Vulkangruppe

Last updated
Vulkangruppe
Formationc. 2011
Purpose Climate change mitigation
Fossil fuel non-proliferation
Environmental protection
Location
  • Germany
Methods Direct action, vandalism, sabotage
Fields Radical environmentalism
Climate movement

The Vulkangruppe, Vulkan Group, or Volcano Group as it is sometimes rendered in English language sources, is a far-left extremist group based in Germany responsible for sabotage and destruction of energy, railway, and data infrastructure as well as attacks against Tesla, Inc. manufacturing confined to the Berlin region. Vulkangruppe has been associated with far-left, anti-fascist, and anarchist ideology. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] Those involved with the group occasionally use the names of Icelandic volcanoes as aliases following actions. [5] The group has committed 11 arson attacks since at least 2011. [6]

Contents

Structure and aims

Even though the group or groups have been associated with 11 attacks in the Berlin area since 2011, and in spite of a strategy paper from 2015 suggesting a concrete structure, the German police and Verfassungsschutz (the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution) officially do not know its organization. [7]

Self-declared aims

Up until the attack in 2026 the group had published letters explaining their motivation on left extremist media websites; in the latest 2026 attack they sent messages to different media, which did not publish it immediately, to their dismay. [7]

In 2021, the group alleged that Tesla, Inc. was "neither ecological nor socially just", [8] and that "our fire stands against the lie of the green automobile" and accused Tesla of being "a corporation that practices overexploitation worldwide, destroys livelihoods, and uses and manufactures colonial relations of exploitation". [9] In 2024 Vulkangruppe labelled the Tesla CEO Elon Musk as a "techno-fascist". [3] Vulkangruppe associated their attack with "anti-patriarchal motives" and described the arson as a "present for March 8", which is International Women's Day. [3] They stated that the factory "eats up earth, resources, people, labor and spits out 6,000 SUVs, killing machines and monster trucks per week" and suggested that the factory uses up and contaminates local water supplies. [5] After arson in 2025 in Grunewald Vulkangruppe wrote that it chose the location because of the wealth of its inhabitants, stating "We can no longer afford these rich people," ("Wir können uns diese Reichen nicht mehr leisten") [10] in analogy to Earth Liberation Front actions in Seattle almost 20 years earlier. Nevertheless, police, Bundesnachrichtendienst (the Federal Intelligence Service) and politicians have not used the term ecoterrorism or radical environmentalism, but left-wing terrorism. [7]

History

2010s

In October 2011, a series of arson and attempted arson attacks on railway infrastructure in the Berlin area caused major disruptions to rail services. A group calling itself "Hekla-Empfangskomitee" claimed responsibility, prompting federal prosecutors to take over the investigation on suspicion of politically motivated sabotage. [11] Due to similarities in language, content, and recurring volcanic symbolism, security authorities believe these groups were connected to Vulkangruppe and to later arson attacks. [2] Three actions against infrastructure in Berlin between 2011 and 2013 were claimed by groups associating themselves with the Icelandic volcanoes Eyjafjallajökull, Hekla and Grímsvötn. [12]

After a hiatus of 7 years, in 2018, Vulkangruppe claimed responsibility for the destruction of power lines in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin, which caused a power outage affecting approximately 6,500 homes and 400 businesses. [3] Damages related to this event were estimated at several thousand euros. [3]

2020s

In 2020, Vulkangruppe claimed responsibility for an arson attack at the Heinrich Hertz Institute in Berlin, a research institute for digital infrastructure. [2]

In 2021, Vulkangruppe damaged power cables with fire at a transmitter tower in Grünheide, the construction site of Tesla's first European Gigafactory Berlin-Brandenburg. [13] [9]

In March 2024, Vulkangruppe claimed responsibility for burning an electricity pylon at the same Tesla car manufacturing site in Berlin as their 2021 action. [1] [2] It occurred within the wider context of environmental activism targeted at electric car production sites. [8] In the local context, there had been "much debate about the high usage of groundwater" by Tesla in an area which had been "suffering from drought for several years", in combination with "dismay" concerning the "amount of forest that had been felled" to construct the factory. [8] The Tesla factory construction has been controversial because of its location in a water protection zone, and had met protest and criticism from local residents and environmental activist groups. [14] [3] [15] After the event, German interior minister Nancy Faeser suggested that "it was further proof that the left-wing extremist scene does not shy away from attacks on critical energy infrastructures". [3]

