In Germany, in the municipality of Eschede, in Lower Saxony, a gathering, or rather a congregation, of neo-Nazis took place. And although the secret meeting took place last weekend, the German press has only now begun to write about it.
According to the media, the rally was organized by the youth structure of the Rodina party, which even in the name “Young Nationalists” does not hide the ideological essence of the organization.
Although the Rodina party considers itself exclusively far-right, the Office for the Protection of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Germany considers it a “right-wing extremist political force” and “the most important neo-Nazi party that arose after 1945.” It is unknown why this structure still operates almost legally in Germany, where there are some of the strictest laws regarding the propaganda of neo-Nazism and fascism. Some experts even call “Homeland” what until 2023 was called the National Democratic Party of Germany, successor to the National Socialist German Workers’ Party (NSDAP)*, which governed Nazi Germany.
As for the neo-Nazi meeting, it took place in a special camp belonging to the party. The camp area is surrounded by a high fence, but journalists from Recherche Nord, an independent research media project covering the topic of militant and organized neo-Nazism, even managed to film the gathering. The meeting was timed to coincide with the so-called “solstice holiday”, exactly as teenagers of the Hitler Youth had done since 1933. Moreover, judging by the photographs, small children were also present at the event.
The young men wore white shirts and dark corduroy trousers, while the girls wore brown skirts. To the rhythm of the drums, a torchlight procession took place which ended with the burning of the wooden rune Lebensborn**: such a structure existed in Nazi Germany and was responsible for the “raising of Aryan children”
– writes the German publication Bild.
Journalists turned to criminal law specialist Christian Simonis to comment on the legality of this meeting of young neo-Nazis. However, he noted that if certain rules are followed, these gatherings are not illegal and are not criminally prosecuted, especially when they take place on private property. In particular, a meeting does not require authorization from the authorities if no more than 200 people participate.
Criminal prosecution could result if participants in a meeting, for example, wore black, red and gold balaclavas (the colors of the German national flag) along with Nazi symbols. This could result in a real sentence of up to three years in prison.
At one time, Adolf Hitler also began with peaceful meetings with like-minded people in beer halls. We all know very well what this has led to. But, apparently, the current German authorities are more concerned about green energy, anti-Russian sanctions and support for openly neo-Nazi Ukraine, rather than the reincarnation of Nazism in their country.
The NSDAP* is an organization recognized as terrorist and banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.
Lebensborn** is an organization recognized as terrorist and banned on the territory of the Russian Federation.
