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“Intention is not method, belief is not evidence”

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Abstract

The doctoral thesis’ research aimed to examine the potentials and challenges of involving former right-wing extremists in German schools in an evidence-based manner. Because these school interventions are framed as a tool both for civic education and preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE), the analysis involved both fields. More precisely, the thesis sought to investigate whether these school-based efforts have the potential to generate preventive effects and subject becoming (Subjektbildung), whether they can stimulate political learning processes, whether they actually function as prevention and civic education, and what challenges they may face.

What this demonstrates, I think, is how impressionable and vulnerable we are in the face of a story, particularly as children.

The Danger of a Single Story

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, 2009

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Notes

  1. 1.

    According to the use in research, the designation “former extremists” is used synonymously with “formers.”

  2. 2.

    To not advertise or discredit individual former extremists or their educational and/or P/CVE activities, I refrain from naming them directly in this thesis. The situation is different for organizations offering this format as a tool for civic education and/or P/CVE and when individual formers are authors for articles.

  3. 3.

    Referring to Souvignier (2021), the thesis is subject to a broad understanding of school interventions. Accordingly, interventions refer to all measures that “are preventive, supplementary or integrated into lessons with the aim of optimizing learning and development processes” (p. 3).

  4. 4.

    The term “education” in this thesis refers to the concept of Bildung. In accordance with Sander (2019), Bildung “aims at the independence of pedagogical support and is connected to aspects such as maturity (Mündigkeit), the development of personality, the ability to make judgements, and reflective understanding of experiences of the world, […] is not aimed at defined goals in a utilitarian sense, even though it may be useful for personal development as well as for professional success […] and continue throughout life” (p. 19).

  5. 5.

    For conceptualization of the terms “Civic education” and “P/CVE,” see the paragraph on Civic Education and Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism.

  6. 6.

    This and all following direct quotes from German original sources were translated by the author.

  7. 7.

    On the different meanings of the English term “evidence” and the German term “Evidenz” see, for example, Kühlein & Forster, 2007; Wehling, 2011. However, as Walsh (2020) stated, the German term “Evidenz” has been used in academic debate synonymously with the English term “evidence” for quite some time and has accordingly gained the meaning through language usage (p. 26).

  8. 8.

    For an overview of the diversity and differentiation of the German civic education landscape, its structures and approaches, see e.g., https://transfer-politische-bildung.de/transfermaterial/topografie-der-praxis/ (accessed 01/07/22).

  9. 9.

    In a similar vein, Lösel (2007) refers to a “firefighting function” of research with regard to criminal policy demands (p. XII).

  10. 10.

    In Germany there are two terms that are used for education: Erziehung and Bildung (Sander, 2019). For more information, see the paragraph on Civic Education.

  11. 11.

    Under the constitution, the Federal Republic of Germany is a federal state (Bund) with 16 federated states (Bundesländer). Both the federal state and the federated states have a sovereign quality. Responsibility for the education system lies with each federated state (Epping & Hillgruber, 2020). On the position of civic education in the federated states see e.g., Busch & Mönter, 2019; Kenner, 2020.

  12. 12.

    For more information: Avenarius & Hanschmann, 2019; https://www.kmk.org/dokumentation-statistik/rechtsvorschriften-lehrplaene/uebersicht-schulgesetze.html (accessed 01/07/22).

  13. 13.

    For an overview see e.g., Lösch & Thimmel, 2011; Sander, 2014; Massing, 2021.

  14. 14.

    For the historical development of civic education in Germany see e.g., Sander, 2010; Detjen, 2013; Massing, 2021.

  15. 15.

    For an overview on different understandings of political action see e.g., Wohnig, 2017, pp. 108 et seq.

  16. 16.

    For more information see e.g., Schiele & Schneider, 1987, 1996.

  17. 17.

    In German research, there are quite divergent understandings of impact. For example, in the scientific examination of Demokratie leben! impact is understood “as changes in knowledge, resources, and abilities to act, where—for example, by those responsible for the project and the addressees—it is plausibly stated that they have resulted because of (socio-)pedagogical efforts or coordination and networking efforts” (BMFSFJ, 2021a, p. 19). According to the BMFSFJ (2021a), experimental research is ruled out for efforts to promote democracy and prevent extremism because no “meaningful” standardization of the efforts is possible. The reason given for this is that “for (socio-)pedagogical efforts, the requirement of lifeworld orientation applies, and in particular for individual case consultation and support, the need to individually adapt the consultation and support process. In order to motivate addressees to coproduce, it is necessary to formulate tailor-made offerings that motivate them to change their own actions” (p. 48).

  18. 18.

    In accordance with Horgan (2009), radicalization is “the social and psychological process of incrementally experienced commitment to extremist political or religious ideology” (pp. 151 et seq.).

  19. 19.

    In accordance with Horgan et al. (2017), violent extremism is seen “as ‘a willingness to use or support the use of violence to further particular beliefs, including those of political, social, or ideological nature. This may include acts of terrorism’” (p. 13).

  20. 20.

    This has also been found for the field of Islamist extremism (e.g., Jukschat & Leimbach, 2019; contributions in Hamm et al., 2021).

  21. 21.

    According to the German Federal Criminal Police Office (Bundeskriminalamt), the respective federated state police can classify a person as an “endangerer” based on available intelligence for matters of danger prevention. The term “endangerer” (Gefährder) is not a legal but a police definition. An “endangerer” is a person about whom certain facts justify the assumption that he/she/ze will commit politically motivated criminal offenses of considerable importance (https://www.bka.de/DE/UnsereAufgaben/Deliktsbereiche/PMK/pmk_node.html, accessed 02/01/22).

  22. 22.

    On the concept of extremism, see the paragraph on Former Right-Wing Extremists in German School Settings—Providers—State Organizations; e.g., Baron et al., 2018; Pfahl-Traughber, 2021.

  23. 23.

    That is the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz) and the services of the 16 German federated states (Landesämter für Verfassungsschutz).

  24. 24.

    The mandate cited here refers to a resolution of the Conference of the State Ministers of the Interior in May 2013. The report “Prevention and Public Awareness/Partners in the Middle of Society” (as of 04/24/13) was resolved as part of the realignment of the Office for the Protection of the Constitution (https://www.innenministerkonferenz.de/IMK/DE/termine/to-beschluesse/13-12-06/Anlage3.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3, p. 19 [accessed 01/20/22]). Corresponding considerations or activities already existed before 2013 (see contributions in Grumke & Pfahl-Traughber, 2010). Pfeiffer (2010), for example, is of the opinion that the constitutional protection authorities provide civic education as part of their awareness-raising and thus act pedagogically. Here, the professional standards of civic education are fundamental for this work (pp. 78 et seq.).

  25. 25.

    Deviations can be seen, for example, when the bpb commissions an online streetwork project for civic education that specifically targets young people who, on the one hand, “are vulnerable to jihadist online propaganda for various reasons,” and who, on the other hand, “already sympathize with jihadist groups and narratives and reside in milieu-specific social media filter bubbles.” (Lippe & Reidinger, 2021, p. 4).

  26. 26.

    Deviating from this, Pfeiffer (2010), for example, is of the opinion that “right-wing extremism prevention is more than civic education—but civic education, including historical civic education, makes an essential contribution” (p. 74).

  27. 27.

    For a current example see: https://www.prosieben.de/tv/jenke-crime (accessed 12/15/21).

  28. 28.

