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Neo-Nazism comprises the post–
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate
Nazi ideology 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) in Na ...
. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and
racial supremacy Supremacism is the belief that a certain group of people is superior to all others. The supposed superior people can be defined by age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, language, social class, ideology, nation, culture, ...
(often
white supremacy White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White ...
), attack racial and ethnic minorities (often
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
and
Islamophobia Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...
), and in some cases to create a fascist state. Neo-Nazism is a global phenomenon, with organized representation in many countries and international networks. It borrows elements from Nazi doctrine, including antisemitism,
ultranationalism Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its ...
,
racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagoni ...
,
xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
,
ableism Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities or who are perceived to be disabled. Ableism character ...
,
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ...
,
anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
, and creating a " Fourth Reich".
Holocaust denial 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: ...
is common in neo-Nazi circles. Neo-Nazis regularly display Nazi symbols and express admiration for
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
and other Nazi leaders. In some European and Latin American countries, laws prohibit the expression of pro-Nazi, racist, antisemitic, or homophobic views. Many Nazi-related symbols are banned in European countries (especially
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
) in an effort to curtail neo-Nazism.


Definition

The term neo-Nazism describes any post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
militant, social or political movements seeking to revive the ideology 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 ...
in whole or in part. The term 'neo-Nazism' can also refer to the ideology of these movements, which may borrow elements from Nazi doctrine, including
ultranationalism Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its ...
,
anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
, racism,
ableism Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities or who are perceived to be disabled. Ableism character ...
,
xenophobia Xenophobia () is the fear or dislike of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange. It is an expression of perceived conflict between an in-group and out-group and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other's activities, a ...
,
homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ...
,
antisemitism Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
, up to initiating the Fourth Reich.
Holocaust denial 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: ...
is a common feature, as is the incorporation of Nazi symbols and admiration of
Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (; 20 April 188930 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was dictator of Germany from 1933 until his death in 1945. He rose to power as the leader of the Nazi Party, becoming the chancellor in 1933 and the ...
. Neo-Nazism is considered a particular form of
far-right politics Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...
and right-wing extremism.


Hyperborean racial doctrine

Neo-Nazi writers have posited a spiritual, esoteric doctrine of race, which moves beyond the primarily Darwinian-inspired materialist scientific racism popular mainly in the
Anglosphere The Anglosphere is a group of English-speaking nations that share historical and cultural ties with England, and which today maintain close political, diplomatic and military co-operation. While the nations included in different sources vary, t ...
during the 20th century. Figures influential in the development of neo-Nazi racism, such as Miguel Serrano and
Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, Esotericism, esotericist, and Far-right politics, radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocracy (class), aristocra ...
(writers who are described by critics of Nazism such as the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
as influential within what it presents as parts of "the bizarre fringes of National Socialism, past and present"), claim that the Hyperborean ancestors of the Aryans were in the distant past, far higher beings than their current state, having suffered from "involution" due to mixing with the "Telluric" peoples; supposed creations of the
Demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge'' ...
. Within this theory, if the "Aryans" are to return to the
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...
of the distant past, they need to awaken the memory of the blood. An extraterrestrial origin of the Hyperboreans is often claimed. These theories draw influence from
Gnosticism Gnosticism (from grc, γνωστικός, gnōstikós, , 'having knowledge') is a collection of religious ideas and systems which coalesced in the late 1st century AD among Jewish and early Christian sects. These various groups emphasized pe ...
and Tantrism, building on the work of the Ahnenerbe. Within this racist theory, Jews are held up as the antithesis of nobility, purity and beauty.


Ecology and environmentalism

Neo-Nazism generally aligns itself with a blood and soil variation of environmentalism, which has themes in common with
deep ecology Deep ecology is an environmental philosophy that promotes the inherent worth of all living beings regardless of their instrumental utility to human needs, and the restructuring of modern human societies in accordance with such ideas. Deep ecolo ...
, the
organic movement The organic movement broadly refers to the organizations and individuals involved worldwide in the promotion of organic food and other organic products. It started during the first half of the 20th century, when modern large-scale agricultural pr ...
and animal protectionism. This tendency, sometimes called " ecofascism", was represented in the original German Nazism by
Richard Walther Darré Richard Walther Darré (born Ricardo Walther Óscar Darré; 14 July 1895 – 5 September 1953) was one of the leading Nazi " blood and soil" () ideologists and served as Reich Minister of Food and Agriculture. As the National leader () fo ...
who was the Reichsminister of Food from 1933 until 1942.


History


Germany and Austria, 1945–1950s

Following the defeat of
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, the political ideology of the ruling party, Nazism, was in complete disarray. The final leader of the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP) was
Martin Bormann Martin Ludwig Bormann (17 June 1900 – 2 May 1945) was a German Nazi Party official and head of the Nazi Party Chancellery. He gained immense power by using his position as Adolf Hitler's private secretary to control the flow of information ...
. He died on 2 May 1945 during the
Battle of Berlin The Battle of Berlin, designated as the Berlin Strategic Offensive Operation by the Soviet Union, and also known as the Fall of Berlin, was one of the last major offensives of the European theatre of World War II. After the Vistula– ...
, but the
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
did not reveal his death to the rest of the world, and his ultimate fate remained a mystery for many years. Conspiracy theories emerged about Hitler himself, that he had secretly survived the war and fled to South America or elsewhere. The
Allied Control Council The Allied Control Council or Allied Control Authority (german: Alliierter Kontrollrat) and also referred to as the Four Powers (), was the governing body of the Allied Occupation Zones in Germany and Allied-occupied Austria after the end of ...
officially dissolved the NSDAP on 10 October 1945, marking the end of "Old" Nazism. A process of
denazification Denazification (german: link=yes, Entnazifizierung) was an Allied initiative to rid German and Austrian society, culture, press, economy, judiciary, and politics of the Nazi ideology following the Second World War. It was carried out by remov ...
began, and the
Nuremberg trials The Nuremberg trials were held by the Allies of World War II, Allies against representatives of the defeated Nazi Germany, for plotting and carrying out invasions of other countries, and other crimes, in World War II. Between 1939 and 1945 ...
took place, where many major leaders and ideologues were condemned to death by October 1946, others committed suicide. In both the East and West, surviving ex-party members and military veterans assimilated to the new reality and had no interest in constructing a "neo-Nazism". However, during the 1949 West German elections a number of Nazi advocates such as Fritz Rössler had infiltrated the national conservative ''
Deutsche Rechtspartei The German Right Party (german: Deutsche Rechtspartei, DRP) was a far-right political party that emerged in the British zone of Allied-occupied Germany after the Second World War. Also known as the ''Deutsche Konservative Partei - Deutsche Rechts ...
'', which had 5 members elected. Rössler and others left to found the more radical Socialist Reich Party (SRP) under Otto Ernst Remer. At the onset of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, the SRP favoured the Soviet Union over the United States. In
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
, national independence had been restored, and the explicitly criminalised the NSDAP and any attempt at restoration.
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
adopted a similar law to target parties it defined as anti-constitutional; Article 21 Paragraph 2 in the Basic Law, banning the SRP in 1952 for being opposed to
liberal democracy Liberal democracy is the combination of a liberal political ideology that operates under an indirect democratic form of government. It is characterized by elections between multiple distinct political parties, a separation of powers into ...
. As a consequence, some members of the nascent movement of German neo-Nazism joined the of which
Hans-Ulrich Rudel Hans-Ulrich Rudel (2 July 1916 – 18 December 1982) was a German ground-attack pilot during World War II and a post-war neo-Nazi activist. The most decorated German pilot of the war and the only recipient of the Knight's Cross with ...
was the most prominent figure. Younger members founded the modelled after the
Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
. The stood for elections from 1953 until 1961 fetching around 1% of the vote each time. Rudel befriended French-born
Savitri Devi Savitri Devi Mukherji (born Maximiani Julia Portas, ; 30 September 1905 – 22 October 1982) was a French-born Greek fascist, Nazi sympathizer, and spy who served the Axis powers by committing acts of espionage against the Allied forces in I ...
, who was a proponent of
Esoteric Nazism Esoteric Nazism, also known as Esoteric Fascism, refers to a range of mystical interpretations and adaptations of Nazism. After the Second World War, esoteric interpretations of the Third Reich were adapted into new religious movements of white ...
. In the 1950s she wrote a number of books, such as ''
Pilgrimage A pilgrimage is a journey, often into an unknown or foreign place, where a person goes in search of new or expanded meaning about their self, others, nature, or a higher good, through the experience. It can lead to a personal transformation, aft ...
'' (1958), which concerns prominent Third Reich sites, and '' The Lightning and the Sun'' (1958), in which she claims that Adolf Hitler was an avatar of the God
Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...
. She was not alone in this reorientation of Nazism towards its Thulean-roots; the , founded by former SS member Wilhelm Kusserow, attempted to promote a new
paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. I ...
. In the
German Democratic Republic 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 **G ...
(East Germany) a former member of SA,
Wilhelm Adam Wilhelm Adam (28 March 1893 – 24 November 1978) was an officer in the Wehrmacht of Nazi Germany during World War II. Following the German surrender after the Battle of Stalingrad, he became a member of the National Committee for a Free Germa ...
, founded the National Democratic Party of Germany. It reached out to those attracted by the Nazi Party before 1945 and provide them with a political outlet, so that they would not be tempted to support the far-right again or turn to the anti-communist Western Allies.
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
wanted to use them to create a new pro-Soviet and anti-Western strain in German politics. According to top Soviet diplomat Vladimir Semyonov, Stalin even suggested that they could be allowed to continue publishing their own newspaper, Völkischer Beobachter. While in Austria, former SS member Wilhelm Lang founded an esoteric group known as the Vienna Lodge; he popularised Nazism and occultism such as the Black Sun and ideas of Third Reich survival colonies below the polar ice caps. With the onset of the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
, the allied forces had lost interest in prosecuting anyone as part of the denazification. In the mid-1950s this new political environment allowed Otto Strasser, an NS activist on the left of the NSDAP, who had founded the Black Front to return from exile. In 1956, Strasser founded the German Social Union as a Black Front successor, promoting a Strasserite "nationalist and socialist" policy, which dissolved in 1962 due to lack of support. Other Third Reich associated groups were the
HIAG HIAG (german: Hilfsgemeinschaft auf Gegenseitigkeit der Angehörigen der ehemaligen Waffen-SS, lit=Mutual aid association of former Waffen-SS members) was a lobby group and a denialist veterans' organisation founded by former high-ranking Waff ...
and Stille Hilfe dedicated to advancing the interests of Waffen-SS veterans and rehabilitating them into the new democratic society. However, they did not claim to be attempting to restore Nazism, instead working with the social democrats and
Christian democrats __NOTOC__ Christian democratic parties are political parties that seek to apply Christian principles to public policy. The underlying Christian democracy movement emerged in 19th-century Europe, largely under the influence of Catholic social tea ...
. Many bureaucrats who served under the Third Reich continued to serve in German administration after the war. According to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, many of the more than 90,000 Nazi war criminals recorded in German files were serving in positions of prominence under Chancellor
Konrad Adenauer Konrad Hermann Joseph Adenauer (; 5 January 1876 – 19 April 1967) was a German statesman who served as the first chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 to 1963. From 1946 to 1966, he was the first leader of the Christian Dem ...
. Not until the 1960s were the former concentration camp personnel prosecuted by
West Germany West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 ...
in the
Belzec trial The Belzec trial (german: Belzec-Prozess, pl, proces Bełżec) in the mid-1960s was a war crimes trial of eight former SS members of Bełżec extermination camp. The trial was held at the 1st Munich District Court (''Landgericht München I'') and ...
, Frankfurt Auschwitz trials,
Treblinka trials The two Treblinka trials concerning the Treblinka extermination camp personnel began in 1964. Held at Düsseldorf in West Germany, they were the two judicial trials in a series of similar war crime trials held during the early 1960s, such as the J ...
, Chełmno trials, and the Sobibór trial. However, the government had passed laws prohibiting Nazis from publicly expressing their beliefs.


