RAPORTY FEDERALNEGO URZĘDU OCHRONY KONSTYTUCJI.

Reports of the Federal Office for the Safeguarding of the Constitution.

Germany; Germany (West)

This article examines the annual reports of the German Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz--Der jährliche Verfassungsschutzbericht des Bundes--VSB) which track incidents, organizations, and activities threatening to the legal order of the Federal Republic of Germany. The author provides a brief history of the reports on extremist incidents and activities from 1956 (e.g., "Jahresbericht," "Erfahrungen aus der Beobachtung und Abwehr rechtsradikaler und antisemitischer Tendenzen, 1961" and the supplemental "Erfahrungsberbericht"). She then explores: the constitutional foundation/requirement for such reports and monitoring; the form and content of the reports; and the disputes associated with and/or precipitated by these reports through 2007.