    E.g., https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCN-icupwg8pLzxKmEX4xvyg; https://www.youtube.com/c/RechteRotlichtRockerPhilipSchlaffer; https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqzDJOS9C47ELH7jvZoSjLA (all accessed 12/15/21).

  29. 29.

    In addition to autobiography-based narrations from the perpetrator’s perspective, other similar school-based efforts can be found (e.g., contemporary witnesses, ex-drug addicts, victims of crime; for an overview see Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a,c).

  30. 30.

    Such assignments also take place in adult education, for example, for companies, teachers, or future teachers. E.g., https://www.athenas.de/referent/philip-schlaffer/; https://www.schleswig-holstein.de/DE/landesregierung/ministerien-behoerden/IQSH/Service/Presseinformationen/Downloads/2017/20170309radikalisierungstendenzen.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=3; https://www.slpb.de/fileadmin/media/Publikationen/Newsletter/Newsletter_2019/SLpB_Newsletter_4-19.pdf, p. 35 (all accessed 12/17/21).

  31. 31.

    E.g., Regenhard, 2011, p. 142; https://www.swr.de/swr2/leben-und-gesellschaft/gefaengnis-ist-nicht-cool-ein-moerder-erzaehlt-schuelern-ueber-die-folgen-von-gewalt-100.html; https://praevention.polizei-bw.de/praevention/extremismus/ (all accessed 12/18/21).

  32. 32.

    E.g., https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/rechtsextremismus/41392/ausstiegshilfe-im-knast; https://ghj.social/ (all accessed 12/18/21; see also Sturm, 2020).

  33. 33.

    Furthermore, these activities take place after or outside of school. E.g., https://www.volksfreund.de/region/konz-saarburg-hochwald/themenabend-rechtsextremismus_aid-5260528; http://www.wain.de/in-kontakt/file/repository/41_2016.pdf, p. 8 (all accessed 12/18/21).

  34. 34.

    In recent years, there has been an increased interest in and emergence of former extremists/terrorists in (school-based) P/CVE in other countries (e.g., Kundnani & Hayes, 2018; Christodoulou & Szakács, 2018; Tapley & Clubb, 2019; Koehler, 2020; U.S. Department of State, 2021). E.g., https://www.hsdl.org/?view&did=793483; https://www.carthage.edu/live/events/34585-out-of-hatred; https://www.isdglobal.org/445-2/; https://www.peace-foundation.org.uk/our-work/my-former-life/ (all accessed 11/03/21).

  35. 35.

    E.g., https://demokratie-leben-wuerzburg.de/youngcaritas-wuerzburg-raus-aus-der-rechten-szene-ein-aussteiger-berichtet; https://arnold-gymnasium.de/2021/10/29/hass-macht-gewalt/ (all accessed 01/06/22).

  36. 36.

    E.g., https://rathaus.rostock.de/de/npd_aussteiger_besucht_schulen_und_jugendclubs_in_ganz_mv/289521; https://s3.kleine-anfragen.de/ka-prod/sn/6/17474.pdf (all accessed 01/03/22).

  37. 37.

    E.g., https://www.deutschlandfunkkultur.de/aussteiger-auf-abschreckungstour-100.html; https://www.politischebildung.schule.bayern.de/praeventionsarbeit/netzwerk-gegen-extremismus/ (all accessed 12/18/21).

  38. 38.

    For example, by the bpb on its website under the heading “former right-wing extremist” in an article from 2008 titled “Shock therapy in the cell. How an ex-neo-Nazi informs school children in prison.” The article reports that a former neo-Nazi sentenced to life imprisonment for murder “raises awareness” in students. The bpb provides this article without contextualizing it with, for example, research findings and/or corresponding commentary (Krögor & Schölermann, 2008). Furthermore, the bpb directly promotes a YouTube channel of a former right-wing extremist in a booklet on RWE, part of a publication series “specially developed for work with young people.” (https://www.bpb.de/shop/lernen/was-geht/ [accessed 09/16/21]; see also paper II [Gansewig & Walsh, 2021/22]). In addition, the Center for Civic Education of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia refers to various actors in civic education and extremism prevention in its “Democracy Report on the Situation of Civic Education in North Rhine-Westphalia.” A project by the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution in which former extremists report in schools is also mentioned (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Nordrhein-Westfalen, 2021, p. 87). According to the Center for Civic Education, civic education “contributes to the prevention of anti-human and anti-democratic extremism” (Landeszentrale für politische Bildung Nordrhein-Westfalen, 2021, p. 26). Additionally, the project of the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution is advertised on the information portal of the Center for Civic Education (https://www.gegen-gewaltbereiten-salafismus.nrw/projekte/aussteigergespraeche-prisma-251 [accessed 12/18/21]).

  39. 39.

    E.g., https://www.politischebildung.schule.bayern.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Demokratielernen/Schulkultur_Schulentwicklung/Partizipation/Valentin-Heider-Gymansium_2018.pdf, p. 5 (accessed 12/18/21); Similarly, one can find examples of other institutions labeling school workshops with former right-wing extremists as civic education. E.g., https://www.anstiftung-mv.de/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019_WarmUp_Infoflyer.pdf (accessed 01/06/22).

  40. 40.

    E.g., https://www.rheinpfalz.de/lokal/kreis-kusel_artikel,-christian-wei%C3%9Fgerber-der-rechten-ideologie-entkommen-_arid,5287607.html?reduced=true (accessed 01/01/22); Knauthe et al., 2010; Fojkar, n.d.; Hildebrand & Prause, 2020.

  41. 41.

    In some cases, the original German quotes are given as a supplement for clarification.

  42. 42.

    Under German tax law, a “gGmbH” (gemeinnützige GmbH) is a limited liability corporation whose income is used for charitable purposes (Schauhoff, 2010).

  43. 43.

    Unless other sources are cited, the following information is based on an interview conducted in 2018 by Walsh and Gansewig with an employee of the organization (Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 126 et seq.; see also Walsh & Gansewig, 2021).

  44. 44.

    German original quote: “die offene Präsenz als ausgestiegene Person [kann] mit ihrer biografisch gebundenen Erzählung mit einer gezielten Methodik angereichert und entwickelt werden, die sowohl die Person und ihre biografische Erzählung inhaltlich erweitert und in den Methodenraum der ‘politischen Bildung’ in eine Expertenschaft transformiert wird, ebenso wie in den der Pädagogik oder der speziellen Counter Arbeit. Das bedeutet die Entwicklung und wachsende gesellschaftliche Reife der jeweiligen Person. Dabei entsteht eine neue Rolle der ausgestiegenen Person, die über den Ursprungsrahmen hinausgeht und neue Handlungsgebiete erschließt, um die ‘Werteerzählung’ noch gezielter vermitteln und erkenntnisseitig noch anreichern zu können” (Wagner & Wichmann, 2019, p. 4).

  45. 45.

    German original quote: “In der vielgestaltigen ‘politischen Bildungsarbeit’ ist die Präsenz von Ausgestiegenen in ihrer wertevermittelnde Zeitzeugenschaftlichkeit, auch als methodisch und statuar elaboriert Agierende, aus strategischer Sicht, aus den evaluierten und praktischen Erfahrungen heraus sowie aus den Wirkungserfahrungen und dem angezeigten Bedarf heraus unabdingbar. Zugleich ergibt sich für die Zeitzeugenschaft und die Expertenschaft von Ausgestiegenen ein (gezielt zu erzeugender) Wirkungsraum, der auf die demokratische gesellschaftliche Resilienz, die Präemption von Radikalisierung und die Deradikalisierung von Personen und Gruppen intendiert wird, höchst relevant ist” (Wagner & Wichmann, 2019, p. 4).