"Universal National Socialism", 1950s–1970s

Neo-Nazism found expression outside of Germany, including in countries who fought against the Third Reich during the Second World War, and sometimes adopted
pan-European Pan-European can refer to: * Pan-European identity * Pan-European corridors ** Pan-European Corridor X ** Pan-European Corridor Xa * Pan European Game Information * Pan-European Institute * Pan-European nationalism * Pan-European Oil Pipeli ...
or "universal" characteristics, beyond the parameters of
German nationalism German nationalism () is an ideological notion that promotes the unity of Germans and German-speakers into one unified nation state. German nationalism also emphasizes and takes pride in the patriotism and national identity of Germans as one n ...
. The two main tendencies, with differing styles and even worldviews, were the followers of the American Francis Parker Yockey, who was fundamentally anti-American and advocated for a
pan-European nationalism European nationalism (sometimes called pan-European nationalism) is a form of nationalism based on a pan-European identity. It is considered minor since the National Party of Europe disintegrated in the 1970s. History The former British Union ...
, and those of George Lincoln Rockwell, an American conservative.Some of the fascistic old-guard from the pre-war ultra-nationalist movements were more skeptical of the benefits of the Rockwell-Jordan uniform scene. Oswald Mosley of the Union Movement described Jordan as, "a midget trying to walk in the boots of giants." Meanwhile, Yockeyism leaned more to the left than the "official" fascistic Pan-Europeanism of those which would become the European Social Movement. The latter associated with Mosley,
Maurice Bardèche Maurice Bardèche (1 October 1907 – 30 July 1998) was a French art critic and journalist, better known as one of the leading exponents of neo-fascism in post– World War II Europe. Bardèche was also the brother-in-law of the collaborationis ...
and others upheld a strictly "neither East, nor West", third position in regards to Soviet and American power.
Yockey, a neo-Spenglerian author, had written '' Imperium: The Philosophy of History and Politics'' (1949) dedicated to "the hero of the twentieth century" (namely, Adolf Hitler) and founded the European Liberation Front. He was interested more in the destiny of Europe; to this end, he advocated a National Bolshevik-esque red-brown alliance against American culture and influenced 1960s figures such as SS-veteran Jean-François Thiriart. Yockey was also fond of
Arab nationalism Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language ...
, in particular
Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...
, and saw
Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro Castro Ruz (; ; 13 August 1926 – 25 November 2016) was a Cuban revolutionary and politician who was the leader of Cuba from 1959 to 2008, serving as the prime minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976 and president from 1976 to 20 ...
's
Cuban Revolution The Cuban Revolution ( es, Revolución Cubana) was carried out after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état which placed Fulgencio Batista as head of state and the failed mass strike in opposition that followed. After failing to contest Batista in co ...
as a positive, visiting officials there. Yockey's views impressed Otto Ernst Remer and the radical traditionalist philosopher
Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, Esotericism, esotericist, and Far-right politics, radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocracy (class), aristocra ...
. He was constantly hounded by the FBI and was eventually arrested in 1960, before committing suicide. Domestically, Yockey's biggest sympathisers were the National Renaissance Party, including
James H. Madole James Harting Madole (July 7, 1927 – May 6, 1979) was a prominent fascist and leader of the National Renaissance Party in the United States. He is now recognized as a pivotal figure in the development of post-war occult-fascism. Biography I ...
,
H. Keith Thompson Harold Keith Thompson (September 17, 1922 – March 3, 2002) was a New York City-based corporate executive, a Nazi agent, and a figure within American far-right and fascist circles. Biography Thompson was born in New Jersey in 1922. Nazi activi ...
and
Eustace Mullins Eustace Clarence Mullins Jr. (March 9, 1923 – February 2, 2010) was an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, propagandist, Holocaust denier, and writer. A disciple of the poet Ezra Pound, * * * * * * * * * * * * ...
( of
Ezra Pound Ezra Weston Loomis Pound (30 October 1885 – 1 November 1972) was an expatriate American poet and critic, a major figure in the early modernist poetry movement, and a Fascism, fascist collaborator in Italy during World War II. His works ...
) and the Liberty Lobby of Willis Carto. Rockwell, an American conservative, was first politicised in the
anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
and anti-
racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportuni ...
movements before becoming anti-Jewish. In response to his opponents calling him a "Nazi", he theatrically appropriated the aesthetic elements of the NSDAP, to "own" the intended insult. In 1959, Rockwell founded the American Nazi Party and instructed his members to dress in imitation SA-style brown shirts, while flying the flag of the Third Reich. In contrast to Yockey, he was pro-American and cooperated with FBI requests, despite the party being targeted by
COINTELPRO COINTELPRO ( syllabic abbreviation derived from Counter Intelligence Program; 1956–1971) was a series of covert and illegal projects actively conducted by the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) aimed at surveilling, infiltrati ...
due to the mistaken belief that they were agents of Nasser's Egypt during a brief intelligence "brown scare".While the intelligence claims in regards to the Rockwell's American costume group proved unfounded, a number of actual German Nazis did relocate to the Middle East, some converted to Islam and changed their names; particularly Egypt and Syria. This includes
Johann von Leers Omar Amin (born Johann Jakob von Leers; 25 January 19025 March 1965) was an '' Alter Kämpfer'' and an honorary ''Sturmbannführer'' in the ''Waffen-SS'' in Nazi Germany, where he was also a professor known for his anti-Jewish polemics. He was o ...
, Alois Brunner, Aribert Heim, Franz Stangl, Gerhard Mertins, Hans Eisele, Walter Rauff,
Artur Schmitt Artur Schmitt (20 July 1888 – 15 January 1972) was a highly decorated German soldier during World War I and World War II. While serving as a General with the '' Afrikakorps'' during World War II, Schmitt was awarded the ''Ritterkreuz des E ...
and others. The father of Neo-Nazism, Otto Ernst Remer, also fled to Egypt, then Syria during the 1950s.
Later leaders of American
white nationalism White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwood ...
came to politics through the ANP, including a teenage David Duke and William Luther Pierce of the National Alliance, although they soon distanced themselves from explicit self-identification with neo-Nazism. In 1961, the
World Union of National Socialists The World Union of National Socialists (WUNS) is an organisation founded in 1962 as an umbrella group for neo-Nazi organisations across the globe. History Formation The movement came about when the leader of the American Nazi Party, George ...
was founded by Rockwell and
Colin Jordan John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "Nazi" inclination in his open use of the sty ...
of the British National Socialist Movement, adopting the '' Cotswold Declaration.'' French socialite
Françoise Dior Marie Françoise Suzanne Dior (7 April 1932 – 20 January 1993) was a French socialite and neo-Nazi underground financier. She was the niece of French fashion designer Christian Dior and Resistance fighter Catherine Dior, who publicly distanc ...
was involved romantically with Jordan and his deputy
John Tyndall John Tyndall FRS (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was a prominent 19th-century Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the ...
and a friend of Savitri Devi, who also attended the meeting. The National Socialist Movement wore quasi-SA uniforms, was involved in streets conflicts with the Jewish
62 Group The 62 Group, originally the 62 Committee, was a militant broad-based coalition of anti-fascists in London, headed by Harry Bidney. Based on the earlier 43 Group, it was formed in 1962 largely in response to the resurgence of fascism in Britai ...
. In the 1970s, Tyndall's earlier involvement with neo-Nazism would come back to haunt the National Front, which he led, as they attempted to ride a wave of anti-immigration populism and concerns over British national decline. Televised exposes on '' This Week'' in 1974 and ''
World in Action ''World in Action'' was a British investigative current affairs programme made by Granada Television for ITV from 7 January 1963 until 7 December 1998. Its campaigning journalism frequently had a major impact on events of the day. Its product ...
'' in 1978, showed their neo-Nazi pedigree and damaged their electoral chances. In 1967, Rockwell was killed by a disgruntled former member. Matthias Koehl took control of the ANP, and strongly influenced by Savitri Devi, gradually transformed it into an esoteric group known as the New Order. In Franco's Spain, certain SS refugees most notably
Otto Skorzeny Otto Johann Anton Skorzeny (12 June 1908 – 5 July 1975) was an Austrian-born German SS-''Obersturmbannführer'' (lieutenant colonel) in the Waffen-SS during World War II. During the war, he was involved in a number of operations, including t ...
, Léon Degrelle and the son of Klaus Barbie became associated with
CEDADE CEDADE (from the initials of ''Círculo Español de Amigos de Europa'' or 'Spanish Circle of Friends of Europe') was a Spanish neo-Nazi group that concerned itself with co-ordinating international activity and publishing. History The group began ...
(''Círculo Español de Amigos de Europa''), an organisation which disseminated Third Reich apologetics out of
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
. They intersected with neo-Nazi advocates from
Mark Fredriksen Mark Fredriksen (18 November 1936 – 25 August 2011) was a French extreme right figure and the founder, in 1966, of the neo-Nazi '' Fédération d'action nationaliste et européenne''. Biography Fredriksen co-edited ''Notre Europe'', which was ...
in France to
Salvador Borrego Salvador Borrego Escalante (24 April 1915 – 8 January 2018) was a Mexican journalist and historical revisionist writer. Borrego began his career in journalism in 1936, as a reporter of the Mexican newspaper Excélsior where he eventually was ...
in Mexico. In the post-fascist
Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...
splinter groups such as Ordine Nuovo and
Avanguardia Nazionale The National Vanguard ( it, Avanguardia Nazionale) is a name that has been used for at least two neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups in Italy. Original group The original National Vanguard was an extra-parliamentary movement formed as a breakaway gr ...
, involved in the " Years of Lead" considered Nazism a reference. Franco Freda created a "Nazi-
Maoist Maoism, officially called Mao Zedong Thought by the Chinese Communist Party, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed to realise a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of Ch ...
" synthesis. In Germany itself, the various Third Reich nostalgic movements coalesced around the National Democratic Party of Germany in 1964 and in Austria the National Democratic Party in 1967 as the primary sympathisers of the NSDAP past, although more publicly cautious than earlier groups.


Holocaust denial and subcultures, 1970s–1990s

Holocaust denial 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: ...
, the claim that six million Jews were not deliberately and systematically exterminated as an official policy of the Third Reich and Adolf Hitler, became a more prominent feature of neo-Nazism in the 1970s. Before this time, Holocaust denial had long existed as a sentiment among neo-Nazis, but it had not yet been systematically articulated as a theory with a bibliographical canon. Few of the major theorists of Holocaust denial (who call themselves " revisionists") can be uncontroversially classified as outright neo-Nazis (though some works such as those of David Irving forward a clearly sympathetic view of Hitler and the publisher Ernst Zündel was deeply tied to international neo-Nazism), however, the main interest of Holocaust denial to neo-Nazis was their hope that it would help them rehabilitate their political ideology in the eyes of the general public. ''
Did Six Million Really Die? ''Did Six Million Really Die? The Truth at Last'' is a neo-Nazi, Holocaust denial pamphlet allegedly written by British National Front (NF) member Richard Verrall under the pseudonym Richard E. Harwood and published in 1974 by neo-Nazi propa ...
'' (1974) by
Richard Verrall Richard Verrall (born 1948) is a British Holocaust denier and former deputy chairman of the British National Front (NF) who edited the magazine '' Spearhead'' from 1976 to 1980. Under the ''nom de plume'' (pen name) of Richard E. Harwood, Verr ...
and ''
The Hoax of the Twentieth Century ''The Hoax of the Twentieth Century: The Case Against the Presumed Extermination of European Jewry'' is a book by Northwestern University electrical engineering professor and Holocaust denier Arthur Butz. The book was originally published in 1975 ...
'' (1976) by
Arthur Butz Arthur R. Butz is an associate professor of electrical engineering at Northwestern University and a Holocaust denier, best known as the author of the pseudohistorical book ''The Hoax of the Twentieth Century''. He achieved tenure in 1974 and curr ...
are popular examples of Holocaust denial material. Key developments in international neo-Nazism during this time include the radicalisation of the under former
Hitler Youth The Hitler Youth (german: Hitlerjugend , often abbreviated as HJ, ) was the youth organisation of the Nazi Party in Germany. Its origins date back to 1922 and it received the name ("Hitler Youth, League of German Worker Youth") in July 1926. ...
member Bert Eriksson. They began hosting an annual conference; the "Iron Pilgrimage"; at
Diksmuide (; french: Dixmude, ; vls, Diksmude) is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of proper and the former communes of Beerst, Esen, Kaaskerke, Keiem, Lampernisse, Leke ...
, which drew kindred ideologues from across Europe and beyond. As well as this, the NSDAP/AO under
Gary Lauck Gerhard Rex Lauck (born 1953) is an American neo-Nazi activist and publisher. Based in Lincoln, Nebraska, he is sometimes nicknamed the "Farm Belt Fuehrer" due to his rural origins.Martin A. Lee, '' The Beast Reawakens'', Warner Books, 1997, p ...
arose in the United States in 1972 and challenged the international influence of the Rockwellite WUNS. Lauck's organisation drew support from the
National Socialist Movement of Denmark The National Socialist Movement of Denmark ( da, Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Bevægelse, DNSB) is a neo-Nazi political party in Denmark. The movement traces its origins back to National Socialist Workers' Party of Denmark (DNSAP, Danmarks Na ...
of
Povl Riis-Knudsen Povl Heinrich Riis-Knudsen is a prominent Danish neo-Nazi. Riis-Knudsen is best known as the author of the articles ''National Socialism: A Left Wing Movement'' (1984) and ''National Socialism: The Biological World View'' (1987). Life and ideas R ...
and various German and Austrian figures who felt that the "National Democratic" parties were too bourgeois and insufficiently Nazi in orientation. This included
Michael Kühnen Michael Kühnen (21 June, 1955 – 25 April, 1991) was a leader in the German neo-Nazi movement. He was one of the first post- World War II Germans to openly embrace Nazism and call for the formation of a Fourth Reich. He enacted a policy of sett ...
,
Christian Worch Christian Worch (born 14 March 1956) is a prominent German neo-Nazi activist and chairman of the far-right political party Die Rechte. In 1974, Worch started a militant group called the ''Hansabande'' in Hamburg, along with Michael Kühnen. ...
,
Bela Ewald Althans Bela Ewald Althans (born 23 March 1966) is a German former neo-Nazi. Once the leading organiser in Germany's neo-Nazi underground, Althans left the movement following his imprisonment in the 1990s, and is no longer involved in politics. Early Na ...
and
Gottfried Küssel Gottfried Küssel (born 10 September 1958) is an Austrian far-right political activist who also gained some notoriety in Germany. He has been a leading figure in neo-Nazism and Holocaust denial since the 1970s. Early years Born in Vienna, Kü ...
of the 1977-founded ANS/NS which called for the establishment of a Germanic Fourth Reich. Some ANS/NS members were imprisoned for planning paramilitary attacks on
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two N ...
bases in Germany and planning to liberate
Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer to Adolf Hitler in 1933, Hess held that position unt ...
from
Spandau Prison Spandau Prison was located in the borough of Spandau in West Berlin. It was originally a military prison, built in 1876, but became a proto-concentration camp under the Nazis. After the war, it held seven top Nazi leaders convicted in the Nurem ...
. The organisation was officially banned in 1983 by the Minister of the Interior. During the late 1970s, a British subculture came to be associated with neo-Nazism; the skinheads. Portraying an ultra-masculine, crude and aggressive image, with working-class references, some of the skinheads joined the
British Movement The British Movement (BM), later called the British National Socialist Movement (BNSM), is a British neo-Nazi organisation founded by Colin Jordan in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which was founded in 1962. Frequen ...
under Michael McLaughlin (successor of
Colin Jordan John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "Nazi" inclination in his open use of the sty ...
), while others became associated with the National Front's
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 derive ...
project which was meant to counter the SWP's Rock Against Racism. The most significant music group involved in this project was
Skrewdriver Skrewdriver were an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, in 1976. Originally a punk band, Skrewdriver changed into a white supremacist rock band after reuniting in the 1980s. Their original ...
, led by
Ian Stuart Donaldson Ian Stuart Donaldson (11 August 1957 – 24 September 1993), also known as Ian Stuart, was an English neo-Nazi musician. He was best known as the front-man of Skrewdriver, a Punk band which, from 1982 onwards, he rebranded as a Rock Against ...
. Together with ex-BM member Nicky Crane, Donaldson founded the international
Blood & Honour Blood & Honour is a neo-Nazi music promotion network and right-wing extremist political group founded in the United Kingdom by Ian Stuart Donaldson and Nicky Crane in 1987. It is composed of White Nationalists and has links to Combat 18. Som ...
network in 1987. By 1992 this network, with input from Harold Covington, had developed a paramilitary wing; Combat 18, which intersected with football hooligan firms such as the
Chelsea Headhunters The Chelsea Headhunters are a notorious English football hooligan firm linked to the London football club Chelsea. Background There is widespread racism amongst the gang and links to various white supremacist organisations, such as Combat 18 ...
. The neo-Nazi skinhead movement spread to the United States, with groups such as the
Hammerskins The Hammerskins (also known as Hammerskin Nation) are a white supremacist group formed in 1988 in Dallas, Texas. Their primary focus is the production and promotion of white power rock music, and many white power bands have been affiliated with ...
. It was popularised from 1986 onwards by Tom Metzger of the White Aryan Resistance. Since then it has spread across the world. Films such as ''
Romper Stomper ''Romper Stomper'' is a 1992 Australian drama film written and directed by Geoffrey Wright in his feature film directorial debut. The film stars Russell Crowe, Daniel Pollock, Jacqueline McKenzie, Tony Le-Nguyen and Colin Chin. The film tells ...
'' (1992) and '' American History X'' (1998) would fix a public perception that neo-Nazism and skinheads were synonymous. New developments also emerged on the esoteric level, as former Chilean diplomat Miguel Serrano built on the works of
Carl Jung Carl Gustav Jung ( ; ; 26 July 1875 – 6 June 1961) was a Swiss psychiatrist and psychoanalyst who founded analytical psychology. Jung's work has been influential in the fields of psychiatry, anthropology, archaeology, literature, ph ...
,
Otto Rahn Otto Wilhelm Rahn (18 February 1904 – 13 March 1939) was a German writer, medievalist, Ariosophist, and an officer of the SS and researcher into the Grail myths. He was born in Michelstadt, Germany, and died in Söll ( Kufstein, Tyrol) i ...
,
Wilhelm Landig The Landig Group ( de-AT, Landig Gruppe) was an occultist and neo- ''völkisch'' group formed in 1950, that first gathered for discussions at the studio of the designer Wilhelm Landig in the Margareten district of Vienna. The circle's most pro ...
,
Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, Esotericism, esotericist, and Far-right politics, radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocracy (class), aristocra ...
and
Savitri Devi Savitri Devi Mukherji (born Maximiani Julia Portas, ; 30 September 1905 – 22 October 1982) was a French-born Greek fascist, Nazi sympathizer, and spy who served the Axis powers by committing acts of espionage against the Allied forces in I ...
to bind together and develop already existing theories. Serrano had been a member of the National Socialist Movement of Chile in the 1930s and from the early days of neo-Nazism, he had been in contact with key figures across Europe and beyond. Despite this, he was able to work as an ambassador to numerous countries until the rise of Salvador Allende. In 1984 he published his book ''Adolf Hitler: The Ultimate Avatar''. Serrano claimed that the Aryans were extragalactic beings who founded Hyperborea and lived the heroic life of
Bodhisattvas In Buddhism, a bodhisattva ( ; sa, 𑀩𑁄𑀥𑀺𑀲𑀢𑁆𑀢𑁆𑀯 (Brahmī), translit=bodhisattva, label=Sanskrit) or bodhisatva is a person who is on the path towards bodhi ('awakening') or Buddhahood. In the Early Buddhist schools ...
, while the Jews were created by the
Demiurge In the Platonic, Neopythagorean, Middle Platonic, and Neoplatonic schools of philosophy, the demiurge () is an artisan-like figure responsible for fashioning and maintaining the physical universe. The Gnostics adopted the term ''demiurge'' ...
and were concerned only with coarse
materialism Materialism is a form of philosophical monism which holds matter to be the fundamental substance in nature, and all things, including mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. According to philosophical materialis ...
. Serrano claimed that a new
Golden Age The term Golden Age comes from Greek mythology, particularly the '' Works and Days'' of Hesiod, and is part of the description of temporal decline of the state of peoples through five Ages, Gold being the first and the one during which the G ...
can be attained if the Hyperboreans repurify their blood (supposedly the light of the Black Sun) and restore their " blood-memory." As with Savitri Devi before him, Serrano's works became a key point of reference in neo-Nazism.


