Neo-Nazism

Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive the far-right tenets of Nazism. The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements.

Neo-Nazism borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including ultranationalism, racism, ableism, xenophobia, homophobia, antiziganism, antisemitism, and initiating the Fourth Reich. Holocaust denial is a common feature, as is incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of Adolf Hitler.

Neo-Nazi activity is a global phenomenon, with organized representation in many countries, as well as international networks. In some European and Latin American countries, laws have been enacted that prohibit the expression of pro-Nazi, racist, anti-Semitic or homophobic views. Many Nazi-related symbols are banned in European countries in an effort to curtail neo-Nazism.

Europe

Austria

The major postwar far-right party was the Austrian National Democratic Party (NDP), until it was banned in 1988 for violating Austria's anti-Nazi legislation, Verbotsgesetz 1947. The Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) served as a shelter for ex-Nazis almost from its inception. In 1980, scandals undermined Austria's two main parties, and the economy stagnated. Jörg Haider became leader of the FPÖ and offered partial justification for Nazism, calling its employment policy effective. In the 1994 Austrian election, the FPÖ won 22 percent of the vote, as well as 33 percent of the vote in Carinthia and 22 percent in Vienna; showing that it had become a force capable of reversing the old pattern of Austrian politics.

Historian Walter Laqueur writes that even though Haider welcomed former Nazis at his meetings and went out of his way to address Schutzstaffel (SS) veterans, the FPÖ is not a fascist party in the traditional sense, since it has not made anti-communism an important issue, and it does not advocate the overthrow of the democratic order or the use of violence. In his view, the FPÖ is "not quite fascist", although it is part of a tradition, similar to that of 19th-century Viennese mayor Karl Lueger, which involves nationalism, xenophobic populism, and authoritarianism. Professor Ali Mazrui, however, identified the FPÖ as neo-Nazi in a BBC world lecture.

Haider, who in 2005 left the Freedom Party and formed the Alliance for Austria's Future, was killed in a traffic accident in October, 2008.

Barbara Rosenkranz, the Freedom Party's candidate for the Austrian presidential election, 2010, is controversial for having made allegedly pro-Nazi statements. Rosenkranz is married to Horst Rosenkranz, a key member of a banned neo-Nazi party, who is known for publishing far-right books. Rosenkranz says she cannot detect anything "dishonourable" in her husband's activities.

The volume Rechtsextremismus in Österreich seit 1945 (Right-wing Extremism in Austria since 1945), issued by DÖW in 1979, listed nearly 50 active far right organizations in Austria. Their influence waned gradually, partly due to liberalization programs in secondary schools and universities which emphasized Austrian identity and democratic traditions. Votes for the RFS (Ring Freiheitlicher Studenten), the Freedom Party's academic student organization, in student elections fell from 30% in the 1960s to 2% in 1987. In the 1995 elections for the student representative body Österreichische Hochschülerschaft (Austrian Students' Association), the RFS got 4% of the vote. The FPÖ won 22% of the votes at the General Election in the same year.

A radical non-parliamentary, anti-democratic far-right organization active in Austria was the VAPO (Volkstreue Außerparlamentarische Opposition) founded by the Austrian neo-Nazi Gottfried Küssel in 1986, who publicly declared himself to be a member of the US-American neo-Nazi organization NSDAP/AO since 1977. Neither an association nor a party, the VAPO was loosely organized in "Kameradschaften" (comradeships) and it defined itself as a "battle alliance of nationalist groups and persons" with the aims of "reestablishing the NSDAP" and the "seizure of power". In 1993 Küssel was repeatedly convicted on charges of "NS-Wiederbetätigung" (re-engagement in national socialism) under the Austrian anti-Nazi law (Verbotsgesetz 1947) and sentenced to ten years in prison. The VAPO de facto disbanded in the course of the imprisonment of its leading figures, much of which was due to its loose organizational structure. Due to procedural errors Küssel's sentence was revoked by the OGH (Austrian Supreme Court) and his trial was reheld in 1994 at the end of which he was sentenced to eleven years in prison.

Belgium

Main article: Bloed, Bodem, Eer en Trouw

Anti-Nazi logo in Belgium

A Belgian neo-Nazi organization, Bloed, Bodem, Eer en Trouw (Blood, Soil, Honour and Loyalty), was created in 2004 after splitting from the international network (Blood and Honour). The group rose to public prominence in September 2006, after 17 members (including 11 soldiers) were arrested under the December 2003 anti-terrorist laws and laws against racism, antisemitism and supporters of censorship. According to Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx and Interior Minister Patrick Dewael, the suspects (11 of whom were members of the military) were preparing to launch terrorist attacks in order to "destabilize" Belgium. According to the journalist Manuel Abramowicz, of the Resistances, the extremists of the radical right have always had as its aim to "infiltrate the state mechanisms," including the army in the 1970s and the 1980s, through Westland New Post and the Front de la Jeunesse.

A police operation, which mobilized 150 agents, searched five military barracks (in Leopoldsburg near the Dutch border, Kleine-Brogel, Peer, Brussels (Royal military school) and Zedelgem) as well as 18 private addresses in Flanders. They found weapons, munitions, explosives and a homemade bomb large enough to make "a car explode". The leading suspect, B.T., was organizing the trafficking of weapons and was developing international links, in particular with the Dutch far-right movement De Nationale Alliantie.