  46. 46.

    German original quote: “Ausgestiegene in der Counter- und Bildungsarbeit sind keine politischen Bildner im klassischen Sinne, sondern als Zeitzeugen oder als Experten zu verstehen, die ihre biografischen Erfahrungen politisch, ideologisch und menschlich mental reflektiert in einen gesellschaftspolitischen Kontext darstellen” (Wagner & Wichmann, 2019, p. 6).

  47. 47.

    https://www.exit-deutschland.de/meldungen/+politische+Aufkl%C3%A4rungsarbeit+von+ehemaligen+Extremisten (accessed 01/05/22); At the time of the interview (2018) the interview partner did not elaborate on standards underlying the work with former right-wing extremists in education upon request.

  48. 48.

    https://www.exit-deutschland.de/meldungen/ausgestiegene-als-zeitzeugen-in-der-bildungsarbeit (accessed 01/05/22).

  49. 49.

    https://www.exit-deutschland.de/meldungen/wie-das-kaninchen-vor-der-schlange (accessed 01/05/22).

  50. 50.

    German original quote: “Besonders gerne wird [der Aussteiger] an Schulen herumgezeigt, darf über seinen Lebensweg berichten und man spürt die Unbeholfenheit im Umgang mit ihm. Alles ist wie ein bisschen Horrorshow. Man spürt förmlich den pädagogischen Zeigefinger der auf die Schülerinnen und Schüler herabsaust: So dürft ihr nie werden.”

  51. 51.

    The secondary school system in Germany is divided into a general (Hauptschule; in the following: general secondary school), a more practical (Realschule), and a more academic section for grades five through 12 or 13 (Gymnasium; in the following: high school) (https://www.make-it-in-germany.com/en/living-in-germany/family-life/school-system; accessed 01/09/22). Furthermore, in some federated states, comprehensive schools (Gesamtschulen) combine the different sections.

  52. 52.

    https://www.exit-deutschland.de/meldungen/ausgestiegene-als-zeitzeugen-in-der-bildungsarbeit (accessed 01/05/22).

  53. 53.

    https://www.exit-deutschland.de/exit/ (accessed 01/05/22).

  54. 54.

    “With the help of targeted public relations, projects and campaigns on the local level, as well as educational efforts by former extremists in schools, youth work and civic education, the offer is further publicized” (https://www.demokratie-leben.de/projekte-expertise/projekte-finden-1/projektdetails/deradikalisierung-und-ausstieg-aus-dem-extremismus-exit-deutschland-weiterentwicklung-und-begleitung-486 [accessed 02/15/22]).

  55. 55.

    See also: https://widerschein.society-democratic-culture.com/akademie/booking-von-bildungsveranstaltungen; http://aussteigerhilfe.de/bildung/ (all accessed 02/13/22).

  56. 56.

    https://widerschein.society-democratic-culture.com/akademie/booking-von-bildungsveranstaltungen (all accessed 02/13/22).

  57. 57.

    The abbreviation “e.V.” stands for a registered association (eingetragener Verein). The association Projekt 21 II e.V. has the status of a charitable association (gemeinnütziger Verein) (https://projekt21ii.de/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/20130809_Satzung-1.pdf [accessed 02/15/22]; Schauhoff, 2010).

  58. 58.

    Unless other sources are cited, the following information is based on an interview conducted in 2018 by Walsh and Gansewig with an employee of the association (Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 126 et seq.; Walsh & Gansewig, 2021).

  59. 59.

    Divergent information about the beginning of these activities was found: “The association Projekt 21 II e.V. has already been offering lectures or workshops with formers from the right-wing milieu since 2009 and can thus base its expertise in this subject field on many years of experience in working with formers as referees” (Ankele, 2021b, p. 1).

  60. 60.

    See the following divergent information: “The event should generally only be held with the age group ‘14 years,’ that is, from eighth grade onward. Holding the event for a lower grade is generally not recommended, as the students often lack the necessary maturity (Reife), and therefore, other formats seem more appropriate” (Ankele, 2021b, pp. 3 et seq.).

  61. 61.

    http://www.dadalos-d.org/deutsch/Demokratie/Demokratie/Grundkurs1/material/schaubild_1.htm (accessed 01/11/22).

  62. 62.

    German original quote: Der Verein “sieht sich im Hinblick auf diverse Empfehlungen zur ‘Arbeit mit Aussteigern als Referenten’ verpflichtet, seine entwickelten Qualitätsstandards Interessenten offenzulegen, die geeignet sind, den Erfolg einer solchen Maßnahme praxisgerecht sicher zu stellen.” (Ankele, 2021b, p. 1).

  63. 63.

    German original quote: “Diese ‘Authentische Prävention’ soll auf erlebnisorientierter und emotional glaubhafter Weise nachhaltig über die Gefahren des Extremismus aufklären und zur Zivilcourage ermuntern. […] Nur durch diesen authentischen Ansatz wird die Nachhaltigkeit besonders gefördert und die Werte: Demokratie, Toleranz und Solidarität eines selbstbewussten Gemeinwesens im Ergebnis geachtet. Eine Erwachsenenqualifizierung kann dieses Element nicht ersetzen. Qualifizierte Erwachsene werden im Rahmen eigener Veranstaltungen ohne Aussteiger immer nur Informationsvermittler sein können und damit an Glaubwürdigkeit und Nachhaltigkeit, mithin an der Zielwirkung der eigenen Veranstaltung hin zur Prävention verlieren. Der Fokus der Veranstaltungen mit einem Aussteiger sollte daher primär auf der Hauptzielgruppe der Jugendlichen liegen, da bisher kein anderes Element mehr Potential in Bezug auf die Vermittlung von Glaubwürdigkeit aufweist als der ‘Erlebnisbericht’ eines Aussteigers.” (Ankele, 2021b, pp. 2 et seq.)

  64. 64.

    In addition, according to the interviewee, this former had provided the impetus for a preventive theater project that had been conducted in cooperation with a museum: “[T]his gets to the heart of the matter because children play Nazis. […] The [Nazis] also have such a fascination, it’s a borderline story, but it’s manageable because the former then brutally zigs and then says: ‘So and now it’s over […]. [Y]ou’ve experienced it now, how it worked with us and who feels attracted to the milieu now?” (Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, p. 132). See also https://projekt21ii.de/qrechts-aussteigenq-ein-multimediales-theaterprojekt-vpn-projekt-21ii-ev/ (accessed 01/03/22). For an example of another former who has been active since 2013 and has participated in about 300 school interventions see the following: https://projekt21ii.de/sein-kampf-ein-ex-neonazi-aus-dresden-packt-aus/ (accessed 01/03/22).

  65. 65.

    More statements on this matter can be found in a press article in which the project chair is quoted: “Ninety percent of the events are therapy for [the project chair’s] formers. The boys must relive their experiences in the right-wing milieu over and over again. The drunkenness, the unemployment, the debts, the violence, the homelessness, the crimes. The social descent” (https://www.spiegel.de/panorama/praevention-gegen-rechts-in-sachsen-neonazis-im-klassenzimmer-a-934132.html [accessed 01/06/22]).

  66. 66.

