The Neo-Nazis and German unification

by Rand C. Lewis

This book traces the activity of the neo-Nazis in Germany from the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 to the present. Lewis, who lives in Germany, has based this pioneering study on first-hand research. He emphasizes the impact of unification on the growth of right-wing militancy throughout Germany, providing examples of neo-Nazi and skinhead activities, as well as the government's efforts to control the growing extremist movement. Although the movement remains relatively small, five years after unification, it is one that bears watching. The first chapter reviews the events surrounding the unification and sets the stage for the increasingly vocal neo-Nazi movement. The primary goal of the following chapters is to follow the movement's chronological evolution from unification through the high points in 1992 and 1993 to the governmental efforts to reduce the growing threat in 1994. Key to the discussions are the examples of violence and brutality directly linked to the neo-Nazis in the 199