Lifting of the Iron Curtain, 1990s–present

With the fall of the
Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the gover ...
and the
collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
during the early 1990s, neo-Nazism began to spread its ideas in the East, as hostility to the triumphant liberal order was high and revanchism a widespread feeling. In Russia, during the chaos of the early 1990s, an amorphous mixture of KGB hardliners, Orthodox neo-Tsarist nostalgics (i.e., Pamyat) and explicit neo-Nazis found themselves strewn together in the same camp. They were united by opposition to the influence of the United States, against the liberalising legacy of
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...
's and on the
Jewish question The Jewish question, also referred to as the Jewish problem, was a wide-ranging debate in 19th- and 20th-century European society that pertained to the appropriate status and treatment of Jews. The debate, which was similar to other " national ...
, Soviet Zionology merged with a more explicit anti-Jewish sentiment. The most significant organisation representing this was Russian National Unity under the leadership of
Alexander Barkashov Alexander Petrovich Barkashov (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Баркашо́в, sometimes transliterated as ''Aleksandr''; born 6 October 1953) is a Russian political leader and far-right nationalist who in 1990 founded Russian ...
, where black-uniform clad Russians marched with a red flag incorporating the
Swastika The swastika (卐 or 卍) is an ancient religious and cultural symbol, predominantly in various Eurasian, as well as some African and American cultures, now also widely recognized for its appropriation by the Nazi Party and by neo-Nazis. I ...
under the banner of ''
Russia for Russians "Russia for Russians" (russian: Росси́я для ру́сских, ''Rossiya dlya russkikh'', ) is a political slogan and nationalist doctrine, encapsulating the range of ideas from bestowing the ethnic white Russians with exclusive rights in ...
.'' These forces came together in a last gasp effort to save the Supreme Soviet of Russia against
Boris Yeltsin Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin ( rus, Борис Николаевич Ельцин, p=bɐˈrʲis nʲɪkɐˈla(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈjelʲtsɨn, a=Ru-Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin.ogg; 1 February 1931 – 23 April 2007) was a Soviet and Russian politician wh ...
during the
1993 Russian constitutional crisis The 1993 Russian constitutional crisis, also known as the 1993 October Coup, Black October, the Shooting of the White House or Ukaz 1400, was a political stand-off and a constitutional crisis between the Russian president Boris Yeltsin and ...
. As well as events in Russia, in newly independent ex-Soviet states, annual commemorations for SS volunteers now took place; particularly in
Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...
,
Estonia Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, an ...
and the
Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...
. The Russian developments excited German neo-Nazism who dreamed of a
Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
–Moscow alliance against the supposedly "decadent"
Atlanticist Atlanticism, also known as Transatlanticism, is the belief in or support for a close relationship between the peoples and governments in Northern America (the United States and Canada) and those in Europe (the countries of the European Union, t ...
forces; a dream which had been thematic since the days of Remer. Zündel visited Russia and met with ex-KGB general Aleksandr Stergilov and other Russian National Unity members. Despite these initial aspirations, international neo-Nazism and its close affiliates in ultra-nationalism would be split over the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
between 1992 and 1995, as part of the
breakup of Yugoslavia The breakup of Yugoslavia occurred as a result of a series of political upheavals and conflicts during the early 1990s. After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yu ...
. The split would largely be along ethnic and sectarian lines. The Germans and the French would largely back the Western Catholic
Croats The Croats (; hr, Hrvati ) are a South Slavic ethnic group who share a common Croatian ancestry, culture, history and language. They are also a recognized minority in a number of neighboring countries, namely Austria, the Czech Republic ...
(Lauck's NSDAP/AO explicitly called for volunteers, which Kühnen's
Free German Workers' Party The Free German Workers' Party (german: link=no, Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei; abbreviated FAP) was a neo-Nazi political party in Germany. It was outlawed by the Federal Constitutional Court in 1995. History The FAP was founded in 19 ...
answered and the French formed the "Groupe
Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (; 26 September 1898 – 22 February 1945) was a French politician, initially communist, later fascist, before and during World War II. In 1936, after his exclusion from the Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Party (P ...
"), while the Russians and the Greeks would back the Orthodox
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...
(including Russians from Barkashov's Russian National Unity, Eduard Limonov's
National Bolshevik Front The National Bolshevik Front (NBF; russian: Национал-большевистский фронт; НБФ; ''Natsional-bolshevistskiy front'', ''NBF'') is a Russian political party with a political program of National Bolshevism. The party was ...
and
Golden Dawn Golden Dawn or The Golden Dawn may refer to: Organizations * Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a nineteenth century magical order based in Britain ** The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc., a modern revival founded in 1977 ** Open Source ...
members joined the Greek Volunteer Guard). Indeed, the revival of National Bolshevism was able to steal some of the thunder from overt Russian neo-Nazism, as ultra-nationalism was wedded with veneration of
Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet Union, Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as Ge ...
in place of Adolf Hitler, while still also flirting with Nazi aesthetics.


Analogous European movements

Outside Germany, in other countries which were involved with the
Axis powers The Axis powers, ; it, Potenze dell'Asse ; ja, 枢軸国 ''Sūjikukoku'', group=nb originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis, was a military coalition that initiated World War II and fought against the Allies. Its principal members were ...
and had their own native ultra-nationalist movements, which sometimes collaborated with the Third Reich but were not technically German-style National Socialists, revivalist and nostalgic movements have emerged in the post-war period which, as neo-Nazism has done in Germany, seek to rehabilitate their various loosely associated ideologies. These movements include
neo-fascists Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...
and
post-fascists Post-fascism is a label that identifies political parties and movements that transition from a fascist political ideology to a more moderate and mainline form of conservatism, abandoning the totalitarian traits of fascism and taking part in constitu ...
in Italy; Vichyites, Pétainists and "national Europeans" in France;
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
sympathisers in
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
; neo-
Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royali ...
in Serbia;
Iron Guard The Iron Guard ( ro, Garda de Fier) was a Romanian militant revolutionary fascist movement and political party founded in 1927 by Corneliu Zelea Codreanu as the Legion of the Archangel Michael () or the Legionnaire Movement (). It was stron ...
revivalists in
Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
;
Hungarists The Arrow Cross Party ( hu, Nyilaskeresztes Párt – Hungarista Mozgalom, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National ...
and Horthyists in Hungary and others.


Issues


Ex-Nazis in mainstream politics

The most significant case on an international level was the election of Kurt Waldheim to the Presidency of Austria in 1986. It came to light that Waldheim had been a member of the National Socialist German Students' League, the SA and served as an intelligence officer during the Second World War. Following this he served as an Austrian diplomat and was the Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 until 1981. After revelations of Waldheim's past were made by an Austrian journalist, Waldheim clashed with the
World Jewish Congress The World Jewish Congress (WJC) was founded in Geneva, Switzerland in August 1936 as an international federation of Jewish communities and organizations. According to its mission statement, the World Jewish Congress' main purpose is to act as ...
on the international stage. Waldheim's record was defended by
Bruno Kreisky Bruno Kreisky (; 22 January 1911 – 29 July 1990) was an Austrian social democratic politician who served as Foreign Minister from 1959 to 1966 and as Chancellor from 1970 to 1983. Aged 72 at the end of his chancellorship, he was the oldest ...
, an Austrian Jew who served as Chancellor of Austria. The legacy of the affair lingers on, as
Victor Ostrovsky Victor John Ostrovsky (born 28 November 1949) is an author and a former katsa (case officer) for the Israeli Mossad. He authored two nonfiction books about his service with the Mossad: ''By Way of Deception'', a #1 '' New York Times'' bestselle ...
has claimed the
Mossad Mossad ( , ), ; ar, الموساد, al-Mōsād, ; , short for ( he, המוסד למודיעין ולתפקידים מיוחדים, links=no), meaning 'Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations'. is the national intelligence agency ...
doctored the file of Waldheim to implicate him in war crimes.


Contemporary right-wing populism

Some critics have sought to draw a connection between Nazism and modern
right-wing populism Right-wing populism, also called national populism and right-wing nationalism, is a political ideology that combines right-wing politics and populist rhetoric and themes. Its rhetoric employs anti-elitist sentiments, opposition to the Estab ...
in Europe, but the two are not widely regarded as interchangeable by most academics. In Austria, 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 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 ...
, 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 Carinthia (german: Kärnten ; sl, Koroška ) is the southernmost Austrian state, in the Eastern Alps, and is noted for its mountains and lakes. The main language is German. Its regional dialects belong to the Southern Bavarian group. Carin ...
and 22 percent in Vienna; showing that it had become a force capable of reversing the old pattern of Austrian politics. Historian
Walter Laqueur Walter Ze'ev Laqueur (26 May 1921 – 30 September 2018) was a German-born American historian, journalist and political commentator. He was an influential scholar on the subjects of terrorism and political violence. Biography Walter Laqueur was ...
writes that even though Haider welcomed former Nazis at his meetings and went out of his way to address
Schutzstaffel The ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS; also stylized as ''ᛋᛋ'' with Armanen runes; ; "Protection Squadron") was a major paramilitary organization under Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, and later throughout German-occupied Europe ...
(SS) veterans, the FPÖ is not a fascist party in the traditional sense, since it has not made
anti-communism Anti-communism is Political movement, political and Ideology, ideological opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in the Russian Empire, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, w ...
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 Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a in-group and out-group, group of peo ...
, xenophobic populism, and authoritarianism. 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 Barbara Rosenkranz (née ''Schörghofer''; born 20 June 1958 in Salzburg) is an Austrian politician for the Free List Austria. She was a member of the Parliament of Austria, the National Council, from 2002 to 2008, where she served as Chair of ...
, the Freedom Party's candidate in Austria's 2010 presidential election, was 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.


Around the world


Europe


Belgium

A Belgian neo-Nazi organization,
Bloed, Bodem, Eer en Trouw Bloed, Bodem, Eer en Trouw (BBET; "Blood, Soil, Honour and Loyalty") was a Flemish neo-Nazi group, created in 2004 from a splinter of the Flemish branch of the international Nazi skinhead organization Blood & Honour. History The group rose to ...
(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 Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...
and supporters of censorship. According to Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx and Interior Minister
Patrick Dewael Patrick Yvonne Hugo Dewael, (; born 13 October 1955) is a liberal Belgian politician. A member of the Flemish Liberals and Democrats (''Vlaamse Liberalen en Democraten'', VLD), he served as Minister-President of Flanders from 1999 to 2003. He i ...
, the suspects (11 of whom were members of the military) were preparing to launch terrorist attacks in order to "destabilize"
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...
. 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 Westland New Post (WNP) was a short-lived Belgian extreme right-wing organization founded in March 1981 by Paul Latinus and members of the '' Front de la Jeunesse'' (FJ). The organization ceased to exist after the ''Front de la Jeunesse'' disbande ...
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 Peer may refer to: Sociology * Peer, an equal in age, education or social class; see Peer group * Peer, a member of the peerage; related to the term "peer of the realm" Computing * Peer, one of several functional units in the same layer of a ne ...
, Brussels (Royal military school) and
Zedelgem Zedelgem (; vls, Zillegem) is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Aartrijke, Loppem, Veldegem and Zedelgem proper. On January 1, 2019, Zedelgem had a total population of 2 ...
) as well as 18 private addresses in
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...
. 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 Bosnian Movement of National Pride ( bs, Bosanski pokret nacionalnog ponosa, BPNP) is a far-right, neo-Nazi political organization in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The organization was founded on 5 January 2009 by nationalists in Sarajevo. The movement ...
) was founded in
Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and ...
in July 2009. Its model is the Waffen-SS Handschar Division, which was composed of
Bosniak The Bosniaks ( bs, Bošnjaci, Cyrillic: Бошњаци, ; , ) are a South Slavic ethnic group native to the Southeast European historical region of Bosnia, which is today part of Bosnia and Herzegovina, who share a common Bosnian ancestry, ...
volunteers. It proclaimed its main enemies to be "Jews,
Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: Places Australia * Roma, Queensland, a town ** Roma Airport ** Roma Courthouse ** Electoral district of Roma, defunct ** Town of Roma, defunct town, now part of the Maranoa Regional Council * Roma Street, Brisbane, a ...
, Serbian
Chetniks The Chetniks ( sh-Cyrl-Latn, Четници, Četnici, ; sl, Četniki), formally the Chetnik Detachments of the Yugoslav Army, and also the Yugoslav Army in the Homeland and the Ravna Gora Movement, was a Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Yugoslav royali ...
, the Croatian separatists,
Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito (; sh-Cyrl, Тито, links=no, ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and statesman, serving in various positions from 1943 until his death ...
, Communists, homosexuals and blacks". Its ideology is a mixture of Bosnian nationalism, National Socialism and
white nationalism White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwood ...
. It says "Ideologies that are not welcome in Bosnia are: Zionism, Islamism, communism, capitalism. The only ideology good for us is Bosnian nationalism because it secures national prosperity and social justice..." 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.


Bulgaria

The primary neo-Nazi political party to receive attention in post-WWII Bulgaria is the
Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy Bulgarian National Union – New Democracy (BNU-ND) ( bg, Български национален съюз - Нова демокрация (БНС-НД)) is an ultranationalist political party based in Sofia, Bulgaria. The party claims to be patr ...
. On 13 February of every year since 2003, Bulgarian neo-Nazis and like-minded far-right nationalists gather at
Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and h ...
to honor Hristo Lukov, a late World War II general known for his antisemitic and pro-Nazi stance. From 2003 to 2019, the annual event was hosted by Bulgarian National Union.


