Michael Kühnen
Encyclopedia
Michael Kühnen was a leader in the German
neo-Nazi
movement. He was one of the first post-World War II
Germans to openly embrace Nazism
and call for the formation of a Fourth Reich
. He enacted a policy of setting up several differently-named groups in an effort to confuse German authorities, who were attempting to shut down neo-Nazi groups. Kühnen's homosexuality
was made public in 1986, and he died of HIV
-related complications in 1991.
Kühnen was raised as a staunch Roman Catholic
, and initially came to politics in his early teens as a Maoist
. When he took a job at the shipyard
s of Hamburg
, Kühnen moved to the far right
, joining a local National Democratic Party of Germany
(NPD) youth group. He did not remain long in the NPD, soon denouncing party members as "a bourgeois crowd of swines", and leaving the party to join the neo-Nazi movement.
but he was dishonourably discharged
in 1977 for attempting to spread Nazi propaganda
in his barracks. After this expulsion, he took his first steps in organising a new movement, setting up the Action Front of National Socialists
. Initially, the organisation consisted only of Kühnen, but he soon made contact with like-minded individuals across West Germany
, resulting in a nationwide network of cells. The group soon became notorious for its violent activities, which included bank robberies
and arms raids, often working in tandem with other similar groups, such as the Wiking-Jugend
. Known as the leader of the group, Kühnen was arrested in 1979 and sentenced to three and a half years in prison for inciting violence and racial hatred. Released in 1982, he set about trying to reorganise the Action Front of National Socialists, merging them with Thomas Brehl's National Activists, but the attempts were hindered by the Ministry of the Interior
, who outlawed the group in November 1983.
(FAP) and encouraged his supporters to infiltrate and take over the group. Kühnen's bid was successful, (largely due to the fairly insignificant nature of the FAP before Kühnen) but nonetheless, he found that support for his cause had waned during his prior incarceration. Some believe this was due to a move away from orthodox Nazism to Strasserism in the German underground, leaving Kühnen's position somewhat compromised. Kühnen then began to look to Ernst Röhm
for inspiration, and he broke away from full support for Adolf Hitler
; condemning Hitler's purges against the SA
and calling for a return to pre-1934 Nazism. Alongside the infiltration he also formed his own successor group, the Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front
in 1984.
With rumours spreading that he was to be arrested, Kühnen fled to Paris
in early 1984 and sought refuge with the neo-Nazi group Fédération d'action nationale et européenne
(FANE), with whom he had previously established contacts. Whilst working with FANE, he visited Spain
and met with Léon Degrelle
, establishing relations with the former Waffen-SS
man who had become a central player in the CEDADE
. Kühnen was arrested in Paris and extradited
to Germany to face trial on a number of charges related to neo-Nazism. He was sentenced to a further four years in prison.
In 1986, while in jail, Kühnen came out
as a homosexual
. In response to critics with the neo-Nazi movement, he argued that his lack of a family meant he had more time to devote to militancy, and he pointed out that Ernst Röhm
was also a homosexual. However, Kühnen lost much support in the strongly-homophobic
neo-Nazi scene. The FAP split, with Kühnen's former ally Friedhelm Busse
leading the larger anti-gay wing, which held effective control of the party by 1989.
Kühnen was released from prison in March 1988, and almost immediately, he set up a new group, Nationale Sammlung. When this group was banned the following year, he enacted a policy of setting up group after group, in an effort to confuse authorities. Of these movements, German Alternative
was the most well-known. During this period, it was revealed that Kühnen had contracted HIV
.
on April 8, 1991, to protest the opening of the Polish
border. Despite police presence, Kühnen led the group in throwing stones and other projectiles at cars crossing the border. The Polish border incident was Kühnen's last public action, and he succumbed to AIDS
in Kassel
later the same month. His earlier admission of homosexuality and his death from AIDS sparked a debate about homosexuality within the Europe
an neo-Nazi scene. Within Germany, his death had a twofold effect on neo-Nazism; it meant the loss of its most dynamic leader, and it meant that the divisions he had caused would be largely left behind. He was effectively succeeded by Christian Worch
, his closest ally, whom Kühnen had nominated to take over his leadership.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
neo-Nazi
Neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism consists of post-World War II social or political movements seeking to revive Nazism or some variant thereof.The term neo-Nazism can also refer to the ideology of these movements....
movement. He was one of the first post-World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Germans to openly embrace Nazism
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
and call for the formation of a Fourth Reich
Fourth Reich
The Fourth Reich is a term used to describe a theoretical future successor of the Third Reich.-Neo-Nazism:In terms of neo-Nazism, the Fourth Reich is envisioned as featuring Aryan supremacy, anti-Semitism, Lebensraum, aggressive militarism and totalitarianism...
