During the Easter weekend, the Italian neo-nazi organisation «Veneto Fronte Skinheads» (VFS) arranged a two-day white power event in northern Italy, titled „Defend Europe“.
On friday evening, about 800 neo-nazis from all over Europe gathered in Sanguinetto, a small municipality in the province of Verona. Band members of the groups which were announced for the following day played an acoustic show with DJ-sets.
The main show on saturday, 20th of April 2019, already started at 2:00 pm. More than 2.000 nazis celebrated the 130th birthday of Adolf Hitler in a public building in the center of Cerea, disturbed by neither police nor authorities. Well-known neo-nazi bands from Australia, Sweden, Spain, Italy, Poland and England played on the stage, among them the german group „Sleipnir“. The audience was international as well, with neo-nazis from Austria, France, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Croatia, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Switzerland, Spain, Greece, Bulgaria, United Kingdom and even Brazil evidently following the invitation. The biggest group were several hundred neo-nazis from germany. More than 30 vehicles with german plates were spotted. Additional Neonazis travelled by aircraft.
Sebastian Reiche (left in the picture)
Besides «Veneto Fronte Skinheads» as the main organisers, roughly a dozen of different neo-nazi groups were present, including «Blood & Honour» (B&H), «Combat 18» and different chapters of «Hammerskins». For several years, neonazis from Germany are traveling to VFS events. Among them are usually neo-nazis from Saxony who had been part of the banned group «B&H Germany».
Such as last weekend, when the neo-nazi Sebastian Reiche from Dresden was spotted as well as Yves Rahmel from Chemnitz. Reiche was an active and prominent member of B&H in the area of Dresden and, later, appeared in the milieu of the militant neo-nazi group «Skinheads Sächsische Schweiz». Rahmel was considered the leader of B&H in Chemnitz. Being the founder of the neo-nazi music label «PC Records», he has intense contacts to neo-nazis all over the world. It is reasonably assumed that he maintained a stall to sell merch at the concert in Italy. Especially since Steve Geburtig, who is now officially responsible for the label, was there too. Rahmel brought a child to the concert in northern italy – assumable his small daughter.
Yves Rahmel with a child at the «Defend Europe»-concert in Northern Italy
A child with «Blood & Honour»-shirt
Other neo-nazis also brought their children. There were almost always visitors who did the nazi salute or wore corresponding shirts which swastikas or Hitler portraits. The daughter of a german neo-nazi wore a shirt with a „Blood & Honour“ print.
Neonazis from Austria with «Blood & Honour Central Europe Division»-shirts
Another group of neo-nazis from Austria presented themselves in shirts with «Blood & Honour Central Europe Division» prints. They brought boxes filled with shirts which were sold for 25 Euros. Part of this group was Sandra Grischenig from Hohenems. She is considered a member of the B&H Chapter of Vorarlberg. She had already been spotted at the «ISD Memorial» 2015, where her clique from Allgäu wore shirts with the name of the B&H chapter «Central Europe Division», which is obviously a code for the network in Germany and Austria.
The well-known Austrian neo-nazi Kai-Rolf Müller, called «Rocker Rolf», was present at the Easter weekend in Italy as well. Müller had been affected when police raided 32 flats and business in March of 2019. Currently there are investigations against him and 89 more neo-nazis because of re-engaging in national-socialist activities. There might be similar measures against the neonazis of «Blood & Honour Hexagone» from France. French president Emmanuel Macron recently announced that he will take actions against this group and try to ban them.
Crew-members from «Sleipnir» with «Blood & Honour Deutschland»-shirts
The german band «Sleipnir» couldn’t resist to label themselves with «Blood & Honour Deutschland», the name of the German B&H chapter which is banned in Germany since 2000. The German crew members wore shirts with the «Blood & Honour Deutschland» print.
The «Easterfest» of VFS is one of many big events of the neo-nazi scene in Italy. Similarly, the multi-day white power festival «Ritorno a Camelot» attracts several thousand neonazis from all over europe each year. These events give especially German neo-nazis the possibility to express their national socialist ideology without limits and with impunity. For organisations like «Blood & honour» these events are places of exchange and networking. These pictures point out: The network of B&H in Austria and Germany is still active.
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