Croatia

Neo-Nazis in
Croatia , image_flag = Flag of Croatia.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Croatia.svg , anthem = " Lijepa naša domovino"("Our Beautiful Homeland") , image_map = , map_caption = , capi ...
base their ideology on the writings of Ante Pavelić and the
Ustaše The Ustaše (), also known by anglicised versions Ustasha or Ustashe, was a Croats, Croatian Fascism, fascist and ultranationalism, ultranationalist organization active, as one organization, between 1929 and 1945, formally known as the Ustaš ...
, a
fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
anti-Yugoslav separatist movement. The Ustaše regime committed a
genocide Genocide is the intentional destruction of a people—usually defined as an ethnic, national, racial, or religious group—in whole or in part. Raphael Lemkin coined the term in 1944, combining the Greek word (, "race, people") with the ...
against
Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are the most numerous South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to the Balkans in Southeastern Europe, who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of ...
, Jews and Roma. At the end of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
, many Ustaše members fled to the West, where they found sanctuary and continued their political and
terrorist Terrorism, in its broadest sense, is the use of criminal violence to provoke a state of terror or fear, mostly with the intention to achieve political or religious aims. The term is used in this regard primarily to refer to intentional violen ...
activities (which were tolerated due to
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
hostilities). In 1999, Zagreb's Square of the Victims of Fascism was renamed ''Croatian Nobles Square'', provoking widespread criticism of Croatia's attitude towards the
Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; ...
. In 2000, the Zagreb City Council again renamed the square into ''Square of the Victims of Fascism''. Many streets in Croatia were renamed after the prominent Ustaše figure
Mile Budak Mile Budak (30 August 1889 – 7 June 1945) was a Croatian politician and writer best known as one of the chief ideologists of the Croatian fascist Ustaša movement, which ruled the Independent State of Croatia during World War II in Yugoslavia ...
, 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 Jure Francetić (3 July 1912 – 27/28 December 1942) was a Croatian Ustaša Commissioner for the Bosnia and Herzegovina regions of the Independent State of Croatia (NDH) during World War II, and commander of the 1st Ustaše Regiment of the U ...
" 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, Croatian
penal code A criminal code (or penal code) is a document that compiles all, or a significant amount of a particular jurisdiction's criminal law. Typically a criminal code will contain offences that are recognised in the jurisdiction, penalties that might ...
was amended with provisions prohibiting the public display of Nazi symbols, the propagation of Nazi ideology,
historical revisionism In historiography, historical revisionism is the reinterpretation of a historical account. It usually involves challenging the orthodox (established, accepted or traditional) views held by professional scholars about a historical event or times ...
and
holocaust denial 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: ...
but the amendments were annulled in 2004 since they were not enacted in accordance with a constitutionally prescribed procedure. Nevertheless, since 2006 Croatian penal code explicitly prohibits any type of
hate crime A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
based on race,
color Color (American English) or colour (British English) is the visual perceptual property deriving from the spectrum of light interacting with the photoreceptor cells of the eyes. Color categories and physical specifications of color are associ ...
,
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most culture ...
,
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
, religion or national origin. There have been instances of
hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
in Croatia, such as the use of the phrase (" angSerbs on the
willow Willows, also called sallows and osiers, from the genus ''Salix'', comprise around 400 speciesMabberley, D.J. 1997. The Plant Book, Cambridge University Press #2: Cambridge. of typically deciduous trees and shrubs, found primarily on moist so ...
trees!"). In 2004, an Orthodox church was spray-painted with pro-Ustaše graffiti. During some protests in Croatia, supporters of Ante Gotovina and other at the time suspected war criminals (all acquitted in 2012) have carried
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
symbols and pictures of Pavelić. On 17 May 2007, a concert in Zagreb by
Thompson Thompson may refer to: People * Thompson (surname) * Thompson M. Scoon (1888–1953), New York politician Places Australia *Thompson Beach, South Australia, a locality Bulgaria * Thompson, Bulgaria, a village in Sofia Province Canada ...
, 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 Simon Wiesenthal Center to publicly issue a protest to the Croatian president. Cases of displaying Ustashe memorabilia have been recorded at the Bleiburg commemoration held annually in Austria.


Czech Republic

The government of the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
strictly punishes neo-Nazism ( Czech: ''Neonacismus''). According to a report by the
Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic The Ministry of the Interior of the Czech Republic () is a government ministry tasked with responsibilities in public and internal security, citizenship, identity cards and social security numbers, as well as travel, border, immigration control ...
, neo-Nazis committed more than 211 crimes in 2013. The Czech Republic has various neo-Nazi groups. One of them is the group Wotan Jugend, based in Germany.


Denmark

The Party of the Danes was a Neo-Nazi political party founded in 2011 in Denmark. It was dissolved in 2017 after its founder Daniel Stockholm announced retirement from politics.


Estonia

In 2006, Roman Ilin, a Jewish theatre director from St. Petersburg, Russia, was attacked by neo-Nazis when returning from a 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 Tartu is the second largest city in Estonia after the Northern European country's political and financial capital, Tallinn. Tartu has a population of 91,407 (as of 2021). It is southeast of Tallinn and 245 kilometres (152 miles) northeast of ...
, 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. The neo-Nazi terrorist organization
Feuerkrieg Division The Atomwaffen Division (''Atomwaffen'' meaning "nuclear weapons" in German), also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, is an international far right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network. Formed in 2013 and based in the ...
was found and operates in the country, with some members of the Conservative People's Party of Estonia having been linked to the Feuerkrieg Division. The party's youth organisation Blue Awakening organises an annual torchlight march through
Tallinn Tallinn () is the most populous and capital city of Estonia. Situated on a bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, Tallinn has a population of 437,811 (as of 2022) and administratively lies in the Harju '' ...
on Estonia's
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Many ...
. The event has been harshly criticized by the Simon Wiesenthal Center that described it as "Nuremberg-esque" and likened the ideology of the participants to that of the Estonian nazi collaborators.


Finland

In Finland, neo-Nazism is often connected to the 1930s and 1940s fascist and pro-Nazi
Patriotic People's Movement Patriotic People's Movement ( fi, Isänmaallinen kansanliike, IKL, sv, Fosterländska folkrörelsen) was a Finnish nationalist and anti-communist political party. IKL was the successor of the previously banned Lapua Movement. It existed from 1 ...
(IKL), its youth movement
Blues-and-Blacks The Blue-and-Blacks (Sinimustat) was a fascist youth organization that operated in Finland from 1930 to 1936, initially affiliated with the Lapua movement and then the Patriotic People's Movement (IKL).Mikko Uola: Sinimusta veljeskunta – Isän ...
and its predecessor Lapua Movement. Post-war fascist groups such as
Patriotic People's Movement (1993) The Patriotic People's Movement ( fi, Isänmaallinen Kansallis-Liitto, IKL) was a political organization in Finland. It regarded itself as the successor of the original Patriotic People's Movement that had operated in the interwar years until the ...
, Patriotic People's Front, Patriotic National Movement, Blue-and-Black Movement and many others consciously copy the style of the movement and look up to its leaders as inspiration. A Finns Party councillor and police officer in Seinäjoki caused small scandal wearing the fascist blue-and-black uniform. During the Cold War, all partied deemed fascist were banned according to the
Paris Peace Treaties The Paris Peace Treaties (french: Traités de Paris) were signed on 10 February 1947 following the end of World War II in 1945. The Paris Peace Conference lasted from 29 July until 15 October 1946. The victorious wartime Allied powers (princ ...
and all former fascist activists had to find new political homes. Despite Finlandization, many continued in public life. Three former members of the Waffen SS served as ministers; the Finnish SS Battalion officers Sulo Suorttanen ( Centre Party) and Pekka Malinen ( People's Party) as well as (
Social Democrat Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote soc ...
), a 16-year-old soldier in the consisting of those Finns who rejected the peace treaty and wanted to continue fight with Germans. Neo-Nazi activism was limited to small illegal groups like the clandestine Nazi occultist group led by
Pekka Siitoin Timo Pekka Olavi Siitoin (May 20, 1944 in Varkaus, Finland – December 8, 2003 in Vehmaa, Finland) was a Finnish occultism, occultist and Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi. He was born in Varkaus, Finland. According to Siitoin, he was born to a German ...
who made headlines after arson and bombing of the printing houses of the
Communist Party of Finland The Communist Party of Finland ( fi, Suomen Kommunistinen Puolue, SKP; sv, Finlands Kommunistiska Parti) was a communist political party in Finland. The SKP was a section of Comintern and illegal in Finland until 1944. The SKP was banned ...
. His associates also sent letter bombs to leftists, including to the headquarters of the Finnish Democratic Youth League. Another group called the "New Patriotic People's Movement" bombed the left-wing '' Kansan Uutiset'' newspaper and the embassy of communist Bulgaria. Member of the
Nordic Realm Party The Nordic Realm Party ( sv, Nordiska rikspartiet ; NRP) was a Neo-Nazism, Neo-Nazi political party in Sweden, founded in 1956 as the National Socialist Combat League of Sweden (''Sveriges nationalsocialistiska kampförbund'') by Göran Assar Ored ...
Seppo Seluska was convicted of the torture and murder of a gay Jewish person. The skinhead culture gained momentum during the late 1980s and peaked during the late 1990s. In 1991, Finland received a number of Somali immigrants who became the main target of Finnish skinhead violence in the following years, including four attacks using explosives and a racist murder. Asylum seeker centres were attacked, in
Joensuu Joensuu (; krl, Jovensuu; ) is a city and municipality in North Karelia, Finland, located on the northern shore of Lake Pyhäselkä (northern part of Lake Saimaa) at the mouth of the Pielinen River (''Pielisjoki''). It was founded in 1848. The ...
skinheads would force their way into an asylum seeker centre and start shooting with shotguns. At worst Somalis were assaulted by 50 skinheads at the same time. The most prominent neo-Nazi group is the Nordic Resistance Movement, which is tied to multiple murders, attempted murders and assaults of political enemies was found in 2006 and proscribed in 2019. The second biggest Finnish party, the Finns Party politicians have frequently supported far-right and neo-Nazi movements such as the Finnish Defense League, Soldiers of Odin, Nordic Resistance Movement, Rajat Kiinni (Close the Borders), and Suomi Ensin (Finland First). The NRM and other far-right nationalist parties organize an annual torch march demonstration in Helsinki on the
Finnish independence day Independence Day of Finland ( fi, itsenäisyyspäivä; sv, självständighetsdagen) is a national public holiday, and a flag flying day, held on 6 December to celebrate Finland's declaration of independence from the Russian Empire when the Bols ...
which ends at the
Hietaniemi cemetery The Hietaniemi cemetery ( fi, Hietaniemen hautausmaa, sv, Sandudds begravningsplats) is located mainly in the Lapinlahti quarter and partly in the Etu-Töölö district of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. It is the location for Finnish state fu ...
where members visit the tomb of
Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim Baron Carl Gustaf Emil Mannerheim (, ; 4 June 1867 – 27 January 1951) was a Finnish military leader and statesman. He served as the military leader of the Whites in the Finnish Civil War of 1918, as Regent of Finland (1918–1919), as c ...
and the monument to the Finnish SS Battalion. The event is protested by antifascists, leading to counterdemonstrators being violently assaulted by NRM members who act as security. The demonstration attracts close to 3,000 participants according to the estimates of the police and hundreds of officers patrol Helsinki to prevent violent clashes.


France

In France, the most enthusiastic collaborationists during the German occupation of France had been the National Popular Rally of Marcel Déat (former SFIO members) and the
French Popular Party The French Popular Party (french: Parti populaire français) was a French fascist and anti-semitic political party led by Jacques Doriot before and during World War II. It is generally regarded as the most collaborationist party of France. ...
of
Jacques Doriot Jacques Doriot (; 26 September 1898 – 22 February 1945) was a French politician, initially communist, later fascist, before and during World War II. In 1936, after his exclusion from the Communist Party, he founded the French Popular Party (P ...
(former
French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European ...
members). These two groups, like the Germans, saw themselves as combining ultra-nationalism and
socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes th ...
. In the south there existed the vassal state of
Vichy France Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its t ...
under the military "Hero of the Verdun", Marshal Philippe Pétain whose emphasised an authoritarian Catholic conservative politics. Following the
liberation of France The liberation of France in the Second World War was accomplished through diplomacy, politics and the combined military efforts of the Allied Powers, Free French forces in London and Africa, as well as the French Resistance. Nazi Germany inv ...
and the creation of the Fourth French Republic, collaborators were prosecuted during the and nearly 800 put to death for treason under
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Governm ...
. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the main concern of the French radical right was the collapse of the French Empire, in particular the
Algerian War The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...
, which led to the creation of the OAS. Outside of this, individual fascistic activists such as
Maurice Bardèche Maurice Bardèche (1 October 1907 – 30 July 1998) was a French art critic and journalist, better known as one of the leading exponents of neo-fascism in post– World War II Europe. Bardèche was also the brother-in-law of the collaborationis ...
(brother-in-law of
Robert Brasillach Robert Brasillach (; 31 March 1909 – 6 February 1945) was a French author and journalist. Brasillach was the editor of ''Je suis partout'', a nationalist newspaper which advocated fascist movements and supported Jacques Doriot. After the liberat ...
), as well as SS-veterans Saint-Loup and René Binet, were active in France and involved in the European Social Movement and later the New European Order, alongside similar groups from across Europe. Early neo-fascist groups included Jeune Nation, which introduced the
Celtic cross The Celtic cross is a form of Christian cross featuring a nimbus or ring that emerged in Ireland, France and Great Britain in the Early Middle Ages. A type of ringed cross, it became widespread through its use in the stone high crosses e ...
into use by radical right groups (an association which would spread internationally). A "neither East, nor West" pan-Europeanism was most popular among French fascistic activists until the late 1960s, partly motivated by feelings of national vulnerability following the collapse of their empire; thus the Belgian SS-veteran Jean-François Thiriart's group Jeune Europe also had a considerable French contingent. It was the 1960s, during the Fifth French Republic, that a considerable upturn in French neo-fascism occurred; some of it in response to the
Protests of 1968 The protests of 1968 comprised a worldwide escalation of social conflicts, predominantly characterized by popular rebellions against state militaries and the bureaucracies. In the United States, these protests marked a turning point for the ci ...
. The most explicitly pro-Nazi of these was the FANE of
Mark Fredriksen Mark Fredriksen (18 November 1936 – 25 August 2011) was a French extreme right figure and the founder, in 1966, of the neo-Nazi '' Fédération d'action nationaliste et européenne''. Biography Fredriksen co-edited ''Notre Europe'', which was ...
. Neo-fascist groups included
Pierre Sidos Pierre Sidos (6 January 1927 – 4 September 2020) was a French far right nationalist, neo-Pétainist, and antisemitic activist. One of the main figures of post-WWII nationalism in France, Sidos was the founder and leader of the nationalist ...
' Occident, the Ordre Nouveau (which was banned after violent clashes with the Trotskyist LCR) and the student-based
Groupe Union Défense Groupe Union Défense (originally named ''Groupe Union Droit''), better known as GUD, is a French far-right students' union formed in the 1960s. After a period of inactivity it relaunched in 2022. The GUD was based in Panthéon-Assas University ...
. A number of these activists such as
François Duprat François Duprat (26 October 1940 – 18 March 1978) was an essayist and politician, a founding member of the Front National party and part of the leadership until his assassination in 1978. Duprat was one of the main architects in the introducti ...
were instrumental in founding the
Front National The National Rally (french: Rassemblement National, ; RN), until 2018 known as the National Front (french: link=no, Front National, ; FN), is a far-rightAbridged list of reliable sources that refer to National Rally as far-right: Academic: * ...
under
Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...
; but the FN also included a broader selection from the French hard-right, including not only these neo-fascist elements, but also Catholic integrists, monarchists, Algerian War veterans,
Poujadists Pierre Poujade (; 1 December 1920 – 27 August 2003) was a French populist politician after whom the Poujadist movement was named. Biography Pierre Poujade was born in Saint-Céré (Le Lot), France, and studied at Collège Saint-Eugène d'Au ...
and national-conservatives. Others from these neo-fascist micro-groups formed the
Parti des forces nouvelles Parti des forces nouvelles (PFN) or Party of New Forces was a French far-right political party formed in November 1974 from the ''Comité faire front'', a group of anti-Jean-Marie Le Pen dissidents who had split from the National Front (FN). De ...
working against Le Pen. Within the FN itself, Duprat founded the FANE-backed Groupes nationalistes révolutionnaires faction, until his 1978 assassination. The subsequent history of the French hard right has been the conflict between the national-conservative controlled FN and "national revolutionary" (fascistic and National Bolshevik) splinter or opposition groups. The latter include groups in the tradition of Thiriart and Duprat, such as the
Parti communautaire national-européen The Parti Communautaire National-Européen (PCN) is a Belgium-based political organisation led by Luc Michel, a former member of the neo-Nazi FANE party. A largely National Bolshevik movement, it also has activists in France.Troisième voie Third Way (french: Troisième voie) is a French Third Position organization founded in 1985 by a merger of the small neo-fascist group (English: National Revolutionary Movement), which gathered former members of François Duprat's Revolutiona ...
, the
Nouvelle Résistance Nouvelle Résistance (NR) was a French far-right group created in August 1991 by Christian Bouchet as an offshoot of ''Troisième Voie'' (Third Way), which was headed by Bouchet. Dissolved in 1997, NR described themselves as "national revolutiona ...
of
Christian Bouchet Christian Bouchet (born 17 January 1955) is a French far-right journalist and politician. Biography Coming from a far-right family with monarchist and Organisation armée secrète links, in 1970 Bouchet joined the monarchist group '' Restaura ...
,Stratégies et pratiques du mouvement nationaliste-révolutionnaire français : départs, desseins et destin d'Unité Radicale (1989–2002)
, ''Le Banquet'', n°19, 2004
Unité Radicale and most recently Bloc identitaire. Direct splits from the FN include the 1987 founded FANE-revival Parti nationaliste français et européen, which was disbanded in 2000. Neo-Nazi organizations are outlawed in the Fifth French Republic, yet a significant number of them still exist.


