Combating Hate: Domestic Extremism & Terrorism

Neo-Nazis Plan “Family Friendly” Events to Celebrate Hitler's Birthday

Neo-Nazis and other white supremacists plan to host events in Florida, Missouri, North Carolina and elsewhere to commemorate the April 20 birthday of Adolf Hitler. This year's events include an "Adolf Hitler Celebration," a "Fuhrer's Birthday Party," and a celebration of "the Great One's 120th birthday." Groups are promoting the meetings and celebrations as "family friendly" in an effort to pass on their hateful ideology to children and continue Hitler's legacy for future generations.

Neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups have a history of staging events on or close to April 20 explicitly to honor Hitler's legacy of anti-Semitism and world vision of Aryan supremacy. As the neo-Nazi movement continues to fracture, Hitler's birthday also provides an opportunity to unify in the name of a revered figure. In fact, groups are encouraging all racists and anti-Semites to attend and network at their events, regardless of specific affiliation.

Florida: Racist Skinhead Confederate Hammerskins to host "Fuhrer's Birthday Party"

On April 18, the Confederate Hammerskins AKA Crew 38, a group associated with the neo-Nazi Hammerskin Nation, plans to host "The Fuhrer's Birthday Party" in New Port Richey, Florida. The event will feature "local WP [white power] bands" and is being marketed as "family friendly." A Florida-based member of Stormfront, the largest and most popular white supremacist Internet forum, is promoting the event on the site.

Missouri: Neo-Nazi National Socialist Movement to Commemorate 35th Anniversary

During the weekend of April 17-18, the Michigan-based National Socialist Movement (NSM) is hosting its National Meeting and commemorating its 35th anniversary in the St. Louis, Missouri area. The NSM has a history of scheduling national meetings to coincide with Hitler's birthday.

Unlike previous years, when the group's national meeting was open only to NSM members, this year, "all known White Patriots" are welcome. The weekend is scheduled to include a "family friendly" dinner, a march or rally, and an after-event party with live entertainment. Jeff Schoep, who leads the group, will be among the keynote speakers.

To promote the NSM's views and activity, the group's Ohio, Oregon, and Missouri units are planning to stage flier distributions. NSM units are also opening their meetings to non-members to gain a larger following.

North Carolina: White supremacist Troops of Tomorrow's "Adolf Hitler Celebration"

Troops of Tomorrow (TOT), a white supremacist organization, is hosting an "Adolf Hitler Celebration" on April 18 in North Carolina. Included among the events in this "family friendly" celebration will be a speech about Hitler (who the group describes as "one of the greatest Heros [sic] of the White race!"), a knife throwing contest, and activities for children. Contest winners will receive "cool wp [white power] prizes."

Neo-Nazis and white supremacists to "celebrate the Great One's 120th birthday"

On April 18, an event will be held at an undisclosed location "to meet other like minded people and celebrate the Great One's 120th birthday." A Chicago-based white supremacist using the name "w1488p" is promoting the event on Stormfront. The numbers 14 and 88 are significant in the white supremacist movement; 14 stands for the "14 words" in the slogan "We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children," and 88 stands for "Heil Hitler," with H as the eighth letter of the alphabet.

The event calls for "All White Nationalists" to participate in the celebration, which is scheduled to feature the following guests, in addition to "other surprise guests":

• Theo (AKA Ted) Junker, a former German SS soldier during World War II and the founder of a Wisconsin museum devoted to Hitler. Junker, who immigrated to the U.S. in 1955 and who claims he joined the German SS in 1940, denies the Nazis gassed anyone and praises Hitler's actions. Junker has previously participated in neo-Nazi events.

• Art Jones, a long-time white supremacist, former member of the National Socialist White People's Party, and a frequent candidate for elective office. Jones spoke at an event celebrating Hitler's birthday in April 2008, staged by the neo-Nazi American National Socialist Worker's Party (ANSWP). From April through June 2008, Jones was listed as the "pro temp" leader of the ANSWP's Northern Illinois unit.

• Eli James, a minister in the Christian Identity movement, a virulently anti-Semitic religion that espouses the belief that Jews and non-whites are "mud people" and the literal spawns of the devil. James also leads the Church of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, a Chicago-based group.