Frank Rennicke is a 59-year-old German songwriter, ballad singer, and far-right politician from Braunschweig city in Lower Saxony. Also known as the ‘National Ballard’, his music promotes far-right sentiments, the ultimate expression of German nationalism, and criticisms of left-wing groups in the country.
On the political front, he was nominated by two right-wing political parties; DVU and NPD for the office of the President of Germany in the 2009 and 2010 elections. But, he failed to secure enough votes to win on those two occasions.
The German singer, whose lyrics were considered harmful to young people has been imprisoned twice for sedition, and for breaking the law prohibiting the distribution of harmful writings. He is married to Ute Rennicke, a woman he calls his favorite heroine, and has seven children.
Who is Frank Rennicke?
He is a German singer, songwriter, and politician who was born on December 18, 1964, in Braunschweig city, Lower Saxony to a baker father. Details about his parents and childhood are not well known, but his experience of life following the second world war on the eastern side of Germany under Soviet control influenced his career and life.
Some of the experiences include his teacher’s comments about the role of Germany in the war. These early experiences put in him a strong sense of being German and his deep desire to protect his nation against its being divided into western and eastern parts. In those early days, he took a stance for the German people, and soon enough, he started writing poems as well as saying the national anthem at meetings.
While the years after the war saw Germany getting many sanctions and disapproval for its role, Rennicke was one of the few people that defended his country. In fact, he was described as a rightist due to his ideas.
Frank Rennicke Started His Lifelong Career Defending Germany
Due to his childhood experience, Rennicke soon channeled his energy into writing about maintaining German nationalism. In fact, his earlier poems were soon turned into music, thus marking the beginning of his career as a singer and songwriter.
He has recorded over 500 songs.
Albums Songs
The National Bard ran for the Office of the President of Germany Two Times
Rennicke’s popularity among German nationalists led to his nomination to run for president on two occasions but the attempt was not successful. His first nomination was in 2009 when the DVU nominated him to run the office.
Despite the failure to secure votes previously, he was nominated to be the flag bearer of the NDP in the 2010 elections. Like the first time, the attempt also failed and he withdrew from the race after the second ballot. He accused the system as well as party members for his inability to secure more votes.
Since then, he has not run for the office again but he has continued to spread his political message in his music.
Rennicke is involved in many controversies Due to His Political Ideas
The right-wing singer and instrumentalist had clashes with the law over the content of his songs which were driven by his political ideas. His ideas often labeled as extreme have been frowned upon by the authorities, while he is not afraid to continue to sing as he wants, it has garnered him admiration as well as suspicion depending on who the listener is. It is not surprising as he was also influenced by earlier musicians such as Reinhard Mey.
Some of His Songs Are Considered Harmful to Young People
Over time, some of Rennicke’s songs have been banned due to their heavy political message. This led to some of his recordings being grouped under harmful materials to young people by the German authority under its department for media harmful to young persons. These are;
- Nun Höret Mein Lied(Now Hear My Song)
- I’m Not Modern-I Feel German
Despite this, Rennicke has held the view that he is not extreme but rather a radical.
Nonetheless, he has been invited to speak at demonstrations by groups otherwise seen as extreme such as fascists and neo nazi skinheads.
Rennicke has Been Arrested Twice on Sedition Charges
The first instance of his arrest was in 2000 following political membership with the extreme right groups, Wiking-Jugend and later National Democratic Party of Germany.
Accordingly, he joined the Wiking Jugend years earlier but the interior ministry became suspicious of the wide support the group was getting especially among the youths. The interior ministry stepped in and banned the group as unconstitutional in 1994.
Despite the ban, Rennicke soon joined the National Democratic Party of Germany to continue with his political involvement. His activities soon led to his arrest and sentencing him to ten months imprisonment by the Boeblinger court. He was accused of inciting hatred, especially against foreigners. Due to the gravity of the crime, another court in Stuttgart increased the sentence to 17 months.
His next arrest was on October 15, 2002, on the grounds of inciting young people also known as sedition. At the time, he was sentenced to 17 months imprisonment for distributing writings but was later paroled.
The guitarist has maintained the stance that his life has constantly been targeted by the authorities. Nonetheless, his sentence was later overturned in 2008 when it became a constitutional matter.
Apparently, the federal constitutional court found that the sentencing went against his rights to freedom of expression as an artist. By and large, he was represented by another radical lawyer and defender of the holocaust denier, Horst Mahler.
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He is Married to Ute Rennicke
Like most of his life, his marriage to Ute is fascinating. The couple has been through much of his controversies together. During his ten-month sentence in 2000, his wife Ute was sentenced to five months imprisonment for being an accessory. This is not surprising as he has referred to her as his favorite heroine.
Frank and his wife share seven children; Sigrun, Friedrich, Bernhard, Reinhild, Wolfram, Marwin, and Armin. The politician adores his children and is quick to pick their different appearances as well as a close resemblance to his parents.
Noticeably, he assured his party members that all his seven children were born to the same woman. This notion has been interpreted by many as part of his belief in the Third Reich. Whatever the case, he holds strong values for the family and has openly supported Projekt Schulhof-CD, the teaching of nationalist ideas to the young.
Looking at his activism, it is not clear if any of his children are following the same path as their popular father.
After spending over three decades in the public eye and having several confrontations with the law, Frank Rennicke also known as the National bard who once revealed ‘I’m not exactly one of the loud mouths’, has never been known to shy away from anything that has to do with German nationalism may remain a right-wing politician to the end of his life.
