Neo-Nazis Fly Under Radar

[cratehorus]

Police and experts say this new generation of young fascists is potentially far more dangerous and reckless than their older peers. "Today a neo-Nazi can eat Turkish kebabs and still go out and beat up immigrants," said journalist Johannes Radke, who has reported on the German far-right for more than a decade.

"They say, 'We'll let everyone do whatever they want as long as they're a Nazi at heart.'"

Headquartered in the down-at-heel western industrial city of Dortmund, a new group known as the Autonomous Nationalists AN.L is at the forefront of this transformation. They share the hard-core xenophobia of older cadres in the far-right, but their appearance and tactics are those of a dynamic, Internet-savvy youth movement. They wear stylish running shoes and expensive brand name windbreakers and communicate with each other via Twitter. The use of English slogans at protests, for decades taboo in far-right circles, is widespread. "They see themselves as the avant-garde of the Nazi scene," Radke said. "They're much more professional than some drunk, dim-witted skinhead - and more dangerous."

There are signs the campaign may be working. On September 1, a date neo-Nazis mark to commemorate Nazi Germany's invasion of Poland in 1939, the only visible banners were those urging fascists to leave town. Lamp posts were newly painted with a special anti-adhesive to deter far-right vandals from defacing them.

A message has been displayed on top of Dortmund's landmark U-Tower - a 1920s-era skyscraper crowned with an illuminated letter "U" and giant TV screens.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/10/1...0S20121011