Ulf
Ulf was born in the early nineties in a small town in eastern Germany and joined the right-wing extremist scene in his teenage years. When his father died he was 15 years old and began to commit violent crimes with his best friend. Initially his victims were schoolmates who had treated him badly in primary school. Later he focused his violence towards all groups who, as Ulf puts it, “were different from us”. In one instance the victim, a 50-year-old homeless man with whom Ulf's accomplice had regularly got drunk, died.
Ulf's hometown had a strong right-wing extremist scene, which was also well represented in both secondary schools that Ulf attended. Town leaders and the mayor, however, denied this fact emphatically. Ulf's older brother was well-known in the scene before he left town as a 19-year-old. At the time Ulf was only 9. Both Ulf and his brother entered the right-wing extremist scene through childhood friends. Ulf's mother was critical of this and tried to talk Ulf out of it. However, his father, with whom Ulf “had a good connection”, ordered right-wing materials for him as a reward for good grades. The father himself does not seem to have been politically active. His general motto in life, which he taught Ulf, was to “not put up with anything” and “avoid getting caught”.
Ulf strongly opposed illegal drugs in the local right-wing scene. He was able to differentiate between different groups within the right-wing spectrum seriously and critically. As a youth he “took care of recruitment” in school and in the community along with his best friend. At the time he also “got into a lot of trouble”, by which he means excessive provocation and violence while drunk. These became a kind of feverish need for him in his childhood.
As a child Ulf was “a bit of a scoundrel”, as he puts it. He was unable to connect to his classmates in primary school, because he found their games uninteresting. Instead he provoked older students into violent fights or “roamed around the village”. His brother's renown in the local scene strongly contributed to Ulf's entry into right-wing extremism. Even though the brother had moved to another city a long time ago, his reputation meant that Ulf became class prefect in secondary school and the bouncers in town protected him. Ulf says that he joined the scene mostly because “I liked the life together … we were always there for each other.”
During his current jail term, in which he is serving a youth sentence, Ulf has moved away from right-wing extremism. He feels disappointed and betrayed by his comrades. His family were a great help in his leaving the scene. After leaving jail he will live with his brother in a different state and will try to find work. Additionally, he found two “black buddies” in jail, with whom he got along well – to his surprise. He helped them with language and other problems. Previously, Ulf had “never met a black person”.
Another factor in Ulf's move away from right-wing extremism is that he discovered the band “Freiwild”, “which renounces both sides” and addresses themes of “injustice”. Additionally, Ulf emphasises various addiction, violence and social therapeutic measures, which he visited. These were based on personal respect and active participation and supported the process of biographical and political exploration in a mindful and determined way.