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National Socialist Underground (NSU)

The extreme-right terror cell known as the National Socialist Underground (NSU) committed murders, carried out bombings and robbed banks in various German states between 2000 and 2007.

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All Content on this topic

Members of the defunct far-right terrorist group NSU

Leaked neo-Nazi terror report confirms suspicions

Victims' families say a new leaked report confirms that the agency knew of its own failures.
Law and JusticeNovember 4, 2022
The Federal Court of Justice building in Karlsruhe

Germany NSU: Top court reviews case in neo-Nazi murder spree

Germany's top court is reviewing the case of an accomplice to the neo-Nazi NSU terror cell.
CrimeDecember 2, 2021
Marcel Fürstenau

10 years of broken promises after NSU exposure

Marcel Fürstenau
After the NSU was uncovered, the German chancellor promised an unsparing investigation. But the will is still lacking.
PoliticsNovember 4, 2021
Courtroom scenes

NSU: Germany's infamous neo-Nazi terror cell

It's been 10 years since the NSU terror cell was uncovered and led to one of Germany's most high-profile neo-Nazi cases.
CrimeNovember 3, 2021
Blurred picture of the accused at the trial

Germany: Lawyer who represented fictive NSU victim cleared

A lawyer who represented a non-existent victim at a neo-Nazi murder trial has been cleared of intent to deceive.
Law and JusticeNovember 30, 2020
Deutschland NSU Prozess

Germany: NSU murder verdict facing challenges from all sides

One of modern Germany's biggest far-right murder cases was bizarre from the outset, and its verdict has satisfied few.
Law and JusticeMay 16, 2020
Arif Sagdic, a survivor of an attack by the Neo-Nazi terrorist group NSU

Survivor of NSU neo-Nazi hate crime: 'I won't stay silent'

Arif Sagdic survived a gruesome attack but says Germany must do more to change attitudes and prevent such crimes.
CrimeJanuary 20, 2019
Demo of hooligans in Hanover

Legacy of the German NSU terror cell

People in Germany's neo-Nazi scene are vandalizing memorials to people murdered by the terrorist cell NSU.
Law and JusticeAugust 10, 2018
NSU terrorist helper Ralf Wohlleben

German neo-Nazi terrorist helper freed

The man who supplied a gun to the National Socialist Underground terrorist group has been set free on bail.
Law and JusticeJuly 18, 2018
People march in the streets to protest for more clarification after the NSU verdict

NSU verdict sparks protests

Germans called for investigations into the right-wing extremist terror group — and into state failures — to continue.
Law and JusticeJuly 12, 2018
Pfeifer Hans Kommentarbild App

Neo-Nazi terror trial underlines German state failure

Hans Pfeifer
The verdict in the NSU case is small consolation for the victims' families. Germany has left them high and dry.
Law and JusticeJuly 11, 2018
NSU trial

German cops' failures investigating the NSU

Chancellor Angela Merkel's promised clarification efforts following the racist killings have not become reality.
PoliticsJuly 11, 2018
Neo-Nazi NSU member Beate Zschäpe found guilty of murder

Neo-Nazi NSU member Beate Zschäpe found guilty

The surviving member of the neo-Nazi terrorist group the National Socialist Underground (NSU) has been found guilty.
Law and JusticeJuly 11, 2018
Flowers and a photo of Michele Kiesewetter (Foto: Norbert Försterling dpa/lsw)

Who were the victims of the neo-Nazi NSU murder spree?