. He enacted a policy of setting up several differently-named groups in an effort to confuse German authorities, who were attempting to shut down neo-Nazi groups. Kühnen's homosexuality
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
was made public in 1986, and he died of HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
-related complications in 1991.
Kühnen was raised as a staunch Roman Catholic
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...
, and initially came to politics in his early teens as a Maoist
Maoism
Maoism, also known as the Mao Zedong Thought , is claimed by Maoists as an anti-Revisionist form of Marxist communist theory, derived from the teachings of the Chinese political leader Mao Zedong . Developed during the 1950s and 1960s, it was widely applied as the political and military guiding...
. When he took a job at the shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s of Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, Kühnen moved to the far right
Far right
Far-right, extreme right, hard right, radical right, and ultra-right are terms used to discuss the qualitative or quantitative position a group or person occupies within right-wing politics. Far-right politics may involve anti-immigration and anti-integration stances towards groups that are...
, joining a local National Democratic Party of Germany
National Democratic Party of Germany
The National Democratic Party of Germany – The People's Union , is a far right German nationalist party. It was founded in 1964 a successor to the German Reich Party . Party statements self-identify as Germany's "only significant patriotic force"...
(NPD) youth group. He did not remain long in the NPD, soon denouncing party members as "a bourgeois crowd of swines", and leaving the party to join the neo-Nazi movement.
1970s
Following his departure from the NPD, Kühnen had a brief spell in the German ArmyGerman Army
The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of the Federal Republic of Germany. Following the disbanding of the Wehrmacht after World War II, it was re-established in 1955 as the Bundesheer, part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr along with the Navy and the Air Force...
but he was dishonourably discharged
Military discharge
A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve.-United States:Discharge or separation should not be confused with retirement; career U.S...
in 1977 for attempting to spread Nazi propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
in his barracks. After this expulsion, he took his first steps in organising a new movement, setting up the Action Front of National Socialists
Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists
The Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists was a German neo-Nazi organization....
. Initially, the organisation consisted only of Kühnen, but he soon made contact with like-minded individuals across 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....
, resulting in a nationwide network of cells. The group soon became notorious for its violent activities, which included bank robberies
Bank robbery
Bank robbery is the crime of stealing from a bank during opening hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Uniform Crime Reporting Program, robbery is "the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of...
and arms raids, often working in tandem with other similar groups, such as the Wiking-Jugend
Wiking-Jugend
The "Wiking-Jugend" was a German Neo-Nazi organization modelled after the Hitlerjugend.The Sozialistische Reichspartei was outlawed in 1952, together with its youth organization "Reichsjugend"...
. Known as the leader of the group, Kühnen was arrested in 1979 and sentenced to three and a half years in prison for inciting violence and racial hatred. Released in 1982, he set about trying to reorganise the Action Front of National Socialists, merging them with Thomas Brehl's National Activists, but the attempts were hindered by the Ministry of the Interior
Federal Ministry of the Interior (Germany)
The Federal Ministry of the Interior is a ministry of the German federal government. Its main office is in Berlin, with a secondary seat in Bonn. The current minister of the interior is Dr...
, who outlawed the group in November 1983.
1980s
With the ANS/NA banned, Kühnen turned his attention to the fledgling Free German Workers' PartyFree German Workers' Party
The Free German Workers' Party was a neo-nazi political association in Germany. It was outlawed by the Constitutional Court in 1995.The FAP was founded in 1979 but was largely insignificant until the banning of the Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists in 1983 when Michael Kühnen...
(FAP) and encouraged his supporters to infiltrate and take over the group. Kühnen's bid was successful, (largely due to the fairly insignificant nature of the FAP before Kühnen) but nonetheless, he found that support for his cause had waned during his prior incarceration. Some believe this was due to a move away from orthodox Nazism to Strasserism in the German underground, leaving Kühnen's position somewhat compromised. Kühnen then began to look to Ernst Röhm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
for inspiration, and he broke away from full support for Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler
Adolf Hitler was an Austrian-born German politician and the leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party , commonly referred to as the Nazi Party). He was Chancellor of Germany from 1933 to 1945, and head of state from 1934 to 1945...
; condemning Hitler's purges against the SA
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
and calling for a return to pre-1934 Nazism. Alongside the infiltration he also formed his own successor group, the Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front
Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front
Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front is a German organisation that was the main group for neo-Nazi activity during the 1990s. It translates into English as the Community of Like-Minded People of the New Front or the Covenant of the New Front....
in 1984.