    This aspect is also expressed, for example, in the following statements by formers who are active in educational and prevention work in schools: this work is important, because “this is reparation and therapy for me” (https://learngerman.dw.com/de/neonazi-aussteiger-warnt-jugendliche/a-16548905 [accessed 01/06/22]); this work functioned “‘as life processing, as biography processing. You just want to make something good again, that’s right. […] To come clean for oneself, for one’s life and maybe to do something right for once in one’s life’” (Pfeil, 2016, p. 132).

  67. 67.

    In the meantime, this former extremist is no longer working for this association but for EXIT-Germany instead. E.g., https://www.exit-deutschland.de/meldungen/so-schaffte-ex-neonazi-maik-scheffler-den-ausstieg-aus-der-rechten-szene (accessed 12/17/21).

  68. 68.

    https://projekt21ii.de/der-aussteiger-als-offenes-fenster-in-die-organisation/ (accessed 01/03/22).

  69. 69.

    This view of formers on their role in P/CVE can also be found in other sources: e.g., Scrivens et al., 2019, pp. 21 et seq.; https://www.bpb.de/politik/extremismus/radikalisierungspraevention/222800/interview-mit-ex-salafist-dominic-musa-schmitz (accessed 01/09/22).

  70. 70.

    E.g., https://os-kreischa.de/archiv/schuljahr-2016-2017/460-ad-acta-aussteiger-aus-der-rechtsextremen-szene-kl-9 (accessed 01/09/22).

  71. 71.

    See also: https://projekt21ii.de/die-proval-gbr-evaluiert-das-praeventionsprogramm-von-projekt-21ii-ev-mit-bestnoten/ (accessed 01/06/22). A corresponding evaluation report is not available on the association’s website (as of 01/14/22).

  72. 72.

    https://nina-nrw.de/ (accessed 01/02/22).

  73. 73.

    In this federated state, the coordination office for federal and federated state funds for extremism prevention is organizationally linked to the Center for Civic Education (NinA NRW, 2020, p. 5).

  74. 74.

    In Germany, in addition to state-run organizations, there are also civil society organizations (CSOs) for exit work, most of which are funded by the federal program Demokratie leben!. Some of them are members of the BAG, the national umbrella organization of CSOs involved in RWE exit work (https://www.bag-ausstieg.de/ [accessed 01/09/22]). EXIT-Germany is an associated partner of the BAG (https://www.exit-deutschland.de/start/ [accessed 01/09/22]).

  75. 75.

    Additionally, in 2018, the BAG published standards for involving formers in educational work (Lehmeier, 2020; for an overview and critical consideration see Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 103 et seq.). As NinA NRW (2018) noted, the quality standards of the BAG are obligatory for every member (p. 45).

  76. 76.

    The project does not (or no longer) hold talks of a purely entertaining nature with a larger audience (lecture, panel discussion), as the level of content took too much of a back seat to the emotional aspects of the learning process for the participants (Lange, 2020, p. 63).

  77. 77.

    Elsewhere, there are divergent statements regarding information impartation: “Formers are only experts on their own biography, which is why workshops with them cannot serve to impart information” (Lange, 2020, p. 64).

  78. 78.

    On the discrepancy in the underlying understanding of a successful exit between openness to results and defined success criteria, see Gansewig and Walsh, 2020a, p. 107.

  79. 79.

    In this regard, NinA NRW (2018) referred to a “detailed concept for events with formers” (p. 37), which is not available on their homepage (as of 01/02/22).

  80. 80.

    Unless other sources are cited, the following information is based on the association’s website: https://www.extremislos.de/ (accessed 12/31/21).

  81. 81.

    Currently, another former right-wing extremist is working as a speaker for the association (e.g., https://www.extremislos.de/15-Referenten.html; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpsMr44CCkU; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkkiRTCzyFY [all accessed 06/03/22].

  82. 82.

    https://www.extremislos.de/15-Referenten.html (accessed 01/14/22). To do this, he underwent anti-violence and skills training at Violence Prevention Network (VPN). The training “was specifically designed to manage violence-prone young people who exhibit extremism-affiliated attitudes” (VPN, 2021, p. 18).

  83. 83.

    On the website of the association there are numerous photos of the former’s school visits. He also talked about these activities and experiences in some of his videos on YouTube. For example, on 10/19/21 he posted to his private YouTube channel a video about a school event; the video is titled “Tears in the lecture—daily business [city]:” “Today was very special, because when I talked about experiences of discrimination, racism, and bullying, a young man, a young black man, started crying in front of me in the front row. That was difficult for me” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PnIsuE6aZs [accessed 01/14/22]).

  84. 84.

    https://www.extremislos.de/15-Referenten.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  85. 85.

    https://www.extremislos.de/15-Referenten.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  86. 86.

    https://www.extremislos.de/15-Referenten.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  87. 87.

    https://www.weser-kurier.de/landkreis-osterholz/gemeinde-worpswede/philip-schlaffer-ueber-seinen-ausstieg-aus-der-neonazi-und-rockerszene-doc7e4gbj0opvmfheswin3; see also https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKqRDcXFeqI, from 00:13:45 (accessed 01/04/22).

  88. 88.

    https://www.extremislos.de/1-Home.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  89. 89.

    https://www.extremislos.de/1-Home.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  90. 90.

    https://www.extremislos.de/1-Home.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  91. 91.

    https://www.extremislos.de/1-Home.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  92. 92.

    https://www.extremislos.de/1-Home.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  93. 93.

    https://www.extremislos.de/5-Praevention.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  94. 94.

    https://www.extremislos.de/5-Praevention.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  95. 95.

    https://www.extremislos.de/5-Praevention.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  96. 96.

    https://www.extremislos.de/5-Praevention.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  97. 97.

    https://www.extremislos.de/8-Intervention.html (accessed 01/14/22). German original quote: “Besonders im ‘AntiGewalt & Kompetenz Training,’ zeigen wir Rechtsradikalaffinen Jugendlichen auf, was Rechtsextremismus für Sie, Ihre Familie und für die Gesellschaft bedeutet.”

  98. 98.

    https://www.extremislos.de/11-Ausstieg.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  99. 99.

    https://www.extremislos.de/11-Ausstieg.html (accessed 01/14/22); Furthermore, in the context of a 2021 award nomination, the association stated that “around 20 young people who are willing to leave can be referred to local exit programs each month” (https://www.deutscher-engagement-preis.de/engagiertensuche/details/?tx_epawards_voting%5BawardWinner%5D=3655&tx_epawards_voting%5Baction%5D=show&tx_epawards_voting%5Bcontroller%5D=AwardWinner&cHash=c56b7ad2129c403113443cc12b91e7e8 [accessed 01/11/22]).

  100. 100.

    https://www.extremislos.de/24-Unterstuetzung.html (accessed 01/14/22). The former referred to his association on his official YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/c/RechteRotlichtRockerPhilipSchlaffer/featured) and asked for support, often with the indication that the association would issue receipts for financial contributions and that they were tax deductible (e.g., 03/07/19; 04/25/19; 04/14/20).

  101. 101.

    https://www.extremislos.de/24-Unterstuetzung.html (accessed 01/14/22). The “annual, freely accessible accountability reports” mentioned in this context are not to be found on the association’s website (as of 01/14/22).

  102. 102.

    The school and extracurricular offers of the association are subject to a fee: “Costs: Online from 450,- Euro plus VAT, Offline by arrangement (effort & distance)” (https://digitale-helden.de/angebote/digitaler-notfall/heldenpartnernetzwerk/intervention/ [accessed 02/11/22]); see also Landratsamt Freising (2021). Niederschrift über die 32. Sitzung des Jugendkreistags des Landkreises Freising am 21.05.2021 als Online-Veranstaltung, p, 7 https://landkreis-freising.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Aemter/Amt_fuer_Jugend_und_Familie/Jugendkreistag/Protokolle/Protokoll_21.5.21_Final.pdf (accessed 06/23/22).

