Golden Dawn (Greece) - Allegations of Nazism

Allegations of Nazism

The party is regularly described as Neo-Nazi by the international news media, and members are allegedly responsible for anti-semitic graffiti. Officially denying that it has any connection to Neo-Nazism, the party maintains that it cleaves closer to the authoritarian nationalism of Ioannis Metaxas, the Greek general who established the 4th of August regime, in Greece between 1936 and 1941.

Golden Dawn spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris wrote an article that was published in Golden Dawn magazine on April 20, 2011, in which he mentioned: What would the future of Europe and the whole modern world be like if World War II (which the democracies, or in fact the Jews - according to general Ioannis Metaxas - declared on Germany) hadn't stopped the renewing route of National Socialism? Certainly, fundamental values which mainly derive from ancient Greek culture, would be dominant in every state and would define the fate of peoples. Romanticism as a spiritual movement and classicism would prevail against the decadent subculture that corroded the white man. Extreme materialism would have been discarded, giving its place to spiritual exaltation. In the same article, Adolf Hitler is characterized as great social reformer and military genius.

In a 1987 article of the Golden Dawn magazine, its editor Michaloliakos wrote an article with title "Hitler for 1000 years" where he supports Nazism and white supremacy. Specifically he wrote "We are the faithful soldiers of the National Socialist idea and nothing else" and " WE EXIST, and continue the battle, the battle for the final victory of our race". He ends the article by writing "1987, 42 years later, with our thought and soul given to the last great battle, with our thought and soul given to the black and red banners, with our thought and soul given to the memory of our great Leader, we raise our right hand up, we salute the Sun and with the courage, that is compelled by our military honor and our National Socialist duty we shout full of passion, faith to the future and our visions: HEIL HITLER!". Furthermore he capitalizes the pronouns referring to Hitler ("by Himself", "His people").

On August 17, 1987, war criminal Rudolf Hess, Adolf Hitler's deputy in the Nazi Party, who was given a life sentence at the Nuremberg Trials, committed suicide. The following day, August 18, 1987, Golden Dawn members distributed proclamations in the center of Athens with the phrase RUDOLF HESS IMMORTAL (Greek:RUDOLF HESS ΑΘΑΝΑΤΟΣ).

In pictures taken during the first congress of Golden Dawn in February 1990, the congress hall is decorated with the Swastika and the Wolfsangel.

There are many cases in which Golden Dawn members have appeared to give Nazi salute. Party founder Nikos Michaloliakos appeared to give a Nazi salute in the Athens city council. He claims that it was merely "the salute of the national youth organisation of Ioannis Metaxas". The party states its logo is a traditional Greek meander, not a Nazi symbol.

In May 2012, Golden Dawn ran in Greek elections under the slogan "So we can rid this land of filth". On his post-election statement, leader Nikos Michaloliakos had placed a marble eagle, on an obvious position on his desk, which according to media reports bears similarity to the eagle of the Nazi Third Reich. Post elections, Golden Dawn's MP Eleni Zaroulia wore an iron cross ring during her inauguration, a symbol which has been associated with Nazism.As depicted in a picture taken on September 14, 2012, Golden Dawn's MP Panagiotis Iliopoulos has a tattoo with the phrase Sieg Heil

On July 23, 2012, Golden Dawn member Artemis Matthaiopoulos was elected MP for the town of Serres. The website left.gr (associated with SYRIZA), reported that Matthaiopoulos was the frontman of the Nazi punk band "Pogrom" and pointed to the band's song "Auschwitz" with antisemitic lyrics such as "fuck Anne Frank" and "Juden raus".

Ilias Kasidiaris quoted the antisemitic hoax The Protocols of the Elders of Zion in a speech to parliament on 23 October 2012. Defending himself in a discussion of whether to lift his parliamentary immunity over his assault of Kanelli, he quoted Protocol 19: "In order to destroy the prestige of heroism we shall send them for trial in the category of theft, murder and every kind of abominable and filthy crime."