With rumours spreading that he was to be arrested, Kühnen fled to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
in early 1984 and sought refuge with the neo-Nazi group Fédération d'action nationale et européenne
Fédération d'action nationale et européenne
The Fédération d'action nationale et européenne was a small French far-right organisation founded in April 1966. Openly Neo-Nazi, it was led by Mark Fredriksen, a bank employee who became involved in activism for French Algeria after serving in the paras there...
(FANE), with whom he had previously established contacts. Whilst working with FANE, he visited Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
and met with Léon Degrelle
Léon Degrelle
Léon Joseph Marie Ignace Degrelle was a Walloon Belgian politician, who founded Rexism and later joined the Waffen SS which were front-line troops in the fight against the Soviet Union...
, establishing relations with the former Waffen-SS
Waffen-SS
The Waffen-SS was a multi-ethnic and multi-national military force of the Third Reich. It constituted the armed wing of the Schutzstaffel or SS, an organ of the Nazi Party. The Waffen-SS saw action throughout World War II and grew from three regiments to over 38 divisions, and served alongside...
man who had become a central player in the CEDADE
CEDADE
CEDADE was a Spanish neo-Nazi group that concerned itself with co-ordinating international activity and publishing....
. Kühnen was arrested in Paris and extradited
Extradition
Extradition is the official process whereby one nation or state surrenders a suspected or convicted criminal to another nation or state. Between nation states, extradition is regulated by treaties...
to Germany to face trial on a number of charges related to neo-Nazism. He was sentenced to a further four years in prison.
In 1986, while in jail, Kühnen came out
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
as a homosexual
Homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality refers to "an enduring pattern of or disposition to experience sexual, affectional, or romantic attractions" primarily or exclusively to people of the same...
. In response to critics with the neo-Nazi movement, he argued that his lack of a family meant he had more time to devote to militancy, and he pointed out that Ernst Röhm
Ernst Röhm
Ernst Julius Röhm, was a German officer in the Bavarian Army and later an early Nazi leader. He was a co-founder of the Sturmabteilung , the Nazi Party militia, and later was its commander...
was also a homosexual. However, Kühnen lost much support in the strongly-homophobic
Homophobia
Homophobia is a term used to refer to a range of negative attitudes and feelings towards lesbian, gay and in some cases bisexual, transgender people and behavior, although these are usually covered under other terms such as biphobia and transphobia. Definitions refer to irrational fear, with the...
neo-Nazi scene. The FAP split, with Kühnen's former ally Friedhelm Busse
Friedhelm Busse
Friedhelm Busse was a German national socialist politician and activist. In a career taking in some six decades Busse established himself as a leading voice of German neo-Nazism.-Early activism:...
leading the larger anti-gay wing, which held effective control of the party by 1989.
Kühnen was released from prison in March 1988, and almost immediately, he set up a new group, Nationale Sammlung. When this group was banned the following year, he enacted a policy of setting up group after group, in an effort to confuse authorities. Of these movements, German 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...
was the most well-known. During this period, it was revealed that Kühnen had contracted HIV
HIV
Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
.
1990s
Again implementing his direct action approach, Kühnen led a group of white power skinheads to Frankfurt an der OderFrankfurt (Oder)
Frankfurt is a town in Brandenburg, Germany, located on the Oder River, on the German-Polish border directly opposite the town of Słubice which was a part of Frankfurt until 1945. At the end of the 1980s it reached a population peak with more than 87,000 inhabitants...
on April 8, 1991, to protest the opening of the Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
border. Despite police presence, Kühnen led the group in throwing stones and other projectiles at cars crossing the border. The Polish border incident was Kühnen's last public action, and he succumbed to AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
in Kassel
Kassel
Kassel is a town located on the Fulda River in northern Hesse, Germany. It is the administrative seat of the Kassel Regierungsbezirk and the Kreis of the same name and has approximately 195,000 inhabitants.- History :...
later the same month. His earlier admission of homosexuality and his death from AIDS sparked a debate about homosexuality within the Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an neo-Nazi scene. Within Germany, his death had a twofold effect on neo-Nazism; it meant the loss of its most dynamic leader, and it meant that the divisions he had caused would be largely left behind. He was effectively succeeded by Christian Worch
Christian Worch
Christian Worch is one of the most important figures of the German neo-Nazi scene.In 1974 Worch started a militant group called the Hansabande in Hamburg, along with Michael Kühnen. The group defaced Jewish cemeteries, assaulted leftists and foreigners, and denied the Holocaust...
, his closest ally, whom Kühnen had nominated to take over his leadership.
External links
- Michael Kuhnen, 35, Top German Neo-Nazi April 26, 1991