Germany

Following the failure of the National Democratic Party of Germany in the election of 1969, small groups committed to the revival of Nazi ideology began to emerge in Germany. The NPD splintered, giving rise to paramilitary ''Wehrsportgruppe''. These groups attempted to organize under a national umbrella organization, the Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists. Neo-Nazi movements in
East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In t ...
began as a rebellion against the Communist regime; the banning of Nazi symbols helped neo-Nazism to develop as an anti-authoritarian youth movement. Mail order networks developed to send illegal Nazi-themed music cassettes and merchandise to Germany. Turks in Germany have been victims of neo-Nazi violence on several occasions. In 1992, two young girls were killed in the Mölln arson attack along with their grandmother; nine others were injured. In 1993, five Turks were killed in the Solingen arson attack. In response to the fire Turkish youth in Solingen rioted chanting "Nazis out!" and "We want Nazi blood". In other parts of Germany police had to intervene to protect skinheads from assault. The Hoyerswerda riots and
Rostock-Lichtenhagen riots From August 22 to August 24, 1992 violent xenophobic riots took place in the Lichtenhagen district of Rostock, Germany; these were the worst mob attacks against migrants in postwar Germany. Stones and petrol bombs were thrown at an apartment bloc ...
targeting migrants and ethnic minorities living in Germany also took place during the 1990s. Between 2000 and 2007, eight Turkish immigrants, one Greek and a German policewoman were murdered by the neo-Nazi National Socialist Underground. The NSU has its roots in the former East German area of
Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...
, which ''
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...
'' identified as "one of the heartlands of Germany's radical right". The German intelligence services have been criticized for extravagant distributions of cash to informants within the far-right movement. Tino Brandt publicly boasted on television that he had received around €100,000 in funding from the German state. Though Brandt did not give the state "useful information", the funding supported recruitment efforts in Thuringia during the early 1990s. (Brandt was eventually sentenced to five and a half years in prison on for 66 counts of
child prostitution Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child p ...
and child sexual abuse). Police were only able to locate the killers when they were tipped off following a botched bank robbery in
Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...
. As the police closed in on them, the two men committed suicide. They had evaded capture for 13 years. Beate Zschäpe, who had been living with the two men in
Zwickau Zwickau (; is, with around 87,500 inhabitants (2020), the fourth-largest city of Saxony after Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz and it is the seat of the Zwickau District. The West Saxon city is situated in the valley of the Zwickau Mulde (German: ' ...
, turned herself in to the German authorities a few days later. Zschäpe's trial began in May 2013; she was charged with nine counts of murder. She pleaded "not guilty". According to ''The Guardian'', the NSU may have enjoyed protection and support from certain "elements of the state".
Anders Behring Breivik Fjotolf Hansen (born 13 February 1979), better known by his birth name Anders Behring Breivik () and by his pseudonym Andrew Berwick, is a Norwegian far-right domestic terrorist, known for committing the 2011 Norway attacks on 22 July 2011. On ...
, a fan of Zschäpe's, reportedly sent her a letter from prison in 2012. 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. In January 2020, Combat 18 was banned in Germany, and raids directed against the organization were made across the country. In March 2020, United German Peoples and Tribes, which is part of Reichsbürger, a neo-Nazi movement that rejects the German state as a legal entity, was raided by the German police.
Holocaust denial 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: ...
is a crime, according to the German Criminal Code ( Strafgesetzbuch § 86a) and § 130 (public incitement).


Greece

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
Georgios Papadopoulos Geórgios Papadopoulos (; el, Γεώργιος Παπαδόπουλος ; 5 May 1919 – 27 June 1999) was a Greek military officer and political leader who ruled Greece as a military dictator from 1967 to 1973. He joined the Royal Hellenic ...
. The official reason given for the coup was that a "communist conspiracy" had infiltrated all levels of society. 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 party
Golden Dawn Golden Dawn or The Golden Dawn may refer to: Organizations * Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, a nineteenth century magical order based in Britain ** The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, Inc., a modern revival founded in 1977 ** Open Source ...
(Χρυσή Αυγή – Chrysi Avyi) is generally labelled neo-Nazi, although the group rejects this label. A few Golden Dawn members participated in the
Bosnian War The Bosnian War ( sh, Rat u Bosni i Hercegovini / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. The war is commonly seen as having started ...
in the Greek Volunteer Guard (GVG) and were present in Srebrenica during the Srebrenica massacre.16/07/2005 article
in Eleftherotypia. (Greek)
The party has its roots in Papadopoulos' regime. There is often collaboration between the state and neo-Nazi elements in Greece. In 2018, during the trial of sixty-nine members of the Golden Dawn party, evidence was presented of the close ties between the party and the
Hellenic Police The Hellenic Police ( el, Ελληνική Αστυνομία, ''Ellinikí Astynomía'', abbreviated ) is the national police service and one of the three security forces of the Hellenic Republic. It is a large agency with responsibilities ran ...
. Golden Dawn has spoken out in favour of the
Assad regime Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
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 6 May 2012 legislative election, Golden Dawn received 6.97% of the votes, entering the Greek parliament for the first time with 21 representatives, but when the elected parties were unable to form a
coalition government A coalition government is a form of government in which political parties cooperate to form a government. The usual reason for such an arrangement is that no single party has achieved an absolute majority after an election, an atypical outcome in ...
a second election was held in June 2012. Golden Dawn received 6.92% of the votes in the June election and entered the
Greek parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the He ...
with 18 representatives. Since 2008, neo-Nazi violence in Greece has targeted immigrants,
leftist Left-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy. Left-wing politics typically involve a concern for those in so ...
s and anarchist activists. In 2009, certain far-right groups announced that Agios Panteleimonas in Athens was off limits to immigrants. Neo-Nazi patrols affiliated with the Golden Dawn party began attacking migrants in this neighborhood. The violence continued escalating through 2010. In 2013, after the murder of
anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers wer ...
rapper Pavlos Fyssas, the number of
hate crimes A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
in Greece declined for several years until 2017. Many of the crimes in 2017 have been attributed to other groups like the Crypteia Organisation and Combat 18 Hellas.


Hungary

In Hungary, the historical political party which allied itself ideologically with German National Socialism and drew inspiration from it, was the Arrow Cross Party of
Ferenc Szálasi Ferenc Szálasi (; 6 January 1897 – 12 March 1946), the leader of the Arrow Cross Party – Hungarist Movement, became the "Leader of the Nation" (''Nemzetvezető'') as head of state and simultaneously prime minister of the Kingdom of Hunga ...
. They referred to themselves explicitly as National Socialists and within Hungarian politics this tendency is known as
Hungarism The Arrow Cross Party ( hu, Nyilaskeresztes Párt – Hungarista Mozgalom, , abbreviated NYKP) was a far-right Hungarian ultranationalist party led by Ferenc Szálasi, which formed a government in Hungary they named the Government of National U ...
. After the Second World War, exiles such as Árpád Henney kept the Hungarist tradition alive. Following the fall of the
Hungarian People's Republic The Hungarian People's Republic ( hu, Magyar Népköztársaság) was a one-party state, one-party socialist state from 20 August 1949 to 23 October 1989. It was governed by the Hungarian Socialist Workers' Party, which was under the influence ...
in 1989, which was a Marxist-Leninist state and a member of the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
, many new parties emerged. Amongst these was the Hungarian National Front of
István Győrkös István Győrkös (born 20 November 1940) is a Hungarian far-right political figure and convicted murderer. He was the founder and leader of the Hungarist and neo-Nazi paramilitary movement Hungarian National Front (MNA) from 1989 to 2016. He had ...
, which was a Hungarist party and considered itself the heirs of Arrow Cross-style National Socialism (a self-description they explicitly embraced). In the 2000s, Győrkös' movement moved closer to a national communist and neo-Eurasian position, aligned with Aleksandr Dugin, cooperating with the Hungarian Workers' Party. Some Hungarists opposed this and founded the Pax Hungarica Movement. In modern Hungary, the ultranationalist Jobbik is regarded by some scholars as a neo-Nazi party; for example, it has been termed as such by Randolph L. Braham. The party denies being neo-Nazi, although "there is extensive proof that the leading members of the party made no effort to hide their racism and anti-Semitism." Rudolf Paksa, a scholar of the Hungarian far-right, describes Jobbik as "anti-Semitic, racist, homophobic and chauvinistic" but not as neo-Nazi because it does not pursue the establishment of a totalitarian regime. Historian
Krisztián Ungváry Krisztián Ungváry (born 30 October 1969) is a Hungarian historian of 20th century political and military history. He wrote about the siege of Budapest in World War II and researched the work of the secret service under the communist period ...
writes that "It is safe to say that certain messages of Jobbik can be called open neo-Nazi propaganda. However, it is quite certain that the popularity of the party is not due to these statements."


Italy

Following the last stand of Italian Fascism with the German-supported
Italian Social Republic The Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, ; RSI), known as the National Republican State of Italy ( it, Stato Nazionale Repubblicano d'Italia, SNRI) prior to December 1943 but more popularly known as the Republic of Salò ...
towards the end of the Second World War, those elements within Italian society which remained loyal to the legacy of
Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in ...
and fascism (especially veterans of the
National Republican Army The National Republican Army (Esercito Nazionale Repubblicano, or ENR) was the army of the Italian Social Republic ( it, Repubblica Sociale Italiana, or RSI) from 1943 to 1945 that fought on the side of Nazi Germany during World War II. The E ...
), rejecting both the
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
alternatives prominent in mainstream Italian politics, founded the
Italian Social Movement The Italian Social Movement ( it, Movimento Sociale Italiano, MSI) was a neo-fascist political party in Italy. A far-right party, it presented itself until the 1990s as the defender of Italian fascism's legacy, and later moved towards national ...
in 1946 under
Giorgio Almirante Giorgio Almirante (27 June 1914 – 22 May 1988) was an Italian politician, the founder and leader of neo-fascist Italian Social Movement until his retirement in 1987. Early life Almirante was born at Salsomaggiore Terme, in Emilia Romagna ...
. The MSI was regarded as the successor of the
National Fascist Party The National Fascist Party ( it, Partito Nazionale Fascista, PNF) was a political party in Italy, created by Benito Mussolini as the political expression of Italian Fascism and as a reorganization of the previous Italian Fasces of Combat. The ...
and the Republican Fascist Party. The motto of the party was "not repudiate, not restore", indicating a more moderate parliamentary democratic
neo-fascism Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...
, which did not heap scorn on the recent past. Italian society did not undergo a process as extensive as the post-war denazification campaign in occupied Germany, partly due to the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because t ...
and the Western Allies not wanting Italy to move towards the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP) or Treaty of Warsaw, formally the Treaty of Friendship, Cooperation and Mutual Assistance, was a collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Poland, between the Soviet Union and seven other Eastern Bloc socialist republi ...
(which was not an impossibility at the time). The Italian Social Movement held a similar position in Italian politics that the National Democratic Party of Germany did in Germany; careful enough to stay within the laws of the new democratic state, but still clearly identified with the Axis legacy. During the 1950s, the MSI moved closer to bourgeois conservative politics on the domestic front, which led to radical youths founding hardline splinter groups, such as Pino Rauti's Ordine Nuovo (later succeeded by Ordine Nero) and Stefano Delle Chiaie's
Avanguardia Nazionale The National Vanguard ( it, Avanguardia Nazionale) is a name that has been used for at least two neo-fascist and neo-Nazi groups in Italy. Original group The original National Vanguard was an extra-parliamentary movement formed as a breakaway gr ...
. These organisations were influenced by the esotericism of
Julius Evola Giulio Cesare Andrea "Julius" Evola (; 19 May 1898 – 11 June 1974) was an Italian philosopher, poet, painter, Esotericism, esotericist, and Far-right politics, radical-right ideologue. Evola regarded his values as aristocracy (class), aristocra ...
and considered the Waffen-SS and Romanian leader Corneliu Zelea Codreanu a reference, moving beyond Italian fascism. They were implicated in paramiliary attacks during the late 1960s to the early 1980s, such as the Piazza Fontana bombing. Delle Chiaie had even assisted Junio Valerio Borghese in a failed 1970 coup attempt known as the Golpe Borghese, which attempted to reinstate a fascist state in Italy. During the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Italian Social Movement under the leadership of
Gianfranco Fini Gianfranco Fini (born 3 January 1952) is an Italian politician who served as the president of the Italian Chamber of Deputies from 2008 to 2013. He is the former leader of the far-right Italian Social Movement, the conservative National Allianc ...
moved closer to conservative politics, adopting a "post-fascist" position. This was opposed by the fascist element under Rauti who created Fiamma Tricolore in 1995. The party was dissolved under Fini in 1995, who replaced it with the National Alliance. This party rapidly moved away from any connection to the fascist past, towards the center-right in coalition with
Silvio Berlusconi Silvio Berlusconi ( ; ; born 29 September 1936) is an Italian media tycoon and politician who served as Prime Minister of Italy in four governments from 1994 to 1995, 2001 to 2006 and 2008 to 2011. He was a member of the Chamber of Deputies f ...
's
Forza Italia Forza ItaliaThe name is not usually translated into English: ''forza'' is the second-person singular imperative of ''forzare'', in this case translating to "to compel" or "to press", and so means something like "Forward, Italy", "Come on, Ital ...
. The two parties merged in 2009 to become The People of Freedom. Alessandra Mussolini, troubled by Fini's explicit condemnation of her grandfather broke with the AN to found
Social Action In sociology, social action, also known as Weberian social action, is an act which takes into account the actions and reactions of individuals (or ' agents'). According to Max Weber, "Action is 'social' insofar as its subjective meaning takes ...
. Aside from Fiamma Tricolore, the other extant neo-fascist groups in Italy are Forza Nuova, the Fronte Nazionale, Movimento Idea Sociale (another Rauti creation) and the cultural ''
CasaPound CasaPound Italia (abbr. CPI; "House of Ezra Pound") is an Italian neo-fascist movement and formerly a political party born as a network of far-right social centres arising from the occupation of a state-owned building by squatters in the nei ...
'' project. In terms of current size, they are mostly negligible.