Bosnia and Herzegovina

The neo-Nazi white nationalist organization Bosanski Pokret Nacionalnog Ponosa (Bosnian Movement of National Pride) was founded in Bosnia and Herzegovina in July 2009. Its model is the Waffen-SS Handschar Division, which was composed of Bosniak volunteers. It proclaimed its main enemies to be "Jews, Gypsies, Serbian Chetniks, the Croatian separatists, Josip Broz Tito, Communists, homosexuals and blacks". Its ideology is a mixture of Bosnian nationalism, National Socialism and white nationalism. The group is led by a person nicknamed Sauberzwig, after the commander of the 13th SS Handschar. The group's strongest area of operations is in the Tuzla area of Bosnia.

Croatia

See also: Far-right politics in Croatia

Young boy wearing a shirt with a Black Legion sign at a Thompson concert

Neo-Nazis in Croatia base their ideology on the writings of Ante Pavelić and the Ustaše, a fascist anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The Ustaše regime committed a genocide against Serbs, Jews and Gypsies. At the end of World War II, many Ustaše members fled to the West, where they found sanctuary and continued their political and terrorist activities (which were tolerated due to Cold War hostilities). Jonathan Levy, a lawyer who represented plaintiffs in a 1999 lawsuit against the Ustaše and others, said: "Many are still terrified of the Ustashe, particularly the Serbs. Unlike the Nazi Party, the Ustashe still exist and they have a party headquarters in Zagreb."

In 1999, Zagreb's Square of the Victims of Fascism was renamed The Square of The Great Men of Croatia, provoking widespread criticism of Croatia's attitude towards the Holocaust. In 2000, the city council renamed the square the Square of the Victims of Fascism. Many streets in Croatia were renamed after the prominent Ustaše figure Mile Budak, which provoked outrage amongst the Serbian minority. Since 2002, there has been a reversal of this development, and streets with the name of Mile Budak or other persons connected with the Ustaše movement are few or non-existent. A plaque in Slunj with the inscription "Croatian Knight Jure Francetić" was erected to commemorate Francetić, the notorious Ustaše leader of the Black Legion. The plaque remained there for four years, until it was removed by the authorities.

In 2003, an attempt was made to amend the Croatian penal code by adding articles prohibiting the public display of Nazi symbols, the propagation of Nazi ideology, historical revisionism and holocaust denial, but this attempt was prevented by the Croatian constitutional court. An amendment was added in 2006 to prohibit any type of hate crime based on factors such as race, color, gender, sexual orientation, religion or national origin.

There have been instances of hate speech in Croatia, such as the use of the phrase Srbe na vrbe! ("(hang) Serbs on the willow trees!"). In 2004, an Orthodox church was spray-painted with pro-Ustaše graffiti. During some protests in Croatia, supporters of Ante Gotovina and other suspected war criminals have carried nationalist symbols and pictures of Pavelić. On 17 May 2007, a concert in Zagreb by Thompson, a popular Croatian singer, was attended by 60,000 people, some of them wearing Ustaše uniforms. Some gave Ustaše salutes and shouted the Ustaše slogan "Za dom spremni" (for the homeland – ready!). This event prompted the Jerusalem office of the Simon Wiesenthal Center to publicly issue a protest to the Croatian president. In 2007, Austrian authorities launched a criminal investigation into the widespread display of Ustaše symbols at a gathering of Croatian nationalists in Bleiburg, Austria.

Czech Republic

The government of the Czech Republic strictly punishes neo-Nazism (Czech: Neonacismus). According to a report by the Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic, neo-Nazis committed more than 211 crimes in 2013. The Czech Republic has more than 150 members of various neo-Nazi groups. One of them is group Wotan Jugend, based in Germany.

Estonia

In 2006, Roman Ilin, a Jewish theatre director from St. Petersburg, Russia, was attacked by neo-Nazis when returning from an underground tunnel after a rehearsal. Ilin subsequently accused Estonian police of indifference after filing the incident. When a dark-skinned French student was attacked in Tartu, the head of an association of foreign students claimed that the attack was characteristic of a wave of neo-Nazi violence. An Estonian police official, however, stated that there were only a few cases involving foreign students over the previous two years. In November 2006, the Estonian government passed a law banning the display of Nazi symbols.

The 2008 United Nations Human Rights Council Special Rapporteur's Report noted that community representatives and non-governmental organizations devoted to human rights had pointed out that neo-Nazi groups were active in Estonia—particularly in Tartu—and had perpetrated acts of violence against non-European minorities.