In 2025, Vulkangruppe claimed responsibility for arson of a radio mast and a transformer station in Grunewald in May. [10]

In August 2025, a five-page pamphlet circulated and was attributed to Vulkangruppe. [16] The authors of the pamphlet articulated their aim to target Russian and Ukrainian oligarchs and to disrupt the Israeli embassy through attacks on energy infrastructure. [16] The pamphlet also articulated an opposition to people inciting hatred against migrants. [16]

In September 2025, a suspected arson attack on power cables in Johannisthal, Berlin caused a major blackout, leaving around 50,000 households without electricity for several days. [17] While no immediate claim of responsibility was made, the incident resembled infrastructure attacks by Vulkangruppe. [18]

The cable bridge affected by the 2026 arson attack, with the Lichterfelde power plant behind it (2009) Rohrbrucke Kraftwerk Berlin-Lichterfelde Teltowkanal.JPG
The cable bridge affected by the 2026 arson attack, with the Lichterfelde power plant behind it (2009)

In January 2026, Vulkangruppe claimed responsibility for an action involving a "attack on power cables  [ de ]" in Berlin which resulted in poweroutage for 45,000 households and 2,000 firms. [19] The action targeted a gas-fired [20] Lichterfelde power plant  [ de ]. [21] In a statement [22] following the event, Vulkangruppe framed their action as an "act of resistance" concerning "greed for energy ... that is sucking dry, burning, maltreating, raping" the Earth. [19] Vulkangruppe claimed that their action was "aimed at the common good" and was an "act of self-defense and international solidarity with all those who are defending the Earth and life". [23] [20] Reporting in Der Tagesspiegel also associated the group's actions with an opposition to artificial intelligence. [20]

Political analysis and commentary

In May 2025 Mauro Lubrano, a researcher at the University of Bath, described the group's actions within the wider context of an "anti-technology campaign rooted in insurrectionary anarchism". [24] Thomas Turnbull characterised the group as a part of "a newer generation" that "are refusing to accept the bromides of green capitalism". [25] Writing in Journal of Environmental Psychology, Amarins Jansma et al. framed Vulkangruppe's actions within the context that "some groups are turning to extreme measures in their search for significance" within broader "efforts to combat climate change and environmental harm", [26] referring to the broader psychological framework of 'significance quest theory'. [27] Jansma et al. suggest that the activities undertaken by Vulkangruppe, and similar groups, are an indication "that the nonviolent discourse within the climate movement is changing and highlights the need to comprehend the violent motivations of protesters". [26]

Writing in Die Stimme Berlins, Axel Lier has suggested that the "central justification of the group" is that "if a system is deadly, it can and must be blocked. Doing nothing means complicity, action – even radical action – is a moral duty". [28] [29]

