A German court on Friday overturned a national ban on the neo-Nazi Hammerskins group, saying there was not enough evidence it constituted a nationwide organisation.
In 2023 the interior ministry had banned the US-based group, known for its white supremacist music concerts, saying it aimed to spread “a racial doctrine based on Nazi ideology”.
However, the Federal Administrative Court said that “the facts at hand do not justify the assumption that… there exists a national association called ‘Hammerskins Germany'”.
While the group did have regional elements, there was no conclusive proof of “central control of the regional chapters by a higher-level national body”, the court said in a statement.
However, the court said that bans on the Hammerskins at the state level would still be possible.
The ban in September 2023 was accompanied by raids on the homes of 28 group members across several regions.
Officers seized weapons and cash and found “considerable amounts” of right-wing extremist paraphernalia, including a copy of Adolf Hitler’s book “Mein Kampf” and flags bearing swastikas.
The group emerged from the so-called “Hammerskins Nation” founded in the United States in 1988.
The interior ministry estimated its German membership at around 130 and said it played a “prominent” role in Europe’s right-wing extremist scene.
A ministry spokesman said on Friday that it would study the court’s ruling but that it would “not change our clear efforts to ban right-wing extremist organisations, which we will continue”.
Earlier this year the Administrative Court also overturned a ban on the far-right magazine Compact, saying that while it had published some “anti-constitutional” material the conditions for a ban had not been met.
Germany’s secret service is concerned about seemingly innocent letters on vehicle licence plates that may convey covert right-wing extremist messages. https://t.co/3INBqQBWLX
— Brussels Signal (@brusselssignal) December 16, 2025