France

Main article: History of far-right movements in France

Neo-Nazi organizations are outlawed in France, yet a significant number of them still exist. Legal far-right groups are also numerous, and they include the Bloc identitaire, created by former members of Christian Bouchet's Unité Radicale group. Similar to National Bolshevism and Third Position ideologies, Unité Radicale was dissolved in 2002 following Maxime Brunerie's assassination attempt in July 2002 against then-President Jacques Chirac. Christian Bouchet had previously been a member of Nouvelle Résistance (NR), an offshoot of Troisième Voie (Third Way) which described itself as "nationalist revolutionary". Although Nouvelle Résistance at first opposed the "national conservatives" of Jean-Marie Le Pen's National Front, it changed its strategy, adopting the slogan "Less Leftism! More Fascism!" Nouvelle Résistance was also a successor to Jean-François Thiriart's Jeune Europe neo-Nazi Europeanist movement of the 1960s, which had participated in the National Party of Europe, along with Oswald Mosley's Union Movement, Otto Strasser and others. The French government estimated that neo-Nazi groups in France had 3,500 members. In 2011 alone, 129 violent actions were recorded in France against the Jewish population, with 60.5% of those cases occurring in the Île-de-France region. The CNCDH notes that in 19 cases, these violent actions could be imputed to persons of 'Arab origin or Muslim confession', with 15 others relating to neo-Nazi ideology, mainly consisting of displaying swastikas. In relation to these violent actions 36 persons were arrested, 28 of whom were minors. Of the 129 violent actions recorded, 50.4% were for degradations, 44.2% were for violence and assault and battery, and the remaining 5.4% were for arson. In France in 2011, 260 threats were recorded, with 53% of those (138 cases) occurring in the Île-de-France region. Of these threats, 15% related to neo-Nazi ideology, with another 14% imputable to persons of 'Arab origin or Muslim confession'. Thirty-two persons were arrested in relation to these threats, nine of whom were minors. Of the 260 threats, 44% consisted of speech acts and threatening gestures and insults, 38% of graffiti and the remaining 18% of pamphlets and emails.

Germany

Main article: Far right in Germany

See also: Category:Neo-Nazism in Germany

Anti-Nazi demonstration in Dresden, Germany, 13 February 2012

In Germany, immediately after World War II, Allied forces and the new German government attempted to prevent the creation of a new Nazi movement through a process known as denazification. However, with the onset of the Cold War it had lost interest in prosecuting anyone. Many of the more than 90,000 Nazi war criminals recorded in German files were serving in positions of prominence under Chancellor Konrad Adenauer. Not until the 1960s were the former concentration camp personnel prosecuted by West Germany in the Belzec trial, Frankfurt Auschwitz trials, Treblinka trials, Chełmno trials, and the Sobibór trial. The government had passed laws prohibiting Nazis from publicly expressing their beliefs. Displaying the swastika became an offense punishable by up to one year imprisonment. Nevertheless, some former National Socialists retained their political beliefs and passed them down to new generations. The extreme-right National Democratic Party of Germany was formed in 1964.

After German reunification in the 1990s, post-National Socialist groups gained more followers, mostly among the younger generation in the former East Germany. They have expressed an aversion to people from Slavic countries (especially Poland) and people of other national backgrounds who moved from the former West Germany into the former East Germany after Germany was reunited. According to the annual report of Germany's interior intelligence service (Verfassungsschutz) for 2012, at the time there were 26,000 right-wing extremists living in Germany, including 6,000 neo-Nazis. The neo-Nazi organizations are not outlawed in Germany, although Holocaust denial is a crime, according to the German Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch § 86a) and § 130 (public incitement).

Greece

Flag of the Golden Dawn

In April 1967, a few weeks prior to an election, a military coup d'état took place in Greece and a fascist military government ruled the country from 1967 to 1974. It was called the "Regime of the Colonels", and was headed by Colonel George Papadopoulos. The official reason given for the coup was that a "communist conspiracy" had infiltrated all levels of society.

The contemporary Greek political party Golden Dawn (Χρυσή Αυγή - Chrysi Avyi), which found its roots in Papadopoulos' regime, has been described as subscribing to neo-fascist and neo-Nazi beliefs and practices.

Although there have been persistent rumors about an active support of the coup by the U.S. government, there is no evidence to support such claims. The timing of the coup apparently caught the CIA by surprise.

The far right political is generally labelled neo-Nazi, although the group rejects this label. A few Golden Dawn members participated in the Bosnian War in the Greek Volunteer Guard (GVG) and were present in Srebrenica during the Srebrenica massacre.

Golden Dawn has spoken out in favour of the Assad regime in Syria, and the Strasserist group Black Lily have claimed to have sent mercenaries to Syria to fight alongside the Syrian regime, specifically mentioning their participation in the Battle of al-Qusayr.

In the elections of 6 May 2012, Golden Dawn received 6.97% of the votes, entering the Greek parliament for the first time with 21 representatives. Due to no coalition amongst the elected parties so as to form a Greek Government, new elections were proclaimed.

In the elections of 17 June 2012, Golden Dawn received 6.92% of the votes, entering the Greek parliament with 18 representatives.

Hungary

Further information: History of the Jews in Hungary

As of 2006, neo-Nazism in Hungary takes the form of hatred towards Judaism and Israel, and it can be observed from many prominent Hungarian politicians, e.g. from MIÉP-Jobbik Third Way Alliance of Parties. Antisemitism in Hungary is manifested mainly in far right publications and demonstrations. Hungarian Justice and Life Party supporters continued their tradition of shouting antisemitic slogans and tearing the US flag to shreds at their annual rallies in Budapest in March 2003 and 2004, commemorating the 1848–49 revolution. Furthermore, during the demonstrations held to celebrate the anniversary of the 1956 uprising, a post-Communist tradition celebrated by the left and right of the political spectrum, antisemitic and anti-Israel slogans were heard from the right wing. The center-right traditionally keeps its distance from the right-wing Csurka-led and other far-right demonstrations.

Netherlands

The Coordination Forum for Countering Antisemitism reports that on 17 May 2011 in Leek, Groningen, antisemitic graffiti was found at a Jewish school. The graffiti consisted of a swastika and the text "C18", or Combat 18, a neo-Nazi organisation active throughout Europe. The number 18 refers to the initials of Adolf Hitler, A and H being the first and eighth letters of the alphabet, respectively.

