Festival of the Nations

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Festival of Nations - For a Europe of Fatherlands is the motto of a large right-wing rock festival in Thuringia , which took place for the first time on June 11, 2005 in Jena . Several leading representatives of right-wing extremist organizations from all over Europe and many bands that belong almost exclusively to the international neo-Nazi music network Blood and Honor took part in the NPD event . The event, which attracted international attention due to its openly neo-Nazi character, took place annually until 2010. It exemplifies the efforts of the right-wing extremist scene in Europe for close cooperation within the framework of the newly established European National Front (ENF).

Right-wing rock festivals in Thuringia

With the two festivals " Thuringian Day of National Youth " (since 2002) and "Rock gegen Krieg" / " Rock for Germany " (since 2003), the NPD has already established two series of events in Thuringia in which the party participates in major right-wing rock events holding several hundred right-wing extremist participants disguised as political events. The NPD district association Jena has already registered the festival of the peoples for the months of June of all years from 2005 to 2015 as a rally in Jena and expects around 500 participants each time. During the “Thuringian Days”, Ralf Wohlleben , the chairman of the Jena district association and deputy state chairman of the NPD, was able to gain experience in organizing such concert events. Wohlleben is also one of the leading figures in the Jena National Resistance (NWJ), a free comradeship within the militant neo-Nazi network Thuringian Homeland Security (THS), which was initially named as the organizer.

The motto of the event

The motto of the festival and its planned international character illustrate the modernization and internationalization efforts of the NPD and the right-wing extremist scene in Europe. Fest der Völker was the name of the first part of the film Olympia , a propaganda strip by Adolf Hitler's favorite director Leni Riefenstahl about the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin. The subtitle For a Europe of Fatherlands and the appeal show the adoption of the ethnopluralism concept of the New Right by the NPD, but at the same time also tie in with the European idea of ​​the Waffen SS . The appeal states: “We nationalists are not xenophobes […], we respect every culture and every human being” , but this is also restricted: “However, we are of the opinion that every human being and every culture has its ancestral place in this World has to be respected by everyone. "

The first "Festival of the Nations" on June 11, 2005

As with the first Thuringian Day in 2002, Wohlleben planned to hold the neo-Nazi event on the Jena market square in the historic city center. While these two concert series are more of a regional character, the Jena event should have international significance. The advertising expenditure for the event was correspondingly large. Numerous neo-Nazi sites in Europe and the USA had linked to the website for the festival since the beginning of the year, which was finally offered in 15 European languages, and the festival was advertised in various discussion forums and guest books. According to the police, the organizers themselves expected around 1000 neo-Nazis from all over Europe, anti-fascist initiatives initially assumed that the number of participants would be between 2000 and 5000. Ultimately, however, only around 500 neo-Nazis, almost exclusively from Germany, attended the event on June 11, 2005, which is certainly also due to the lack of clarity about a ban by the city of Jena in advance.

The speakers

The specialty of the “Festival of the Nations” is the strong participation of neo-Nazis and neo-fascists from other European countries. Recently announced were two Thuringians, the NPD state chairman Frank Schwerdt and the Gotha neo-Nazi squad Patrick Wieschke , eleven other speakers from ten countries. There were also greetings from “from the Ostmark ”, d. H. from Austria, and a Russian guest. The speakers were, on the one hand, leading representatives of right-wing extremist parties and organizations, most of which work together in the European National Front (ENF):

  • Claudiu Mihuțiu : Romanian neo-fascist and leadership cadre of Noua Dreaptă , a militant group openly following the ultra-nationalist, anti-Semitic and fascist organization Iron Guard , and member of the ENF.
  • Nick Giohalas: Representative of the right-wing extremist Chrysi Avgi movement in Greece, ENF member and member of the NSBM band Der Stürmer .
  • Constant Kusters : Managing Director of the right-wing extremist Nederlandse Volks-Unie (NVU) and former activist of the Aktienfront Nationale Socialisten (ANS).
  • Michal Lassak: Representative of the Slovak nationalist party Slovenská pospolitosť - národná strana.
  • Bojan Rassate: head of the neo-Nazi organization Bulgarian National Union (BNS), which participates in the ultra-nationalist coalition Ataka ('attack') and the ENF.
  • Jonas Gysin : The founder and party leader of the right-wing extremist National Orientated Swiss Party (PNOS) had to cancel at short notice.

On the other hand, several right-wing extremists who are active in the international neo-Nazi music network "Blood and Honor" were present as speakers. Its nine sections of the "Division Germany" were officially banned in 2000, apparently no legal action could be taken against an appearance by several section and division heads from other countries:

  • Tim Mudde : Dutch “national anarchist ” and leader of the RAC band Brigade M with close contacts to “Blood and Honor”. He has already appeared several times as a speaker at NPD / JN meetings.
  • Thomas Ölund: singer and bandleader of the Swedish band Nothung, who also performs, head of the Stockholm section of “Blood and Honor Scandinavia” and author for various Swedish neo-Nazi magazines such as Info 14 and Nordisk Frihet .
  • Illés Zsolt (“Elek”): Leading representative of the Hungarian “Blood and Honor” section.
  • Stephen "Swiny" Swinfen: Senior member of the English parent organization of "Blood and Honor", active in county Northamptonshire .
  • Giovanni Di Blasi: Operator of the Italian mail order company Eda Propaganda and editor of the “Blood and Honor” and “ Combat 18fanzines The Stormer .

