At least three right-wing extremist groups active in Limburg: report

At least three right-wing extremist groups are active in Limburg, ranging from hardcore neo-Nazis to the “radical right,” De Limburger reports based on its own research.

The most extreme group is called Wolvenrad. They hold flag burnings in caves, celebrate Hitler’s birthday, and commemorate German war victims, according to the newspaper. This group has strong anti-Semitic overtones.

The next group is focused more on racism than anti-Semitism. White Lives Matter, known for projecting racist texts on buildings and structures across the Netherlands, including the Erasmus Bridge in Rotterdam on New Year’s, is firmly rooted in Zuid-Limburg. One of the key figures of this group, 34-year-old Daniel S., is from Landgraaf.

The third group, Patriottische Jeugd Parkstad, describes itself as “radical right,” a spokesperson told the newspaper. According to the spokesperson, they want to operate within the existing legal order while acting against mass immigration.

The police and Public Prosecution Service in the province are aware of the groups. “They are not banned, membership is not a criminal offense,” a spokesperson told the newspaper.

According to the anti-fascist research group Kafka, such a concentration of right-wing extremist clubs in one area doesn’t occur anywhere else in the Netherlands. “It is really very striking,” a spokesperson said.

Willem Wagenaar of the Anne Frank House described Patriottische Jeugd Parkstad and White Lives Matter as examples of “new forms of digital radicalization processes.” They’re party inspired by the United States and have a lot of social media presence.

“Wovenrad, on the other hand, I see as a typical product of a classic form of radicalization,” Wagenaar said. “That group comes, at least initially, from the black metal scene. So young people there have been radicalized from that youth style.”