Combat 18

1. COMBAT 18 IN THE UK

2. Origins and epistemology British neo-Nazi organisation born in 1992 18: 1 = A , 8 = H  Adolph Hitler

3. Slogan and creator “ Oderint Dum Metuant ” Creator: Charlie Sargent

4. Combat 18 and Blood & Honour Created in 1987 “White power”

5. Main targets Redwatch magazine: names, addresses and photographs of political enemies “Invading” immigrants Communists and socialists Own members of C18 Other factions of the right-wing

6. Unattractive organisation “ It would be a lie to think that we are attractive to most people, because we’re not. We are what we are. We don’t pretend we are something we’re not” Charlie Sargent Main members: young people from the South East of England; ultra-violent football hooligans; “white powers” skinheads; some drug dealers.

7. Short alliance with the BNP Different conception of politics: “Nation pride” vs. “racial pride”

8. Strategy of “leaderless resistance” Small cells of activists operating autonomously Two real factions: Charlie Sargent’s : most important political group in the extreme right “The Beast” Browning: terrorist actions

9. Do you think this kind of groups may be led by a main character, or do they work autonomously? Can these people, who usually act with irrational feelings, be really controlled by the guidelines given by a leader?

10. Murder of Christopher Castle “ Catford Chris” Deal between Sargent and Browning : list of C18 members in exchange of money “ Catford Chris” as intermediary Martin Cross, Sargent’s political partner , kills him

11. Post Sargent’s C18 history Detentions of many relevant people: Sargent’s brother, David Myatt, two British soldiers… C18 actions today: more racial than political

12. Most relevants attacks Harassment of an Asiatic family in Essex Several attacks to Ross Fraser, editor of the Chelsea Independent Football fanzine who claimed against racism in football

13. Nowadays England is a country that receives a big quantity of immigrants, but the origin of these people is more diverse now: Is it possible for this group to change its ideology of “racial pride” for one closer to “English pride” because of the economic crisis and the new immigration from Western Europe countries?

14. B & H White-power music promotion network and political movement Roots go back in 1977 and the Rock Against Communism (RAC) movement, in response to the Anti-Nazi League’s Rock Against Racism Named from the motto of Hitler Youth “ Blut und Ehre ” , sometimes represented by the code “28” or simply referred as BH Homonym movements in other countries Subdivisions like the White Noise Group (WNC)

15. Skrewdriver A skinhead rock band founded by Ian Stuart Donaldson (the other members being Phil Walmsley , Ron Hartley, Kevin McKay and John “ Grinny ” Grinton ) in Poulton -le-Fylde in 1976. Originally non-political and non-racist, but disbanded and changed members when Donaldson reformed it E volved to a white power band with their second album “Hail the New Dawn” and became one of the most influential white power bands in the world In 1980, played a major part in BH and RAC’s revival

16. Legacy Ian Stuart Donaldson important leader of BH until his death (1993) One of the “official sites” of Combat 18 is named skrewdriver.net The lyrics from Skrewdriver’s songs are often quoted by C-18 in their propaganda, as if Donaldson was an ideologist 9he is indeed a iconic figure) “See you in Valhalla” : commonly used by C-18 when paying tribute to a dead or soon-to-be-dead comrade ; comes from a 1989 album by the neo-nazi band No Remorse where Donaldson played a part. Originally a quote from Luftwaffe ace Heinrich Ehrler just before using his own aircraft as a ram against his final opponent (having ran out of ammo)

17. If you want to listen... Non-exhaustive list of English-speaking neo-Nazi bands : The Klansmen, White Diamond, No Remorse, Skullhead , Prussian Blue, Brutal Attack, Sudden Impact, R azors Edge, RaHoWa …

18. Musical overview (of Skrewdriver and other groups) Not very creative concerning the lyrics ; always the same vocabulary Propaganda by repetition (classical hype technique), their clips are supposed to be a praise of their action and a profession of faith aiming to recruit and strengthen the bonds in the group Lyrics often easy to remember, few need of special references : address to a public as large as possible Rash language : show of manliness Most clips are "combat hymns", very energetic, or “nostalgic” 3 non-exclusive aims : self-glorification (race, nation, group…), call to the arms, hate-swelling

19. Do you think that the music has such a great influence on the group's recruitment, cohesion and survival ?

20. Common Lexicon and Symbols Share a great deal of common vocabulary and symbols with the KKK and other infamous white supremacist groups ZOG : their fantasized archnemesis , the Zionist Occupation Government, illustrating their paranoid tendencies Aryan Race and the War of Races : no comment, you know what it means The Invisible Empire : all of their brothers and sisters fighters and organizations all around the world, term originated from the KKK Numerous references to German and Norse paganism, following the N azi trend So many symbols, from so many origins, let’s see…

21. Pretty, isn’t it ?

22. Marvellous Internet Blood and Honour is outlaw in several countries : Germany (2000), Spain (2011), Russia (2012), but you can still find the music on the internet Skrewdriver.net hosts numerical copies of Mein Kampf and The Turner Diaries and other texts, tributes to Ian Stuart , works from and links to other organizations in Greece, Poland, Scandinavia… There are also several practical guides and ideological statements and professions of faith (even a kind of “Stay healthy with the neo-Nazis”)

23. Do you think Internet and the "cultural" references are important for the group, or would it be just as strong without that ?