Neo-Nazis planned to assassinate former German Chancellor Schröder

BERLIN - Anadolu Agency

Members of the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground (NSU) planned to assassinate former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder, according to evidence brought to court during the trials into the murder of 10 people, including eight Turks.

The evidence was found at the house of Beate Zschaepe, the only suspected member of the NSU who is still alive, who has been attending hearings since May. The evidence brought to court included a photo collage with pictures of Schröder, with Jewish symbols and the words, “You’re next.”

The collage was made in 2002, according to officials.

The NSU had claimed responsibility for the murders of eight Turks, a Greek shopkeeper and a German policewoman, carried out between 2000 and 2007.

The NSU is now considered to have been a terrorist group, and Zschaepe is on trial.

Zschaepe is accused of lending vital support to the group’s two gunmen, who died in an apparent murder-suicide in 2011.

The case prompted strong reaction both in Turkey and in Germany, with German security institutions becoming targets of criticism. German police and domestic intelligence services have since faced withering criticism for bias and racism.