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Germany

The Neo-Nazi Double Agent Who Started A KKK Chapter In Germany

Worst of both worlds
Worst of both worlds
Frederik Obermaier and Tanjev Schultz

STUTTGART - The man who called himself Ryan Davis was playing a strange game. He moved in Neo-Nazi circles, and at the beginning of the new century he created a German chapter of the Ku Klux Klan in the city of Schwäbisch-Hall in the southwestern German state of Baden-Württemberg.

But for years he also provided that state’s secret service with information – and was paid for doing so. Until now, it had only been rumored that he was an informant, but the Süddeutsche Zeitung has found confirmation in confidential secret service files.

According to the intelligence files, Ryan Davis was approached by authorities as early as 1994. He had attended a meeting of the far-right National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) and had also played in a skinhead band. The secret service wanted him to report back on what was happening on the extreme right scene. At first Davis’s status was that of informant, but he then moved up to “V-Mann” – an undercover agent.

Then, apparently without the knowledge or help of authorities, Davis got the idea of opening a chapter of the Ku Klux Klan – the American racist secret society –and had himself anointed "Grand Dragon" for Germany in Mississippi.

In an Internet chat room, Davis had contact with another Neo-Nazi who as it turns out was also a “V-Mann” going by the codename "Corelli." Corelli worked for Germany’s federal secret service, the BND. Baden-Württemberg authorities in Stuttgart were in for a big surprise when they found out via this channel what their informant Ryan Davis was up to.

A bust of Hitler

Davis was apparently confronted about his Klan association by the secret service agent running him. Davis denied the activities, but in Nov. 2000, the secret service ended its association with him. Davis continued with his Klan activities, under the nose of Corelli who conscientiously continued to report everything back to the authorities, telling them that several German police officers had sought association with the Klan and had taken part in its ceremonies.

Davis finally caught on that he was being informed on, and this in conjunction with some personal problems led him to withdraw from the Klan in 2003.

He then turned to the secret service again. He told authorities what he knew about the Klan group that he himself had founded. He was paid for this information, but Süddeutsche Zeitung has not been able to ascertain how much.

Davis told the agents that once the Klan met in a mountain hut, the rooms of which were “adorned” with flags and a bust of Hitler. According to notes made by the agents, the former snitch also provided information about police officers who belonged to the secret group. If he is to be believed, there were quite a few police officers interested in becoming Klan members – ten to 20 in Stuttgart alone, all of whom “shared an extreme-right view of the world.”

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FOCUS: Russia-Ukraine War

The Russian Orthodox Church Has A Kremlin Spy Network — And Now It's Spreading Abroad

The Russian Orthodox Church has long supported Russia’s ongoing war effort in Ukraine. Now, clergy members in other countries are suspected of collaborating with and recruiting for Russian security forces.

Photo of Russian soldiers during mass at an Orthodox church in Moscow.

Russian soldiers during mass at an Orthodox church in Moscow.

Wiktoria Bielaszyn

WARSAW — Several countries have accused members of the Russian Orthodox clergy of collaborating with Russian security services, pushing Kremlin policy inside the church and even recruiting spies from within.

On Sept. 21, Bulgaria deported Russian Archimandrite Vassian, guardian of the Orthodox parish in Sofia, along with two Belarusian priests. In a press release, the Bulgarian national security agency says that clergy were deported because they posed a threat to national security. "The measures were taken due to their actions against the security and interests of the Republic of Bulgaria," Bulgarian authorities wrote in a statement, according to Radio Svoboda.

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These reports were also confirmed by Russia's ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova, who told Russian state news agency TASS that the priests must leave Bulgaria within 24 hours. “After being declared persona non grata, Wassian and the other two clerics were taken home under police supervision to pack up their belongings. Then they will be taken to the border with Serbia" she said.

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