Freie Sachsen () is a

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

monarchist Monarchism is the advocacy of the system of monarchy or monarchical rule. A monarchist is an individual who supports this form of government independently of any specific monarch, whereas one who supports a particular monarch is a royalist. C ...

autonomist Autonomism or ''autonomismo'', also known as autonomist Marxism or autonomous Marxism, is an anti-capitalist Anti-capitalism is a political ideology and Political movement, movement encompassing a variety of attitudes and ideas that oppose ...

, and

secessionist Secession is the formal withdrawal of a group from a Polity, political entity. The process begins once a group proclaims an act of secession (such as a declaration of independence). A secession attempt might be violent or peaceful, but the goal i ...

movement within the German State of Saxony. It seeks to restore the former

Kingdom of Saxony The Kingdom of Saxony () was a German monarchy in Central Europe between 1806 and 1918, the successor of the Electorate of Saxony. It joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining the German ...

through an

government or a "Saexit if Necessary".

History

Founding

The inaugural meeting of "Free Saxons" in the Bermsgrün guest house was an occasion to question the use of the municipal building. The small party "Freie Sachsen" played a key role in mobilizing for the

protests A protest (also called a demonstration, remonstration, or remonstrance) is a public act of objection, disapproval or dissent against political advantage. Protests can be thought of as acts of cooperation in which numerous people cooperate ...

against

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

measures in Saxony. The organization seeks to extend its influence from the streets to town halls and possibly also to the state parliament. On February 26, 2021, Martin Kohlmann became chairman of the newly founded organization "Freie Sachsen" (not to be confused with the party Freie Sachsen – Alliance of Independent Voters, founded in 2007) in the ''Haus des Gastes'' in Bermsgrün, which describes itself as a party according to the party law. Contrarily, Freie Sachsen sees itself "in view of the state corona coercive measures" as an umbrella for a collection movement. Within a few months, the organization dominated discourse on Telegram, which had 150,000 subscribers as of February 2022, and to control the radical actions of the

protesters in

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. Programmatically, they call for stronger cooperation with the

Visegrád Group The Visegrád Group (also known as the Visegrád Four or the V4) is a cultural and political alliance of four Central European countries: the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia. The alliance aims to advance co-operation in military, e ...

, with which they have views of security or family policy more in common than with West German federal states. The Free Saxons reject democracy and demand "to involve the Saxon royal family in shaping the future". The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution of Saxony classified the alliance as right-wing extremists in June 2021. Since January 2022, the

Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution ( or BfV, often ''Bundesverfassungsschutz'') is Germany's federal domestic intelligence agency. Together with the Landesämter für Verfassungsschutz (LfV) at the state level, the fed ...

has classified the Free Saxons as a suspected case of anti-constitutional activity and observed them nationwide.

2022 and 2023 demonstrations

After the

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

in a series of

anti-interventionist Non-interventionism or non-intervention is commonly understood as "a foreign policy of political or military non-involvement in foreign relations or in other countries' internal affairs". This is based on the grounds that a state should not inter ...

protests and demonstrations, Putin masks were worn and Russian flags waved during the group's "walks". The explanation of the Free Saxons: "Suddenly the unvaccinated is no longer the number one enemy!" Now "the Russians are the number one enemy". Members of the party also take part in weekly Monday demonstrations to protest rising gas, energy, food prices, and immigration. They also went on to take part in anti-interventionist protests alongside members of the state association of the AfD in Saxony and The Left party, in which they showed

nostalgia Nostalgia is a sentimentality for the past, typically for a period or place with happy personal associations. The word ''nostalgia'' is a neoclassical compound derived from Greek language, Greek, consisting of (''nóstos''), a Homeric word me ...

for an independent

eastern Germany The new states of Germany () are the five re-established states of the former German Democratic Republic (GDR) that unified with the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) with its 10 "old states" upon German reunification on 3 October 1990. The ...

. The party ran in the . They got 2.7% of the vote. In the 2024 state election later that year, they obtained 2.2%.

Party structure

Membership and organization

With a membership of 1,200 people, the party accepts cross-party membership only as long as there is a basic commitment to the party's principles. Some of its members are part of other German political parties, including (and not limited to) The Republicans,

Alternative for Germany Alternative for Germany (, AfD, ) is a Far-right politics in Germany (1945–present), far-right,Far-right: * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Right-wing populism, right-wing populist and National conservatism, national-conservative p ...

, pro-Chemnitz,

Free Voters Free Voters (, FW) is a political party in Germany. It originates as an umbrella organisation of several Free Voters Associations (), associations of people which participate in an election without having the status of a registered party. These a ...

and The Homeland (formerly the NPD). The Free Saxons see themselves as an umbrella organization. It campaigned for the party-list vote of AfD voters.

Officials

* Chairman:

Martin Kohlmann Karl Martin Kohlmann (born 18 July 1977 in Chemnitz) is a German politician and lawyer. He is the founding chairman of the Free Saxons and was a member of Citizens' Movement Pro Chemnitz, the German Social Union (East Germany), German Social Un ...

, founder of the Free Saxons, he is a lawyer and former member of The Republicans, German Social Union and founder of pro-Chemnitz; * Deputy chairmen: Stefan Hartung, The Homeland (NPD)Stefan Hartung
/ref> city councilor in

Aue-Bad Schlema Aue-Bad Schlema () is a town and a municipality in the Erzgebirgskreis, in Saxony, Germany. It was created with effect from 1 January 2019 by the merger of the former municipalities of Aue and Bad Schlema. Twin towns – sister cities Aue-Bad ...

and district councilor in the Erzgebirge district, and

Plauen Plauen (; ; ) is a town in Saxony, Germany with a population of around 65,000. It is Saxony's 5th most populated city after Leipzig, Dresden, Chemnitz and Zwickau, the second-largest city of the Vogtland after Gera, as well as the largest cit ...

bus operator Thomas Kaden; * Treasurer: pro-Chemnitz functionary Robert Andrews, who is a city councilor in Chemnitz.

Election results

Federal Parliament (''Bundestag'')

References

{{Authority control Monarchist parties in Germany Separatism in Germany Secessionist organizations in Europe Regional parties in Germany Political parties of Saxony Far-right political parties in Germany 2021 establishments in Germany Russophilic parties in Germany