Report Confirms Cooperation Between Neo-nazis and PLO

The annual report of the West German security services released here today for the first time officially confirms that there is cooperation between neo-Nazis in this country and the Palestine Liberation Organization. It is also the most detailed annual survey of rightwing and leftwing extremism in the Federal Republic.

The report states that for the first time in many years the National Democratic Party (NPD), which participated unsuccessfully in the recent nationwide parliamentary elections, is no longer the largest single neo-Nazi organization in the country. Its membership has dropped from 8,000 in 1979 to 7,200 in 1980 and its affiliated youth organization has failed to recruit enough members to fill its ranks.

NEWS GROUPS GAINING GROUND

But this development, the survey shows, is not indicative of a decline in the number of neo-Nazis since other, even more extreme groups are gaining new ground both in terms of membership and influence. As an example, the report cites the growing influence of the “German People’s Union,” an organization headed by the Munich publisher, Gerhard Frey.

He is the publisher of the weekly “National Zeitung,” the most widely circulated neo-Nazi publication in the country. Its weekly circulation is 100,000 and the Union itself has a membership of more than 10,000. Its popularity, according to the report, is based on its campaign against foreigners living in West Germany and its campaign to grant a general amnesty for Nazi war criminals.

INCREASE IN EXTREMIST GROUPS

The overall membership of extreme rightwing groups is given officially as 19,800 in 1980, compared to 17,300 in 1979. Among the 75 known neo-Nazi organizations, 13 have more than 250 members. The number of publishing houses specializing in neo-Nazi propaganda was 65 in 1980, up from 45 in 1979.

The number of violent incidents committed by rightwing extremists rose from 97 in 1979 to 113 in 1980. It included the bomb explosion at Munich’s Oktoberfest and other extremist attacks, most against liberal and leftwing groups. The outlawed Wehrsportsgruppe Hoffmann, whose members receive military training in PLO camps in Lebanon, is classified in the report as having a stronger organizational structure than other comparable organizations. The leader of the Wehrsportsgruppe Hoffmann, Karl-Heinz Hoffmann, is now under arrest in Germany along with other neo-Nazis who were trained by the PLO.

BRANDT WARNS AGAINST RIGHTWING EXTREMISM

Meanwhile, former Chancellor Willy Brandt, who is presently the chairman of the ruling Social Democratic Party (SPD), has issued a sharp warning against rightwing extremism and called for an internationally coordinated campaign to combat it. In a statement several days ago commemorating the victims of the bomb explosion in Bologna, Italy a year ago, in which 85 people died, Brandt said there are clear indications that rightwing extremists have extended their international contacts.

Brandt’s warning is understood here as also referring to the group led by Hoffmann. The former Chancellor assailed the lack of coordination between police in various countries in the struggle against rightwing terrorism. While stressing that legal action alone will not be sufficient to cope with the problem, Brandt said it is necessary to coordinate laws dealing with terror-

ism and to increase cooperation between law enforcement agencies. He also called for international agreements banning trade and export of Nazi propaganda material.