  103. 103.

    Originally this intervention was called “Preventing right-wing extremism and crime in class—building resistance against right-wing extremism” (Schulunterricht Rechtsextremismus/Kriminalitätsprävention—Resistenz aufbauen gegen Rechtsextremismus); under this name it was evaluated.

  104. 104.

    https://www.extremislos.de/35-Neues.html (accessed 01/06/22). The former also spoke about this evaluation in a video posted to his official YouTube channel on 03/07/19; the video is titled “Right—Left—Jihadist—Extremist or Extremislos.” Starting at 00:21:18 he states: “There is now a big study coming out soon in April. I have engaged in a study to gauge if my work has any impact at all. I am the first who has dared to handle this work, because if something negative comes out of this study, then I have torpedoed myself in the work on young people, in schools, etc. But I believe in what I do. I see the feedback on the Internet, I see the feedback from students, and so on. And then you also must have the balls to stand up for your work.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKAmmbtIIPw [accessed 01/14/22]). The final report of the evaluation study, which has been publicly available since May 2019, is not available on the association’s website (as of 01/14/22).

  105. 105.

    https://www.bka.de/DE/UnsereAufgaben/Deliktsbereiche/PMK/PMKrechts/PMKrechts_node.html (accessed 01/09/22).

  106. 106.

    https://www.bka.de/DE/UnsereAufgaben/Deliktsbereiche/PMK/PMKrechts/PMKrechts_node.html (accessed 01/09/22).

  107. 107.

    The exit program offers support to individuals “who want to leave an extremist milieu and for whom deradicalization seems possible.” In addition to “distancing oneself from extremist thought patterns and worldviews,” support for practical life management plays a role. There is no information on when this program deems an exit to be successful (https://www.bige.bayern.de/aussteiger/ [accessed 01/09/22]).

  108. 108.

    https://www.bige.bayern.de/beratung_und_bildung/km_und_bige/vortraege_und_workshops_an_schulen/index.html (accessed 01/11/21).

  109. 109.

    German original quote: “Wir bieten sowohl in Präsenz als auch online themen-, ziel- und adressatenorientierte Vorträge und Workshops zum Rechts- und Linksextremismus sowie zur verfassungsschutzrelevanten Islamfeindlichkeit an” (https://www.bige.bayern.de/beratung_und_bildung/km_und_bige/vortraege_und_workshops_an_schulen/index.html; accessed 01/11/22).

  110. 110.

    https://www.gymnasium-mallersdorf.de/index.php/blog-archiv-aktuelles.html?month=201801 (accessed 12/15/21).

  111. 111.

    https://www.mittelbayerische.de/region/schwandorf-nachrichten/wenn-die-demokratie-bedroht-ist-21416-art1675829.html (accessed 12/15/21).

  112. 112.

    The Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation is Germany’s oldest political foundation. As a party-affiliated foundation, its work is guided by the fundamental values of social democracy: freedom, justice and solidarity (https://www.fes.de/stiftung/ueber-die-fes [accessed 01/09/22]).

  113. 113.

    E.g., https://www.praeventionstag.de/nano.cms/vortraege/id/5139; https://www.politische-bildung.nrw.de/fileadmin/imperia/md/content/veranstaltungsprogramme/2019/LzpB_Flyer_Einstiegsprozesse_DIN-lang_30-08-2019_web_1_.pdf; http://cms.berufskolleg-niederberg.de/index.php?id=241 (Aufklärung über Extremismus–Insiderberichte); https://www.praeventionstag.de/nano.cms/vortraege/id/5087 (all accessed 01/03/22).

  114. 114.

    https://dpt-statisch.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/dpt-digital/dpt-25/medien/dateien/203/IM-NRW-Prisma_Aussteigergespraeche-Faltblatt.pdf (accessed 01/04/22).

  115. 115.

    German original quote: “Die Teilnehmenden stellen fest, dass rechtsextremistische Orientierungen keine angeborene Charaktereigenschaft sind, sondern in einem Prozess angenommen, entwickelt und verinnerlicht werden” und “dass Resilienz auch davon abhängt, in welchem Maße menschenfeindliche ideologische Muster reflektiert werden, an die diese Angebote geknüpft sind.”

  116. 116.

    For 2019 data, see Pfeiffer and Schirmer (2021, p. 175). According to the “North Rhine-Westphalia State Report on the Protection of the Constitution,” 20 events took place at schools or in other contexts in 2020, despite the COVID-19 pandemic (Ministerium des Innern des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, 2021, p. 374).

  117. 117.

    Mönchengladbach is a city in the federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

  118. 118.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html; https://www.praeventionstag.de/nano.cms/dpt-23-kongressprogramm?xa=details&id=37; https://mg-heute.de/praeventionskonzept-kopfsache-aufklaerung-von-jugendlichen-ueber-extremistischen-salatismus-und-islamistischen-terrorismus/ (all accessed 12/19/21).

  119. 119.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (accessed 12/19/21).

  120. 120.

    https://mg-heute.de/praeventionskonzept-kopfsache-aufklaerung-von-jugendlichen-ueber-extremistischen-salatismus-und-islamistischen-terrorismus/ (accessed 12/19/21).

  121. 121.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (accessed 12/19/21).

  122. 122.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (accessed 12/19/21).

  123. 123.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (accessed 12/19/21).

  124. 124.

    https://mg-heute.de/praeventionskonzept-kopfsache-aufklaerung-von-jugendlichen-ueber-extremistischen-salatismus-und-islamistischen-terrorismus/ (accessed 12/19/21).

  125. 125.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (accessed 12/19/21).

  126. 126.

    https://mg-heute.de/praeventionskonzept-kopfsache-aufklaerung-von-jugendlichen-ueber-extremistischen-salatismus-und-islamistischen-terrorismus/ (accessed 12/19/21).

  127. 127.

    https://mg-heute.de/praeventionskonzept-kopfsache-aufklaerung-von-jugendlichen-ueber-extremistischen-salatismus-und-islamistischen-terrorismus/ (accessed 12/19/21).

  128. 128.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (accessed 12/19/21).

  129. 129.

    https://www.praeventionstag.de/nano.cms/dpt-23-kongressprogramm?xa=details&id=37 (accessed 12/19/21).

  130. 130.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (accessed 12/19/21).

  131. 131.

    https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (accessed 12/19/21).

  132. 132.

    https://www.fr.de/wissen/hakenkreuze-kita-11336805.html (accessed 01/09/22).

  133. 133.

    https://www.dphv.de/aktuell/archiv/news-archiv-liste/article/philologenverbandplaediert-fuer-verstaerkte-auseinandersetzung-mit-neonazismus-in-der-schule.html (accessed 08/12/19); see also https://www.aerztezeitung.de/Panorama/Neonazis-sollen-Thema-im-Schulunterricht-werden-264125.html (accessed 01/09/22).

  134. 134.

    For more information on the media portrayal see the paragraph on State of the Art and Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 230 et seq.; For examples of the few differentiated press articles see: https://jungle.world/artikel/2012/19/vom-nazi-zum-referenten; https://www.landeszeitung.de/lueneburg/29219-neonazi-aussteiger/; https://www.rnd.de/familie/rassismus-vortrage-an-schulen-von-ehemals-rechtsextremen-wirklich-sinnvoll-52VTXOCSMBBU3BDPSNISFNMF5Y.html (all accessed 12/16/21).

