Inside a Neo Nazi Music Festival

Music festivals, like most cultural events, were badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic, impacting both the smallest of DIY festivals to behemoths like Glastonbury. And this was no different for the neo-Nazi music scene. Rechtsrock is a German term for music that acts as a vehicle for far-right ideology. A key part of this scene are music festivals that act as key networking hubs for neo-Nazi groups across Europe. Festivals in Ukraine, Italy and Greece feature bands from across the Continent, and there’s a strong scene in Germany, which is home to some of the largest neo-Nazi music festivals in recent years. One of those festivals, held in the German state of Thuringia, drew in an estimated 5,000 neo-Nazis. It was organised by the Turonen, a violent neo-Nazi gang who were recently targetted in a raid by police where large amounts of cash, weapons and crystal meth were found. These festivals can make organisers hundreds of thousands of euros, which are then pumped back into the neo-Nazi underground scen