German Nazis drawing up hit lists on opponents

Amid an increase in reports of crimes being committed by Germany’s far right, an employee at the migrant rescue organisation Sea-Watch spoke out about his time on an extremist hit list.

Ruben Neugebauer said death threats from the far right had become part of daily life for he and his team.

His comments came after Germany’s interior ministry revealed that there were more than 8,600 right-wing-related offences – including 363 violent crimes – in the first half of this year.

According to figures released to the German parliament, only 23 of 2,625 suspects have been arrested for these offences.

Politicians who have defended migrants have also been targeted. Last month Walter Lubcke, an advocate for refugees and member of the ruling Christian Democratic Union, was murdered by a neo-Nazi.

His alleged killer had several convictions for anti-migrant offences.

Lubcke, who was shot in the head outside his home, had reportedly appeared on the list that Mr Neugebauer appears to be on.

“We’ve been getting death threats for years.

“It’s become part of our everyday lives,” Mr Neugebauer told Deutsche Welle.

Anti-migrant rhetoric and support for right-wing parties have surged in Germany after the country’s open-door policy allowed in hundreds of thousands of people fleeing conflict in the Middle East.

This week a member of the anti-migrant Alternative for Germany party was forced to play down his connections to right-wing extremist movements.

At 21, Andreas Kalbitz, now 46, joined the far-right Republikaner party, which was under surveillance by the German security forces at the time.

“One could accuse me of right-wing extremist connections, but certainly not of having a far-right extremist biography,” he said.