Poland

Although several small far-right and anti-semitic organisations exist, most notably NOP and ONR, they frequently adhere to Polish nationalism and National Democracy, in which Nazism is generally considered to be against ultra-nationalist principles, and although they are classed as white nationalist and fascist movements, they are at the same time considered anti-Nazi. Some of their elements may resemble neo-Nazi features, but these groups frequently dissociate themselves from Nazi elements, claiming that such acts are unpatriotic and they argue that Nazism misappropriated or slightly altered several pre-existing symbols and features, such as distinguishing the Roman salute from the Nazi salute.

Romania

See also: Iron Guard

Multiple organizations in Romania adopt neo-Nazi discourse and symbolism. Some of them include Noua Dreaptă and the "Everything For the Country" Party, founded by former Iron Guard members. Another far-right political party is the Greater Romania Party. Neo-Nazism in Romania mainly targets the Romani people (gypsies), ethnic Hungarians, the LGBT community and more recently Muslims.

Hungarian nationalist organizations such as HVIM are also present in the country, especially in Transylvania, a former Hungarian territory and home to a significant number of ethnic Hungarians.

Russia

Main articles: Racism in Russia and Radical nationalism in Russia

Neo-Nazism in Russia: The photograph was taken at an anti-homosexual demonstration in Moscow in October 2010

There are a few Russian neo-Nazis that openly admire Adolf Hitler and use the swastika as their symbol. Russian neo-Nazis are characterized by racism, antisemitism, homophobia, Islamophobia and extreme xenophobia towards people from Asia. Their ideology centers on defending Russian national identity against what they perceive as a takeover by minority groups such as Jews, Caucasians, homosexuals, Central Asians, East Asians, Roma people, and Muslims. There is also a widespread gay rights Nazi skinhead subculture with its own Vkontakte group, GASH, and an alleged 1700 members in Moscow alone.

Russian neo-Nazis have made it an explicit goal to take over the country by force, and have put serious effort into preparing for this. Paramilitary organizations operating under the guise of sports clubs have trained their members in squad tactics, hand to hand combat and weapons handling. They have stockpiled and used weapons, often illegally.

Some observers have noted a subjective irony of Russians embracing Nazism, because one of Hitler's ambitions at the start of World War II was the Generalplan Ost (Master Plan East) which envisaged to exterminate, expel, or enslave most or all Slavs from central and eastern Europe (e.g., Russians, Ukrainians, Poles etc.). Russian neo-Nazis deny the authenticity of this plan and instead emphasize the 1939-1941 Nazi-Soviet alliance. At the end of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, over 25 million Soviet citizens had died. In a 2007 news story, ABC News reported, "In a country that lost more people defeating the Nazis than any other country, there are now an estimated 50,000 to 70,000 neo-Nazis, half of the world's total."

The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 caused great economic and social problems, including widespread unemployment and poverty. Several far right paramilitary organizations were able to tap into popular discontent, particularly among marginalized, lesser educated and unemployed youths. Of the three major age groups — youths, adults, and the elderly — youths may have been hit the hardest. The elderly suffered due to inadequate (or unpaid) pensions, but they found effective political representation in the Communist Party, and generally had their concerns addressed through better budget allocations. Adults, although often suffering financially and psychologically due to job losses, were generally able to find new sources of income.

Russian National Unity (RNE), founded in 1990 and led by Alexander Barkashov, has claimed to have members in 250 cities. RNE adopted the swastika as its symbol, and sees itself as the avant-garde of a coming national revolution. It is critical of other major far right organizations, such as the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR). Historian Walter Laqueur calls RNE far closer to the Nazi model than the LDPR. RNE publishes several news sheets; one of them, Russky poryadok, claims to have a circulation of 150,000. Full members of RNE are called Soratnik (comrades in arms), receive combat training at locations near Moscow, and many of them work as security officers or armed guards.

On 15 August 2007, Russian authorities arrested a student for allegedly posting a video on the Internet which appears to show two migrant workers being beheaded in front of a red and black swastika flag. Alexander Verkhovsky, the head of a Moscow-based center that monitors hate crime in Russia, said, "It looks like this is the real thing. The killing is genuine ... There are similar videos from the Chechen war. But this is the first time the killing appears to have been done intentionally."

Serbia

See also: Far-right politics in Serbia

Neo-Nazism in Serbia is mostly based on national and religious factors. Nacionalni stroj (National Alignment), a neo-Nazi organization from the Vojvodina region, orchestrated several incidents. Charges were laid against 18 of the leading members.

Sweden

Neo-Nazi activities in Sweden have previously been limited to white supremacist groups, few of which have a membership over a few hundred members. The main neo-Nazi organization as of 2015 is the Nordic Resistance Movement. Nordic Resistance Movement self-identifies as a National Socialist political party. In addition to Sweden, they are also active in Norway, Finland, and Denmark.

Switzerland

See also: Far right in Switzerland

The neo-Nazi and white power skinhead scene in Switzerland has seen significant growth in the 1990s and 2000s. It is reflected in the foundation of the Partei National Orientierter Schweizer in 2000, which resulted in an improved organizational structure of the neo-Nazi and white supremacist scene.

Turkey

See also: Turkish nationalism

Apart from neo-fascist Grey Wolves and the Turkish ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party, there are some neo-Nazi organizations in Turkey such as the Turkish Nazi Party or the National Socialist Party of Turkey, which are mainly based on the internet.

National Socialist Turkey Party, the first National Socialist party in Turkey, was founded in 2016.