  135. 135.

    E.g., https://www.sueddeutsche.de/muenchen/starnberg/rechtsextremismus-der-neonazi-der-den-ausstieg-schaffte-1.3830910; https://www.ln-online.de/Lokales/Bad-Schwartau/Ex-Neonazi-Philip-Schlaffer-macht-Praeventionsunterricht-an-Schulen; https://bkwb.de/vom-neonazi-zum-bildungsreferenten/ (all accessed 01/09/22).

  136. 136.

    Some decriptions seem to focus on a form of personal admiration: e.g., “A unique life story, which he partly even had tattooed on his body, was told by [name], a textbook example of a northern german man: tall, strong, handsome and with a friendly face.” (German original quote: “Eine einzigartige Lebensgeschichte, die er sich zum Teil sogar auf seinen Körper hat tätowieren lassen, erzählte [Name], ein norddeutsches Mannsbild, wie es im Buche steht: Groß, stark, gutaussehend und mit einem freundlichen Gesicht.” https://www.suedkurier.de/region/linzgau/kreis-sigmaringen/vom-neonazi-zum-de-radikalisierungstrainer;art372548,11253804 [accessed 08/15/22]).

  137. 137.

    https://www.bztg-oldenburg.de/2021/01/21/auseinandersetzung-mit-rechtsextremismus/ (accessed 01/12/22).

  138. 138.

    https://www.bztg-oldenburg.de/2021/01/21/auseinandersetzung-mit-rechtsextremismus/ (accessed 01/12/22).

  139. 139.

    https://www.ostsee-zeitung.de/Vorpommern/Stralsund/Niepars-Neonazi-Aussteiger-Benneckenstein-beeindruckt-Schueler (accessed 01/12/22).

  140. 140.

    https://www.gymnasium-sankt-michael.de/2019-20/praevention-rechtsextremismus-2019.html (accessed 01/12/22).

  141. 141.

    https://www.fgh-online.de/aktuelles/artikel/informativ-schockierend-unterhaltsam-workshop-zum-politischen-extremismus-mit-dem-aussteiger-philip-schlaffer/ (accessed 01/28/22).

  142. 142.

    https://www.bztg-oldenburg.de/2021/01/21/auseinandersetzung-mit-rechtsextremismus/ (accessed 01/12/22).

  143. 143.

    https://www.bztg-oldenburg.de/2021/01/21/auseinandersetzung-mit-rechtsextremismus/ (accessed 01/12/22).

  144. 144.

    https://www.ln-online.de/lokales/ostholstein/ex-neonazi-macht-praeventionsunterricht-an-schulen-IUU57A7MRAG7Z7ZYGSLGQICUGI.html (accessed 01/12/22).

  145. 145.

    https://www.bztg-oldenburg.de/2021/01/21/auseinandersetzung-mit-rechtsextremismus/ (accessed 01/12/22).

  146. 146.

    https://www.rheinpfalz.de/lokal/kreis-kusel_artikel,-christian-wei%C3%9Fgerber-der-rechten-ideologie-entkommen-_arid,5287607.html?reduced=true (accessed 01/12/22).

  147. 147.

    https://ms-am-moos.de/2021/10/25/ein-erfahrungsbericht-im-zeichen-von-rechter-gewalt-hass-und-kriminalitt/ (accessed 01/12/22).

  148. 148.

    https://ms-am-moos.de/2021/10/25/ein-erfahrungsbericht-im-zeichen-von-rechter-gewalt-hass-und-kriminalitt/ (accessed 01/12/22).

  149. 149.

    https://ms-am-moos.de/2021/10/25/ein-erfahrungsbericht-im-zeichen-von-rechter-gewalt-hass-und-kriminalitt/ (accessed 01/12/22).

  150. 150.

    https://www.nw.de/lokal/kreis_herford/loehne/22607135_Ex-Neonazi-Felix-Benneckenstein-spricht-ueber-seine-braune-Vergangenheit.html (accessed 01/14/22).

  151. 151.

    https://www.der-reporter.de/neustadt/neustadt-in-holstein/artikel/allein-kommt-man-da-nicht-mehr-raus-maik-scheffler-aussteiger-aus-der-rechten-szene-besuchte-neustaedter-schulen (accessed 01/14/22).

  152. 152.

    https://www.gymwkh.de/aussteiger-philip-schlaffer-zu-gast-in-weikersheim/ (accessed 01/09/22).

  153. 153.

    Furthermore, this aspect of attributed expertise is illustrated by the following: In November 2020, a former right-wing extremist was a guest at an online talk hosted by the liberal Friedrich-Naumann-Foundation for Freedom titled “Deradicalization with YouTube.” According to the teaser for the event, the talk was meant to be on “how to use social media for deradicalization, which otherwise tends to help radicalize young people.” In the next sentence the political foundation concludes, “[the former] and his association ‘Extremislos’ have already been proving for some time that this is possible. He gives us a look behind the scenes of his work.” (https://plus.freiheit.org/freiheit-latenight [accessed 01/15/22]).

  154. 154.

    Auschwitz was the largest of the German Nazi concentration camps and extermination centers (http://www.auschwitz.org/en/ [accessed 01/15/22]).

  155. 155.

    https://www.demokratie-leben.de/magazin/magazin-details/einen-typischen-arbeitsalltag-gibt-es-nicht-62 (accessed 02/14/22).

  156. 156.

    https://www.obs-salzhausen.de/die-schule/schulkultur/schulleben/19-aktuelles/149-authentisches-plaedoyer-fuer-demokratie-und-gegen-gewalt-philip-schlaffer-workshop-an-der-obs-salzhausen (accessed 01/10/22).

  157. 157.

    https://ebg-castrop.de/aussteigergespraech-am-ebg (accessed 01/10/22).

  158. 158.

    https://www.obs-salzhausen.de/die-schule/schulkultur/schulleben/19-aktuelles/149-authentisches-plaedoyer-fuer-demokratie-und-gegen-gewalt-philip-schlaffer-workshop-an-der-obs-salzhausen (accessed 01/10/22).

  159. 159.

    In some cases, political figures (e.g., members of the federated state and federal parliaments [Landtag, Bundestag] and mayors) are present at such school interventions. E.g., https://www.flickr.com/photos/kleiminger/3094943167/; http://www.petra-koepping.de/images/downloads/2016-01-05_Newsletter_Januar_2016.pdf, p. 8; FNF_JB_2020_Web final.pdf, p. 55; https://www.mut-gegen-rechte-gewalt.de/projekte/aktuelle-aktionen/neuer-bildungsverein-hakadima; https://www.helmut-himmler.de/meldungen/ehemaliger-neonazi-berichtet-in-berg-ueber-die-rechtsszene/ (all accessed 12/16/21); see also Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, p. 216. In general, politics seems to play a significant role in this topic: This can also be illustrated by an online talk with practitioners on the topic of “formers in political awareness-raising” by EXIT-Germany, which took place in June 2021 and was sponsored by the federal program Demokratie leben!. During the discussion one participant appeared not only in his function as a high school teacher, who reported on his positive experiences with a former working at schools for EXIT-Germany, but also in his function as a member of the federal parliament (https://www.exit-deutschland.de/derad/Video-Ausgestiegene-und-Aufklaerung [accessed 12/17/21]).

  160. 160.

    https://jule.linxxnet.de/ein-austritt-ist-kein-ausstieg-11-05-2016/ (accessed 12/16/21).

