Martin Sellner: A fascist zombie returns “I want my husband back, with legs and arms!” The Russian women revolt

A book entitled ‘Remigration. A suggestion”. The term has already been named bad word of the year. Its author, Martin Sellner, is at the center of an affair that is currently shaking Germany. Last weekend, hundreds of thousands took to the streets in various cities across the country to demonstrate against the threat of a new fascism. The topic currently dominates the political arena from Bonn to Berlin.

Who is the man who caused this political storm? His name is Martin Sellner, he is 35 years old, Austrian and founder of the Identitarian Movement, a fascist youth organization. He was a star guest and speaker at a secret meeting at Villa Adlon in Potsdam. Among the guests were representatives of the AfD, conservative entrepreneurs and members of the Values ​​Union, a right-wing conservative group within the CDU that soon wants to profile itself as an independent party.

Sellner is not a Nazi in the traditional sense of the word. Bomber jackets, bald heads and combat boots are not his hallmarks. He doesn’t belt out the songs of fascist bands – beer bottle in hand – nor does he fight with the left-wing extremists of Antifa. On the contrary, he is always neatly dressed and polite, a normal boy that any mother would want as a son-in-law.

Sellner is not Prolo. He studied philosophy and struggled with Martin Heidegger, the model German philosopher of the 20th century, who at one point took a wrong turn and became an ardent Nazi. Oswald Spengler, a pioneer of fascism, also belongs to Sellner’s ideals, as does the lawyer Carl Schmitt, admired by Hitler.

Sellner also has good international connections. Not only is he familiar with the far-right scene in Germany, he is also very familiar with the writings of Alain de Benoist. Like the French philosopher, he advocates international fascism. His wife is American and Sellner is also in good contact with Steve Bannon and Richard Spencer, once an important representative of the alt-right movement.

Sellner’s proper appearance is deceptive. In 2018 and 2019 he was denied entry to the US and UK. Even the Austrian FPÖ, which is otherwise not afraid of contact with the right, occasionally distanced itself from him. Political scientist Natascha Strobl, who has been involved with the right-wing extremist scene for a long time, explains to the ‘Financial Times’: ‘Sellner understands the media and knows how to stir up a riot and ensure that you are noticed.’

After the ominous secret meeting in Potsdam, Sellner cannot complain about the lack of attention. Since the protests in the 1980s against the use of short-range missiles equipped with nuclear warheads, there have been no demonstrations in Germany that brought a comparable number of people onto the streets. There is great fear that fascism will rear its terrible head again.

And this fear is justified. “The meeting in Potsdam was anything but innocent,” says Strobl. “If we are dealing with someone like Sellner and he is dating important representatives of the AfD and entrepreneurs, it means that something has changed.”

The term ‘remigration’ is also anything but innocent. Behind this lies a concept that aims to deport millions of people from Germany. Sellner rejects this term, but that is precisely the point. His plan calls for the immediate deportation of rejected asylum seekers. Those who have the right to stay or even those who have German citizenship but have not “assimilated” will be forced to emigrate to an unspecified country in Africa.

The American alt-right movement has now gone quiet. The last anyone heard of Richard Spencer, he was completely broke. The identity movement also disappeared from the news for a long time.

Sellner has now risen from his grave like a zombie. That doesn’t bode well. International fascism – actually a contradiction in terms – is gaining momentum: Donald Trump has a chance to return to the White House, Viktor Orbán has already eliminated democracy in Hungary and right-wing populists are on the rise in many liberal countries.

In this climate, people like Martin Sellner are extremely dangerous because he knows how to make the previously unspeakable speakable again.