November Undercover: infiltrated among Germany’s young neo-Nazis

Something is happening inside German schools that, until recently, would have sounded implausible. In some institutions students greet each other with “Heil Hitler!” and adopt the names of Nazi officials as nicknames. The investigative teams from the magazine Stern and the broadcaster RTL – both part of the Bertelsmann group – went undercover into this world several times over recent months, and the picture that emerged is alarming.

Radicalization starts at the school desk, then moves into private Telegram channels and closed WhatsApp groups, until it develops into the planning of actual terrorist attacks. In this newsletter we lay out the facts uncovered by two investigations, Inside Schule and Die Nazi-Kinder. Because the point isn’t simply that neo-Nazi posturing has entered schools and found a receptive audience among teens; it’s that it stays there, grows, and in some cases evolves into political projects.

This issue was written by Luigi and edited by Sacha.

“Inside Schule”, the undercover investigation inside German schools

A Stern reporter, Katja, posed as a substitute teacher and documented how some students, even during class, performed the Hitlergruß — the Nazi salute — and drew swastikas and other banned symbols. The Stern/RTL investigative team found weak or non-existent reactions from many teachers and administrators, often fearful or demoralized. Several teachers said they felt abandoned and did not know how to respond. One of them even had to change school and city after being harassed for months by far-right parents and students, without receiving support from school authorities.

The investigation highlights how the far-right party AfD (Alternative für Deutschland) is not only a beneficiary of this trend, but an active driver of it. In practice, the AfD appears to leverage the right-wing resentment circulating among students and parents for political gain. Local AfD politicians have encouraged parents and pupils to report “unwelcome” teachers (accused of spreading “left-wing propaganda”), attacked inclusive curricula, and supported parallel student organizations aligned with AfD ideology. This political interference has further weakened the school system’s defenses: many school leaders, afraid of legal disputes or public backlash, avoid addressing extremist incidents openly, leaving space for far-right student groups to grow unchecked. In several German schools, the investigation warns, far-right dominance is no longer a fringe risk, it is a possibility.

The full documentary is available on RTL+.

“Braune Kinderzimmer”, the neo-Nazi youth operation

The exposure of neo-Nazi radicalization among Germany’s youngest citizens doesn’t begin with schools. A few months earlier, in the spring of 2025, the Stern/RTL investigative team uncovered a network of teenage neo-Nazis through a separate infiltration. The investigation, titled The Nazi Children, is part of the series Braune Kinderzimmer — literally “Brown Kids’ Rooms,” a reference to the Brownshirts, Hitler’s paramilitary storm troops.

A Stern journalist infiltrated online chats, social groups, and clandestine meetups of far-right teenagers for months. During the operation, investigators discovered a secret group of neo-Nazi adolescents called Letzte Verteidigungswelle (L.V.W., “Last Wave of Defense”). It operated primarily online but also had real-world activity, with members aged 14 to 18 from various German regions. Inspired by newly formed youth neo-Nazi cells in Germany and Austria, the L.V.W. saw itself as the “last line” defending Germany from an imagined identity collapse.

From the private conversations the reporter gained access to, it became clear that the group was openly planning an Umsturz — a violent overthrow of the democratic order. They discussed and prepared attacks against targets they considered “enemies,” including migrant centres and progressive organisations. Thanks to the infiltration, at least one imminent attack was prevented: the reporter gathered information about an arson plot, alerted colleagues and authorities, and the operation collapsed before it could begin.

Beyond future plans, the investigation uncovered evidence of serious crimes already committed by L.V.W. members. On 21 May 2025 — the day after the documentary was released — German police conducted coordinated raids in five federal states, arresting five teenage suspects linked to the group and placing three others under investigation. Charges include participation in a terrorist organisation, attempted homicide, arson, and other extremist offences.

The full investigation is available on RTL+.

Until the next Debrief,

Sacha and Luigi

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