Rote Hilfe is a German solidarity organization that aids people hit by state repression, such as anti-fascists. Recent moves to close its bank accounts are aimed at wrecking its activity, even though it hasn’t broken the law.

Unlike Germany’s numerous amorphous groups from the autonomous tradition, however, Rote Hilfe operates as a legal organization in compliance with federal law. It is registered as an association, has an official HQ, and maintains an elected federal executive committee as well as local chapters and activities in the public sphere. Although it is regularly attacked by Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and features prominently in reports by the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, it is not a banned organization. This makes the repression it is currently facing all the more astonishing.