From 2000 to 2007, the NSU neo-Nazi cell murdered at least 10 people. These are the victims of that killing spree.
CrimeJuly 11, 201811 images
Beate Zschäpe

NSU trial: Zschäpe gives closing remarks

Zschäpe was allegedly a member of the neo-Nazi NSU cell which murdered minorities and carried out a string of bombings.
CrimeJuly 3, 2018
NSU trial - Beate Zschäpe with her court-appointed counsel in Munich

Lawyers call for main suspect's release in neo-Nazi trial

Public defender's have claimed the accused cannot be found guilty of anything other than arson.
PoliticsJune 5, 2018
Beate Zschäpe, defendant in the Neo-Nazi NSU murder trial

Neo-Nazi NSU terrorist murder trial, 5 years on

Beate Zschäpe may face life in prison, but victims' families are disappointed that so much remains unknown.
TerrorismMay 6, 2018
Harald Range

Ex-Attorney General Harald Range dies aged 70

Reports suggest Harald Range died of a heart attack.
Law and JusticeMay 3, 2018
Beate Zschäpe

NSU: Zschäpe defense requests maximum 10-year jail term

Prosecutors accuse Zschäpe of carrying out a string of neo-Nazi terrorist attacks in Germany between 2000 and 2007.
CrimeApril 26, 2018
Neo-Nazi defendant Tino Brandt hides his face in a German courtroom

Neo-Nazi Tino Brandt to go on trial for fraud

The ex-informant, currently in jail for the sexual abuse of minors, will face trial for large-scale fraud in April.
PoliticsFebruary 23, 2018
Family and laywer for NSU murder victim Enver Simsek/dpa/P.Kneffel)

Neo-Nazi murder trial enters final phase

After over a decade of waiting, a verdict is finally in sight for families of victims of a decade-long murder spree.
CrimeJanuary 10, 2018
Cologne's Keupstrasse

Did lawyer fabricate NSU victim?

A German court has charged a lawyer over €200,000 in expenses after it emerged that his client never existed.
Law and JusticeNovember 21, 2017
Deutschland Ausstellung NSU-Tatorte in Berlin

NSU: State parliament votes to compensate victims' families

The right-wing extremist NSU group carried out ten murders as well as bombings and robberies over a seven-year stretch.
TerrorismSeptember 29, 2017
NSU Prozess Beate Zschäpe

NSU trial: Prosecutor demands life sentence for Zschäpe

Prosecutors demand that Beate Zschäpe serve a life sentence for her alleged part in a string of neo-Nazi murders.
CrimeSeptember 12, 2017
Co-defendant Ralf Wohlleben confers with his lawyer in court

Defendants procured murder weapon in NSU killings

Germany's federal prosecutor argues two alleged accomplices to Beate Zschäpe provided a gun used to shoot immigrants.
TerrorismAugust 1, 2017
Deutschland NSU-Prozess in München | Beate Zschäpe

NSU trial lawyers say Beate Zschäpe was 'co-founder'

Federal prosecutors drove home a description of Zschäpe as directly involved in the NSU's murders and bombings.
Law and JusticeJuly 26, 2017
Zwickauer Zelle Fahndungsfotos

Neo-Nazi NSU report shows Merkel's 'broken promises'

Many questions have been left unanswered by a parliamentary inquiry, despite Chancellor Angela Merkel's promises.
Law and JusticeJune 29, 2017
Black and white photo showing alleged NSU members Mundlos, Zschäpe and Böhnhardt

NSU victims' families sue Germany over probe errors

The families of two men murdered by a neo-Nazi group are suing over mistakes made by authorities in the investigation.
CrimeJune 18, 2017
München NSU-Prozess am 03.05.2017

An awkward expert for NSU defendant Zschäpe

In Munich, DW's Marcel Fürstenau doubts that a psychiatrist's assessment will mitigate Beate Zschäpe's punishment.
PoliticsMay 21, 2017
Deutschland NSU-Prozess: Zschäpe meldet sich zum ersten Mal zu Wort

Neo-Nazi suspect's defense argues 'personality disorder'

The new findings on Zschäpe's mental conditions clash with a previous report declaring the NSU suspect mentally fit.
Law and JusticeMarch 30, 2017
Deutschland Verteidiger lehnen Zschäpe-Gutachter im NSU-Prozess ab

NSU defendant 'exhibits egocentric behavior'

A psychiatrist has presented the first part of his assessment of alleged NSU member Zschäpe, finding her mentally sound.
CrimeJanuary 18, 2017
Marcel Fürstenau

