Far-right subcultures

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Far-right_subcultures

Far-right subcultures refers to the symbolism, ideology and traits that hold relevance to various politically extreme right-wing groups and organisations. There are three kinds of subcultures within far-right movements to distinguish: subcultural parasitism, subcultural creation around ideology and subcultures that are networking with far-right movements, as some football hooligans did with neo-nazis.

Subcultures created around or related to Nazi ideology

Main article: Nazi symbolism

See also: Nazi chic

Subcultural parasitism

See also: /pol/, /b/, 8kun, and Alt-tech

A neo-Nazi skinhead from Germany

Far-right ideologists try to infiltrate subcultures in order to spread their ideas among them. These attempts are defined as subcultural parasitism. The most well-known subculture that has been taken over by the far-right and neo-nazis is the Skinhead scene, which originally started in Great Britain. Some examples of subculture parasitism: the Nipster, infiltration of the Hipster (contemporary subculture) by neo-nazis (Nazi Hipster), Nazi punk, infiltration of the Heavy metal subculture, known as National Socialist black metal (NSBM/NSCH). Subcultures as the Goth subculture and the Hip Hop subculture have also been infiltrated by far-right movements and ideologists. Some other examples for far-right or neo-Nazi subcultures: Esoteric Nazism and Nazi Satanism.

Cultural counter-subversion

There is another strategy which is resorted to by neo-nazis and far right movements, and it is called cultural subversion. This strategy uses already existing forms of expression and organization and gives them a far right meaning. Some examples:

• Music: use of already existing songs and the changing of their lyrics into lyrics which are nationalist or racist
• Slogans: the changing of the left-wing slogan 'Long live the international solidarity' into the nationalist slogan 'Long live the national solidarity'
• Forms of Organization: democratic forms of organization are copied and accommodated to far-right ideologies

Modern forms of far-right subcultures and lifestyles in specific countries

Italy

During its rule of Italy, the National Fascist Party heavily influenced fashion in its pursuit of autarky and this pursuit of autarky was exemplified by the National Fascist Party's belief in the importance of aesthetics and symbolism: clothes had to be produced in Italy and they also had to reflect the values of the Italian people. Pieces of clothing such as black shirts became associated with the dreaded Volunteer Militia for the Safety of the Nation and they even became associated with the regime itself. Nowadays, neo-fascists still care a great deal about clothing, but they express their care about clothing with different approaches. Symbols and clothes like the Celtic Cross and black clothing are still present and they are also associated with new filo-fascist political parties and movements, but similarly to the neo-Nazi case, there has also been a growing interest in "trendiness" and fashion, with new clothing brands that offer casual and formal clothing which is more in line with today's consumerist culture. This trend has led to the use of three different types of brands by neo-fascist subcultures that still cares a big deal about clothing as a way to show their political affiliations, while caring about what is trendy as well:

• The use of brands that are not openly displaying symbols of fascism but are thought to be targeting neo-fascist consumers in light of their choices in advertising and partnership, with the choice of testimonials, models, settings and even copy material that recalls the neo-fascist archetypical man. For example, Pivert.
• The use of brands that while denying any political involvement (the apology of fascism in Italy is a felony officially) heavily rely on the fascist's regime icons, using symbols, mottos and images without using the name of the party while still making clear what is their political affiliation. An example is the decimaofficialstore.
• The use of brands that are arbitrarily given a power of identification with their political values by the members of the subculture itself.

Celtic cross on a Neo-Fascist flag

The arbitrary appropriation of modern devices of today's consumer culture in addition to the ones which were typical of its "ancestor" in Neo-fascism is not just limited to fashion, examples of modern culture products that were not born with this political affiliation but were used by neo-fascists in order to frame their values and express their adherence to their affiliates are Tolkien's novels, which led to the "Campi Hobbit" (Hobbit Camps) experience: real political camps where space was given to topics which were frequently overlooked by typical political institutions, such as the production of music by right wing music groups, the production of works by visual artists, the performance of radio podcasts and discussions about social issues and topics such as young people's unemployment together with the performance of paramilitary activities. Another very famous example is the politicization of football, with the Ultras groups often affiliated with certain ideologies. The majority of ultras groups in fact present small "bands" within them that are openly neo-fascist or at least far-right extremists, with groups such as Hellas Verona's "Brigate Gialloblu" or Juventus' "Vikings", which has an infamous record of committing acts of violence, which are not related to either the sport or their supported teams' ideals.