Ireland

The National Socialist Irish Workers Party, a small party, was active between 1968 and the late 1980s, producing neonazi propaganda pamphlets and sending threatening messages to Jews and Black people living in Ireland.


Netherlands

Noteworthy neo-Nazi movements and parties in the Netherlands include the National European Social Movement (NESB), the
Dutch People's Union The Dutch People's Union ( nl, Nederlandse Volks-Unie, , NVU) is a Dutch Neo-Nazism, Neo-Nazi political party. The party supports a merger between the Netherlands and Flanders. History The party was founded as a political party on 27 May 1971 ...
(NVU), the Centre Party/
Centre Party '86 The Centre Party '86, ( Dutch: ''Centrumpartij '86''; abbr. CP’86) briefly known as the National People's Party/CP'86 ( Dutch:''Nationale Volkspartij/CP’86'') was a Dutch far-right political party which existed between 1986 and 1998. The par ...
(CP/CP'86), the National Alliance (NA), and the Nationalist People's Movement (NVB). Individuals of note have included ''Waffen-SS'' volunteer and NESB founder Paul van Tienen, war-time collaborator and NESB co-founder Jan Wolthuis, former NVU member Bernhard Postma, the "Black Widow" Florentine Rost van Tonningen, former NVU leader
Joop Glimmerveen Johann Georg (Joop) Glimmerveen (14 November 1928 – 25 December 2022) was a Dutch far right politician. He was active on the far right from 1971. Early life Born in Utrecht, Glimmerveen was educated in Hilversum and Amsterdam before starting ...
, CP/CP'86 member and NVB leader Wim Beaux, former CP/CP'86 member and NA leader Jan Teijn, former NVU member and "Hitler-lookalike" Stefan Wijkamp, former CP'86 member and current NVU leader
Constant Kusters Constant Kusters (born 12 December 1970 in Oosterbeek) is a Dutch politician. He is chairman of the Dutch People's Union. This party has been mainly known for its Neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post– World War II militant, social, ...
, and former NVU member and NA leader Virginia Kapić. Both the
General Intelligence and Security Service The General Intelligence and Security Service ( nl, Algemene Inlichtingen- en Veiligheidsdienst, AIVD; ) is the intelligence and security agency of the Netherlands, tasked with domestic, foreign and signals intelligence and protecting nationa ...
and non-governmental initiatives such as the far-left anti-fascist research group Kafka research neo-Nazism and other forms of political extremism and have attested to the local presence of international movements such as Blood & Honour, Combat 18, the
Racial Volunteer Force The Racial Volunteer Force (RVF) is a violent neo-Nazi splinter group of the United Kingdom, British neo-Nazi group Combat 18 (C18) with close ties to the far right paramilitary group, British Freedom Fighters. Although originating as a breakaway g ...
, and The Base, and expressed concern at the online dissemination of alt-right and far-right accelerationist thought in the Netherlands.


Poland

Under the Polish Constitution promoting any totalitarian system such as
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 ...
,
fascism Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and t ...
, or
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
, as well as inciting violence and/or racial hatred is illegal. This was further re-enforced in the Polish Penal Code where discrediting any group or persons on national, religious, or racial grounds carries a sentence of 3 years. Although several small far-right and anti-semitic organisations exist, most notably NOP and ONR (both of which exist legally), they frequently adhere to
Polish nationalism Polish nationalism is a form of nationalism which asserts that the Poles are a nation and promotes the cultural unity of Poles. Norman Davies, in the context of Polish nationalism, generally defined nationalism as "a doctrine ... to create a na ...
and
National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National Democracy (Poland) * National Democracy (Spain) See also * Civic nationalism, a general concept * ...
, in which Nazism is generally considered to be against
ultra-nationalist Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coercion) to pursue its sp ...
principles, and although they are classed as
nationalist Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
and
fascist Fascism is a far-right, authoritarian, ultra-nationalist political ideology and movement,: "extreme militaristic nationalism, contempt for electoral democracy and political and cultural liberalism, a belief in natural social hierarchy and the ...
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.PAP (2008-06-21)
Faszystowskie gesty w Myślenicach.
''Dziennik.pl'' Kraj. Retrieved 25 January 2013.
Self-declared neo-Nazi movements in Poland frequently treat Polish culture and traditions with contempt, are anti-Christian and translate various texts from German, meaning they are considered movements favouring
Germanisation Germanisation, or Germanization, is the spread of the German language, people and culture. It was a central idea of German conservative thought in the 19th and the 20th centuries, when conservatism and ethnic nationalism went hand in hand. In lin ...
. According to several reporter investigations the Polish government turns a blind eye to these groups and they are free to spread their ideology, frequently dismissing their existence as conspiracy theories, dismissing acts political provocations, deeming them too insignificant to pose a threat, or attempting to justify or diminish the seriousness of their actions.


Russia

Some observers have noted a subjective irony of Russians embracing Nazism, because one of Hitler's ambitions at the start of
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
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.).
William W. Hagen William W. Hagen (born 1942) is a historian and professor of history at the University of California-Davis. Hagen's focus is on modern European history, primarily in relation to Germany and Eastern Europe. He obtained his B.A. from Harvard Univer ...
(2012).
German History in Modern Times: Four Lives of the Nation
''. Cambridge University Press. p. 313.
At the end of the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union, over 25 million Soviet citizens had died. Russian National Unity (RNE) was a Neo-Nazi group founded in 1990 and was led by
Alexander Barkashov Alexander Petrovich Barkashov (russian: Алекса́ндр Петро́вич Баркашо́в, sometimes transliterated as ''Aleksandr''; born 6 October 1953) is a Russian political leader and far-right nationalist who in 1990 founded Russian ...
, who 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 — Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (russian: ЛДПР — Либерально-демократическая партия России, LDPR — Liberal'no-demokraticheskaya partiya Rossii) is a right-wing populist and ultranationalist ...
(LDPR). As of 1997, the members RNE were called Soratnik (comrades in arms), receive combat training at locations near Moscow, and many of them work as security officers or armed guards. RNE was banned in 1999 by Moscow's court in 1999, after which the group faded away. In 2007, it was claimed that Russian neo-Nazis accounted for "half of the world's total". 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 A hate crime (also known as a bias-motivated crime or bias crime) is a prejudice-motivated crime which occurs when a perpetrator targets a victim because of their membership (or perceived membership) of a certain social group or racial demograph ...
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." Under serious police pressure, the amount of racist and neo-Nazi acts began to decline from 2009 in Russia.
Atomwaffen Division Russland The Atomwaffen Division (''Atomwaffen'' meaning "nuclear weapons" in German), also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, is an international far right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network. Formed in 2013 and based in the ...
is a neo-Nazi terrorist group in Russia tied to multiple mass murder plots. AWDR was found by former members of National Socialist Society responsible for 27 murders and AWDR is connected to local chapter of the Order of Nine Angles responsible for rapes, ritual murders and drug trafficking. The Russian authorities raided an Atomwaffen compound in
Ulan-Ude Ulan-Ude (; bua, Улаан-Үдэ, , ; russian: Улан-Удэ, p=ʊˈlan ʊˈdɛ; mn, Улаан-Үд, , ) is the capital city of the Republic of Buryatia, Russia, located about southeast of Lake Baikal on the Uda River at its confluence wi ...
and uncovered illegal weapons and explosives.


Serbia

An example of neo-Nazism in Serbia is the group Nacionalni stroj. In 2006 charges were brought against 18 leading members. The other organization was Obraz which was banned on 12 June 2012 by Constitutional Court of Serbia. Besides political parties, there are a few militant neo-Nazi organizations in Serbia, such as Blood & Honour Serbia and Combat 18. Earlier, on 18 June 1990, Vojislav Šešelj organized the Serbian Chetnik Movement (SČP) though it was not permitted official registration due to its obvious Chetnik identification. On 23 February 1991, it merged with the National Radical Party (NRS), establishing the Serbian Radical Party (SRS) with Šešelj as president and
Tomislav Nikolić Tomislav Nikolić ( sr-Cyrl, Томислав Николић, ; born 15 February 1952) is a Serbian retired politician who served as the president of Serbia from 2012 to 2017. A former member of the far-right Serbian Radical Party (SRS), he di ...
as vice president. It was a Chetnik party, oriented towards
neo-fascism Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration sent ...
with a striving for the territorial expansion of Serbia.


Slovakia

The Slovak political party Kotlebists – People's Party Our Slovakia, which is represented in the National Council and
European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the Legislature, legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven Institutions of the European Union, institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and in ...
, is widely characterized as neo-Nazi. Kotleba has softened its image over time and now disputes that is fascist or neo-Nazi, even suing a media outlet that described it as neo-Nazi. As of 2020, the party spokesperson was Ondrej Durica, a former member of the neo-Nazi band (White Resistance). 2020 candidate Andrej Medvecky was convicted of attacking a black man while shouting racial slurs; another candidate, Anton Grňo, was fined for making a fascist salute. The party still celebrates 14 March, the anniversary of the founding of the fascist
Slovak State Slovak may refer to: * Something from, related to, or belonging to Slovakia (''Slovenská republika'') * Slovaks The Slovaks ( sk, Slováci, singular: ''Slovák'', feminine: ''Slovenka'', plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group ...
. In 2020, party leader Marian Kotleba was facing trial for writing checks for 1,488 euros, alleged to be a reference to
Fourteen Words Fourteen Words (also abbreviated 14 or 14/ 88) is a reference to two slogans originated by David Eden Lane, one of nine founding members of the defunct white separatist insurrectionary terrorist organization The Order. The slogans have served ...
and Heil Hitler.


Spain

Spanish neo-Nazism is often connected to the country's Francoist and Falangist past, and nurtured by the ideology of the National Catholicism. According to a study by the newspaper ''ABC'',
black people Black is a racialized classification of people, usually a political and skin color-based category for specific populations with a mid to dark brown complexion. Not all people considered "black" have dark skin; in certain countries, often in ...
are the ones who have suffered the most attacks by neo-Nazi groups, followed by Maghrebis and
Latin Americans Latin Americans ( es, Latinoamericanos; pt, Latino-americanos; ) are the citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their diasporas are multi-et ...
. They have also caused deaths in the anti-fascist group, such as the murder of the Madrid-born sixteen-year-old
Carlos Palomino Carlos Palomino (born August 10, 1949) is a Mexican former professional boxer. Palomino is a former World Welterweight Champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Palomino is also an actor who has been featured in several telev ...
on 11 November 2007, stabbed with a knife by a soldier in the Legazpi metro station (
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
). There have been other neo-Nazi cultural organizations such as the Spanish Circle of Friends of Europe (CEDADE) and the Circle of Indo-European Studies (CEI). The extreme right has little electoral support, with the presence of these groups of 0.36% (if the
Plataforma per Catalunya Plataforma per Catalunya (PxC; en, Platform for Catalonia) was a far-right political party rooted in Catalonia, Spain, which centred its political agenda around controlling immigration and was opposed to Catalan independence. It was strongly anti- ...
(PxC) party is excluded with 66007 votes (0.39%), according to the voting data of the European elections of 2014. The first extreme right party FE de las JONS obtains 0.13% of the votes (21 577 votes), after doubling its results after the crisis; this is followed by the far-right party La España en Marcha (LEM) with 0.1% of the votes,
National Democracy National Democracy may refer to: * National Democracy (Czech Republic) * National Democracy (Italy) * National Democracy (Philippines) * National Democracy (Poland) * National Democracy (Spain) See also * Civic nationalism, a general concept * ...
(DN) of the far-right with 0.08%, Republican Social Movement (MSR) (far-right) with 0.05% of the votes.


Sweden

Neo-Nazi activities in Sweden have previously been limited to
white supremacist White supremacy or white supremacism is the belief that white people are superior to those of other races and thus should dominate them. The belief favors the maintenance and defense of any power and privilege held by white people. White s ...
groups, few of which have a membership over a few hundred members. The main neo-Nazi organization is the Nordic Resistance Movement, a political movement which engages in martial arts training and paramilitary exercises and which has been called a terrorist group. They are also active in
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
and
Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of Denmark , establish ...
; the branch in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bot ...
 was banned in 2019.


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 The Swiss Nationalist Party (german: Partei National Orientierter Schweizer, lit=Party of Nationally Oriented Swiss, abbreviated to PNOS; french: Parti nationaliste suisse, abbreviated to PNS; it, Partito nazionalista svizzero) was a far-right Neo ...
in 2000, which resulted in an improved organizational structure of the neo-Nazi and white supremacist scene.