Zschäpe just wants to save her skin

Marcel Fürstenau
For the first time, the alleged right-wing terrorist speaks in person. Is it a tactical maneuver?
CrimeSeptember 29, 2016
Deutshland NSU Prozess Zschäpe im Gerichtssaal

Neo-Nazi NSU member Zschäpe breaks silence

Three years into her trial over a spate of murders, robberies, and bomb attacks, Beate Zschäpe has addressed the court.
CrimeSeptember 29, 2016
Deutschland Terror Neue Durchsuchungen gegen mutmaßliche Nazi-Terrorhelfer Kombo

Bundestag: Neo-Nazi NSU 'had more than three members'

The head of an inquiry into the NSU has said he is convinced that the neo-Nazi terror cell had more members.
September 6, 2016
Marcel Fürstenau

Drawn-out NSU trial

Marcel Fürstenau
The case against the NSU has dragged three years. Prosecutors' patience may be rewarded, DW's Marcel Fürstenau writes.
May 6, 2016
Scene from film on NSU murders Copyright picture alliance/dpa/S. Rabold

Opinion: NSU murders: We can't look the other way

German public TV tackled the NSU racist killings - and no one seemed to care much.
April 8, 2016
Screenschot: Die Täter - Heute ist nicht alle Tage, copyright: picture alliance/dpa/S. Rabold

Controversial films on NSU murders show in Germany

A weeklong TV event on a German public broadcaster hopes to shed light on the xenophobic NSU murders.
March 30, 2016
Film "The Coiffeur from Keupstrasse" © Foto: Hajo Schomerus

How Germany remembers the NSU nail bomb attack

A new film sheds light on the 2004 NSU attach, which takes on urgency amidst a resurgence of right-wing tendencies.
February 24, 2016
NSU Prozess Ralf Wohlleben

Defendant denies arming neo-Nazis

A week after NSU suspect Beate Zschäpe spoke to the court, a further defendant has broken his silence.
December 16, 2015
Deutschland NSU Prozess Zschäpe

Pathetic performance

Barbara John, ombudswoman for the victims of NSU terrorism, evaluates Beate Zschäpe's courtroom statement for DW.
December 9, 2015
Deutschland NSU Prozess Zschäpe mit Verteidigern Grasel und Borchert

Zschäpe breaks silence

Suspected neo-Nazi terrorist Beate Zschäpe has made her first personal statement in her two-and-a-half-year trial.
December 9, 2015
Deutschland NSU Prozess Beate Zschäpe

New demand from Zschäpe in NSU trial

The defense lawyer for Beate Zschäpe has confirmed he will read out her first testimony in the trial on Wednesday.
December 8, 2015
Zwickauer Zelle Fahndungsfotos

Bundestag re-examines NSU intel failings

The German parliament has begun a new investigation into the neo-Nazi terror group because many questions remain.
November 26, 2015
Beate Zschäpe

NSU trial postponed

The planned testimony of alleged terrorist Beate Zschäpe has been canceled - for now.
November 10, 2015
Beate Zschäpe, NSU

NSU defense team asks to be relieved

Three defense lawyers for Beate Zschäpe have asked to be relieved of their duties a day before she is set to testify.
November 10, 2015
Beate Zschäpe

Zschäpe to break her silence

Zschäpe, the only known living member of the NSU, will testify for the first time this week, "Der Spiegel" reported.
November 9, 2015

'Fake' client in neo-Nazi trial

A lawyer in the trial against the far-right group NSU has said a client he represented in the case may not have existed.
October 2, 2015

NSU prosecutors suspect false testimony

Officials believe that several witnesses in the early part of the NSU investigation gave false testimony.
August 14, 2015
NSU Prozess Zschäpe

Neo-Nazi suspect Zschäpe presses charges against defense

Beate Zschäpe, the lead suspect in an ongoing neo-Nazi trial, has pressed charges against her three defense attorneys.
July 24, 2015
Mehmet Daimagüler

Lawyers see parallels between Gröning, NSU trials

A persistent German blindness to Nazism can be found in two current court cases whose crimes span over 70 years.
July 15, 2015