“Tobias” (name changed), 24, a member of Der III. Weg, poses in a field near Bad Doberan, Mecklenburg–Western Pomerania, Germany, in 2025, making a hand sign used as a coded symbol for “White Power” within far-right networks. Der III. Weg is classified by German authorities as a right-wing extremist organization that promotes neo-Nazi ideology and is primarily active in eastern Germany. “These globalists, leftists, and foreigners are destroying my once-great country. I couldn’t just sit and watch it being doomed,” he said. “That’s why I decided to fight, and I’m doing my best to help others join our cause. Enough is enough.”
Far-right extremism in Germany has become increasingly visible and normalized. The Quiet Rise documents neo-Nazi and far-right groups as they march openly through towns, gather in public spaces, and organize in private settings. The work follows these movements alongside counter-demonstrations and police interventions, tracing how extremist ideologies move from the margins into everyday life.
Rather than focusing on isolated incidents, the project observes patterns: the repetition of symbols, language, and rituals; the growing confidence of extremist networks; and the parallel presence of resistance in the streets. The photographs reveal how public space becomes contested terrain, where democratic values, historical memory, and extremist narratives collide.
By examining both confrontation and normalization, The Quiet Rise asks how societies recognize warning signs before they become irreversible. The project aims to document a moment in which extremism is no longer hidden, but increasingly accepted, tolerated, or ignored, reshaping how safety, belonging, and democracy are understood.
I am a documentary photographer working on long-term projects about power, ideology, and human rights in contemporary Europe. As a queer refugee from Iran living in Germany, I approach this work from a position shaped by displacement, surveillance, and lived experience with political repression.
The Quiet Rise grew out of observing how far-right extremism operates not only through spectacle and violence, but through routine visibility and normalization. Access to some parts of this project required undercover reporting to document closed extremist environments that would otherwise remain unseen.
My work combines investigative and observational approaches, prioritizing accuracy, context, and ethical responsibility. I am interested in how political movements shape everyday life, and how societies respond, resist, or remain silent as those movements gain ground.
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