Germany

Main article: Far right in Germany

See also: Category:Neo-Nazism in Germany

Far right organisations in Germany

• Far right parties: East-Germany: National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD); West-Germany: 'Die Rechte' and 'Dritter Weg'. All together there are around 6000 members of far right parties in Germany.
• Extreme right-wing comradeships: Blood & Honour network (or 'White Power'). Both networks are primarily selling extreme right-wing music and organizing international concerts. Their offers play an important role regarding the far right Lifestyle and they have an integrating effect on the far right scene in general. The Autonome Nationalisten are a similar organization, for predominantly young far right. The ideology is the same but in terms of aesthetics, they are more orientated towards their political opponent on the left and copy their lifestyles and symbols for their own purposes. See also Cultural Subversion
• Intellectuals of the 'Neue Rechte' (New Right): they function as the source of inspiration and keyword transmitter.
• Far-right projects: An innovation of the last years are far right projects at the interface of virtual and real life. Examples are the 'Identitären' (Identitarian movement) and the 'Unsterblichen'. The 'Unsterblichen' was started by far rights in east Germany. They formulated the prosecution of the supposed 'Volkstods' (death of the nation). Which can be seen as relation to the demographic change in Germany and the fear of being swamped by foreign influences. The 'Unsterblichen' took over the flashmob idea and produced high quality choreographies for demonstrations which they filmed professionally and distributed them with music in social networks.

Identitarian movement

Main article: Identitarian movement

The Identitarian movement is one of the most renowned far-right youth cultures in Germany and it is also a part of the New Right. Within the New Right, it has four unique position features: youthfulness, an excessive desire for action, pop culture and Corporate Identity. The German Identitarian movement uses Facebook as its main platform, where it spreads quotations of famous thinkers of the Conservative Revolutionary movement such as Ernst Jünger and Carl Schmitt, articles of the far-right journal Sezession and videos of various campaigns.

United States

Main article: Radical right (United States)

The American alt-right movement

Main article: Alt-right

Also referred to as the alternative right, the alt-right is a recently formed political movement which holds extreme views on a wide array of political, cultural, racial and religious issues, with their central themes being white supremacy and white nationalism. It has gained significant prominence since the run-up to the Presidential election of 2016, in which Donald Trump was elected. The typical alt-right supporter is a white non-naturalized US citizen, most likely a person whose family lineage is without recent immigration to the US. While there are numerous recorded cases of anti-Semitic and anti-Muslim behavior by alt-right supporters, most of whom have a predominantly Christian background, personal religious disposition does not prove to be of great importance beyond the religious beliefs of those who are discriminated against.

Adoption of Neo-Fascist/Nazi symbolism

Richard B. Spencer speaking at an Alt-Right Rally, 2016

Since Donald Trump's victory in November 2016, the exposure and symbolism which is associated with the alt-right has become more distinct. In mid-November 2016, an alt-right conference with approximately 200 people was held in Washington, D.C. One of the speakers at this event was president of the National Policy Institute and white supremacist; Richard Spencer. Audience members cheered and gave the Nazi salute when he said, "Hail Trump, hail our people, hail victory!" The parallel theme of cultural purity combined with the totalitarian and ominous connotations which are associated with Nazi history provide an aesthetic appeal to the themes and ideas of the alt-right. Due to the highly superficial nature of the group, the understanding of the key concepts which are behind these other far-right political movements is secondary to the imagery and the visual culture which are both associated with them.

Far-right subcultures and fashion labels

Fashion label abuse

Fashion label abuse means in this case, far-right movements, use specific labels and connect their ideology. Some prominent examples are Lonsdale, Fred Perry and New Balance. The British sport label Lonsdale became popular in the German neo-nazi movement because of the letters 'NSDA' in the name, which refers to the National Socialist German Workers' Party (NSDAP, Nazi Party), that was active between 1920 and 1945. The popularity of Fred Perry can be explained through the demand in the skinhead scene. On top of that the brand offers polo shirts with a collar in the colors black-white-red, which was the flag color used by the nazi regime and is therefore as well prominent in German neo-nazi movements. Both brands distance themselves from any association. In November 2016 Matthew LeBretton, New Balance's vice president of public affairs, criticized the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, that the Obama administration led and Donald Trump opposes. After New Balance defended its opposition to TTP, Andrew Anglin, publisher of the American neo-nazi news and commentary website The Daily Stormer, declared New Balance the “Official Shoes of White People”.