Ukraine

In 1991, the
Social-National Party of Ukraine The Social-National Party of Ukraine ( uk, Соціал-національна партія України) (SNPU) was a Far-right politics, far-right party in Ukraine that would later become Svoboda (political party), Svoboda. The party combined ...
(SNPU) was founded. The party combined radical nationalism and neo-Nazi features.Local Jews in shock after Ukrainian city of Konotop elects neo-Nazi mayor
". ''The Jerusalem Post''. 21 December 2015.
It was renamed and rebranded 13 years later as All-Ukrainian Association "Svoboda" in 2004 under Oleh Tyahnybok. In 2016, ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
'' reported that "in Ukrainian municipal elections held n October 2015 the neo-Nazi Svoboda party won 10 percent of the vote in
Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the seventh-most populous city in Europe. Ky ...
and placed second in
Lviv Lviv ( uk, Львів) is the largest city in Western Ukraine, western Ukraine, and the List of cities in Ukraine, seventh-largest in Ukraine, with a population of . It serves as the administrative centre of Lviv Oblast and Lviv Raion, and is o ...
. The Svoboda party's candidate won the mayoral election in the city of
Konotop Konotop ( uk, Конотоп ) is a city in Sumy Oblast in northeastern Ukraine. Konotop serves as the administrative center of Konotop Raion. Konotop is located about 129 km from Sumy, the oblast administrative center. It is host to K ...
."Congress Has Removed a Ban on Funding Neo-Nazis From Its Year-End Spending Bill
". ''
The Nation ''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper t ...
''. 14 January 2016.
In 2015, the Svoboda party mayor in Konotop reportedly had the number " 14/88" displayed on his car and refused to display the city's official flag because it contains a
star of David The Star of David (). is a generally recognized symbol of both Jewish identity and Judaism. Its shape is that of a hexagram: the compound of two equilateral triangles. A derivation of the ''seal of Solomon'', which was used for decorative ...
, and has implied that Jews were responsible for the
Holodomor The Holodomor ( uk, Голодомо́р, Holodomor, ; derived from uk, морити голодом, lit=to kill by starvation, translit=moryty holodom, label=none), also known as the Terror-Famine or the Great Famine, was a man-made famin ...
. The topic of
Ukrainian nationalism Ukrainian nationalism refers to the promotion of the unity of Ukrainians as a people and it also refers to the promotion of the identity of Ukraine as a nation state. The nation building that arose as nationalism grew following the French ...
and its alleged relationship to neo-Nazism came to the fore in polemics about the more radical elements involved in the
Euromaidan Euromaidan (; uk, Євромайдан, translit=Yevromaidan, lit=Euro Square, ), or the Maidan Uprising, was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine, which began on 21 November 2013 with large protests in Maidan Nezalezhno ...
protests and subsequent
Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War; uk, російсько-українська війна, rosiisko-ukrainska viina. has been ongoing between Russia (alongside Russian separatists in Ukraine) and Ukraine since February 2014. Following Ukraine's Rev ...
from 2013 onward.Ukraine: Svoboda Party Building Close Relations with Germany's Neo-Nazi NPD Party
". ''
International Business Times The ''International Business Times'' is an American online news publication that publishes five national editions in four languages. The publication, sometimes called ''IBTimes'' or ''IBT'', offers news, opinion and editorial commentary on busi ...
''. 19 March 2014.
Some Russian, Latin American, U.S. and Israeli media have attempted to portray the Ukrainian nationalists in the conflict as neo-Nazi. The persons regarded as Ukraine's national heroes and increasingly celebrated in the nationalist revival of the 2014 period — Stepan Bandera, Roman Shukhevych or
Dmytro Klyachkivsky Dmytro Klyachkivsky ( uk, Клячківський Дмитро (Роман), also known by his pseudonym Klim Savur; 4 November 1911 – 12 February 1945), also known by his pseudonyms Klym Savur, Okhrim, and Bilash, was a commander of the Ukrain ...
of the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) and Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) — at times supported and then opposed the presence of the Third Reich in Ukraine. The Azov Battalion, founded in 2014, has been described as a far-right militia, with connections to neo-Nazism and members wearing neo-Nazi and SS symbols and regalia, and expressing neo-Nazi views. According to Vyacheslav Likhachev of the , members of far-right (including neo-Nazi) groups played an important role on the pro-Russian side, arguably more so than on the Ukrainian side, especially during the early 2014. Members and former members of the
National Bolshevik Party The National Bolshevik Party (NBP; russian: Национал-большевистская партия), also known as the Nazbols (russian: нацболы), operated from 1993 to 2007 as a Russian political party with a political program of N ...
, Russian National Unity (RNU), Eurasian Youth Union, and Cossack groups participated in starting branches for the recruitment of the separatists.Yudina, Natalia (2015)
"Russian nationalists fight Ukrainian war"
, in: ''Journal on Baltic Security'', Volume 1, Issue 1 ( de Gruyter). pp.47–69. doi:10.1515/jobs-2016-0012.
A former RNU member, Pavel Gubarev, was founder of the Donbas People's Militia and first "governor" of the Donetsk People's Republic. RNU is particularly linked to the
Russian Orthodox Army The Russian Orthodox Army, ROA (russian: Русская православная армия, ''Russkaya pravoslavnaya armiya'') was a Russian separatist paramilitary group in Ukraine that has been fighting Ukrainian forces in the Donbas War. ...
, one of a number of separatist units described as "pro-Tsarist" and "extremist" Orthodox nationalists. 'Rusich' is part of the Wagner Group, a Russian mercenary group in Ukraine which has been linked to far-right extremism.Šmíd, Tomáš & Šmídová, Alexandra. (2021)
Anti-government Non-state Armed Actors in the Conflict in Eastern Ukraine
''Czech Journal of International Relations'', Volume 56, Issue 2. pp.48–49. Quote: "Another group of Russian citizens who became involved in the armed conflict in Eastern Ukraine were members of the so-called right-wing units of the Russian Spring."
Afterward, the pro-Russian far-right groups became less important in Donbass and the need for Russian radical nationalists started to disappear. The radical nationalists group С14, whose members openly expressed neo-Nazi views, gained notoriety in 2018 for being involved in violent attacks on Romany camps.


United Kingdom

In 1962 the British neo-Nazi activist
Colin Jordan John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "Nazi" inclination in his open use of the sty ...
formed the National Socialist Movement (NSM) which later became the
British Movement The British Movement (BM), later called the British National Socialist Movement (BNSM), is a British neo-Nazi organisation founded by Colin Jordan in 1968. It grew out of the National Socialist Movement (NSM), which was founded in 1962. Frequen ...
(BM) in 1968.
John Tyndall John Tyndall FRS (; 2 August 1820 – 4 December 1893) was a prominent 19th-century Irish physicist. His scientific fame arose in the 1850s from his study of diamagnetism. Later he made discoveries in the realms of infrared radiation and the ...
, a long-term neo-Nazi activist in the UK, led a break-away from the National Front to form an openly neo-Nazi party named the British National Party. In the 1990s, the party formed a group for protecting its meetings named Combat 18, which later grew too violent for the party to control and began to attack members of the BNP who were not perceived as supportive of neo-Nazism. Under the subsequent leadership of
Nick Griffin Nicholas John Griffin (born 1 March 1959) is a British politician and white supremacist who represented North West England as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2009 to 2014. He served as chairman and then president of the far-righ ...
, the BNP distanced itself from neo-Nazism, although many members (including Griffin himself) have been accused of links to other neo-Nazi groups.
Sonnenkrieg Division The Atomwaffen Division (''Atomwaffen'' meaning "nuclear weapons" in German), also known as the National Socialist Resistance Front, is an international far right-wing extremist and neo-Nazi terrorist network. Formed in 2013 and based in the ...
is a neo-Nazi terrorist organization in the United Kingdom, linked to international Atomwaffen Division network. Multiple members have been jailed for plotting terror attacks against minorities. Sonnenkrieg Division has been proscribed as a terrorist organization in United Kingdom and Australia. Sonnenkrieg Division is also closely tied with the Order of Nine Angles linked to the Murders of Bibaa Henry and Nicole Smallman. The UK has also been a source of neo-Nazi music, such as the band
Skrewdriver Skrewdriver were an English punk rock band formed by Ian Stuart Donaldson in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, in 1976. Originally a punk band, Skrewdriver changed into a white supremacist rock band after reuniting in the 1980s. Their original ...
.


Asia


Iran

Several neo-Nazi groups were active in Iran, although they are now defunct. Advocates of Nazism continue to exist in Iran and are mainly based on the Internet.


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 Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Jews of the Old Yishuv, and became a permanent set ...
made up of eight teenage immigrants from the former Soviet Union who had been attacking foreign workers and gay people, 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

From 2008, Mongolian neo-Nazi groups have defaced buildings in
Ulaanbaatar Ulaanbaatar (; mn, Улаанбаатар, , "Red Hero"), previously anglicized as Ulan Bator, is the capital and most populous city of Mongolia. It is the coldest capital city in the world, on average. The municipality is located in north ce ...
, smashed Chinese shopkeepers' windows, and killed Chinese immigrants. The neo-Nazi Mongols' targets for violence are Chinese,
Koreans Koreans ( South Korean: , , North Korean: , ; see names of Korea) are an East Asian ethnic group native to the Korean Peninsula. Koreans mainly live in the two Korean nation states: North Korea and South Korea (collectively and simply r ...
, Mongol women who have sex with Chinese men, and
LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term ...
people. They wear Nazi uniforms and revere the
Mongol Empire The Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries was the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in present-day Mongolia in East Asia, the Mongol Empire at its height stretched from the Sea of Japan to parts of Eastern Europe, ...
and
Genghis Khan Genghis Khan (born Temüjin; ; xng, Temüjin, script=Latn; ., name=Temujin – August 25, 1227) was the founder and first Great Khan (Emperor) of the Mongol Empire, which became the List of largest empires, largest contiguous empire in history a ...
. 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

The
National Socialism Association The National Socialism Association (NSA) is a far-right political organization in Taiwan, founded in August 2005 by participants of the online forum Taiwan Nazi. It received international attention in March 2007, following reports of its inau ...
(NSA) is a neo-Nazi political organisation founded in
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...
in September 2006 by Hsu Na-chi (), at that time a 22-year-old female
political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and power, and the analysis of political activities, political thought, political behavior, and associated constitutions and ...
graduate of Soochow University. The NSA has an explicit stated goal of obtaining the power to govern the state. The
Simon Wiesenthal Centre The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC) is a Jewish human rights organization established in 1977 by Rabbi Marvin Hier. The center is known for Holocaust research and remembrance, hunting Nazi war criminals, combating anti-Semitism, tolerance educa ...
condemned the National Socialism Association on 13 March 2007 for championing the former
Nazi 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) in ...
dictator and blaming democracy for social unrest in Taiwan."Taiwan political activists admiring Hitler draw Jewish protests"
''
Haaretz ''Haaretz'' ( , originally ''Ḥadshot Haaretz'' – , ) is an Israeli newspaper. It was founded in 1918, making it the longest running newspaper currently in print in Israel, and is now published in both Hebrew and English in the Berliner ...
'' (
Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...
, the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. new ...
). 14 March 2007. Accessed 23 October 2015.


Turkey

A neo-Nazi group existed in 1969 in
İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...
, when a group of former Republican Villagers Nation Party members (precursor party of the
Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has bee ...
) founded the association " Nasyonal Aktivitede Zinde İnkişaf" (''Vigorous Development in National Activity''). The club maintained two combat units. The members wore SA uniforms and used the
Hitler salute The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...
. One of the leaders (Gündüz Kapancıoğlu) was re-admitted to the Nationalist Movement Party in 1975. Apart from
neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration ...
Political Terrorism, by Alex Peter Schmid, A. J. Jongman, Michael Stohl, Transaction Publishers, 2005, p. 674''The Nature of Fascism'', by Roger Griffin, Routledge, 1993, p. 171''Political Parties and Terrorist Groups'', by Leonard Weinberg, Ami Pedahzur, Arie Perliger, Routledge, 2003, p. 45 Grey Wolves and the Turkish ultranationalist
Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has bee ...
, 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.


Americas


Brazil

Several Brazilian neo-Nazi gangs appeared in the 1990s in
Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...
and Southeastern Brazil, regions with mostly white people, with their acts gaining more media coverage and public notoriety in the 2010s. 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 Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...
,
Catholics The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and atheists;
Afro-Brazilians Afro-Brazilians ( pt, afro-brasileiros; ) are Brazilians who have predominantly African ancestry (see " preto"). Most members of another group of people, multiracial Brazilians or ''pardos'', may also have a range of degree of African ancestry. ...
and internal migrants with origins in the northern regions of Brazil (who are mostly brown-skinned or Afro-Brazilian); homeless people, prostitutes;
recreational drug use Recreational drug use indicates the use of one or more psychoactive drugs to induce an altered state of consciousness either for pleasure or for some other casual purpose or pastime by modifying the perceptions and emotions of the user. When a ...
rs; feminists and—more frequently reported in the media—gay people,
bisexuals Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whic ...
, and
transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...
and third-gender people. News of their attacks has played a role in debates about
anti-discrimination laws in Brazil Anti-discrimination laws in Brazil are present in the Constitution of Brazil, in the labour law, in the child and adolescent law, in the ageing law, and in the penal code. The Brazilian Constitution prohibits all forms of discrimination (age, ra ...
(including to some extent
hate speech Hate speech is defined by the ''Cambridge Dictionary'' as "public speech that expresses hate or encourages violence towards a person or group based on something such as race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation". Hate speech is "usually thoug ...
laws) and the issues of
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
and
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
.


Canada

Neo-Nazism in Canada Neo-Nazism () is the post World War II ideology that promotes white supremacy and specifically antisemitism.Hamm, Mark SAmerican Skinheads: The Criminology and Control of Hate Crime Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1993. In Canada, neo-Nazism ...
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 Party and
Church of the Creator Church of the Creator is a Christian-based faith organization headquartered in Ashland, Oregon. The church is most notable for achieving protection of its registered trademark name "Church of the Creator" through legal proceedings within US Feder ...
(later renamed ''Creativity'') promoted white supremacist ideals. Founded in the United States in 1973, Creativity calls for
white people White is a racialized classification of people and a skin color specifier, generally used for people of European origin, although the definition can vary depending on context, nationality, and point of view. Description of populations as ...
to wage racial holy war (Rahowa) against Jews and other perceived enemies.
Don Andrews Donald Clarke Andrews (born April 20, 1942 as Vilim Zlomislić) is a Canadian white supremacist. He is also the leader of the unregistered neo-Nazi Nationalist Party of Canada and a perennial candidate for mayor of Toronto, Ontario. Early year ...
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 Wolfgang Walter Droege (or Dröge) (25 September 1949 – 13 April 2005) was a German-born Canadian white supremacist, neo-Nazi and founding leader of the Heritage Front. Biography Early life Droege was born in Forchheim, Germany. His parents a ...
, were affiliated with the party, but many of its members left to join the
Heritage Front The Heritage Front was a Canadian neo-Nazi White supremacy, white supremacist organization founded in 1989 and disbanded around 2005. The Heritage Front maintained a telephone message line with a different editorial each day. The voice on the ho ...
, which was founded in 1989. Droege founded the Heritage Front in
Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...
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 White power music is music that promotes white nationalism. It encompasses various music styles, including rock, country, experimental music and folk.Messner, Beth A., Art Jipson, Paul J. Becker and Bryan Byers. 2007. "The Hardest Hate: A Soc ...
scene. On September 18, 2020, Toronto Police arrested 34-year-old Guilherme "William" Von Neutegem and charged him with the murder of Mohamed-Aslim Zafis. Zafis was the caretaker of a local mosque who was found dead with his throat cut. The Toronto Police Service said the killing is possibly connected to the stabbing murder of Rampreet Singh a few days prior a short distance from the spot where Zafis' murder took place. Von Neutegem is a member of the Order of Nine Angles and social media accounts established as belonging to him promote the group and included recordings of Von Neutegem performing satanic chants. In his home there was also an altar with the symbol of the O9A adorning a monolith. According to Evan Balgord of the Canadian Anti-Hate Network, they are aware of more O9A members in Canada and their affiliated organization Northern Order. Northern Order is a proscribed neo-Nazi terrorist organization in Canada. NO members have been arrested for trafficking explosives and firearms, and NO has active members of the Canadian Armed Forces as its members and even a member of the CJIRU was identified as a member. Controversy and dissention has left many Canadian neo-Nazi organizations dissolved or weakened.


Chile

After the dissolution of the National Socialist Movement of Chile (MNSCH) in 1938, notable former members of MNSCH migrated into
Partido Agrario Laborista The Agrarian Labor Party ( es, Partido Agrario Laborista, PAL) was a Chilean political party supporting the candidacy of Carlos Ibáñez del Campo for the 1952 presidential election. Formed in 1945, it was dissolved in 1958. It was formed in 1945 ...
(PAL), obtaining high positions.Etchepare, Jaime Antonio; Stewart; Hamish I., "Nazism in Chile: A Particular Type of Fascism in South America". ''
Journal of Contemporary History The ''Journal of Contemporary History'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal covering the study of history in all parts of the world since 1930. It was established in 1966 by Walter Laqueur and George L. Mosse. Originally published by ...
'' (1995).
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 Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
. 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
Visigoth The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is kn ...
s of Spain and the
Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who s ...
(Araucanians) of Chile. Palacios, Nicolás, ''Raza Chilena'' (Editorial Chilena, 1918), pp. 35–36. Palacios traces the origins of the Spanish component of the "Chilean race" to the coast of the
Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain. The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from ...
, specifically to Götaland in Sweden, one of the supposed homelands of the
Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Euro ...
. Palacios claimed that both the blonde-haired and the bronze-coloured Chilean
Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed European and Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturally European even though thei ...
share a "moral physonomy" and a masculine psychology. Palacios, Nicolás, ''Raza Chilena'' (Editorial Chilena, 1918), p. 37. He opposed immigration from Southern Europe, and argued that Mestizos who are derived from south Europeans lack "cerebral control" and are a social burden. Palacios, Nicolás, ''Raza Chilena'' (Editorial Chilena, 1918), p. 41.


