After symbols associated with the Turkish right-wing ‘Grey Wolves’ organisation were displayed at the European cup, public voices are demanding a ban on the organisation in Germany.
In an interview with German television channel ZDF, German historian and journalist Nikolaus Brauns describes the history of the ‘Grey Wolves’ movement in Germany, anlysing the role played by the German intelligence service in the founding of the ‘Grey Wolves’ in Germany.
Brauns explains that in the 1970s “a lot of migrant workers were organized in leftist organizations in Germany” and that Kurdish and Turkish migrants were playing a vanguard role in organizing worker’s strikes.
Brauns continues by mentioning the meetings that took place between German politician Franz Josef Strauß and Former Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Alparslan Türkeş during that time. He recounts that a meeting between the German and Turkish state officials took place in 1978, where they agreed on a common fight “against communism in Turkey and in Germany”.
Braun continues, illustrating the role that German officials played in the establishment of the Grey Wolves in Germany.
“Franz Josef Strauß then told Alparslan Türkeş that he would do everything in his power will always have a safe back country in Germany”, Brauns claims.
He highlights that “it was indeed the case that a CDU city councillor who was also the Turkey expert of the Federal Intelligence Service, […] then rented a hall for the founding event of the Turkish Federation in Germany.” The Turkish Federation is considered as one of the first legal organizations of the Grey Wolves in Germany.