Ukraine

Fans of the FC Karpaty Lviv football club honoring the Waffen-SS Galizien division, in Lviv, Ukraine, 2013

In 1991 Svoboda was founded as the 'Social-National Party of Ukraine'. The party combined radical nationalism and neo-Nazi features. It was renamed and rebranded 13 years later as 'All-Ukrainian Association Svoboda' in 2004 under Oleh Tyahnybok. Political scientists Olexiy Haran and Alexander J. Motyl contend that Svoboda is radical rather than fascist and they also argue that it has more similarities with Far-Right movements like the Tea Party than it has with either fascists or neo-Nazis. In 2005 Victor Yushchenko appointed Volodymyr Viatrovych head of the Ukrainian security service (SBU) archives. According to Professor Per Anders Rudling, this not only allowed Viatrovych to sanitize ultra nationalist history, but it also allowed him to officially promote its dissemination along with OUN(b) ideology which is based on 'ethnic purity' coupled with anti-Russian, anti-Polish and anti-semitic rhetoric. The extreme right wing now capitalizes on 'Yushchenkoist' propaganda initiatives. This includes Iuryi Mykhal'chyshyn, an ideologue who proudly confesses that he is a part of the fascist tradition. The autonomous nationalists focus on recruiting young people, participating in violent actions, and advocating "anti-bourgeoism, anti-capitalism, anti-globalism, anti-democratism, anti-liberalism, anti-bureaucratism, anti-dogmatism". In 2009 Svoboda fetched 34,7% of the votes in the Ternopil Oblast local elections. Svoboda was part of a right wing Alliance of European National Movements until it withdrew from the organization in 2014. Per Anders Rulig has suggested that "Viktor Yanukovych has indirectly aided Svoboda" by "granting Svoboda representatives disproportionate attention in the media".

After Yanokovych's ouster in February 2014, the interim Yatsenyuk Government placed 4 Svoboda members in leading positions: Oleksandr Sych as Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine, Ihor Tenyukh as Minister of Defense, lawyer Ihor Shvaika as Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food and Andriy Mokhnyk as Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine. However, the U.S. State Department has stated in a 5 March 2014 fact sheet that "Far-right wing ultranationalist groups, some of which were involved in open clashes with security forces during the EuroMaidan protests, are not represented in the Rada."

Andriy Biletsky, the head of the ultra-nationalist and neo-Nazi political groups Social-National Assembly and Patriots of Ukraine, is commander of the Azov Battalion (in October 2016 Biletsky officially left the Ukrainian military because (Ukrainian) elected officials are barred from serving in the army, but he vowed to continue his military career "without titles") Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard fighting pro-Russian separatists in the War in Donbass. Some members of the battalion are openly white supremacists. Biletsky is a member of the Ukrainian Parliament. In June 2015, Democratic Representative John Conyers and his Republican colleague Ted Yoho offered bipartisan amendments to block the U.S. military training of Ukraine's Azov Battalion.

In the 2014 Ukrainian parliamentary election, the right-wing parties Svoboda and Right Sector (representing ultranationalists who were involved in clashes with security forces during the Euromaidan protests) did not pass the 5% threshold, cumulatively receiving only 8 seats in the 450-seat Ukrainian parliament (less than 2% of all seats). Since 14 April 2016 the Chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament has been Andriy Parubiy, the co-founder of the neo-Nazi Social-National Party of Ukraine. Parubiy has had no affiliation with this party or with its successors since 2004.

United Kingdom

See also: Far-right politics in the United Kingdom, Racism in the United Kingdom, and List of British fascist parties

Asia

India

An RSS member taking an oath in their uniform

The Indian subcontinent (similar to Iran) has had cultural links to the "Aryan race" and has often been a topic of discussion on race theories.

In 1940, Vinayak Damodar Savarkar said: "There is no reason to suppose that Hitler must be a human monster because he passes off as a Nazi or Churchill is a demigod because he calls himself a Democrat. Nazism proved undeniably the saviour of Germany under the set of circumstances Germany was placed in. Who are we to dictate to Germany... or Italy to choose a particular form of policy of government simply?" "Surely Hitler knows better than Pandit Nehru does what suits Germany best. The very fact that Germany or Italy has so wonderfully recovered and grown so powerful as never before at the touch of Nazi or Fascist magical wand is enough to prove that those political ‘isms’ were the most congenial tonics their health demanded."

While swastika symbols have always been around (in a good light), some right wing citizens have started using it as a propaganda tool, with claims of it being loaned by India to Europe.

Pakistan

Also home to the "Aryan" sector in the Indian subcontinent, present day nation of Pakistan also has a section of their populace that enjoys a pro Nazi sentiment. Adding to their Indo-Aryan roots, is the waving blaze of anti-Semitism due to the staunch opposition to the state of Israel.

Israel

Neo-Nazi activity is not common or widespread in Israel, and the few reported activities have all been the work of extremists, who were punished severely. One notable case is that of Patrol 36, a cell in Petah Tikva made up of eight teenage immigrants from the former Soviet Union who had been attacking foreign workers and homosexuals, and vandalizing synagogues with Nazi images. These neo-Nazis were reported to have operated in cities across Israel, and have been described as being influenced by the rise of neo-Nazism in Europe; mostly influenced by similar movements in Russia and Ukraine, as the rise of the phenomenon is widely credited to immigrants from those two states, the largest sources of emigration to Israel. Widely publicized arrests have led to a call to reform the Law of Return to permit the revocation of Israeli citizenship for – and the subsequent deportation of – neo-Nazis.

