Denmark: Combat 18 letterbombs letterbombs reveal nazi network
01 March 1997
The arrest of Danish members of the group linked to the neo-nazi Combat 18 in January has revealed a new network behind those responsible for four letterbombs mailed to addresses in the UK. The letterbombs were intercepted by the police which led to the arrest of five people during which one police officer was shot and injured. The five are all still in prison (see Statewatch vol. 7 no. 1 ).
The Danish anti-nazi organisation DEMOS, in a special issue of their magazine, looked behind the news stories to reveal the network which took over after anti-nazi demonstrations in 1994/95 stopped two distribution centres for nazi propaganda in villages close to the Danish-German border.
The new organisation is called NS 88 (National Socialism Heil Hitler - H being the eighth letter of the alphabet). NS 88 was established in spring 1994 and its main organiser is the Danish-German, Marcel Schilf. Along with the arrested members of the Danish Combat 18 group he too was taken in for questioning but released shortly afterwards. NS 88 is linked to the UK nazi music outfit, Blood and Honour, which is controlled by Combat 18. They also work very closely with the Swedish record company Wasakaaren RR/Ragnarock Records in Helsingborg.
According to DEMOS the establishment of NS 88 in Denmark signalled a break from earlier forms of propaganda - where traditional nazi ideas were presented in books, pamphlets and leaflets - to new forms of more youth oriented agitation. Central to the activities of NS 88 is the distribution of nazi music CDs and videos. This development follows on from the expulsion of the older, and more traditional, leadership of the nazi party, Danmarks Nationalsocialistiske Bevaegelse (DNSB) which was kicked out in 1992 after a "youth revolt". It was replaced by a younger generation which is less theoretically oriented, focusing on street actions and confrontations, to attract younger members.
Officially the leader of DNSB, Jonni Hansen, has denied having any part in the Combat 18 letterbombs, but DEMOS questions this and says that DNSB is only a legitimate facade for the nazis and that "the dirty business" is "commissioned" to outfits working autonomously. A quote from the nazi paper "The Homeland" (no. 5, spring 1994), which echoes the UK Combat 18 policy of "leaderless resistance", shows this dual strategy:
"We also need autonomous groups, in which only non-public national socialists can participate. The jobs are defined by the leadership. The most important principal of autonomy is, that one must keep quiet, ask no question and prepare oneself to discipline, sacrifice and perseverance."
NS 88 was established in 1994 - the same year that this was written.
Before the present leadership took over DNSB, the party was oriented towards, and cooperated with, continental European organizations. The previous leader, Riis-Knudsen, held high positions in the international nazi movement. But, according to DEMOS, the party never managed to establish strong relations with the UK. This changed after the youth take-over of the party. Contacts with British organizations such as Combat 18/National Socialist Alliance led to cooperation around demonstrations and participation in nazi concerts. It also led to commercial cooperation within the nazi music movement. The establishment of NS88 was the outcome. On a practical level relations were strengthened. For instance, during the so-called Hess March, in the city of Roskilde in September 1995, Danish nazis supporting a German anti-antifa group had physical support from British nazis such as William "Wilf the Beast" Browning.
NS 88 is central in organizing and financing the activities of nazi groups in both Denmark and other countries. In Germany nazi propaganda is forbidden and the smuggling of such material into the country is, therefore, important. Schilf has played a central role in setting up such activities.
The profits from the nazi music scene are als