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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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Deutschland Fortsetzung NSU Prozess Beate Zschäpe

Beate Zschäpe gets new lawyer in neo-Nazi trial

The Munich Higher Regional Court has appointed another defender for Zschäpe, who is on trial for NSU crimes.
July 7, 2015
NSU Cologne attack

German informant linked to neo-nazi Cologne bombing

Investigations into murders and attacks by the right-wing NSU have indicated the involvement of an undercover agent.
June 14, 2015
Beate Zschäpe im Gerichtssaal 30.09.2014

Delay at Munich NSU trial

Beate Zschäpe, the sole surviving alleged member of a neo-Nazi terror cell, sacks one of her court-appointed lawyers.
June 10, 2015
Symbolbild NSU Prozess

Sudden death of NSU case witness

Her testimony was given in private as she said she felt 'threatened.'
March 30, 2015
Fortsetzung NSU-Prozess 20.01.2015

Victims of Cologne nail-bombing to testify in NSU trial

A trial of suspects connected to a right-wing group has switched its focus to a bombing in Cologne.
January 20, 2015
Foto vom Tag des Nagelbombenanschlags vom 9.6.2004 in der Kölner Keupstraße

'Strong evidence against Beate Zschäpe'

At the ongoing NSU trial the victims of the Cologne nail bomb attack will take the stand for the first time on Tuesday.
January 19, 2015

Cologne bombing focus in neo-Nazi trial

The NSU is accused of ten murders. But that's not all.
January 12, 2015
Thuringia intelligence agency office. (Photo: Martin Schutt/dpa)

Led and misled

Questionable actions of federal agents are in play in the NSU trial.
October 1, 2014
Tino Brandt

A double life

The neo-Nazi and former intelligence service informer Tino Brandt gives an account of his double lif
September 24, 2014
Beate Zschäpe muss Verteidiger behalten Archiv

Zschäpe's defense team stays

The main figure in a trial of suspects accused of a racially motivated killing spree has lost her bid to dump her court-appointed defense lawyers. Beate Zschäpe has been on trial for more than a year.
July 22, 2014
Symbolbild Zschäpe spricht sich gegen ihre Anwälte aus

Will she speak?

Beate Zschäpe, the main defendant in the NSU trial, wants to split from her lawyers.
July 18, 2014
Beate Zschäpe stands with her back turned to photographers in the courtroom

Court chronology

One year ago, the neo-Nazi NSU murder trial began in Germany, with no end in sight.
May 6, 2014
Michele Kiesewetter

Policewoman death investigated

Police officer Michele Kiesewetter was the last of ten victims of the German right-wing terrror group, NSU. A court in Munich has begun to hear witnesses to find out why she was killed. DW’s Marcel Fürstenau reports.
January 16, 2014
Mother of defendant Zschaepe, Annerose enters arrives at the Higher Regional Court in Munich (Photo: MARC MUELLER, dpa)

NSU suspect’s mother silent

The mother of Beate Zschäpe, the woman on trial in Germany over her alleged role in a string of neo-Nazi murders, has refused to testify. Annerose Zschäpe claimed a legal right not to testify against a close relative.
November 27, 2013
Brigitte Böhnhardt (l), Mutter des mutmaßlichen NSU-Terroristen Böhnhardt, läuft am 19.11.2013 durch das Gerichtsgebäude in München (Bayern). Im NSU-Prozess soll erstmals eine Angehörige der mutmaßlichen Terroristen des «Nationalsozialistischen Untergrunds» (NSU) aussagen. Frau Böhnhardt ist als Zeugin vor das Oberlandesgericht München geladen. Sie hatte nach eigenen Angaben die Mitglieder der Terrorzelle auch nach deren Untertauchen mehrmals konspirativ getroffen. Foto: Peter Kneffel/dpa

Police botched surrender?

The Munich court trying surviving members of a neo-Nazi murder group has been told by the mother of a dead suspect that authorities sought their surrender in 1998. The mother accused police of botching negotiations.
November 19, 2013
Main accused, Beate Zschäpe (Photo: dpa)

False ID hits neo-Nazi trial

A somewhat uncooperative hairdresser has testified in Munich at the trial of those charged in a series of neo-Nazi murders. The woman's health insurance card was under particular focus.
November 12, 2013
A woman with brown hair and olive-colored skin sits on a beige couch and smiles at the camera Photo: Andrea Grunau

A voice at the NSU trial

Gamze Kubasik tells of her family's misery after her father's murder and asks for clarification.
November 4, 2013
Defendant Holger G. awaits his trial in a courtroom in Munich September 5, 2013. Proceedings in the trial against a previously unknown neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which is accused of murdering nine Turkish and Greek immigrants and a policewoman from 2000 to 2007, resumed on Tuesday. The focus of the trial is 38-year-old woman, Beate Zschaepe, who is accused of being an NSU founder member and faces charges of complicity in the murders, two bombings in Cologne and 15 bank robberies. Four suspected male accomplices are also on trial. The existence of the NSU emerged in November 2011 after Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos of the NSU were found dead in a burnt-out mobile home and the third Zschaepe, gave herself in to police. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle (GERMANY - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS)

