The Nationalist Front (German ''Nationalistische Front'') was a minor

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

neo-Nazi group active during the 1980s. Founded in 1985 by Bernhard Pauli, the group, which had no more than 150 members, was characterized by its support for

Strasserism Strasserism (german: Strasserismus or ''Straßerismus'') is a strand of Nazism calling for a more radical, mass-action and worker-based form of the ideology, espousing economic antisemitism above other antisemitic forms, to achieve a national ...

rather than more usual forms of

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) i ...

. The Nationalist Front - League of Social Revolutionary Nationalists had been formed in 1982 from the ashes of the banned

Volkssozialistische Bewegung Deutschlands/Partei der Arbeit The Volkssozialistische Bewegung Deutschlands/Partei der Arbeit (VSBD/PdA) or People's Socialist Movement of Germany/Labour Party was a German neo-Nazi organization led by Friedhelm Busse. Founded in 1971 and banned in 1982, it used a stylized ...

. This organisation was the basis for a merger with a number of smaller groups to form a new NF. In early 1986, the Nationalist Front experienced an internal power struggle, which ended up with a former German soldier and expelled member of the

National Democratic Party of Germany The National Democratic Party of Germany (german: Nationaldemokratische Partei Deutschlands or NPD) is a far-right Neo-Nazi and ultranationalist political party in Germany. The party was founded in 1964 as successor to the German Reich Part ...

, Meinolf Schönborn, replacing Pauli as head of the party. Based primarily in

Bielefeld Bielefeld () is a city in the Ostwestfalen-Lippe Region in the north-east of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. With a population of 341,755, it is also the most populous city in the administrative region (''Regierungsbezirk'') of Detmold and the ...

, the group had a largely Pagan membership, hosting fire rituals and similar ceremonies. The group also performed

cross burning In modern times, cross burning or cross lighting is a practice which is associated with the Ku Klux Klan. However, it was practiced long before the Klan's inception. Since the early 20th century, the Klan burned crosses on hillsides as a way to ...

s and forged links with Dennis Mahon, the head of the

White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan The White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan is a Ku Klux Klan organization which is active in the United States. It originated in Mississippi and Louisiana in the early 1960s under the leadership of Samuel Bowers, its first Imperial Wizard. The White K ...

Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...

. The group also became noted for its armed wing, the National Task Force (''Nationales Einsatzkommando'' - NEK) which was set up in 1991 with the help of

Otto Ernst Remer Otto Ernst Remer (18 August 1912 – 4 October 1997) was a German ''Wehrmacht'' officer in World War II who played a major role in stopping the 20 July plot in 1944 against Adolf Hitler. In his later years he became a politician and far right act ...

and Herbert Schweiger. This group was blamed for a number of attacks, including burning a man to death in the mistaken belief that he was a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

and the arson of an asylum seeker hostel in Dolgenbrodt, near

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Firmly anti-Semitic, the NF was also associated with

Jürgen Rieger Jürgen Hans Paul Rieger (11 May 1946, Nordenham, Blexen, Lower Saxony – 29 October 2009) was a Hamburg lawyer, avowed anti-semite, and deputy chairman of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) (as of October 2009), known for his Ho ...

, the well-known German

Holocaust denier Holocaust denial is an antisemitic conspiracy theory that falsely asserts that the Nazi genocide of Jews, known as the Holocaust, is a myth, fabrication, or exaggeration. Holocaust deniers make one or more of the following false statements: * ...

who was a speaker at a number of its events. Towards the end of its existence the group came under the leadership of Andreas Pohl, a former

Rock Against Communism Rock Against Communism (RAC) was the name of white power rock concerts in the United Kingdom in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and has since become the catch-all term for music with racist lyrics as well as a specific genre of rock music derived ...

musician, who attempted to attract the same

white power skinhead White power skinheads, also known as racist skinheads and neo-Nazi skinheads, are members of a neo-Nazi, white supremacist and antisemitic offshoot of the skinhead subculture. Many of them are affiliated with white nationalist organizations and ...

s to the group that he had previously played at. Its support for the Nazis led to the group being banned by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in 1992 along with the German Alternative of Michael Kühnen and the National Offensive of Michael Swierczek. The ban came in response to an arson attack on 23 November 1992 on the home of a Turkish family in

Mölln, Schleswig-Holstein Mölln () is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by several small lakes (Stadtsee, Schulsee, Ziegelsee, Hegesee, Schmalsee, Lütauer See, Drüsensee, and Pinnsee). The Elbe-Lübeck Canal flows through the town. Mölln bel ...

, with the family's deaths injecting urgency into judgements against neo-Nazi groups.Bjorog & Witte, ''Racist Violence in Europe'', p. 155 The group was succeeded by a number of organisations including Direct Action Middle Germany and the Social Revolutionary Workers Front, all of which were banned.

References

{{Authority control 1985 establishments in Germany 1992 disestablishments in Germany Banned far-right parties Banned political parties in Germany Far-right political parties in Germany Fascist parties in Germany German nationalist organizations German nationalist political parties Nationalist parties in Germany Neo-Nazi organizations Neo-Nazism in Germany Political parties disestablished in 1992 Political parties established in 1985 Strasserism