Fashion label creation around far-right ideology

There are also fashion labels that were created for neo-nazis, by neo-nazis. Some examples for nazi fashion labels: Ansgar Aryan, Consdaple, Eric and Sons, Masterrace Europe, Outlaw, Reconquista, Rizist, Thor Steinar, Troublemaker, Dryve by Suizhyde, Greifvogel Wear, Hate-Hate, Hermannsland, Sport Frei, Pro Violence.

Hate group

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hate_group

Flags commonly used by hate groups include (clockwise from top-left): The Celtic cross, the Nazi flag, the SS flag, and the Confederate battle flag

 

Examples of hate group symbols:

1. the white nationalist Celtic cross
2. the Odal rune
3. the white power raised fist
4. the Iron Cross with the Nazi swastika
5. the SS Sig runes
6. the SS Totenkopf

A hate group is a social group that advocates and practices hatred, hostility, or violence towards members of a race, ethnicity, nation, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other designated sector of society. According to the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), a hate group's "primary purpose is to promote animosity, hostility, and malice against persons belonging to a race, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity/national origin which differs from that of the members of the organization."

Monitoring

In the US, the FBI does not publish a list of hate groups, and it also says that "investigations are only conducted when a threat or advocacy of force is made; when the group has the apparent ability to carry out the proclaimed act; and when the act would constitute a potential violation of federal law". The FBI maintains statistics on hate crimes.

Two private American non-profit organizations that monitor intolerance and hate groups are the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). They maintain lists of what they deem to be hate groups, supremacist groups and antisemitic, anti-government or extremist groups that have committed hate crimes. The SPLC's definition of a "hate group" includes any group with beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people—particularly when the characteristics being maligned are immutable. However, at least for the SPLC, inclusion of a group in the list "does not imply a group advocates or engages in violence or other criminal activity." According to USA Today, their list ranges from "white supremacists to black nationalists, neo-Nazis to neo-Confederates."

The Canadian Anti-Hate Network is a nonprofit organization that monitors hate groups in Canada.

Number of SPLC hate groups per million, as of 2013

According to the SPLC, from 2000 to 2008, hate group activity saw a 50 percent increase in the US, with a total of 926 active groups. In 2019, the organization's report showed a total of 1,020 hate groups, the highest number in 20 years, and a 7% increase from 2017 to 2018. The previous high was 1,018 in 2011, and the recent low point was 2014, when the list included 784 groups. A rise in white nationalist groups from 100 in 2017 to 148 in 2018 was the most significant increase in the 2019 report.

Since 2010 the term alt-right, short for "alternative right," has come into usage. This broad term includes a range of people who reject mainstream conservatism in favor of forms of conservatism that may embrace implicit or explicit racism or white supremacy. The alt-right is described as being "a weird mix of old-school neo-Nazis, conspiracy theorists, anti-globalists, and young right-wing internet trolls—all united in the belief that white male identity is under attack by multicultural, "politically correct" forces."

Violence and hate crimes

Further information: Hate crime

Four categories which are associated with hate groups' propensity for violence are: organizational capacity, organizational constituency, strategic connectivity, and structural arrangement. The larger an extremist group is and the longer it has existed, it is more prone to engage in violence. Regionally, hate groups which are based in the West and the Northeast are more likely to engage in violence than those hate groups which are based in the South. If a group has a charismatic leader, it is more likely to be violent. Groups that share conflict-based relationships with other groups are more likely to engage in extreme violence. The amount of ideological literature which a group publishes is linked to significant decreases in a group's violent behavior, with more literature linked to lower levels of violence.

The California Association for Human Relations Organizations (CAHRO) asserts that hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan (KKK) and White Aryan Resistance (WAR) preach violence against racial, religious, sexual and other minorities in the United States. Joseph E. Agne argues that hate-motivated violence is a result of the successes of the civil rights movement, and he asserts that the KKK has resurfaced and new hate groups have formed. Agne argues that it is a mistake to underestimate the strength of the hate-violence movement, its apologists and its silent partners.

In the US, crimes that "manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, religion, sexual orientation, or ethnicity, including the crimes of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter; forcible rape; robbery; aggravated assault; burglary; larceny-theft; motor vehicle theft; arson; simple assault; intimidation; and destruction, damage or vandalism of property", directed at the government, an individual, a business, or institution, involving hate groups and hate crimes, may be investigated as acts of domestic terrorism.