NSU trial resumes

The trial of five suspects accused of assisting a neo-Nazi group believed to have killed 10 people over a period of several years has resumed. Nine of the victims were immigrant small business owners.
September 5, 2013
Bundespräsident Joachim Gauck (3.v.r.) nimmt am 02.09.2013 auf der Besuchertribüne im Reichstagsgebäude in Berlin zusammen mit Angehörigen der Opfer der NSU Terrorzelle an der Sitzung des Bundestages teil. Das Staatsoberhaupt verfolgte die Debatte über den Abschlussbericht des NSU-Untersuchungsausschusses. Dem «Nationalsozialistischen Untergrund» (NSU) werden zehn Morde zwischen 2000 und 2007 zur Last gelegt - neun davon an türkisch- und griechischstämmigen Migranten. Foto: Wolfgang Kumm/dpa

NSU failings 'shameful'

Germany's Bundestag has adopted a report slating law enforcers' handling of neo-Nazi murders of mostly Turkish immigrants. Inquiry head Sebastian Edathy said Germany should "never again" underestimate the far-right.
September 2, 201301:36 min
Der Abschlussbericht des NSU-Untersuchungsausschusses wird durch Sebastian Edathy (SPD), Vorsitzender des Ausschusses (2.vr) und Mitgliedern des Ausschusses an Bundestagspräsident Norbert Lammert (2.vl, CDU) am 22.08.2013 im Reichstag in Berlin übergeben. Foto: Rainer Jensen/dpa

NSU inquiry report released

The final report of a German parliamentary inquiry into the NSU neo-Nazi murder series has been released. The chairman of the inquiry has said across-the-board incompetence by authorities is to blame.
August 22, 2013
Sebastian Edathy. Photo: Ole Spata/dpa +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

NSU inquiry final report

The chairman of a German parliamentary inquiry says incompetence was to blame for the failure of investigators to link a series of murders to right-wing extremists. The committee is set to release its final report.
August 22, 2013
Die Angeklagte Beate Zschäpe (M) steht am 06.08.2013 im Gerichtssaal in München (Bayern) und unterhält sich mit ihren Anwälten Wolfgang Stahl (l), Anja Sturm (2.v.l.) und Wolfgang Heer (r). Die Neonazi-Gruppe um Zschäpe soll zwischen 2000 und 2007 zehn Morde begangen haben. Foto: Peter Kneffel/dpa

NSU trial adjourns for summer

The trial of four suspects, accused of aiding a neo-Nazi terrorist cell, has adjourned for a month-long summer break after being in session for 32 days. So far, the accused have largely refused to answer questions.
August 6, 2013
A shot of Beate Zschäpe, taken from behind her, in court on 18.06.13 in Munich. (Photo via Andreas Gebert/dpa)

Additional charge for Zschäpe?

A major daily newspaper has reported that German public prosecutors are considering filing another attempted murder charge against the alleged co-founder of the neo-Nazi NSU cell, Beate Zschäpe.
June 18, 2013
Defendant Ralf Wohlleben, alleged supporter of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground, NSU, waits in a court room in Munich, southern Germany, on Wednesday, June 5, 2013. The trial against Beate Zschaepe and a previously unknown neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground continues Wednesday. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader)

NSU defendants reach impasse

NSU defendant Carsten S. has refused to answer questions from his co-defendant's attorney. The move came after several days of cooperation in court, including revealing possible NSU-links to a 1999 bombing.
June 14, 2013
Defendant Beate Zschaepe arrives in the courtroom in Munich May 14, 2013. Proceedings in the trial against a previously unknown neo-Nazi cell, the National Socialist Underground (NSU), which is accused of murdering nine Turkish and Greek immigrants and a policewoman from 2000 to 2007, resumed on Tuesday. The focus of the trial is 38-year-old woman, Zschaepe, who is accused of being an NSU founder member and faces charges of complicity in the murders, two bombings in Cologne and 15 bank robberies. Four suspected male accomplices are also on trial. The existence of the NSU emerged in November 2011 after Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos of the NSU were found dead in a burnt-out mobile home and the third Zschaepe, gave herself in to police. REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach (GERMANY - Tags: CRIME LAW)

