Far‑right German magazine banned in nationwide crackdown
On Tuesday, the German Minister of Interior, Nancy Faeser banned the publication of the magazine "Compact," which counterintelligence deemed far-right. She also outlawed the publishing company Compact-Magazin GmbH and its subsidiary Conspect Film GmbH.
9:11 PM EDT, July 16, 2024
As reported by the ministry in a statement cited by DPA (German Press Agency), searches were conducted at locations associated with Conspect Film GmbH and the homes of its management and shareholders in Brandenburg, Hesse, Saxony, and Saxony-Anhalt from early Tuesday morning.
The raid aimed to confiscate assets and evidence. Among the searched properties was a house in Falkensee, Brandenburg, whose address appears in the magazine's footer.
The magazine incites hatred
Justifying the publication ban of "Compact," Faeser stated that the magazine is "the main mouthpiece of the far-right extremist scene" and "incites hatred against Jews, people of migrant origin, and German parliamentary democracy."
As early as 2022, German counterintelligence, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (BfV), determined that the magazine led by Juergen Elsaesser "as a multimedia company introduces anti-democratic and human dignity-violating positions into society," and that leading representatives of the magazine maintain contacts with key figures of the so-called New Right.
In the magazine's online store, one can purchase, among other things, a coin featuring the likeness of the chairman of the far-right party AfD in Thuringia, Bjoern Hoecke. Dpa reported that at organized events, Elsaesser voices pro-Russian slogans.
As the "Der Spiegel" weekly portal reminded, in addition to the magazine, which recently reached a monthly circulation of 40,000 copies, "Compact" runs a YouTube channel with nearly 350,000 subscribers. According to "Spiegel" information, it, too, was banned, as was the subsidiary Conspect Film GmbH, run by Elsaesser's wife, Stephanie.
"Compact" can no longer run channels on Facebook, X, Telegram, and other social media platforms, and newsstands can no longer sell this far-right magazine, wrote "Der Spiegel."
