After terminating their bank account, Rote Hilfe also wins before the Higher Regional Court

Sparkasse Göttingen closes account

TheSparkasse Göttingen quitLast year, the left-wing legal aid organization Rote Hilfe opened the account that had been maintained there for many years. The GLS Bank had also tried something similar, but civil society protests were able to shut down the bankmove to a rethink. In the Sparkasse case, Rote Hilfe had to go to court. Earlier this yearobliges the regional courtthe savings bank will continue to operate the account until a decision is made in the main proceedings, which can take several years. The savings bank appealed this to the Higher Regional Court.

Why did the Göttingen Sparkasse terminate the Red Aid program in the first place?

The reasoning was initially quite general: they wanted to comply with the “legal and contractual modalities”. In fact, the anti-fascist legal aid association had been classified as a so-called higher risk since 2015 and its account movements were checked monthly because it is classified as “left-wing extremist” by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

The termination of the account had to do with the USA, because the Foreign Ministry there was putting “Antifa Ost” on oneList of foreign terrorist organizations. “Antifa East” as such does not exist. Rather, a trial against a group of mostly young anti-fascists who are accused of physically attacking neo-Nazis is referred to as the “Antifa East trial”. Germany and the European Union did not adopt the USA's classification.

Rote Hilfe had repeatedly asked for donations to cover legal fees, including in the so-called “Antifa-Ost” proceedings. According to the savings bank, this allegedly led to a further increased control effort. The previous monthly checks have now become a weekday check of account movements.

Rote Hilfe never claimed to want to financially support an organization called “Antifa Ost”. Their appeal for donations referred to the “Antifa-Ost process”. In other words, people against whom criminal proceedings have been and are being conducted in this context. It was about financing their legal representation to ensure the fairest possible procedure.

OLG rejects Sparkasse’s appeal!

On September 17th theOLG BraunschweigSparkasse Göttingen's appeal has now been rejected. The Sparkasse must therefore continue to operate the Red Aid account for the time being.

The Braunschweig Higher Regional Court has now expressly recognized and taken up this distinction. It cannot be deduced from the appeals for donations that Rote Hilfe wants to support “Antifa Ost” as such in crimes. Rather, it is about enabling individual defendants and defendants to have a fair and humane trial. According to the Higher Regional Court, the conclusion that this would support possible terrorist activities is not plausible.

The savings bank was also unable to explain in a comprehensible manner why the higher risk that had existed since 2015 would have increased so significantly in December 2025 that it suddenly became necessary to check all account movements on weekdays.

Rote Hilfe comments on its legal success

ThePress spokesman for the Federal Executive Board of the Red Aid Association. v., Hartmut Brückner, interpreted the OLG's decision as "a sign of justice against hidden attacks on civil society that come from the US government. Supervisory authorities as well as banks must not prematurely obey the Trump administration."

How the main proceedings will turn out remains to be seen.

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