Neo-Nazism is not only a German issue – it has become European. Although the German Nazi-Regime has been defeated more then 60 years ago, the ideology seems to have survived. Anti-semitism, racism, nationalism, white supremacy, militarism, homophobia and allegiance to Adolf Hitler – so called Neo-Nazis still spread and live this ideology.
Can nationalism be a European problem? How does that fit together? Unfortunately very well. The ideology is not bound to national borders, but to race and roots. Although the neo-Nazis in the different countries have their different organisations and specific regional interests, they all can be united in the extreme racistic point of view. Inside this scene a European integration takes place and the networks enlarge. United in their hate against blacks, jews and other minorities.
Neo-Nazis benefiting from the EU
Since the political union in Europe is still in the fledgling stages, the national law of the member states is not standardized in the EU. The laws and regulations against racism and nationalism are not uniform at all. They are not even coordinated. This figures out to be a benefit for the neo-Nazis in Europe. The neo-Nazis can chose the country with the lowest security standard and organise their gatherings without obstacles. Germany for example has a law which forbids the public use of the Nazi-Swastika. Other European coutries as Denmark for instance do not have any laws against Nazi-symbols. The Danish party DNSB (Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Bevaegelse) shows their nationalsocialistic disposition very openly: The Nazi-Swastika attracts the attention on first sight of the homepage http://www.dnsb.info/
The fact that the Nazi-Swastika is not forbidden in Denmark leads to the opportunity, that the neo-Nazi scene of Europe simply meets in Denmark. Here they can demonstrate their nationalsocialistic ethos including the Nazi-Swastika without being accused for. This way the symbols of Nazi-Germany revive in Europe for the neo-Nazi-scene. During the German Presidency of the European Council in spring 2007, Germany tried to make the use of the Nazi-Swastika illegal in the whole EU. Considering the fact that the symbol also has a traditional meaning for the Hindus, this plan had to be cancelled.
The global village – Digital racist networking
The modern technology improves the networking between the neo-Nazis in Europe and all over the world. The internet is the worlds fastest growing communication medium nowadays. Using the internt, the neo-Nazis connect on websites, in Web-forums and Chat-rooms. And more than that, the internet is being used as a communication channel for nazi-ideology and history revision. The website http://www.vho.org/ is an example for a “revisionary” website claiming that the Holocaust during World War II did not occur in the manner and to the extend described by current scholars.
This example leads back to the already considered problem concerning European law standards. The Holocaust denial in this case is explicitly illegal in 14 countries worldwide: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Israel, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Switzerland. There is a strong push to criminalize the denial of the Holocaust in the EU, but so far this has not explicitly happened. Together with the general open character of the internet, it is hard to embank the diffusion of racist ideology on the internet.
There are more examples showing the concrete networking of European and worldwide communities of Skinhead activity through the internet. The website http://www.ns88.org/ shows a link list with the “Top 100 Nationalist Web Sites”. (The name of the website already speaks for itself: NS stands for “Nationalsocialists” and the number 88 is a code for “Heil Hitler”, because 8 refers to the eighth letter in the alphabet: 88 = HH.) The website contains links to Skinhead communities all over Europe, neo-Nazi radio stations, newspapers, magazines and direct mail selling for music, clothes, poster, equipment etc.
Music networks promoting neo-Nazi ideology
The top link in this linklist leads to the Blood & Honour website. This is the most fequentet neo-Nazi music promotion network. They claim it their duty to coordinate nazi-bands and to propagade the nationalsocialist ideology to the world. Blood & Honour took its name from the motto of the Hitler Youth, “Blut und Ehre”. The origins of this network go back to Great Britain in the late 1970s as an corresponding answer to the Anti-Nazi League’s Rock Against Racism music organisation. The German Blood and Honour division was prohibited in 2000 and the Spanish division in 2005. Several other countries continue to investigate their respective Blood & Honour divisions. Since only some countries forbit the neo-Nazi music network, the role of the European network is strengthened again.
In conclusion, the examples point out that neo-Nazi-networks are in deed a European issue. The European integration and the networking through the internet gives the neo-Nazis new opportunities of connecting and growing stronger in Europe. This need to be watched very carefully. New methods of anti-racism needs to be discussed on a European level. Otherwise, the German, French and Swedish neo-Nazis keep on gathering in Denmark flying proudly the Nazi-Swastika-flag.
By Anna-Lena Alfter