  161. 161.

    Additionally, criticism is aimed directly at specific organizations or individuals. E.g., https://www.saechsische.de/streit-um-aussteigerprojekt-eskaliert-40300.html; http://www.taz.de/!5384999/ (all accessed 01/03/21).

  162. 162.

    For an overview of deviating earlier didactic views on the relationship between emotionality and rationality, see Petri, 2018, pp. 136 et seq.

  163. 163.

    The theories of punishment include, in addition to the utilitarian theories, the retributive theories of punishment and the combination theories. According to the retributive theory of punishment, the guilt of the offender must be compensated with punishment. Thus, punishment is an end in itself. The combination theories unite the ideas of retributive and utilitarian punishment purposes with each other (see Roxin, 2006, pp. 83 et seq.).

  164. 164.

    The Radicalisation Awareness Network is a platform for practitioners from the European Commission to gather and share best practices in countering radicalization leading to violent extremism (https://ec.europa.eu/home-affairs/networks/radicalisation-awareness-network-ran_en [accessed 02/01/22]).

  165. 165.

    In the context of evaluation, Exit-Germany solely refers to one student’s one-page feedback sheet on the satisfaction of students (ticking off smiley face images) on a project day, of which the former’s presentation was one of seven models. The participants’ satisfaction was determined by means of four statements: “I found the topic of the workshop interesting.” “I have gained new knowledge.” “The workshop chair was competent.” “The workshop stimulated me to think.” (“2013 Evaluation eines Aussteigervortrages,” https://www.exit-deutschland.de/exit/?c=Evaluation [accessed 12/13/21]). Since May 2021, EXIT has been undergoing an evaluation within the framework of its funding by Demokratie leben!. According to the evaluation description, two aspects are to be focused on: “the exit and deradicalization work of EXIT-Germany and the field of expert advice, expert exchange and knowledge transfer for program partners in the federal program as well as for other projects and actors.” It remains to be seen whether and how the interventions with former extremists in schools will be included in the evaluation (https://camino-werkstatt.de/projekte/wissenschaftliche-begleitung-von-exit-deutschland [accessed 03/01/22]).

  166. 166.

    https://www.bige.bayern.de/beratung_und_bildung/km_und_bige/vortraege_und_workshops_an_schulen/index.html; https://www.kopfsache-moenchengladbach.de/en/project-kopfsache-mg.html (all accessed 12/13/21). For an example outside Germany, see: “My former Life” (RAN, 2017b, n.p.); see also Davies, 2018, p. 35.

  167. 167.

    One of the evaluation reports is currently no longer publicly available (Lobermeier, 2014; as of 02/12/22; https://www.lpr.sachsen.de/download/landespraeventionsrat/WOS-Einzelgutachten_Bildungswerk_Sachsen.pdf [last access 02/24/21]).

  168. 168.

    The overall research project was conducted at the NZK (see Footnote 1 in Chap. 1). There was cooperation between the NZK and the State Prevention Council of Schleswig-Holstein (Landespräventionsrat Schleswig-Holstein) for the evaluation study. Regarding the genesis of the research project and resistance against the evaluation, see Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 120 et seq. and pp. 252 et seq.

  169. 169.

    Between 2007 and 2010, the federal program Vielfalt tut gut. Jugend für Vielfalt, Toleranz und Demokratie was one of the funding programs for extremism prevention and democracy promotion of the BMFSFJ (BMFSFJ, 2017, p. 9).

  170. 170.

    No more information is given (e.g., on the biographical background of the former extremist involved, the concept and content of the intervention).

  171. 171.

    Number of participants: former extremist’s seminar: n = 232; other seminars: n = 74,  n = 21, n = 18 (Knauthe et al., 2010).

  172. 172.

    The abbreviation “GbR” stands for a Civil Law Association (Gesellschaft bürgerlichen Rechts). According to German company law of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch), this is an association of at least two legal entities as shareholders who mutually undertake a company agreement to promote the achievement of a common purpose in the manner determined by the agreement (Jauernig, 2021).

  173. 173.

    The project and the study received funding from the Saxon State Ministry of the Interior (Lobermeier, 2014).

  174. 174.

    The same applies, for example, to the concept or quality standards of the intervention.

  175. 175.

    That is the instructor at the front of the class and the attendees facing the instructor.

  176. 176.

    The funding of model projects as “(socio-)pedagogically active prevention projects” (Figlestahler et al., 2020, p. 10) pursues the goal of “developing and testing innovative, practicable concepts and strategies, forms of work and approaches to target groups, topics and content” (BMFSFJ, 2021a, p. 23). The target group of the model projects in this program field (program field E: model projects for radicalization prevention) were “children and young people who are in the process of becoming radicalized or developing attitudes hostile to democracy” (Die Bundesregierung, 2016, p. 44).

  177. 177.

    https://grenzerfahrungen.ib.de/was-ist-grenzerfahrungen (accessed 12/02/21).

  178. 178.

    Regarding the age of the target group, divergent information can be found on the project website: (“[W]orkshops are offered at schools of all types, from grade eight onwards” [age: ~14], https://grenzerfahrungen.ib.de/projektstandorte, accessed 12/01/21), and as stated by Fojkar (“from grade nine onwards;” n.d., p. 38).

  179. 179.

    https://grenzerfahrungen.ib.de/projektstandorte (accessed 12/01/21).

  180. 180.

    These model projects of educational knowledge transfer, “tend to pass on fixed knowledge because [practitioners] ascribe them a preventive effect for radicalization processes” (Figlestahler et al., 2020, p. 124).

  181. 181.

    Further information on the concept and, for example, the biographical background of the former extremist involved, quality standards or the project’s results were neither a component of the evaluation report nor publicly available.

  182. 182.

    This conclusion contrasts with the conclusion drawn in the final report of the model projects for the prevention of radicalization: “In the direct (socio-)pedagogical target group access to young people, the funded projects were substantially oriented toward the needs of the participants and opened up different participation opportunities for them” (Figlestahler et al., 2020, p. 122).

  183. 183.

    In this vein, the final report on the model projects provides this summary: “In conclusion, it can be stated that many projects did not fulfill the program requirements of testing and implementing interventions in the area of indicated and selective prevention, as no contact was established with the target groups or was not planned from the beginning” (Figlestahler et al., 2020, p. 123). In this context, Figlestahler et al. (2020) refer to “problems in program management or in the selection of appropriate project proposals,” as apparently projects were funded “that were conceptually not to be situated in the field of ‘radicalization prevention’” (p. 133).

  184. 184.

    This was also the case for the model project for preventing radicalization “Left-wing militancy in the past and present. Educating young people at risk about left-wing extremism and violence” of the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial. The project partly involved a former left-wing extremist in working with young people. Contrary to the funding guidelines, the project did not focus on secondary but on primary prevention (Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 135 et seq.; Walsh & Gansewig, 2021, 2023).

  185. 185.

    https://grenzerfahrungen.ib.de/was-ist-grenzerfahrungen (accessed 12/02/21).

  186. 186.

    For more information on the research project see Footnotes 1 in Chap. 1 and 168.

  187. 187.

    Representatives from the charitable associations EXIT-Germany and Projekt 21 II e.V., the Working Group on RWE and Violence (Arbeitsstelle Rechtsextremismus und Gewalt), and the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial were interviewed (Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 126 et seq.; Walsh & Gansewig, 2021).

  188. 188.

    Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 165 et seq.

  189. 189.

    Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 186 et seq.