References

  1. 1 2 Eddy, Melissa (5 March 2024). "Tesla Halts Production in Germany After Suspected Arson" . The New York Times. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "The 'Volcano group' claiming the arson near Tesla's German plant". Reuters. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Latschan, Thomas (6 March 2024). "Tesla sabotage in Germany: Who is the Volcano Group?". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  4. ↑ "Factbox-The 'Volcano group' claiming the arson near Tesla's German plant". Swiss Info. Reuters. 5 March 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 Weatherbed, Jess (6 March 2024). "The German Tesla plant fire is claimed by far-left 'Volcano Group'". The Verge. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  6. ↑ Chassany, Anne-Sylvaine (2026-01-04). "Berlin suspects 'leftwing extremists' of causing huge power outage". The Financial Times. Retrieved 2026-01-04.
  7. 1 2 3 Alexander Fröhlich (January 6, 2026). "Mysterium Vulkangruppe: Eine Serie von Anschlägen – und ein Russlandverdacht". Der Tagesspiegel Online (in German). ISSN   1865-2263 . Retrieved 2026-01-06.{{cite news}}: |archive-url= requires |archive-date= (help)
  8. 1 2 3 Connolly, Kate (5 March 2024). "Leftwing group claim responsibility for Tesla factory arson attack in Berlin". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  9. 1 2 Randall, Chris (27 May 2021). "Giga Berlin attacked by activist group". Electrive. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  10. 1 2 Carsten, Christoph (1 May 2025). "Linksextreme Tesla-Angreifer bekennen sich zu Brandanschlag in Grunewald". Tag 24. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  11. ↑ Brüning, Christina (14 October 2011). "Irgendwo zwischen Sabotage und Linksterrorismus" (in German). Die Welt.
  12. ↑ Peter, Erik (29 August 2014). "Losgelöste Militanz:Das Bekennerschreiben der Saboteure ist ein Armutszeugnis. Es zeigt, der Szene fehlt es an Empathie, Theorie und Rückkopplung". Taz. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  13. ↑ "Far-left activists claim responsibility for Tesla factory site fire in Germany". The Guardian. Reuters. 26 May 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  14. ↑ Kühn, M. (2023). Planungskonflikte und Partizipation: die Gigafactory Tesla. Raumforschung und Raumordnung/Spatial Research and Planning, 81(5), 538-556.
  15. ↑ "Tesla in Germany: Locals vote against factory expansion plan". Deutsche Welle. Reuters. 20 February 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  16. 1 2 3 Rahenbrock, Marie (5 January 2026). "Schon seit August waren Anschlagspläne der „Vulkangruppe" bekannt". Apollo News. Retrieved 5 January 2026.
  17. ↑ "Suspected arson attack in Berlin leaves 50,000 homes without power". Reuters. 9 September 2025.
  18. ↑ "Suspected arson triggers Berlin blackout, 40,000 homes and businesses without electricity". TVP World. 9 September 2025.
  19. 1 2 Scally, Derek (4 January 2026). "Berlin power outages after left-wing anarchist attack on power cables". The Irish Times. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  20. 1 2 3 Salmen, Ingo; Fröhlich, Alexander; Geiler, Julius (4 January 2026). "Tatortfotos zeigen brennende Kabel: Linksextreme Vulkangruppe bekennt sich zu Brandanschlag auf Stromversorgung in Berlin". Der Tagesspiegel. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  21. ↑ "Linksextreme bekennen sich zu Brandanschlag in Berlin". 2026-01-04.
  22. ↑ "Anschlag der „Vulkangruppe“ auf Stromversorgung: Das Bekennerschreiben im Wortlaut", Berliner Zeitung, 4. Januar 2026, https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/news/stromterror-in-berlin-das-bekennerschreiben-im-wortlaut-li.10012514 (permanent link: https://archive.md/xO0zg)
  23. ↑ "German left-wing group claims arson attack on Berlin power plant". Report.az.
  24. ↑ Lubrano, Mario. "'Welcome Spring, Burn a Tesla': The Insurrectionary Anarchist Campaign Against Tesla". Global Network On Extremism and Technology: Insights. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  25. ↑ Turnbull, T. M. (2024). "A Planetary Battery". Environmental Humanities. 16 (3): 655. doi:10.1215/22011919-11327324.
  26. 1 2 Jansma, A.; Kruglanski, A. W.; van den Bos, K.; de Graaf, B. A.; Riordan, O. (2025). "Protecting the Earth Radically: Perceiving police injustice activates climate protesters' need for significance". Journal of Environmental Psychology. 103 102578. doi:10.1016/j.jenvp.2025.102578.
  27. ↑ Kruglanski, A. W.; Gelfand, M. J.; Bélanger, J. J.; Hetiarachchi, M.; Gunaratna, R. (2015). "Resilience and resolve: Communities against terrorism". Significance quest theory as the driver of radicalization towards terrorism. pp. 17–30. doi:10.1142/9781783267743_0002.
  28. ↑ Lier, Axel (4 January 2026). "So rechtfertigen die Extremisten die Sabotage in Berlin". Die Stimme Berlins. Retrieved 4 January 2026.
  29. ↑ "Anschlag der „Vulkangruppe" auf Stromversorgung: Das Bekennerschreiben im Wortlaut". Berliner Zeitung. January 4, 2026.
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