Hate speech

Main article: Hate speech

After WWII, Germany found it necessary to criminalize Volksverhetzung ("incitement to hatred") to prevent resurgence of fascism.

Counter-terrorism expert Ehud Sprinzak argues that verbal violence is "the use of extreme language against an individual or a group that either implies a direct threat that physical force will be used against them, or is seen as an indirect call for others to use it." Sprinzak argues that verbal violence is often a substitute for real violence, and that the verbalization of hate has the potential to incite people who are incapable of distinguishing between real and verbal violence to engage in actual violence.

People tend to judge the offensiveness of hate speech on a gradient depending on how public the speech is and what group it targets. Although people's opinions of hate speech are complex, they typically consider public speech targeting ethnic minorities to be the most offensive.

Historian Daniel Goldhagen, discussing antisemitic hate groups, argues that we should view verbal violence as "an assault in its own right, having been intended to produce profound damage—emotional, psychological, and social—to the dignity and honor of the Jews. The wounds that people suffer by ... such vituperation ... can be as bad as ... [a] beating."

In the mid-1990s, the popularity of the Internet brought new international exposure to many organizations, including groups with beliefs such as white supremacy, neo-Nazism, homophobia, Holocaust denial and Islamophobia. Several white supremacist groups have founded websites dedicated to attacking their perceived enemies. In 1996, the Simon Wiesenthal Center of Los Angeles asked Internet access providers to adopt a code of ethics that would prevent extremists from publishing their ideas online. In 1996, the European Commission formed the Consultative Commission on Racism and Xenophobia (CRAX), a pan-European group which was tasked to "investigate and, using legal means, stamp out the current wave of racism on the Internet."

Religious hate groups

See also: List of organizations designated by the SPLC as anti-LGBT hate groups

The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has designated several Christian groups as hate groups, including the American Family Association, the Family Research Council, Abiding Truth Ministries, American Vision, the Chalcedon Foundation, the Dove World Outreach Center, the Traditional Values Coalition and Westboro Baptist Church. Some conservatives have criticized the SPLC for its inclusion of certain Christian groups, such as the Family Research Council, on its list.

The SPLC classifies the Nation of Islam (NOI) as a hate group under the black separatist category and the Israelite School of Universal Practical Knowledge (ISUPK) as a hate group under the black supremacist category. Members of the NOI believe that a black scientist named Yakub created a race of White devils, who are considered the progenitors of White people, on the Greek island of Patmos. Historically a black-only group, White adherents now form a small part of the NOI membership. Alongside the ISUPK, numerous other sects and organizations within the Black Hebrew Israelite movement expound extremist, black supremacist, religious antisemitic, and anti-White racist beliefs, as well as homophobic, transphobic, and sexist beliefs.

The White supremacist religious group Creativity Movement (formerly the World Church of the Creator), led by Matthew F. Hale, is associated with violence and bigotry. Aryan Nations is another religiously-based White supremacist hate group.

The Westboro Baptist Church is considered a hate group by multiple sources and the WBC is monitored as such by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center. The church has been involved in actions against gay people since at least 1991, when it sought a crackdown on homosexual activity at Gage Park six blocks northwest of the church. In addition to conducting anti-gay protests at military funerals, the organization pickets celebrity funerals and public events. Protests have also been held against Jews and Roman Catholics, and some protests have included WBC members stomping on the American flag or flying the flag upside down on a flagpole. The church also has made statements such as "thank God for dead soldiers," "God blew up the troops," and "God hates America." The church has faced several accusations of brainwashing and has been criticized as a cult because of its provocative stance against homosexuality and the United States, and it has been condemned by many mainstream LGBT rights opponents as well as by LGBT rights supporters.

Misogynistic hate groups

Misogynist hate groups which target women, particularly those groups whose members mostly consist of young men who include pickup artists, incels and hardline anti-woman groups, are sources of concern to some experts. Using recruitment techniques which are similar to those which are used by far-right extremist groups, they target teenagers and vulnerable young men, their recruitment tactics include the use of methods which are akin to grooming. UK author Laura Bates believes that some of these groups should be classified as misogynist terrorist groups. The Proud Boys, which, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center is known for its misogynistic rhetoric, has been designated as a domestic terrorist group in Canada.

Internet hate groups

Traditionally, hate groups recruited members and spread extremist messages by word of mouth, or through the distribution of flyers and pamphlets. In contrast, the Internet allows hate group members from all over the world to engage in real-time conversations. The Internet has been a boon for hate groups in terms of promotion, recruitment and expansion of their base to include younger audiences. An Internet hate group does not have to be part of a traditional faction such as the Ku Klux Klan.