Mongolia

Flag of the Dayar Mongol, a neo-Nazi party in Mongolia

Neo-Nazism is a growing political force in Mongolia. From 2008, Mongolian neo-Nazi groups have defaced buildings in Ulaanbaatar, smashed Chinese shopkeepers' windows, and killed pro-Chinese Mongols. The neo-Nazi Mongols' targets for violence are Chinese, Koreans, Mongol women who have sex with Chinese men, and LGBT people. They wear Nazi uniforms and revere the Mongol Empire and Genghis Khan. Though Tsagaan Khass leaders say they do not support violence, they are self-proclaimed Nazis. "Adolf Hitler was someone we respect. He taught us how to preserve national identity," said the 41-year-old co-founder, who calls himself Big Brother. "We don't agree with his extremism and starting the Second World War. We are against all those killings, but we support his ideology. We support nationalism rather than fascism." Some have ascribed it to poor historical education.

Taiwan

Main article: National Socialism Association

The National Socialism Association (NSA) is a neo-Nazi political organisation founded in Taiwan in September 2006 by Hsu Na-chi (Chinese: 許娜琦), at that time a 22-year-old female political science graduate of Soochow University. The NSA has an explicit stated goal of obtaining the power to govern the state. The Simon Wiesenthal Centre condemned the National Socialism Association on 13 March 2007 for championing the former Nazi dictator and blaming democracy for social unrest in Taiwan.

Iran

SUMKA was an Iranian neo-Nazi group that is otherwise known as Hezb e Sosialist e Melli ye Kargaran e Iran ( سومکا= حزب سوسیالیست ملی کارگران ایران) or the Iran National-Socialist Workers Party.

The group was formed in 1952 by Davud Monshizadeh, a professor at Ludwig Maximilians University of Munich, who served with the SS and had been injured while fighting in Berlin. Before this the name had been used informally to refer to those in Iran who supported and helped fund Adolf Hitler during the Second World War. Monshizadeh would go on to serve as a Professor of Persian Studies at Alexandria University and Uppsala University. Despite building up a minor support base in Iranian universities, the party did not last long. It has been claimed that the party received funding directly from Reza Pahlavi and some Georgian-Iranians for a time. The official logo is the Simorq flag. The emblem is the Simorq bird which was taken from the Shahnameh (Book of Kings) at the centre.

Americas

Brazil

Further information: Racism in Brazil

Several Brazilian neo-Nazi gangs appeared in the 1990s in Southern and Southeastern Brazil, regions with mostly white people, with their acts gaining more media coverage and public notoriety in the 2000s. Some members of Brazilian neo-Nazi groups have been associated with football hooliganism.

Their targets have included African, South American and Asian immigrants; Jews, Muslims, Catholics and Atheists; Afro-Brazilians and internal migrants with origins in the northern regions of Brazil (who are mostly brown-skinned or Afro-Brazilian); homeless people, prostitutes; recreational drug users; feminists and—more frequently reported in the media—homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgender and third-gender people. News of their attacks has played a role in debates about anti-discrimination laws in Brazil (including to some extent hate speech laws) and the issues of sexual orientation and gender identity.

Canada

Neo-Nazism in Canada began with the formation of the Canadian Nazi Party in 1965. In the 1970s and 1980s, neo-Nazism continued to spread in the country as organizations including the Western Guard and Church of the Creator (later renamed Creativity) promoted white supremacist ideals. Founded in the United States in 1973, Creativity calls for white people to wage racial holy war (Rahowa) against Jews and other perceived enemies.

Don Andrews founded the Nationalist Party of Canada in 1977. The purported goals of the unregistered party are "the promotion and maintenance of European Heritage and Culture in Canada," but the party is known for anti-Semitism and racism. Many influential neo-Nazi Leaders, such as Wolfgang Droege, were affiliated with the party, but many of its members left to join the Heritage Front, which was founded in 1989.

Droege founded the Heritage Front in Toronto at a time when leaders of the white supremacist movement were "disgruntled about the state of the radical right" and wanted to unite unorganized groups of white supremacists into an influential and efficient group with common objectives. Plans for the organization began in September 1989, and the formation of the Heritage Front was formally announced a couple of months later in November. In the 1990s, George Burdi of Resistance Records and the band Rahowa popularized the Creativity movement and the white power music scene.

Controversy and dissention has left many Canadian neo-Nazi organizations dissolved or weakened.

Chile

Main article: Nazism in Chile

Flag of the National Socialist Movement of Chile

After the dissolution of the National Socialist Movement of Chile (MNSCH) in 1938, notable former members of MNSCH migrated into Partido Agrario Laborista (PAL), obtaining high positions. Not all former MNSCH members joined the PAL; some continued to form parties that followed the MNSCH model until 1952. A new old-school Nazi party was formed in 1964 by school teacher Franz Pfeiffer. Among the activities of this group were the organization of a Miss Nazi beauty contest and the formation of a Chilean branch of the Ku Klux Klan. The party disbanded in 1970. Pfeiffer attempted to restart it in 1983 in the wake of a wave of protests against the Augusto Pinochet regime.