The bands

The supporting program was provided by nine right-wing rock bands from Germany and several European countries, which are characterized in particular by nationalist, racist, anti-Semitic and texts that glorify National Socialism.

  • Brigade M : Dutch neo-Nazi band that has performed several times at "Blood and Honor" concerts and is represented on their compilations. In addition to Tim Mudde, Dave Blom worked as a singer here until 2003, who is active in "B&H Nederland" and the racist and openly neo-Nazi group Racial Volunteer Force. In 1999 he was involved in the desecration of the Jewish cemetery in The Hague and was imprisoned for four weeks in 2000.
  • Before the War: Slovak death metal band . The singer Michal Martinkovic is active in "Blood and Honor Engerau ", other members previously played in the NSBM band Urdung 88.
  • Notification: Swedish “Blood and Honor” band. She has already played several times for right-wing extremist organizations such as the National Socialist Front (NSF) and the National Socialist magazine Info 14 .
  • Vérszerzödés: Well-known Hungarian RAC band with releases such as Aryan Dreams 88 , on which songs such as Ein Volk, ein Reich, ein Führer are included, also related to “Blood and Honor”. The name means 'blood oath' or 'blood pact' and refers to a political myth in the history of Hungary .
  • Indexed : Swiss neo-Nazi rock band from Burgdorf BE .
  • Systems Coffin (Saxony-Anhalt).
  • Defiance: neo-Nazi band from France with releases such as White Pride Outlaws .
  • John (Nemesis): John Cartwright, the lead singer of the British "B&H" band Nemesis, also appears alone as a singer-songwriter .

The bands were also announced

  • Block 11 , a well-known Italian RAC band that describes itself as an "88 rock'n'roll band". It named itself after the "death block" in the main camp of Auschwitz . Her website and the cover of her first CD feature swastikas . In several photos, band members and audience deliver Hitler - or the so-called "Kühnengruss" ("Resistance Salute"). It was removed from the program a few days before the concert.
  • Legion of Thor: Berlin-based band founded in 1997, close to “Blood and Honor” and the “ Hammerskins ”. Even after “B&H” was banned, she performed for them at supporter concerts. At the “Festival of the Nations” she had to cancel due to time constraints.

Information booths

In addition, at such festivals the opportunity is given to find out about regional neo-Nazi groups and initiatives as well as to purchase sound carriers, clothing typical of the scene and Nazi devotional items. At the first “Festival of the Nations” there were several “Free Comradeships” such as the “National Resistance Jena” with “Jena East Section”, the “ Mädelring Thuringia ”, the “Comradeship Eisenach” and their “AG Women”, “Ilmkreis National” and represent the national information portals “Action Office Thuringia” and “Resistance North”. Neo-Nazi organizations of national importance such as the “ Aid Organization for National Political Prisoners and Their Relatives ” (HNG), the “ Association of German Women ” (GDF) and the “ Active Women Fraction ” (AFF) were also on site. Some newspapers, magazines and other right-wing extremist press outlets provided information about their offer, for example the Independent News , the Central German Spokesman in Jena , the Radio Freiheit etc.

The protests against the neo-Nazi festival

As early as May there was a hacker attack on the side of the organizers, which canceled the festival and declared the organizer group to have been dissolved. In the run-up to June 11, 2005, numerous democratic parties, trade unions and organizations as well as anti-fascist groups had called for protest against the “Festival of the Nations”. Thuringia's Prime Minister Dieter Althaus expressly supported a ban on neo-Nazi marches and called on all citizens to show their faces. On the morning of June 11th, a blockade of the intended venue by around 600 people, including mainly young anti-fascists, but also many trade unionists and some members of the city council, forced the neo-Nazi festival to be moved to the outskirts. Then 2500 to 3500 citizens marched towards the new concert venue. A total of around 8,000 people took part in the various events against right-wing extremism that day. It is one of the largest rallies against neo-Nazis in Germany in 2005.

The second "Festival of the Nations" on June 10, 2006

Another festival of the peoples was planned for June 10, 2006 in Jena. Due to the strong commitment of police forces through the 2006 World Cup , the administrative court and the higher administrative court have banned the event. The NPD has announced that it will hold the festival in September.

Despite the prohibition of the actual festival of the peoples, Jena citizens and associations organized several counter-events that were held at the beginning of the week.

The speakers

The strong participation of representatives of nationalist and neo-fascist organizations and parties from all over Europe, which was pursued in 2005, should be expanded. This time 12 speakers from as many countries were planned, several of which belong to the "European National Front" (ENF).

