Next Saturday, right-wing extremists plan a right-wing march in Vienna, while anti-fascist groups are calling for counter-protests.

Under the motto “Vienna Takes a Stand,” anti-fascist groups are mobilizing for counter-protests in Vienna’s city center next Saturday. The occasion is the annual summer right-wing march in Vienna organized by the extremist Identitarians, which traditionally meets with massive resistance. In recent years, sit-ins and loud protests have occurred along their route. This year, the right-wing extremists plan to start their march from Karl-Lueger-Platz.

In recent years, FPÖ officials, neo-Nazis, state objectors, and even people under investigation for suspected terrorism have also appeared at the Identitarians’ demonstrations. The rally is considered a central event for the scene.

RTL reporters, who spent months undercover investigating the Identitarian movement last year, provided in-depth insight into the events surrounding the demonstration . They reported on the trivialization of the Holocaust and one participant’s call for a “Srebrenica 2.0,” a reference to the 1995 massacre in which Serbian troops killed more than 8,000 Muslim men and teenagers.

“Pedo-Hunter” present

In the summer of 2024, members of the violence-oriented scene were also present at the demonstration. Among them was a man who portrayed himself as a “pedo hunter” and was allegedly involved in attacks on queer people – the STANDARD reported . At his side was a young right-wing extremist who later participated in an anti-Semitic attack in Vienna. After a demonstration in Vienna’s city center at the end of November 2024, protesting the FPÖ’s non-participation in government negotiations, the man snatched a Jewish man’s shtreimel – a traditional fur hat – and fled.

Both men can be classified as members of a new generation of militant neo-Nazis that is spreading in Austria: young, aggressive, in the style of 1990s skinheads – and present on social media.

With quick videos on TikTok and Instagram, they portray themselves as violent fighters, celebrating their attacks on queer people, migrants, and political opponents. According to the Documentation Archive of the Austrian Resistance (DÖW), parts of the scene now maintain “connections to the long-established neo-Nazi scene around Gottfried Küssel.” They appear, for example, under the label “Division Vienna.”

Investigations into right-wing terrorism

Younger neo-Nazis fixated on violence were also seen at the Identitarians’ 2023 summer demonstration. Among them was a man currently under investigation in Germany for right-wing terrorism. Authorities accuse him of belonging to the “Saxon Separatists,” a group that aimed to establish a National Socialist state in Saxony by force of arms and, according to investigators, discussed exterminating “the Jews” in chat rooms. The group also included three brothers whose father was a companion of Gottfried Küssel in the 1980s and 1990s .

When police took action against the “Saxon Separatists” in November 2024, shots were fired during an arrest operation – one of the right-wing extremists was seriously injured by a police bullet. According to authorities, the man approached the police with a weapon and failed to respond despite repeated warnings.

Now recovered, the imprisoned man regularly publishes on the online platform of Götz Kubitschek – the German publisher is a mastermind and thought leader of the so-called New Right. He is considered the founder of the Identitarian movement in the German-speaking world.

Leadership duo from Germany

Fittingly, his son W. is also active in the Identitarian movement in Vienna. Kubitschek Jr. and Berlin-born Yannick Wagemann are considered their leading duo. Both are also responsible for mobilizing for the demonstration next Saturday.

Wagemann became known to a wider public when he published photos of himself and FPÖ leader Herbert Kickl dancing together at the election party following the National Council elections in September 2024. A photo that says a lot about the closeness of the Identitarians and the FPÖ.

Identitarians under pressure

The demonstration is of great importance to the Identitarians, who are under pressure. Veteran members of the FPÖ are increasingly building political careers, which keeps them off the streets more often. Meanwhile, a new generation of neo-Nazis has begun to compete with them for visibility and influence.

The Identitarians are no longer considered popular among young right-wing extremists. The key point seems to be that they don’t play a major role on platforms popular with young people, such as TikTok or Instagram, because they have been partially blocked there. This leaves them with mainly Telegram and X.

Identitarian leader Martin Sellner sees new right-wing groups as strategically misguided but serious competition. In an audio analysis on one of his channels, he declares that competition from the right is “good and important.” He cites the Identitarians’ declining visibility on social media and their lack of street presence—especially ahead of the upcoming right-wing march in Vienna—as reasons for their apparent decline.

With the demonstration, they are trying to make a “big” impression again and generate headlines. However, the young neo-Nazis will use the demonstration as a platform – they have announced their participation. In addition, there are counter-protests, which could be more intense this year, as they have been mobilizing for them for weeks.