Nicolás Palacios considered the "Chilean race" to be a mix of two bellicose master races: the Visigoths of Spain and the Mapuche (Araucanians) of Chile. Palacios traces the origins of the Spanish component of the "Chilean race" to the coast of the Baltic Sea, specifically to Götaland in Sweden, one of the supposed homelands of the Goths. Palacios claimed that both the blonde-haired and the bronze-coloured Chilean Mestizo share a "moral physonomy" and a masculine psychology. He opposed immigration from Southern Europe, and argued that Mestizos who are derived from south Europeans lack "cerebral control" and are a social burden.

Costa Rica

Several neo-Nazi groups exist in Costa Rica, and the first to be in the spotlight was the Costa Rican National Socialist Party, which is now disbanded. Others include Costa Rican National Socialist Youth, Costa Rican National Socialist Alliance, New Social Order, Costa Rican National Socialist Resistance (which is Costa Rica's member of the World Union of National Socialists) and the Hiperborean Spear Society. The groups normally target Jewish-Costa Ricans, Afro-Costa Ricans, Communists, homosexuals and especially Nicaraguan and Colombian immigrants. The media has discovered the existence of an underground neo-Nazi group inside the police.

United States

Main article: Racism in the United States

See also: Nazism in the United States

The NSM rally on the West lawn of the US Capitol, Washington DC, 2008

There are several neo-Nazi groups in the United States. The National Socialist Movement (NSM), with about 400 members in 32 states, is currently the largest neo-Nazi organization in the United States. After World War II, new organizations formed with varying degrees of support for Nazi principles. The National States' Rights Party, founded in 1958 by Edward Reed Fields and J. B. Stoner countered racial integration in the Southern United States with Nazi-inspired publications and iconography. The American Nazi Party, founded by George Lincoln Rockwell in 1959, achieved high-profile coverage in the press through its public demonstrations.

The First Amendment to the United States Constitution guarantees freedom of speech, which allows political organizations great latitude in expressing Nazi, racist, and anti-Semitic views. A First Amendment landmark case was National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, in which neo-Nazis threatened to march in a predominantly Jewish suburb of Chicago. The march never took place in Skokie, but the court ruling allowed the neo-Nazis to stage a series of demonstrations in Chicago.

The Institute for Historical Review, formed in 1978, is a Holocaust denial body associated with neo-Nazism.

Organizations which report upon American neo-Nazi activities include the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. While a small minority of American neo-Nazis draw public attention, most operate underground, so they can recruit, organize and raise funds without interference or harassment. American neo-Nazis are known to attack, torment, and harass Jews, African Americans, Slavic Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Asian Americans, Arab Americans, Romani Americans, Pacific Islands Americans, LGBT people, people with disabilities, "race traitors" and people with different political or religious opinions. American neo-Nazi groups often operate websites, occasionally stage public demonstrations, and maintain ties to groups in Europe and elsewhere.

Africa

Various Afrikaner nationalist organizations, including the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging, have often been described as neo-Nazi.

Oceania

There were a number of now-defunct Australian neo-Nazi groups, such as the National Socialist Party of Australia (1968–1970s), the Australian National Socialist Party (1962–1968) and Jack van Tongeren's Australian Nationalist Movement. Current active organisations include local chapters of the Aryan Nations, and Blood and Honour, as well as prominent individuals such as Blair Cottrell.

In New Zealand, historical neo-Nazi organisations include Unit 88 and the National Socialist Party of New Zealand. Current active organisations include the local chapter of the Hammerskins, while White Nationalist organisations such as the New Zealand National Front have faced accusations of neo-Nazism.

See also

• Alex Linder
• Alt-right
• American History X
• Aryan race
• The Believer
• Craig Cobb
• David Duke
• Documentation Centre of Austrian Resistance
• Esoteric Nazism
• Far-right politics
• Far-right subcultures
• Fascism
• Fourth Reich
• George Lincoln Rockwell
• Holocaust denial
• List of neo-Nazi bands
• List of neo-Nazi organizations
• List of organizations designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as hate groups
• List of white nationalist organizations
• National Socialist black metal
• Nazi chic
• Nazi punk
• Nazism
• Neo-fascism
• Otto Strasser
• Rock Against Communism
• Romper Stomper
• Stormfront (website)
• The Daily Stormer
• Tom Metzger
• White nationalism
• White power skinhead

Bibliography

Primary sources

• Imperium by Francis Parker Yockey (using the pen name Ulick Varange, 1947, ISBN 0-911038-10-8)
• The Lightning and the Sun by Savitri Devi, (1958 (written 1948–56); ISBN 0-937944-14-9)
• White Power by George Lincoln Rockwell (1967; John McLaughlin, 1996, ISBN 0-9656492-8-8)
• This Time The World by George Lincoln Rockwell (1961; Liberty Bell Publications, 2004, ISBN 1-59364-014-5)
• National Socialism: Vanguard of the Future, Selected Writings of Colin Jordan (ISBN 87-87063-40-9)
• Merrie England– 2000 by Colin Jordan
• The Turner Diaries by William Pierce (under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald), novel (1978, ISBN 1-56980-086-3) .
• Siege: The Collected Writings of James Mason edited and introduced by Michael M. Jenkins (Storm Books, 1992) or introduced by Ryan Schuster (Black Sun Publications, ISBN 0-9724408-0-1)
• Hunter by William Pierce (under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald), novel (National Vanguard Books, 1984, ISBN 0-937944-09-2)
• Faith of the Future by Matt Koehl (New Order; Rev edition, 1995, ISBN 0-9648533-0-2)
• Serpent's Walk by Randolph D. Calverhall (pseudonym), novel (National Vanguard Books, 1991, ISBN 0-937944-05-X)
• The Nexus periodical edited by Kerry Bolton
• Deceived, Damned & Defiant– The Revolutionary Writings of David Lane by David Lane, foreword by Ron McVan, preface by Katja Lane (Fourteen Word Press, 1999, ISBN 0-9678123-2-1)
• Resistance Magazine published by National Vanguard Books

