History never repeats?

Germans could tell you differently:

“To know the risks and side effects of Nazi uprisings, just read a history book or ask your grandparents.” (Translation mine.)

According to my source on Facebook, this was taken in Bielefeld, at one of the many German “Occupy” rallies. It refers to a recently exposed neo-Nazi terrorist cell with ties to a far-right political party that is currently active, but may find itself outlawed if more such ties are revealed.

Neo-Nazi activity has been on the rise in Germany for several decades now, but has routinely flown under the radar due to complacency. The former “East Zone” is a particular hotbed for it, often in reaction to communism, as Ingo Hasselbach has outlined in his memoir, Führer-Ex. People thought it could never happen again; they were wrong. It started happening again in Germany even before the Berlin Wall fell!

But until now, and until Anders Breivik’s shooting rampage in Norway, far-right extremism (which is international in scope, with ample evidence of connection between the various fascist factions) has been largely ignored.

We can’t afford to ignore it any longer.