 1997, the British current affairs program

Rear-Admiral Rudolf Lange[9]
as his replacement, with the goal of restoring the good reputation of the academy.

In 1997, Roeder stood as the candidate of the far-right

Chancellor
alternative 1998", but was unsuccessful.

Roeder died on 30 July 2014 at the age of 85.[11]

Criminal record

Because of his integral role in a terrorist organisation Roeder was sentenced to 13 years in prison in 1982.[2][7][12] He had planned a fire bomb attack which killed two Vietnamese refugees in August 1980.[13] He was released in 1990,[12] after serving two-thirds of his sentence, for good behaviour and a perceived social rehabilitation.

In 1996 Roeder, together with other far-right extremists, perpetrated an attack on an exhibition in

Gießen, but he was released shortly after on health grounds.[17]

References

  1. ^ a b Ginsburg 2022, p. 67.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g „Porno-Anwalt“ als Größe der Neonazis Archived 1 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine Bergsträßer Anzeiger, 7 July 2007. (Large pdf) (in German)
  3. ^ Anti-Roeder-Arbeitskreis, NSDAP-Propagandisten unter der Lupe – Dokumentation, Hamburg 1978, p. 20 (German)
  4. ISBN 9780521834209
    .
  5. ISBN 9780313289644
    .
  6. ISBN 9780802828606
    .
  7. ^ a b c Bundeswehr will im Fall Roeder hart durchgreifen Die Welt, 8 December 1997. (in German)
  8. ^ Rühe zieht Konsequenzen im Fall Roeder Rüdiger Moniac, Die Welt, 9 December 1997. (in German)
  9. ^ Volker Rühe: Auf Kampfstation Focus, 15 December 1997. (in German)
  10. ^ Ein notorisch Rechtsextremer will nach Bonn Andreas Baumann, Die Welt, 18 September 1998. (in German)
  11. ^ "Rechtsextremist Roeder starb 85-jährig in Neukirchen | Politik" (in German). Hna.de. 31 July 2014. Retrieved 1 August 2014.
  12. ^
    ISBN 9780275956387. Preview at Google Books
    .
  13. ^ "Four German neo-Nazis sentenced". UPI. 28 June 1982. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  14. ^ Die Wehrmachtsausstellung zwischen Krawallen und Kritik Der Spiegel, 27 November 2001. (in German)
  15. ^ Volksverhetzung: Neonazi Roeder muss ins Gefängnis Der Spiegel, 29 June 2001. (in German)
  16. ORF
    , 30 January 2002.
  17. ^ a b Bewährung wegen schlechter Gesundheit Archived 7 September 2012 at archive.today, 13 November 2009 (in German)
  18. ^ Die "KRR"-FAQ - Archiv 2005 (Januar bis März) (German)

Works cited

  • Ginsburg, Tobias (2022) [1st pub. 2019]. Die Reise ins Reich: Unter Rechtsextremisten, Reichsbürgern und anderen Verschwörungstheoretikern [Journey into the Reich: Among far-right extremists, Reich Citizens and other conspiracy theorists] (2nd ed.). Hamburg: Rowohlt Taschenbuch Verlag.
    ISBN 978-3-499-00456-8
    .
Much of this article is translated from the German Wikipedia article of 5 March 2007.

External links

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