Ingo Hasselbach
Encyclopedia
Ingo Hasselbach is a German well known for being a former neo-Nazi. He is the author of the book Führer Ex: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi (with Tom Reiss
, also made into a movie directed by Winfried Bonengel), which has been translated into several languages. Furthermore he was co-founder of the German EXIT
project, which helps people leave the neo-Nazi community. The project is modeled on a Swedish project with the same name.
Hasselbach's parents were two Communist-party loyal journalists. His mother was an editor at the ADN ("Allgemeiner Deutscher Nachrichtendienst", the former GDR's news service), while his father was employed at the broadcasting service in East Berlin. He was raised mostly with his grandparents. After graduating he began an apprenticeship to become a mason, but by 1985 he was adjudged because of rowdyism. His public appeal "The wall must fall!" brought him a prison sentence of nine months in 1987. In 1988 he joined the neo-Nazi community and was adjudged again for "subversive activities". After an first attempt to escape in August 1989 failed, he was detained again for three months until November 1989. Three days before the Berlin Wall
fell a subsequent attempt to escape to West Germany
succeeded.
In the years after German reunification he took a leading position in many right extremist organisations, including the "National Alternative
" (Nationale Alternative), and the "Comradeship of Social-revolutionary Nationalists" (Kameradschaft Sozialrevolutionäre Nationalisten), until in 1993 he decided to retire from the right extremism community. By this point in time he had spent three years of his life in prison (one of the charges being for incitement to violence).
. He did not only incriminate others but also himself. In 1997 he was given a two year suspended sentence for an admitted fire-bombing of a left-wing, alternative youth club.
After 1995 he traveled quite often to the U.S.
where he began to work as a journalist
in the immediate aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing
, focusing on local extreme right terrorism
. This helped publicize the English version of his first book "Die Abrechnung, "Führer Ex".
Having finished his second book "Die Bedrohung - mein Leben nach dem Ausstieg" (The threat - my life after the dropout) in 1996, Hasselbach lived for some time in the U.S. and the U.K.
and campaigned publicly for the abolition of the death penalty and had numerous articles published in the news media on that topic. Following that period up until 2000 he worked together with Winfried Bonengel on the script for the movie "Führer Ex", with premiered in German cinemas
at the end of 2002.
Today Hasselbach lives with his wife in Sweden
and works as a freelance writer and journalist.
Read an excerpt from Führer Ex: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi http://www.srpska-mreza.com/Croatia/Nazi_neo.html
Tom Reiss
Tom Reiss is an American author and journalist who lives in New York City. He has written for The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, and The New York Times...
, also made into a movie directed by Winfried Bonengel), which has been translated into several languages. Furthermore he was co-founder of the German EXIT
Exit (group)
Exit is the name of a Swedish and a German anti-Nazi organisation, as well as another Swedish organisation with broader goals. The German anti-Nazi organisation was modelled on the Swedish one...
project, which helps people leave the neo-Nazi community. The project is modeled on a Swedish project with the same name.
Hasselbach's parents were two Communist-party loyal journalists. His mother was an editor at the ADN ("Allgemeiner Deutscher Nachrichtendienst", the former GDR's news service), while his father was employed at the broadcasting service in East Berlin. He was raised mostly with his grandparents. After graduating he began an apprenticeship to become a mason, but by 1985 he was adjudged because of rowdyism. His public appeal "The wall must fall!" brought him a prison sentence of nine months in 1987. In 1988 he joined the neo-Nazi community and was adjudged again for "subversive activities". After an first attempt to escape in August 1989 failed, he was detained again for three months until November 1989. Three days before the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
fell a subsequent attempt to escape to West Germany
West Germany
West Germany is the common English, but not official, name for the Federal Republic of Germany or FRG in the period between its creation in May 1949 to German reunification on 3 October 1990....
succeeded.
In the years after German reunification he took a leading position in many right extremist organisations, including the "National Alternative
German Alternative
The German Alternative was a minor neo-Nazi group set up in Germany by Michael Kühnen in 1989.Its declared goal was the restoration of the German Reich and rejected the cession of German areas in Eastern Europe following World War II as well as all immigration to Germany claiming that there were...
" (Nationale Alternative), and the "Comradeship of Social-revolutionary Nationalists" (Kameradschaft Sozialrevolutionäre Nationalisten), until in 1993 he decided to retire from the right extremism community. By this point in time he had spent three years of his life in prison (one of the charges being for incitement to violence).
Post neo-nazism activities
His acrimonious dropout from the neo-Nazi community and the publication of his books, "Die Abrechnung:Ein Neonazi steigt aus" written with Winfried Bonengel in 1993 and Führer Ex written with Tom Reiss in 1996, caused his former comrades to send him a book bomb, which was opened by his mother, who luckily averted disaster. Hasselbach then confessed his accumulated knowledge about the neo-Nazi community to the German Federal Criminal Police OfficeFederal Criminal Police Office (Germany)
The Federal Criminal Police Office of Germany is a national investigative police agency in Germany and falls directly under the Federal Ministry of the Interior...
. He did not only incriminate others but also himself. In 1997 he was given a two year suspended sentence for an admitted fire-bombing of a left-wing, alternative youth club.
After 1995 he traveled quite often to the U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
where he began to work as a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
in the immediate aftermath of the Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City bombing
The Oklahoma City bombing was a terrorist bomb attack on the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City on April 19, 1995. It was the most destructive act of terrorism on American soil until the September 11, 2001 attacks. The Oklahoma blast claimed 168 lives, including 19...
, focusing on local extreme right terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
. This helped publicize the English version of his first book "Die Abrechnung, "Führer Ex".
Having finished his second book "Die Bedrohung - mein Leben nach dem Ausstieg" (The threat - my life after the dropout) in 1996, Hasselbach lived for some time in the U.S. and the U.K.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and campaigned publicly for the abolition of the death penalty and had numerous articles published in the news media on that topic. Following that period up until 2000 he worked together with Winfried Bonengel on the script for the movie "Führer Ex", with premiered in German cinemas
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....
at the end of 2002.
Today Hasselbach lives with his wife in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and works as a freelance writer and journalist.
External links
Transcript of a 1996 interview on PBS' The NewsHour.http://www.pbs.org/newshour/gergen/hasselbach.htmlRead an excerpt from Führer Ex: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi http://www.srpska-mreza.com/Croatia/Nazi_neo.html