Antifaschistische Aktion - Band 3

The third volume of the trilogy on the history of Antifascist Action begins with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In the course of the pandemic, a so-called ‘opposition to the measures’ emerged, which was largely shaped by conspiracy-theory circles and far-right actors. Following the Russian attack on Ukraine in 2022, a right-wing peace mobilisation emerged from this spectrum. So-called patriotic civil rights movements emerged, linking xenophobic views with fears of socio-economic decline. Against this backdrop, the AfD became the largest opposition party in the Bundestag, and neo-Nazis stepped up their activities.

This was countered by mass anti-fascist mobilisations. Millions of people took to the streets, and tens of thousands engaged in civil disobedience against AfD party conferences in Essen, Riesa and Gießen. Antifa was a key force in this, just as it was in the resistance against neo-Nazis.

Alongside widespread protests, there were also acts of militancy, to which the state responded with repression on a scale never seen before. Criminal proceedings, such as those against the ‘Hammerbande’, are intended to act as a deterrent through the severity of the sentences imposed. In Hungary and the US, Antifa has also been classified as a terrorist organisation and banned.

This book provides the foundations for understanding what anti-fascism is and why it has become one of the key political debates of our time.