While many hate sites are explicitly antagonistic or violent, others may appear patriotic or benign, and this façade may contribute to the appeal of the groups. Hate group websites work towards the following goals: to educate group members and the public, to encourage participation, to claim a divine calling and privilege, and to accuse out-groups (e.g. the government or the media). Groups that work effectively towards these goals via an online presence tend to strengthen their sense of identity, decrease the threat levels from out-groups, and recruit more new members.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center (SWC), in its 2009 iReport, identified more than 10,000 problematic hate and terrorist websites and other Internet postings. The report includes hate websites, social networks, blogs, newsgroups, YouTube and other video sites. The findings illustrate that as the Internet continues to grow, extremists find new ways to seek validation of their hateful agendas and recruit members.

Creators of hate pages and groups on Facebook choose their target, set up their page or group, and then recruit members. Anyone can create a Facebook group and invite followers to post comments, add pictures and participate in discussion boards. A Facebook page is similar, with the exception that one must "like" the page in order to become a member. Because of the ease of creating and joining such groups, many so-called hate groups exist only in cyberspace. United Patriots Front, an internet-based Australian far-right anti-immigration and neo-nazi organization formed in 2015 has been described as a hate group.

See also: Filter bubble, Echo chamber (media), Deviancy amplification spiral, and Terrorism and social media

Psychology of hate groups

Hateful intergroup conflict may be motivated by "in-group love," a desire to positively contribute to the group to which one belongs, or "out-group hate," a desire to injure a foreign group. Both individuals and groups are more motivated by "in-group love" than "out-group hate," even though both motivations might advance a group's status. This preference is especially salient when a group is not situated in a competitive position against another. This partiality towards cooperative behavior suggests that intergroup conflict might decline if group members devoted more energy to positive in-group improvements than to out-group competition. Groups formed around a set of moral codes are more likely than non-morality-based groups to exhibit "out-group hate" as a response to their especially strong sense of "in-group love."

Intergroup threat occurs when one group's interests threaten another group's goals and well-being. Intergroup threat theories provide a framework for intergroup biases and aggression.

One type of intergroup threat theory, realistic group conflict theory, addresses competition between groups by positing that when two groups are competing for limited resources, one group's potential success is at odds with the other's interests, which leads to negative out-group attitudes. If groups have the same goal, their interactions will be positive, but opposing goals will worsen intergroup relations. Intergroup conflict may increase in-group unity, leading to a larger disparity and more conflict between groups.

Symbolic threat theory proposes that intergroup bias and conflict result from conflicting ideals, not from perceived competition or opposing goals. Biases based on symbolic threat tend to be stronger predictors of practical behavior towards out-groups than biases based on realistic threat.

Realistic group conflict theory and symbolic threat theory are, in some cases, compatible. Integrated-threat theory recognizes that conflict can arise from a combination of intergroup dynamics and classifies threats into four types: realistic threat, symbolic threat, intergroup anxiety, and negative stereotypes. Intergroup threat theories provide a framework for intergroup biases and aggression. Intergroup anxiety refers to a felt uneasiness around members of other groups, which is predictive of biased attitudes and behaviors. Negative stereotypes are also correlated with these behaviors, causing threat based on negative expectations about an out-group.

According to the 7-stage hate model, a hate group, if unimpeded, passes through seven successive stages. In the first four stages, hate groups vocalize their beliefs and in the last three stages, they act on their beliefs. Factors that contribute to a group's likelihood to act include the vulnerability of its members as well as its reliance on symbols and mythologies. This model points to a transition period that exists between verbal violence and acting out that violence, separating hardcore haters from rhetorical haters. Thus, hate speech is seen as a prerequisite of hate crimes, and as a condition of their possibility.

Hate group intervention is most possible if a group has not yet passed from the speech to the action stage, and interventions on immature hate groups are more effective than those that are firmly established. Intervention and rehabilitation is most effective when the one investigating a hate group can identify and deconstruct personal insecurities of group members, which in turn contribute to the weakness of the group. Perhaps most critical to combating group hate is to prevent the recruitment of new members by supporting those who are most susceptible, especially children and youth, in developing a positive self-esteem and a humanized understanding of out-groups.

