[imagesource: YouTube / VICE]

Nazis aren’t very popular with the general public.

The same is true for neo-Nazis, who can’t simply waltz into a nearby music festival wearing a Swastika and jam out to some beats.

Shame, tough luck.

Festivals of all varieties have suffered immensely during the COVID-19 pandemic, and that’s also the case with the neo-Nazi music scene.

In Germany, music that acts as a vehicle for far-right ideology is called ‘rechtsrock’, with festivals across Europe serving as networking hubs for neo-Nazi groups.

VICE took a closer look at what it’s like inside one of these festivals, held in the German state of Thuringia:

[It] drew in an estimated 5,000 neo-Nazis. It was organised by the Turonen, a violent neo-Nazi gang who were recently targetted in a raid by police where large amounts of cash, weapons and crystal meth were found.

These festivals can make organisers hundreds of thousands of euros, which are then pumped back into the neo-Nazi underground scene.

As the far-right music scene readies itself to return, authorities are being encouraged to keep a close eye on such festivals.

Let’s have a glimpse inside this twisted world:

[source:vice]