Fuhrer-Ex:: Memoirs of a Former Neo-Nazi

Hasselbach recalls how he became attracted to the neo-Nazi movement while in prison, developed his personal ideology of hatred and violence and went on to establish East Germany's first neo-Nazi political party. With the support of far-right American extremists, he set up paramilitary camps, led bloody street battles that included assaults on immigrants, proclaimed that Nazi extermination of Jews was a myth and announced the dawning of the Fourth Reich. Hasselbach, with journalist Reiss, describes his change of attitude after the fatal firebombing of a Turkish family in the north German city of Molln. Publicly denouncing the neo-Nazi movement, he then experienced what it was like to be on the receiving end of the violence he'd been preaching. Now a fugitive, he is regarded as a traitor by his former comrades. This powerhouse of a memoir sheds light on the subterranean world of political fanatics, documents the links between German and American neo-Nazis and warns of the movement's potential power. Photos. Author tour. (Jan.)