National Socialist Underground
The National Socialist Underground (NSU) was a German neo‑Nazi group that operated from 1998 to 2011 and was uncovered in 2011. Its core members were Uwe Mundlos, Uwe Böhnhardt, and Beate Zschäpe, who lived under false identities. Estimates say between 100 and 150 people helped them with money, fake papers, and weapons.
The NSU carried out a string of racist attacks across Germany. Between 2000 and 2006 they killed nine people of Turkish, Greek, and Kurdish descent, and a German policewoman; they also bombed sites in Nuremberg (1999) and Cologne (2001 and 2004), and carried out 14 bank robberies. They did not publicly claim responsibility for their crimes.
The killings often happened in daylight with a silenced gun. At first, authorities linked the murders to organized crime or the Turkish underworld, not to a single extremist group.
The group was finally exposed after Mundlos and Böhnhardt died in a house fire in November 2011; Zschäpe surrendered days later. Investigators found a pistol used in the murders, a video of some killings, and other weapons. They also looked into possible other members and supporters.
The NSU revelations shocked Germany and led to political and security changes, including questions about the country’s domestic intelligence service and discussions about banning the NPD party. In 2013 the first trial began, and Beate Zschäpe was later convicted of murder and other crimes and given a life sentence; several accomplices were convicted as well. The case is regarded as one of Germany’s biggest national security scandals.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 13:11 (CET).