European White Knights of the Burning Cross
The European White Knights of the Burning Cross ( EWKotBC ) is the European offshoot of the Ku Klux Klan . According to its own information, the clan has national groups in Germany, England , Sweden, France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, the groups have American brother clans.
background
There have already been several scattered founding groups in the vicinity of the US KKK. According to his own statement, the EWKotBC was founded in 2007 "by the honorable 'Reverend Imperial Wizard'" . The Reverend is a citizen of Berlin Peter B. (born 1954). Peter B. also said he was active in the US KKK for years. There he belonged to the organization Imperial Klans of America and was active in Europe as a representative for this clan (in KKK jargon this is referred to as "ghoul"). Over the years, he rose in rank there. He founded the EWKotBC by registering the website in 2007 with the official permission of the clan organization White Legion Knights . In the German Ku Klux Klan, Peter B. bears the title " Imperial Wizard " and thus occupies the highest position. He also describes himself as the "Reverend Bishop", a "Reverend Bishop".
In 2009, Peter B.'s house was searched . Klan devotional objects and a bust of Hitler were found. On a certificate from a Klan member from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, the secret society chief appears as "president and creator of the greatest and oldest Ku Klux Klan in Germany" (German: as president and founder of the largest and oldest Ku Klux Klan in Germany).
In mid-April 2011, Peter B. stood before the court for inciting hatred and disseminating propaganda material by unconstitutional organizations. After the first day of the trial, Peter B. described the judge in an email as "Judensau". He was sentenced to a fine of 3,600 euros. On September 14, 2011, he was awarded the K-Quad by America's oldest clan , the highest possible award within the Ku Klux Klan. This award is an "honorary degree" and is usually only awarded after death.
Markus Ragusch from the Antifascist Info Sheet doubts that the clan has any significant influence. According to estimates, it amounts to a small splinter organization with fewer than ten members, which was able to skilfully stage itself through reporting in the Berliner Kurier and the Express .
ideology
The European branch joins the racist and ultra-right worldview of the Ku Klux Klan from the USA. In the ceremonies a mixture of Christian mysticism and alleged defense of the "white race" against socialists and other leftists is celebrated.
The e-mail traffic among the Klan members, which the Office for the Protection of the Constitution has partially read, is full of racial slurs. Sentences were used like “Here we are strangers in our own country. But not with us! Each one of us Kluxern is a patriotic ambassador of our race, our Germanic culture and our Christian faith. "
structure
The founder, the “European and Country Leaders” and all members must be Europeans. The members must be white. The German group probably has around 100 members and focuses on the greater Berlin area and the eastern federal states. The group is officially recognized by the KKK parent company in the USA and its representative Reverend AL Holtzclaw .
The clan primarily recruits young members through oral contact and the Internet. The group reprinted the secret " Kloran ", the so-called Bible of the Ku Klux Klan, in a leather edition. Members can purchase the book on the website. There is also an admission form on the Internet. It addresses 13 to 17-year-olds to "exchange ideas with their peers and start a well-structured life".
Ceremonies
In 2011 a "crosslighting" ceremony of the German Klan members became known. 14 men and women in the robes of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) met in a meadow near Grabow in the south of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania. The members of the European White Knights of the Burning Cross had come from several regions of Germany. A video posted on the Klan's website documents parts of the ceremony. The master of ceremonies shouted “ White Power !” And the group answered in chorus.
European White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan
The European White Knights of the Ku Klux Klan (EWK KKK) are often confused with the European White Knights of the Burning Cross. In fact, there are two separate operating groups. The EWK KKK were founded on October 1st, 2000 and probably dissolved towards the end of 2002. At that time, the EWKotBC did not yet exist. Also on the website of the EWKotBC any connection is denied and legal remedies are threatened if someone creates a connection.
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b http://www.express.de/panorama/ku-klux-klan-geheimtreffen-mitten-in-deutschland,2192,9543210.html
- ↑ http://www.express.de/panorama/ku-klux-klan-geheimtreffen-mitten-in-deutschland,2192,9543210.html
- ↑ http://www.express.de/panorama/ku-klux-klan-geheimtreffen-mitten-in-deutschland,2192,9543210.html
- ↑ Markus Ragusch: Christian-Aryan parallel worlds before the Kadi. Berlin far right, accessed on August 10, 2013 .
- ↑ http://www.express.de/panorama/ku-klux-klan-geheimtreffen-mitten-in-deutschland,2192,9543210.html
- ↑ Maik Baumgärtner and Marcus Böttcher: Rassenwahn: The hate bible of the Berlin Ku Klux Klan. Berliner Kurier, August 11, 2011, accessed on August 10, 2013 .
- ↑ http://www.express.de/panorama/ku-klux-klan-geheimtreffen-mitten-in-deutschland,2192,9543210.html
- ↑ Federal Government: Answer of the Federal Government to the minor question from the MPs Ulla Jelpke, Heidrun Dittrich, Jens Petermann, other MPs and the DIE LINKE parliamentary group. In: German Bundestag. 17th electoral term (ed.): Drucksache 17/10688 . September 13, 2013, p. 2 ( bundestag.de [PDF]).