The summer house of Armin Papperger, head of the largest German defense company Rheinmetal, was set on fire in Hermannsburg (Lower Saxony), Bild reports.
Left-wing extremists claimed responsibility for the arson. They called the company "one of the beneficiaries of the so-called turning point." This term (Zeitenwende) is what German Chancellor Olaf Scholz calls the war in Ukraine. They explained their actions by the fact that the German company enriches itself at the expense of the conflict in Ukraine.
"On the night of April 28 to 29, 2024, we installed an incendiary device in the summer house of Armin Papperger," - Bild quotes the statement of the radicals, published on the platform Indymedia.
The radicals believe that Rheinmetall is deliberately stockpiling "various old types of tanks" that "can now be sold to Ukraine together with ammunition for a huge profit." Thus "Rheinmetall plans, produces and kills not only on a national scale."
In their message, the radicals also demanded that former member of the terrorist group Red Army Faction (RAF) Daniele Klette be released from prison. Klette, 65, has been hiding from police for more than 30 years. She is accused of being a member of a German radical-left armed organization that terrorized the FRG and West Berlin for decades, of attempted murder and a string of robberies. During searches of Klette's home, explosives, ammunition, a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a pistol, a submachine gun and other "heavy" weapons were found.
The FRG special services are investigating the arson and verifying the authenticity of the statement.