Academic surveys

• The Beast Reawakens by Martin A. Lee, (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1997, ISBN 0-316-51959-6)
• Fascism (Oxford Readers) by Roger Griffin (1995, ISBN 0-19-289249-5)
• Beyond Eagle and Swastika: German nationalism since 1945 by Kurt P. Tauber (Wesleyan University Press; [1st ed.] edition, 1967)
• Biographical Dictionary of the Extreme Right Since 1890 edited by Philip Rees, (1991, ISBN 0-13-089301-3)
• Hitler's Priestess: Savitri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and Neo-Nazism by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (1998, ISBN 0-8147-3111-2 and ISBN 0-8147-3110-4)
• Dreamer of the Day: Francis Parker Yockey and the Postwar Fascist International by Kevin Coogan, (Autonomedia, Brooklyn, NY 1998, ISBN 1-57027-039-2)
• Hate: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party by William H. Schmaltz (Potomac Books, 2000, ISBN 1-57488-262-7)
• American Fuehrer: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party by Frederick J. Simonelli (University of Illinois Press, 1999, ISBN 0-252-02285-8)
• Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918–1985 by Richard C. Thurlow (Olympic Marketing Corp, 1987, ISBN 0-631-13618-5)
• Fascism Today: A World Survey by Angelo Del Boca and Mario Giovana (Pantheon Books, 1st American edition, 1969)
• Swastika and the Eagle: Neo-Naziism in America Today by Clifford L Linedecker (A & W Pub, 1982, ISBN 0-89479-100-1)
• The Silent Brotherhood: Inside America's Racist Underground by Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt (Signet Book; Reprint edition, 1995, ISBN 0-451-16786-4)
• "White Power, White Pride!": The White Separatist Movement in the United States by Betty A. Dobratz with Stephanie L. Shanks-Meile (hardcover, Twayne Publishers, 1997, ISBN 0-8057-3865-7); a.k.a. The White Separatist Movement in the United States: White Power White Pride (paperback, Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2000, ISBN 0-8018-6537-9)
• Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right by Jeffrey Kaplan (Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc, 2000, ISBN 0-7425-0340-2)
• Blood in the Face: The Ku Klux Klan, Aryan Nations, Nazi Skinheads, and the Rise of a New White Culture by James Ridgeway (Thunder's Mouth Press; 2nd edition, 1995, ISBN 1-56025-100-X)
• A Hundred Little Hitlers: The Death of a Black Man, the Trial of a White Racist, and the Rise of the Neo-Nazi Movement in America by Elinor Langer (Metropolitan Books, 2003, ISBN 0-8050-5098-1)
• The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen by Raphael S. Ezekiel (Penguin (Non-Classics); Reprint edition, 1996, ISBN 0-14-023449-7)
• Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (2001, ISBN 0-8147-3155-4)
• Free to Hate: The Rise of the Right in Post-Communist Eastern Europe by Paul Hockenos (Routledge; Reprint edition, 1994, ISBN 0-415-91058-7)
• The Dark Side of Europe: The Extreme Right Today by Geoff Harris, (Edinburgh University Press; New edition, 1994, ISBN 0-7486-0466-9)
• The Far Right in Western and Eastern Europe by Luciano Cheles, Ronnie Ferguson, and Michalina Vaughan (Longman Publishing Group; 2nd edition, 1995, ISBN 0-582-23881-1)
• The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis by Herbert Kitschelt (University of Michigan Press; Reprint edition, 1997, ISBN 0-472-08441-0)
• Shadows Over Europe: The Development and Impact of the Extreme Right in Western Europe edited by Martin Schain, Aristide Zolberg, and Patrick Hossay (Palgrave Macmillan; 1st edition, 2002, ISBN 0-312-29593-6)
• The Fame of a Dead Man's Deeds: An Up-Close Portrait of White Nationalist William Pierce by Robert S. Griffin (Authorhouse, 2001, ISBN 0-7596-0933-0)
• Nation and Race: The Developing Euro-American Racist Subculture by Jeffrey Kaplan, Tore Bjorgo (Northeastern University Press, 1998, ISBN 1-55553-331-0)
• Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism by Mattias Gardell (Duke University Press, 2003, ISBN 0-8223-3071-7)
• The Nazi conception of law (Oxford pamphlets on world affairs) by J. Walter Jones, Clarendon (1939)
• Hearst, Ernest, Chip Berlet, and Jack Porter. "Neo-Nazism". Encyclopaedia Judaica. Eds. Michael Berenbaum and Fred Skolnik. Vol. 15. 2nd ed. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2007. 74–82. 22 vols. Thomson Gale.
• Goodrick-Clark, Nicholas (2002). Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity. New York: New York University Press. ISBN 0-8147-3155-4. OCLC 47665567.
• Blee, Kathleen (2002). Inside Organized Racism: Women in the Hate Movement. Berkeley, California; London: University of California Press. ISBN 0-520-24055-3. OCLC 52566455.

External links

• The Neo-Nazi Movement, Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC)
• Mainstreaming Neo-Nazism
• Antisemitism And Racism in the Baltic Republics
• The Hate Directory a collection of monitored neo-Nazi web sites