Eight young men stand trial in Dresden this week, accused of belonging to a banned neo-nazi group calling itself the “Saxon Separatists” and of planning an armed overthrow of the German state.
The Saxon Separatists emerged in 2020 in Brandis, a small town near Leipzig in the eastern state of Saxony. According to federal prosecutors, the group was built around a belief in an imminent collapse of society, often described in far-right circles as “Day X”.
Paramilitary training
They believed that such a crisis would allow them to seize territory in eastern Germany and establish an independent national socialist state. Their choice of initials, “SS”, was not accidental.
Those now on trial are mostly in their early twenties. Prosecutors say they underwent paramilitary training, practicing house-to-house combat, night marches and patrols.
Weapons and combat gear
They are alleged to have acquired weapons and combat equipment, including protective vests, helmets and camouflage clothing.
The group was preparing not only for armed confrontation with the state but also for violent action against political opponents and minorities, including plans for ethnic cleansing once their imagined separatist territory was secured.
Wider network
Their arrests, in November 2024, followed a coordinated operation involving German authorities and security services in Austria and Poland, indicating that the group’s connections extended beyond Germany’s borders.
Although the core members are now in custody, investigators believe there may be a wider network of sympathisers and supporters still at large.
The trial itself, expected to last well into 2026, cannot be separated from the wider context of far-right radicalisation in eastern Germany.
Several of the defendants were formerly associated with the Alternative for Germany party, which has enjoyed strong electoral support in Saxony.
While the party leadership has sought to distance itself from such extremists, Germany’s domestic intelligence service has placed parts of the AfD under surveillance as suspected neo-nazi organisations.