NSU trial resumes in Munich

The landmark NSU trial of alleged neo-Nazi Beate Zschäpe, and four others, has resumed in Germany. Legal wrangling has been dominating proceedings and the charges were read out with considerable delay.
May 14, 2013
A protester holds a placard in front of a courthouse, where the trial against Beate Zschaepe, a member of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU), will start later today, in Munich May 6, 2013. The surviving member of NSU blamed for a series of racist murders that scandalised Germany and shamed its authorities goes on trial on Monday in one of the most anticipated court cases in recent German history. The trial in Munich will focus on 38-year-old Zschaepe, who is charged with complicity in the murder of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000-2007, as well as two bombings in immigrant areas of Cologne, and 15 bank robberies. Four others charged with assisting the NSU will sit with Zschaepe on the bench. The placard reads, "Why the authorities have been blind". (Photo: REUTERS/Kai Pfaffenbach)

Dire NSU investigators' verdict

With the NSU trial in Germany set to reconvene, the lead parliamentarian looking into investigative blunders by German authorities has issued a critical update. He said investigators were guilty of a "peerless failure."
May 14, 2013
Der Vorsitzende Richter Manfred Götzl (2.v.l.) und sein Staatsschutzsenat stehen am 06.05.2013 in München (Bayern) zu Beginn des sogenannten NSU-Prozesses im Gerichtssaal. Vor dem Oberlandesgericht beginnt heute der Prozess um die Morde und Terroranschläge des «Nationalsozialistischen Untergrunds» (NSU). Das Verfahren gilt schon heute als einer der bedeutendsten Strafprozesse in der Geschichte der Bundesrepublik. Foto: Peter Kneffel/dpa

'No bias' in NSU case

The court handling a highly anticipated neo-Nazi case has rejected accusations of bias against half of the presiding judges. The complaints from the defense shut down the proceedings on its first day.
May 10, 2013
external

Chronology of NSU murder spree

The trial against NSU Beat Zschäpe is set to start. She and two others formed the core of a neo-nazi group called the NSU. Authorities believe the group is responsible for the murder of ten people.
May 6, 201301:38 min
FREI FÜR SOCIAL MEDIA Beate Zschaepe (C), a member of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU) stands in the court before the start of her trial in Munich May 6, 2013. The surviving member of NSU blamed for a series of racist murders that scandalised Germany and shamed its authorities goes on trial on Monday in one of the most anticipated court cases in recent German history. The trial in Munich will focus on 38-year-old Zschaepe, who is charged with complicity in the murder of eight Turks, a Greek and a policewoman between 2000-2007, as well as two bombings in immigrant areas of Cologne, and 15 bank robberies. REUTERS/Michael Dalder (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW)

Neo-Nazi trial opens in Munich

The trial of the surviving member of the National Socialist Underground (NSU), a suspected terror cell accused of ten racially-motivated murders in Germany, has begun. It is seen as one of the biggest trials in decades.
May 6, 2013
A general view taken on March 15, 2013 shows the courtroom at the Regional Court of Munich, southern Germany, where the trial against the sole survivor of the far-right militants NSU and four other alleged neo-Nazi accomplices will take place as of April 17, 2013. Beate Zschaepe of the NSU is suspected of involvement in 10 murders, including the killing of nine men of Turkish or Greek origin across Germany between 2000 and 2006 and a German policewoman in 2007, as well as 15 armed robberies, arson and attempted murder. AFP PHOTO/CHRISTOF STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images)

NSU trial seats chosen

The 50 press seats for the trial of an alleged neo-Nazi terrorist have been chosen via a court-run lottery system. Because the murder victims were of Turkish and Greek origin, both countries automatically received seats.
April 29, 2013
(photo: dpa)

Courtroom lottery

There'll be foreign media in court for the NSU trial, but that means others won't be there.
April 29, 2013
ALTERNATIV GESCHNITTEN: KARLSRUHE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 01: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Quality from source). Neo-Nazi Beate Zschaepe, who is currently in police custody, is pictured in this handout photo taken in 2011 and provided by the Federal Criminal Office on December 1, 2011 in Karlsruhe, Germany. German investigators are appealing to the public for information about Zschaepe, as well as fellow neo-Nazis Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos. The two men, who committed suicide in November following a bank robbery, are credited with a string of murders of foreigners and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007 and are though to be part of an organization called the National Socialist Underground (NSU). (Photo by Federal Criminal Office via Getty Images)

Beate Zschäpe's NSU

While her lawyers build her defense, the NSU's Beate Zschäpe has been sitting quietly in jail.
April 16, 2013

Right-Wing Terror on Trial - Beate Zschäpe and the NSU Quagmire

On April 17th, the world will be watching as opening arguments are heard in the trial of accused far-right terrorist Beate Zschäpe and her alleged accomplices from the National Socialist Underground, or NSU. The series of murders was without precedent, terrifying and is still difficult to comprehend.
PoliticsApril 11, 201305:30 min
(Photo: dpa)

The NSU murders - justice at last?