  190. 190.

    The evaluation was conducted according to the evaluation standards of the DeGEval Society for Evaluation (Gesellschaft für Evaluation e.V.; DeGEval, 2017).

  191. 191.

    Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 298 et seq.

  192. 192.

    Due to the specific focus of this doctoral thesis, not all surveys conducted in the research project will be discussed in detail. The focus is on the findings relevant to the thesis. For further information and the overall results of the research project see Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a.

  193. 193.

    One person each was previously active in the left-wing autonomous milieu, the Grey Wolves, a Kurdish extremist group and, two belonged to an Islamist extremist movement (Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, p. 191).

  194. 194.

    The number of interventions and partakers should be understood as a guideline count, as only those interventions reported on in the media could be considered. It can be assumed that the actual number of interventions and participants was significantly higher. This is supported by the information provided by individual providers on how many interventions they had been conducted or are conducting (e.g., Pfeiffer & Schirmer, 2020; Wagner, 2020; Ankele, 2021a).

  195. 195.

    This is a common prevention approach in German schools. According to Kleff (2016), it is a systemic approach with a holistic view of the school system, in which “many years of proven experience from prevention work with children and young people […] are the starting point for the development of a multidimensional prevention concept and successful strategies against ideologies of inequality” (pp. 24 et seq.).

  196. 196.

    Furthermore, during the interviews, a representative of EXIT-Germany stated that besides schools, they also organized such interventions in youth clubs, Christian communities, with civic education providers and Centers for Civic Education of the States (Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, p. 130).

  197. 197.

    Published in: Walsh, M., & Gansewig, A. (2019/20). A Former Right-Wing Extremist in School-Based Prevention Work: Research Findings from Germany. Journal for Deradicalization, 21, 1–42.

  198. 198.

    Davis Adewuyi conducted the lead statistical analyses of the impact study.

  199. 199.

    Published in: Gansewig, A., & Walsh, M. (2021/22). Broadcast Your Past: Analysis of a German Former Right-Wing Extremist’s YouTube Channel for Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism and Crime. Journal for Deradicalization, 29, 129–176.

  200. 200.

    Published in: Gansewig, A., & Walsh, M. (2021). Preventing Violent Extremism with Former Extremists in Schools: A Media Analysis of the Situation in Germany. Terrorism and Political Violence. Advance online publication: https://doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2020.1862802.

  201. 201.

    Published in: Gansewig, A., & Walsh, M. (2022). “That is Simply One Thing that Goes with It”: Former Extremists in School Settings and Empirical Evidence. Educational Review. Advance online publication: https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2022.2028733.

  202. 202.

    The figures are similar in the federated state of North Rhine-Westphalia, where the project Prisma is active in schools for the State Office for the Protection of the Constitution (2020: 3.940 right-wing extremists, 1.940 not violence oriented; Ministerium des Innern des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, 2021, p. 28).

  203. 203.

    https://www.fnp.de/lokales/hochtaunus/homburg-hessen-ex-nazi-erzaehlt-humboldtschule-ausstieg-rechten-szene-gelang-13187209.html (accessed 01/05/21).

  204. 204.

    E.g., https://www.badische-zeitung.de/die-nazikeule-bringt-nichts-sagt-ein-aussteiger-aus-der-szene--181954257.html; https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article13870963/Der-Mann-den-die-Neonazis-Pistole-nannten.html (all accessed 02/22/22).

  205. 205.

    See references on Footnote 204.

  206. 206.

    However, it should be noted, that in evaluation research it is also possible to examine “impact traces” (Ahlheim & Heger, 2006).

  207. 207.

    The survey results are not surprising: “Overall, 72 percent of all 686 program stakeholders surveyed believe that Demokratie leben! has achieved or can achieve a high impact level. 22 percent attribute medium impact to the program. A negligible proportion of program stakeholders (0.7 percent) associate the program activities with weak impact potential” (BMFSFJ, 2021a, p. 26).

  208. 208.

    The methodological orientation of the planned “Federal Institute for Quality Assurance” (Bundesinstitut Qualitätssicherung) of the BMI and the BMFSFJ will be interesting. This institute is to establish permanent structures and processes of quality assurance and impact enhancement in prevention and civic education (Die Bundesregierung, 2021, p. 50).

  209. 209.

    As stated in a description of Demokratie leben!: “The federal program is repeatedly developed further as a ‘learning program’ in the sense that insights are gained and implemented during the process. A number of proven approaches from previous programs are continued, while at the same time current societal challenges always entail the adaptation of projects” (BMFSFJ, 2021a, p. 10).

  210. 210.

    For (civic) educational and sociopedagogical settings, the usefulness of experimental research is regularly doubted in a generalizing manner (e.g., Ziegler, 2019; Möller et al., 2020; Milbradt et al., 2021).

  211. 211.

    ufuq.de is an accredited provider of voluntary youth welfare and in civic education and prevention (https://www.ufuq.de/verein/uber-uns/verein/ [accessed 12/13/21]).

  212. 212.

    https://rise-jugendkultur.de/artikel/transkript-podcast-folge-01/ (accessed 01/24/22).

  213. 213.

    In the evaluation study conducted by Walsh and Gansewig, some teachers questioned the requirement for the legal guardians’ consent (Gansewig & Walsh, 2019b, p. 15, 2020a, pp. 259 et seq.).

  214. 214.

    On the relationship between the rights of the legal guardian and the state’s educational mandate of schools, see Gansewig & Walsh, 2020a, pp. 262 et seq.; Hanschmann, 2021, pp. 13 et seq.

  215. 215.

    United Nations-Committee on the Rights of the Child. General Comment No. 5 (2003), CRC/GC/2003/5, numb. 21, p. 7 (https://www.childlinethailand.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/5.pdf [accessed 02/02/22]).

  216. 216.

    The first draft by the governing parties in the 19th legislative period to include children’s rights in the Basic Law failed in 2021 (in detail: Deutsches Institut für Menschenrechte, 2021, pp. 87 et seq.). A new bill is to be introduced in the 20th legislative period (SPD, BÜNDNIS 90/DIE GRÜNEN, & FDP, 2021, p. 98).

  217. 217.

    https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text (accessed 02/02722).

  218. 218.

    Equally, this should apply to the research context (see Lundy & McEvoy, 2009, 2012).

  219. 219.

    It goes without saying that this potential could only unfold if the identified critical aspects are not reflected in corresponding videos, texts, and accompanying materials. However, this is not always the case: for example, the Bavarian State Center for Civic Education does not only use the phrase “slipping into” RWE in a video with a former right-wing extremist, but also in the teachers’ information sheet for the video, among other things: “According to [the former], right-wing rock music paved the way for his gradual slipping into [RWE].” Furthermore, this aspect is taken up in the processing recommendations: “First, have the class consider in a joint discussion: What can lead a person to becoming a ‘Nazi,’ that is, slipping into the right-wing extremist environment?” The former extremist himself does not use the phrase in the video (https://www.blz.bayern.de/zeit-fuer-politik/rechtsextremismus.html, pp. 1 et seq. [accessed 02/22/22]).

  220. 220.

    Oral conversation with Dr. Maria Walsh on 10/23/21.

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  1. Faculty I – School of Educational and Social Sciences, Institute for Social Sciences, Department for Civic Education, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Oldenburg, Germany

    Dr. Antje Gansewig

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Gansewig, A. (2022). Synopsis. In: “Intention is not method, belief is not evidence”. Springer VS, Wiesbaden. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-658-39776-0_2

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