Ethnic violence

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethnic_violence 

Ethnic violence is a form of political violence which is expressly motivated by ethnic hatred and ethnic conflict. Forms of ethnic violence which can be argued to have the characteristics of terrorism may be known as ethnic terrorism or ethnically motivated terrorism. "Racist terrorism" is a form of ethnic violence which is dominated by overt racism and xenophobic reactionism.

Ethnic violence which is perpetrated in an organized, sustained form is known as ethnic conflict or ethnic warfare (race war), in contrast to class conflict, where the dividing line is social class rather than ethnic background.

Care must be taken to distinguish ethnic violence, which is violence motivated by an ethnic division, from violence that is motivated by other factors and just happens to break out between members of different ethnic groups (political or ideological).

Violent ethnic rivalry is the subject matter of Jewish sociologist Ludwig Gumplowicz's Der Rassenkampf ("Struggle of the Races", 1909); and more recently, it is the subject matter of Amy Chua's notable study, World On Fire: How Exporting Free Market Democracy Breeds Ethnic Hatred and Global Instability. Some academicians would classify all "nationalist-based violence" as ethnic violence, a classification which would include the World Wars and all of the major conflicts between industrialised nations which occurred during the 19th century.

Causality and characteristics

There are various potential causes of ethnic violence. Research which has been conducted by the New England Complex Systems Institute (NESCI) has shown that violence results when ethnic groups are partially mixed: neither clearly separated enough to reduce contact nor thoroughly mixed enough to build common bonds. According to Dr. May Lim, a researcher who is affiliated with NECSI, "Violence normally occurs when a group is large enough to impose cultural norms on public spaces, but not large enough to prevent those norms from being broken. Usually this occurs in places where boundaries between ethnic or cultural groups are unclear."

This theory also states that the minimum requirement for ethnic tensions to result in ethnic violence on a systemic level is a heterogeneous society and the lack of a power to prevent them from fighting. In the ethnic conflicts that erupted after the end of the Cold War, this lack of outer controls is seen as the cause; Since there was no longer a strong centralized power (in the form of the USSR) to control the various ethnic groups, they then had to provide defense for themselves. This implies that once ethnicity is established, there needs to be strong distinctions, otherwise violence is inevitable.

Another theory supports the belief that a general feeling that security is lacking can cause ethnic violence, particularly when different ethnic groups live in proximity to each other. This feeling can eventually cause different ethnic groups to distrust each other, which leads to their unwillingness to peacefully coexist with each other.

The emotions that tend to cause ethnic tensions, which can lead to ethnic violence, are fear, hate, resentment, and rage. Individual identities might change throughout the years, but strong emotional issues can lead to a desire to fulfill those needs above all other concerns. This strong desire to satisfy individual needs, without harming your own group, can have violent results.

Assuming that ethnic groups can be defined as groups of people which band together in order to protect material goods, while they are also satisfying the need to feel that they are a part of a group, violence which results from ethnicity can be a result of a violation which is committed against either ethnic group. However, violence occurs when the members of the opposing groups believe that there is no peaceful solution to the tensions which are plaguing them.

Another theory states that ethnic violence is the result of past tensions. Referring to the members of the other ethnic group based solely on their previous offences tends to increase the probability of future violence. This is referenced in the literature on ethnic violence that tends to focus on areas that have already had a history of ethnic violence, instead of comparing them with areas that have had peaceful ethnic relations.

Ethnic violence obviously does not exist in exactly the same conditions in every example. Whereas one case of ethnic violence might result in a drawn out genocide, another case might result in a race riot. Different issues lead to different levels of intensity of violence. The problem mainly comes down to issues of group security. In situations when offensive and defensive actions are indistinguishable to outsiders, and in situations when the offensive actions are more effective in insuring group survival, then violence is sure to be present and harsh. This view of ethnic violence placed risk in areas where members of ethnic groups feel insecure about their future, not as a result of emotional tensions.

Ethnic violence frequently occurs as a result of individual domestic disputes which spiral out of control and lead to large-scale conflicts. When individual disputes occur between two members of different ethnic groups, they can result in peace or they can result in more violence. Peace is more likely when offended persons feel that the offenders will be sufficiently punished by members of their own ethnic group. Or peace is simply achieved through the fear of greater ethnic violence. If the fear of retribution or the fear of violence is not present, ethnic violence may occur.

Because ethnic violence is particularly extreme, there are numerous theories on how it can be prevented, and once it starts, there are numerous theories on how it can be ended. At the New England Complex Systems Institute, Yaneer Bar-Yam suggests that "clear boundaries" or "thorough mixing" can reduce the possibility of violence, citing Switzerland as an example.