Costa Rica

Several fringe neo-Nazi groups have existed in
Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...
, some with online presence since around 2003. The groups normally target Jewish Costa Ricans, Afro-Costa Ricans, Communists, gay people and especially Nicaraguan and Colombian immigrants. In 2012 the media discovered the existence of a neo-Nazi police officer inside the
Public Force of Costa Rica The Public Force of Costa Rica ( es, Fuerza Pública de Costa Rica) is the Costa Rican national law enforcement force, which performs policing and border patrol functions. History On 1 December 1948, President José Figueres Ferrer of Costa ...
, for which he was fired and would later commit suicide in April 2016 due to lack of job opportunities and threats from anti-fascists. In 2015, the Simon Wiesenthal Center asked the Costa Rican government to shut down a store in San José that sells Nazi paraphernalia,
Holocaust denial 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: ...
books and other products associated with
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 ...
. In 2018, a series of pages on the
social network A social network is a social structure made up of a set of social actors (such as individuals or organizations), sets of dyadic ties, and other social interactions between actors. The social network perspective provides a set of methods fo ...
Facebook of neo-Nazi inclination openly or discreetly carried out a vast campaign instigating xenophobic hatred by recycling old news or posting fake news to take advantage of an anti-immigrant sentiment after three homicides of tourists allegedly committed by migrants (although from one of the homicides the suspect is Costa Rican). A rally against the country's migration policy was held on 19 August 2018, in which neo-Nazi and hooligans took part. Although not all participants were linked these groups and the majority of participants were peaceful, the protest turned violent and the Public Force intervened with 44 arrested (36 Costa Ricans and the rest Nicaraguans). Authorities confiscated sharp weapons,
Molotov cocktails A Molotov cocktail (among several other names – ''see other names'') is a hand thrown incendiary weapon constructed from a frangible container filled with flammable substances equipped with a fuse (typically a glass bottle filled with flamma ...
and other items from the neo-Nazis, who also carried swastika flags. A subsequent anti-xenophobic march and solidarity with the Nicaraguan refugees was organized a week later with more assistance. A second anti-migration demonstration, with the explicit exclusion of neo-Nazis and hooligans, was carried out in September with similar assistance. In 2019 Facebook pages of extreme right-wing tendencies and anti-immigration position as ''Deputy 58'', ''Costa Rican Resistance'' and ''Salvation Costa Rica'' called an anti-government demonstration on 1 May with small attendance.


Peru

Peru has been home to a handful of neo-Nazi groups, most notably the National Socialist Movement "Peru Awake", the National Socialist Tercios of New Castile, and the Peruvian National Socialist Union.


United States

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 US. 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 Jesse Benjamin Stoner Jr. (April 13, 1924 – April 23, 2005) was an American lawyer, white supremacist, neo-nazi, segregationist politician, and a domestic terrorist who perpetrated the 1958 bombing of the Bethel Baptist Church in Birmingha ...
, countered
racial integration Racial integration, or simply integration, includes desegregation (the process of ending systematic racial segregation). In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportuni ...
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 ideology of
James H. Madole James Harting Madole (July 7, 1927 – May 6, 1979) was a prominent fascist and leader of the National Renaissance Party in the United States. He is now recognized as a pivotal figure in the development of post-war occult-fascism. Biography I ...
, leader of the National Renaissance Party, was influenced by Blavatskian Theosophy. Helena Blavatsky developed a racial theory of
evolution Evolution is change in the heritable characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. These characteristics are the expressions of genes, which are passed on from parent to offspring during reproduction. Variation ...
, holding that the white race was the "fifth rootrace" called the
Aryan Race The Aryan race is an obsolete historical race concept that emerged in the late-19th century to describe people of Proto-Indo-European heritage as a racial grouping. The terminology derives from the historical usage of Aryan, used by modern ...
. According to Blavatsky, Aryans had been preceded by Atlanteans who had perished in the flood that sunk the continent Atlantis. The three races that preceded the Atlanteans, in Blavatsky's view, were proto-humans; these were the Lemurians, Hyperboreans and the first Astral rootrace. It was on this foundation that Madole based his claims that the Aryan Race has been worshiped as "White Gods" since time immemorial and proposed a governance structure based on the Hindu
Laws of Manu The ''Manusmṛiti'' ( sa, मनुस्मृति), also known as the ''Mānava-Dharmaśāstra'' or Laws of Manu, is one of the many legal texts and constitution among the many ' of Hinduism. In ancient India, the sages often wrote the ...
and its hierarchical
caste system Caste is a form of social stratification characterised by endogamy, hereditary transmission of a style of life which often includes an occupation, ritual status in a hierarchy, and customary social interaction and exclusion based on cultural ...
. The
First Amendment to the United States Constitution The First Amendment (Amendment I) to the United States Constitution prevents the government from making laws that regulate an establishment of religion, or that prohibit the free exercise of religion, or abridge the freedom of speech, the ...
guarantees
freedom of speech Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recogni ...
, which allows political organizations great latitude in expressing Nazi, racist, and antisemitic views. A First Amendment landmark case was ''
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie ''National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie'', 432 U.S. 43 (1977), arising out of what is sometimes referred to as the Skokie Affair, was a landmark decision of the US Supreme Court dealing with freedom of speech and freedom of assem ...
'', 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 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: ...
body associated with neo-Nazism."Extremism in America: Institute for Historical Review"
,
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
. Retrieved 28 February 2007.
Organizations which report upon American neo-Nazi activities include the
Anti-Defamation League The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Septe ...
and the
Southern Poverty Law Center The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white ...
. American neo-Nazis are known to attack and harass minorities. In 2020 the FBI reclassified neo-Nazis to the same threat level as ISIS. Chris Wray, the
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation The Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation is the head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, a United States' federal law enforcement agency, and is responsible for its day-to-day operations. The FBI Director is appointed for a single ...
, stated "Not only is the terror threat diverse, it's unrelenting".


Uruguay

In 1998, a group of people belonging to the "Joseph Goebbels Movement" tried to burn down a synagogue, which also served as a Hebrew school, in the Pocitos neighborhood of
Montevideo Montevideo () is the capital and largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2011 census, the city proper has a population of 1,319,108 (about one-third of the country's total population) in an area of . Montevideo is situated on the southern co ...
in Uruguay; an
antisemitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Ant ...
pamphlet signed by the group was found in the building after the quick action of firefighters saved it. Another group, the racist and antisemitic neo-Nazi group, founded in 1996, said when they were interviewed by the newspaper ''La República de Montevideo'' that they had no involvement with the attack on the synagogue, but revealed that they maintain contacts with a group called ("White Power"), also Uruguayan, as well as with neo-Nazi groups from
Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest ...
and several European countries. Through the Internet they have received the solidarity of the ''Patria'' pro-fascist group, based in Spain. They also said that in the city of Canelones, Uruguay, fifty kilometers from Montevideo, there is a clandestine "Aryan Christianity, Aryan church" which uses rituals taken from the
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
. The declared that they did not tolerate interracial or gay couples. One of the militants said in the interview that "... if we see a black man with a white woman, we break them up ...". Other neo-Nazi incidents in Uruguay in 1998 included the bombing of a Jewish-owned small business in February, which injured two people, and the appearance of posters celebrating the anniversary of Hitler's birthday in April.


Africa


South Africa

Several groups in South Africa, such as Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging and Blanke Bevrydingsbeweging, have often been described as neo-Nazi. Eugène Terre'Blanche was a prominent South African neo-Nazi leader who was murdered in 2010.


Oceania

There were a number of now-defunct Australian neo-Nazi groups, such as the Australian National Socialist Party (ANSP), which was formed in 1962 and merged into the National Socialist Party of Australia (1968–1970s), originally a splinter group, in 1968, and Jack van Tongeren's Australian Nationalist Movement. White supremacist organisations active in Australia as of 2016 included local chapters of the Aryan Nations. Blair Cottrell, former leader of the United Patriots Front, has tried to distance himself from neo-Nazism, but has nevertheless been accused of expressing "pro-Nazi views". Australian Security Intelligence Organisation director Mike Burgess (intelligence chief), Mike Burgess said in February 2020 that neo-Nazis pose a "real threat" to Australia's security. Burgess maintained that there is a growing threat from the extreme right, and that its supporters "regularly meet to salute Nazi flags, inspect weapons, train in combat and share their hateful ideology". In New Zealand, historical neo-Nazi organisations include Unit 88 and the National Socialist Party of New Zealand. White nationalist organisations such as the New Zealand National Front have faced accusations of neo-Nazism.


See also

* * ''The Believer (2001 film), The Believer''2001 film by Henry Bean * ''The Daily Stormer''US neo-Nazi commentary & message board * * * * * * White separatismApartheid-type ideology --- * List of neo-Nazi bands * List of neo-Nazi organizations * List of white nationalist organizations


References

Informational notes Citations Bibliography ::Primary sources * ''Imperium: The Philosophy of History and Politics, Imperium'' by Francis Parker Yockey (using the pen name Ulick Varange, 1947, ) * '' The Lightning and the Sun'' by
Savitri Devi Savitri Devi Mukherji (born Maximiani Julia Portas, ; 30 September 1905 – 22 October 1982) was a French-born Greek fascist, Nazi sympathizer, and spy who served the Axis powers by committing acts of espionage against the Allied forces in I ...
, (1958 (written 1948–56); ) * ''White Power'' by George Lincoln Rockwell (1967; John McLaughlin, 1996, ) * ''This Time The World'' by George Lincoln Rockwell (1961; Liberty Bell Publications, 2004, ) * ''National Socialism: Vanguard of the Future, Selected Writings of
Colin Jordan John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "Nazi" inclination in his open use of the sty ...
'' () * ''Merrie England – 2000'' by
Colin Jordan John Colin Campbell Jordan (19 June 1923 – 9 April 2009) was a leading figure in post-war neo-Nazism in Great Britain. In the far-right circles of the 1960s, Jordan represented the most explicitly "Nazi" inclination in his open use of the sty ...
* ''The Turner Diaries'' by William Luther Pierce, William Pierce (under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald), novel (1978, ) . * ''Siege (Mason book), Siege: The Collected Writings of James Mason (National Socialist), James Mason'' edited and introduced by Michael M. Jenkins (Storm Books, 1992) or introduced by Ryan Schuster (Black Sun Publications, ) * ''Hunter (Pierce novel), Hunter'' by William Luther Pierce, William Pierce (under the pseudonym Andrew Macdonald), novel (National Vanguard Books, 1984, ) * ''Faith of the Future'' by Matt Koehl (New Order (publisher), New Order; Rev edition, 1995, ) * ''Serpent's Walk'' by Randolph D. Calverhall (pseudonym), novel (National Vanguard Books, 1991, ) * ''The Nexus (journal), The Nexus'' periodical edited by Kerry Bolton * ''Deceived, Damned & Defiant – The Revolutionary Writings of David Lane'' by David Lane (white nationalist), David Lane, foreword by Ron McVan, preface by Katja Lane (Fourteen Word Press, 1999, ) * ''Resistance Magazine'' published by National Vanguard Books ::Academic surveys * ''The Beast Reawakens'' by Martin A. Lee, (New York: Little, Brown and Company, 1997, ) * ''Fascism (book), Fascism'' (Oxford Readers) by Roger Griffin (1995, ) * ''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, ) * ''Hitler's Priestess:
Savitri Devi Savitri Devi Mukherji (born Maximiani Julia Portas, ; 30 September 1905 – 22 October 1982) was a French-born Greek fascist, Nazi sympathizer, and spy who served the Axis powers by committing acts of espionage against the Allied forces in I ...
, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and Neo-Nazism'' by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (1998, and ) * ''Dreamer of the Day: Francis Parker Yockey and the Postwar Fascist International'' by Kevin Coogan, (Autonomedia, Brooklyn, NY 1998, ) * ''Hate: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party'' by William H. Schmaltz (Potomac Books, 2000, ) * ''American Fuehrer: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party'' by Frederick J. Simonelli (University of Illinois Press, 1999, ) * ''Fascism in Britain: A History, 1918–1985'' by Richard C. Thurlow (Olympic Marketing Corp, 1987, ) * ''Fascism Today: A World Survey'' by Angelo Del Boca and Mario Giovana (Pantheon Books, 1st American edition, 1969) * ''Germany's New Nazis'' by the Anglo-Jewish Association (Jewish Chronicle Publications, 1951) * ''The New Germany and the Old Nazis'' by Tete Harens Tetens (Random House, 1961) * ''Swastika and the Eagle: Neo-Naziism in America Today'' by Clifford L Linedecker (A & W Pub, 1982, ) * ''The Silent Brotherhood: Inside America's Racist Underground'' by Kevin Flynn (author), Kevin Flynn and Gary Gerhardt (Signet Book; Reprint edition, 1995, ) * ''"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, ); a.k.a. ''The White Separatist Movement in the United States: White Power White Pride'' (paperback, Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 2000, ) * ''Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right'' by Jeffrey Kaplan (academic), Jeffrey Kaplan (Rowman & Littlefield Pub Inc, 2000, ) * ''Blood in the Face: The
Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to the KKK or the Klan, is an American white supremacist, right-wing terrorist, and hate group whose primary targets are African Americans, Jews, Latinos, Asian Americans, Native Americans, and Cat ...
, Aryan Nations, White power skinhead, Nazi Skinheads, and the Rise of a New White Culture'' by James Ridgeway (Thunder's Mouth Press; 2nd edition, 1995, ) * ''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, ) * ''The Racist Mind: Portraits of American Neo-Nazis and Klansmen'' by Raphael S. Ezekiel (Penguin (Non-Classics); Reprint edition, 1996, ) * ''Black Sun (Goodrick-Clarke book), Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity'' by Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke (2001, ) * ''Free to Hate: The Rise of the Right in Post-Communist Eastern Europe'' by Paul Hockenos (Routledge; Reprint edition, 1994, ) * ''The Dark Side of Europe: The Extreme Right Today'' by Geoff Harris, (Edinburgh University Press; New edition, 1994, ) * ''The Far Right in Western and Eastern Europe'' by Luciano Cheles, Ronnie Ferguson, and Michalina Vaughan (Longman Publishing Group; 2nd edition, 1995, ) * ''The Radical Right in Western Europe: A Comparative Analysis'' by Herbert Kitschelt (University of Michigan Press; Reprint edition, 1997, ) * ''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, ) * ''The Fame of a Dead Man's Deeds: An Up-Close Portrait of White Nationalist William Pierce'' by Robert S. Griffin (Authorhouse, 2001, ) * ''Nation and Race: The Developing Euro-American Racist Subculture'' by Jeffrey Kaplan, Tore Bjorgo (Northeastern University Press, 1998, ) * ''Gods of the Blood: The Pagan Revival and White Separatism'' by Mattias Gardell (Duke University Press, 2003, ) * ''The Nazi conception of law (Oxford pamphlets on world affairs)'' by J. Walter Jones, Clarendon (1939) * * *


External links


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