The bands

Compared to the previous year, the number of participating music groups was significantly reduced. In addition to the "Blood and Honor" bands Before the War and Vérszerzödés / English Rose, which were already represented in 2005:

  • Hate for Breakfast: neo-Nazi band from Italy who have performed several times at "Blood and Honor" concerts all over Europe.
  • Gigi & musical accompaniment: Project of the German right-wing rocker Daniel "Gigi" Giese , who is involved in other well-known neo-Nazi bands such as Stahlgewitter and Saccara . The project is better known under the name Gigi and the brown town musicians with publications such as Braun Is Beautiful .
  • Asynja: Swedish women band from the environment of "Blood and Honor" and the party "Nationalsocialistisk Front" (NSF). The neo-Nazi folk band appeared on April 29, 2006 at a conspiratorial NPD event in Tarnow (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania), which because of the bands' connections to the "Blood and Honor" network and the lack of knowledge of the authorities about the nature of the event for Caused a stir.

The third "Festival of the Nations" on September 8, 2007

For the third time in the history of Jena, the festival of the peoples was planned for Saturday, September 8th , at which 13 speakers were to appear, including the then NPD federal chairman Udo Voigt , who at the end of August in the Thuringian city after an event by was reported to the police on suspicion of violation of Section 130 (4) StGB . In addition, Gottfried Küssel , important leader of the neo-Nazis in Austria and already sentenced to 10 years imprisonment for violating the Nazi Prohibition Act .

A press conference called by the organizers in the town hall of Jena on the previous Friday was forbidden by the incumbent mayor Albrecht Schröter , but after a meeting with the responsible administrative court in Gera, it was moved to another building in the city. The assembly authority in Jena should ensure that possible violations of the requirements are documented.

The bands Brutal Attack (United Kingdom), Conflict 88 (Czech Republic) and Sleipnir performed, among others . The performances of the three bands were later released on DVD-Video by PC-Records .

Nick “Jarl von Hagall” Giohalas of the Greek NSBM band Der Stürmer appeared as a guest speaker in 2005.

As a counter-event, various actions took place, including several demonstrations.

The fourth “Festival of the Nations” on September 13, 2008

To prevent counter-demonstrations, the Festival of the Nations was moved to Altenburg at short notice in August 2008 . The event had around 1,000 visitors. Despite the reassignment, around 2,000 people demonstrated against the fourth edition of the Festival of Nations. 12 police officers and 14 demonstrators were injured in the demonstration. The event was nevertheless largely peaceful.

The speakers included Jürgen Rieger , Markus Mattig (Switzerland), Stephen Swinfen (Great Britain), Kristoffer Dahlenström (Sweden), Tomáš Vandas (Czech Republic), Giordano Caracino (Italy) and Enrique Valls (Spain). Sleipnir , Brainwash and Moshpit from Germany, as well as Strappo (Italy) and White Law (Great Britain) performed in bands .

The fifth “Festival of the Nations” on September 12, 2009

After the event was moved to Altenburg in 2008, the Festival of the Nations was organized in Pößneck in 2009 . The responsible district office of the Saale-Orla-Kreis banned the event in advance because a crowd of around 10,000 to 12,000 people was expected and riots between left and right-wing extremists were feared. After the NPD objected to this ban, the Weimar Higher Administrative Court allowed the event. At the beginning there were a number of protests. 200 people blocked the access to the rifle house , where supporters of the right-wing extremist scene gathered. The festival was still able to start on time and took place in front of around 500 people. The speakers were Milan Szeth (Hungary), Pascal Trost ( PNOS , Switzerland), Bojan Rassate (Bulgaria), Varenus Luckmann and Dan Eriksson from Sweden, Enrique Valls (Spain), Matthias Fischer and Andreas Meierhof from Germany, as well as Mike Bell and Nina Brown from the British National Party . The music program was also internationally oriented with Rotte Charlotte (Germany), Verszerzödes (Hungary), Brigada 1238 (Spain) and PWA (Estonia).

2010

The sixth festival of the peoples should take place on September 11th 2010 in Pößneck . However, those responsible canceled the event 14 days in advance for unspecified reasons.

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Registration of annual or regular neo-Nazi meetings and events (3 pages pdf; 155 kB), small request from MPs König (Die Linke) and response from the Thuringian Ministry of the Interior, Thuringian State Parliament, May 2, 2011.
  2. Christoph Ruf, Olaf Sundermeyer: In the NPD: Travel to the National Liberated Zone . CH Beck, 2009, ISBN 978-3-406-58585-2 , pp. 162 .
  3. ^ SPD: No place in Jena for Nazis
  4. Robert Scholz: Festival of the Nations in Altenburg: 26 injured at a "mostly peaceful" NPD event. (No longer available online.) Endstation Rechts , September 14, 2008, formerly in the original ; Retrieved February 20, 2011 .  ( Page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.endstation-rechts.de  
  5. Prohibition for NPD “Festival of the Nations” in Pößneck  ( page no longer available , search in web archivesInfo: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on JenaTV from September 4, 2009.@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.jenatv.de  
  6. Süddeutsche Zeitung : Thousands protest against right-wing extremism ( Memento of the original from September 15, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.sueddeutsche.de archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Online article from September 12, 2009.
  7. The “Festival of the Nations” does not take place. NPD blog , August 31, 2010, accessed February 20, 2011 .