Unfortunately, poorly planned separations do not lead to peace between members of different ethnic groups. the religious separation which occurred between India and Pakistan left large heterogeneous populations in India and since the separation, violence has occurred.

The United States is often presented as the classic "melting pot" of ethnicities. "Ethnic" tensions in the United States are more typically viewed in terms of race.

Using the media to change perceptions of ethnicity might lead to a change in the probability of ethnic violence. The use of media that results in ethnic violence is usually a cyclical relationship; one group increases messages of group cohesion in response to a perceived threat, and a neighboring group responds with messages of their own group cohesion. Of course, this only happens when outside groups are already perceived as being potential threats. Using this logic, ethnic violence might be prevented by decreasing messages of group cohesion, while increasing messages of safety and solidarity with members of other ethnic groups.

Outside forces may also be effective in decreasing the likelihood of ethnic violence. However, not all interferences by outside forces may be helpful. If not handled delicately, the possibility might increase. Outside groups can help stabilize danger zones by imposing gentle economic sanctions, develop more representative political institutions that would allow for minority voices to be heard, and encourage the respect of ethnically diverse communities and minorities. However, if done incorrectly, outside interference can cause a nationalistic lash-back.

Types

The "Ancient Hatreds" type of ethnic violence associates modern ethnic conflicts with ancient (or even mythical) conflicts. The massacres of Bosnian Muslims perpetrated by the Serbs in the 1990s was seen as revenge for the genocide perpetrated by the Ustashe and hatred of the Ottoman Empire. 

Examples

Further information: Ethnic conflict

Ethnic cleansing and genocide qualify as "ethnic violence" (of the most extreme sorts), because by definition, the victims of a genocide are usually killed based on their membership in a particular ethnic group.

• Genocides in history
• List of ethnic cleansing campaigns
• List of genocides by death toll
  • Circassian genocide
  • Herero and Namaqua genocide
  • Armenian genocide
  • Assyrian genocide
  • Bihari genocide
  • Great Famine of Mount Lebanon
  • Greek genocide
  • Holodomor
  • Genocide of Serbs in the Independent State of Croatia
  • The Holocaust
  • Romani Holocaust
  • Bengali genocide
  • Cambodian genocide
  • East Timor genocide
  • Kurdish genocide
  • Bosnian genocide
  • Rwandan genocide
  • Darfur genocide
  • Rohingya genocide
  • Uyghur genocide
  • Amhara genocide
  • Persecution of Shias by the Islamic State
  • Genocide of Yazidis by the Islamic State
  • Chechen genocide
  • Native American genocide in California
  • Ethnic violence in Papua New Guinea

Other examples of ethnic violence include:

• Antisemitic pogroms in European history
• Foiba massacres in Dalmatia
• Muhajir genocides
• Ethnic violence in Konso in Ethiopia since 1994
• Ethnic violence against Amaro Koore in Ethiopia since 1994
• War crime against the Afar people in Ethiopia from 2021 to 2022
• Oromo-Somali clashes in Ethiopia in 2017
• Ethnic violence in South Sudan
• Sudanese nomadic conflicts
• Race riots and racial supremacist violence in the United States
  • The Order, United States
  • Lynching in the United States
  • Ku Klux Klan, United States
  • Black Legion (political movement)
  • Hammerskins, International
  • Death Angels, United States
  • Don Black (nationalist) and Operation Red Dog
  • Crown Heights riot, United States
• Race riots in the United Kingdom
  • Oldham Riots
  • Bradford Riots
  • Combat 18, United Kingdom
• The history of Native Americans in the United States; American Indian Wars, Trail of Tears
• Cronulla Race Riots in Sydney, 2005
• Ethnic conflicts in the Russian federation and the Caucasus
  • The Dashnaks, EOKA and Czarist Russia
  • The Russo-Circassian War
  • The 2006 Moscow market bombing, Russia
  • Riots in Kondopoga, Karelia, Russia in 2006
• Other secessionist conflicts
  • The Yugoslav Wars and the history of ethnic conflicts in the Balkans
    • Serb Paramilitary groups i.e. Arkan's White tigers and many more
  • The Croatian Ustaše which was led by Ante Pavelić
  • The Kurdish–Turkish conflict
  • The Azanian People's Liberation Army, South Africa
  • Mouvement de Libération Nationale du Québec
• Numerous individual "hate crime" incidents, e.g. Hedvig Malina

Some of the world's ongoing conflicts are, however, fought along religious rather than ethnic lines; one such conflict is the Somali Civil War. The Guatemalan Civil War was fought along ideological lines (leftist rebel groups fought against the Guatemalan government) but it acquired ethnic characteristics because the rebels were primarily supported by the indigenous Mayan groups.