For years, crimes of the right-wing terror cell went by unnoticed - now its members are on trial.
April 3, 2013
The press gallery in the courtroom where the trial against German Beate Zschaepe a member of the neo-Nazi group National Socialist Underground (NSU) will take place, is pictured in Munich March 15, 2013. An alleged member of the NSU, 38-year-old Zschaepe, will go on trial in Munich in April charged with the murders. The NSU is accused of murdering nine Turkish and Greek immigrants and a policewoman from 2000 to 2007. Local media reported March 26, 2013, that none of the 50 media accreditations for the trial, which will be one of the biggest in German history, have been granted to the Turkish media. Picture taken March 15. REUTERS/Michael Dalder (GERMANY - Tags: CRIME LAW MEDIA)

Turkey 'urges' NSU trial access

Turkey has made a formal appeal to Germany for Turkish media to be granted access to the murder trial of alleged neo-Nazi terrorist Beate Zschäpe. Eight of ten victims were of Turkish origin.
March 31, 2013
The headline "Türkische Presse nicht erwünscht" ("Turkish press not wanted") can be seen on the 27.03.2013 European edition of "Hürriyet" newspaper; this edition is on sale at a news stand in Düsseldorf (Photo: Daniel Naupold/dpa)

'The world's watching Germany'

Government officials have said they hope Turkish journalists will attend the NSU trial in Munich next month. The far-right group is accused of killing eight Turks living in Germany; no Turkish media have accreditation.
March 28, 2013
Ein Archivbild vom 4. Nov. 2000 zeigt eine Gruppe Skinheads waehrend einer Demonstration in Berlin. Der Passauer Polizeichef Alois Mannichl wurde am Samstag, 13. Dez. 2008, offenbar aus Rache fuer seinen Einsatz gegen den Rechtsextremismus vor seinem Wohnhaus mit einem Messer attackiert. (AP Photo/Jan Bauer) --- ** FILE ** Right-wing demonstrators with shaven heads during a demonstration in Berlin, Germany, Nov. 4, 2000. (AP Photo/ Jan Bauer)

Extensive support network

A neo-Nazi group thought to have committed 10 murders over seven years is reported to have had a support network of more than 100 people. Most of the victims were immigrants who ran small businesses in Germany.
March 24, 2013
Neo-Nazis at a demonstration. Photo: Michael Hanschke dpa/lbn +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Rise in right-wing crime

Germany’s interior minister has expressed concern about a rise in crime attributed to right-wing extremists. The problem has been highlighted by a series of neo-Nazi murders that has drawn worldwide attention.
March 23, 2013
Former German Interior Minister Otto Schily appears at the Bundestag inquiry into NSU killings. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa

Schily troubled by NSU murders

Former German Interior Minister Otto Schily has accepted political responsibility for a series of neo-Nazi murders committed while he was in office. However, he denied having personally made any mistakes in the affair.
March 15, 2013
A poster of NSU-victims in the city of Rostock near city hall. Photo: Stefan Sauer dpa/lmv +++(c) dpa - Bildfunk+++

Gauck meets with NSU victims

German President Joachim Gauck has met with relatives of victims slain by the neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Underground (NSU). Some of the invited guests declined their invitations, however.
February 18, 2013
external

Germany says sorry to Turkey over NSU murders (Feb. 2013)

The National Socialist Underground killed nine immigrants, and authorities took years to find that out. A German committee is trying to find out how that happened. Today, committee members briefed Turks on the inquiry.
SocietyFebruary 15, 201301:25 min
The widow of one of the NSU victims is kneeling on the floor at her husband's memorial. There are other people around her and flowers on the floor. (Photo: Bernd Thissen/dpa)

Concern about NSU murders

The German right-wing NSU's murder series is piquing more and more public interest in Turkey.
February 15, 2013
KARLSRUHE, GERMANY - DECEMBER 01: (EDITOR'S NOTE: Quality from source). Neo-Nazi Beate Zschaepe, who is currently in police custody, is pictured in this handout photo taken in 2011 and provided by the Federal Criminal Office on December 1, 2011 in Karlsruhe, Germany. German investigators are appealing to the public for information about Zschaepe, as well as fellow neo-Nazis Uwe Boehnhardt and Uwe Mundlos. The two men, who committed suicide in November following a bank robbery, are credited with a string of murders of foreigners and a policewoman between 2000 and 2007 and are though to be part of an organization called the National Socialist Underground (NSU). (Photo by Federal Criminal Office via Getty Images)

Neo-Nazi charged with murder

The Munich regional appeal court has reportedly allowed murder charges to be brought against alleged National Socialist Underground (NSU) member Beate Zschäpe. The decision followed her indictment in November.
January 31, 2013
Beate Zschäpe (Photo Courtesy of the German Federal Criminal Police Office via Getty Images)

Keeping silent

Lawyers for an alleged far-right terrorist deny she was a member of the NSU terror group.
January 10, 2013