ABSTRACT
One central conspiratorial idea shared by radical-right terrorist manifestos since the Oslo terrorist attacks in 2011 is that the ‘West’, or more specifically Europe, is being exposed to an orchestrated replacement of its original population. This chapter explores the reception of these conspiratorial ideas in the German context and how they are expressed in the terrorist manifestos connected with the Halle (2019) and Hanau (2020) attacks. In the German context, this conspiracy has been branded ‘Umvolkung’ (repopulation) or ‘Der Grosse Austausch’ (‘The Great Replacement’, a concept introduced by the French author Renaud Camus). In 2016, these terms were introduced to a wider German-speaking readership by two books: a translation of Camus works and the other written by crime-novelist-turned-agitator Akif Pirinçci. The contents of these books are qualitatively analysed in this chapter. Only a few years later, the terrorist manifestos connected with the Halle and Hanau attacks clearly reflect the views expressed in these books. Both manifestos are examined in this chapter and their central themes are compared with those of Camus and Pirinçci. Recent developments connected with the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany demonstrate that radical-right conspiracism not only motivates acts of terror, but has the potential to destabilise mainstream politics.
