In this episode, we get answers on just how bad the problem of far-right infiltration in the German military and police really is — and how Germany is trying to address it. We learn about Germany's "defensive democracy," which was designed after World War II to protect the country against threats from the inside. One of those threats, according to some German officials, is the Alternative for Germany, widely known by its German initials AfD. We meet intelligence officials who have put parts of the party under formal surveillance.
A year and a half into my reporting, in late August, 20 thousands of people flooded the streets of Berlin protesting the government's coronavirus lockdown measures.
There were anti vaxxers, QAnon followers, several thousand members of the far right scene.
Some of these groups had been chatting on telegram, calling for a storm on Berlin, and posting images of themselves with their weapons.
And as the day went on, a few hundred of them gathered directly in front of Germany's parliament building, the Reichstag.
Most of them were white men, many of them from far right groups.
They were waving the old black, white, and red flag of the german empire that once inspired the Nazis and has now become the flag of choice for neo Nazis because the swastika is banned.
And it's that evening, hours into the protest, when a woman got up on stage in front of the capitol and told the crowd, we are writing history in Berlin here today.
There are no more police.
We have won.
The crowd went wild, and just like that, they headed straight for the Reichstag, shouting things like, wiederstand resistance and Wiesend Das Volk.
We are the people.
They broke through the police barrier and ran up the main stairs.
And when they made it to the top in front of the main entrance to parliament, some of them tried to get inside.
The only thing stopping them were three police officers who were able to hold the line until backup arrived.
The whole thing only lasted for a few minutes, but it led Germany's president to call it an unbearable attack on the heart of democracy.
It all happened four months before Ryders dropped the US Capitol on January 6, some with military and police backgrounds.
And it all made me think how my reporting on far right infiltration had started.
With a gun in an airport bathroom and a military officer accused of wanting to bring down the Federal Republic of Germany.
In many ways, Franco A's case felt exceptional.
But the attempted storming of the Reichstag and everything else I've seen in my reporting made it clear that it's not.