Terrorism against Copts in Egypt qualifies as both ethnic and religious violence but it isn't occurring during an ongoing conflict, instead, it reflects a history of sporadic and continuous attacks, over the years.

Aryanization

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aryanization

"Herzmansky is Purely Aryan Again!" - The Herzmansky department store in Vienna was confiscated after the Anschluss

Aryanization (German: Arisierung) was the Nazi term for the seizure of property from Jews and its transfer to non-Jews, and the forced expulsion of Jews from economic life in Nazi Germany, Axis-aligned states, and their occupied territories. It entailed the transfer of Jewish property into "Aryan" or non-Jewish, hands.

"Aryanization" is , according to Kreutzmüller and Zaltin in Dispossession: Plundering German Jewry, 1933-1953, "a Nazi slogan that was used to camouflage theft and its political consequences."

The process started in 1933 in Nazi Germany with transfers of Jewish property and ended with the Holocaust. Two phases have generally been identified: a first phase in which the theft from Jewish victims was concealed under a veneer of legality, and a second phase, in which property was more openly confiscated. In both cases, Aryanization corresponded to Nazi policy and was defined, supported, and enforced by Germany's legal and financial bureaucracy.

Michael Bazyler writes that "[t]he Holocaust was both the greatest murder and the greatest theft in history". Between $230 and $320 billion (in 2005 US dollars) was stolen from Jews across Europe, with hundreds of thousands of businesses Aryanized.

Nazi Germany

Before Hitler came to power, Jews owned 100,000 businesses in Germany. By 1938, boycotts, intimidation, forced sales, and restrictions on professions had largely forced Jews out of economic life. According to Yad Vashem, "Of the 50,000 Jewish-owned stores that existed in 1933, only 9,000 remained in 1938."

Exclusion and dispossession of Jews starting in 1933

Starting in 1933, through the Aryan paragraph and later the Nuremberg Laws, Jews were largely excluded from public life in Germany. Jews were removed from jobs in the public sector, such as the civil service and teaching, and further restrictions were introduced through the Nazi period. Jewish university faculty were removed from departments in German universities in cities including Hamburg, Berlin, Frankfurt am Main, Breslau, Heidelberg, Bonn, Cologne, Würzburg, and Jena.

Later on, an increasing number were incarcerated in Nazi concentration camps, and finally deported to the east where they were murdered directly in death camps or shot by the Einsatzgruppen.

By 1 January 1938, German Jews were prohibited from operating businesses and trades and offering goods and services. On 26 April 1938, Jews were ordered to report all wealth over 5,000 Reichsmarks, and their access to bank accounts was restricted. On 14 June 1938, the Interior Ministry ordered the registration of all Jewish businesses. The state set the sales value of Jewish firms at a fraction of their market worth, and used various pressure tactics to ensure sales only to desired persons. Among the largest "Aryanization profiteers" were IG Farben, the Flick family, and large banks. The proceeds from "Aryanized" firms had to be deposited in savings accounts, and were made available to their Jewish depositors only in limited amounts, so that in the final analysis, Aryanization amounted to almost compensation-free confiscation.

In the autumn of 1938, only 40,000 of the formerly 100,000 Jewish businesses were still in the hands of their original owners. Aryanization was completed on 12 November 1938 with the enactment of a regulation, the Verordnung zur Ausschaltung der Juden aus dem deutschen Wirtschaftsleben (Regulation for the elimination of Jews from German economic life), through which the remaining businesses were transferred to non-Jewish owners and the proceeds taken by the state. Jewellery, stocks, real property, and other valuables had to be sold. Either by direct force, government interventions such as sudden tax claims, or the weight of the circumstances, Jewish property changed hands mostly below fair market value. Jewish employees were fired, and self-employed people were prohibited from working in their respective professions.

After Kristallnacht

After the "Kristallnacht" pogroms, the pressure of Aryanization was drastically increased. On 12 November 1938, Jews were forbidden to function as business managers, forcing Jewish owners to install "Aryan" surrogates. These people, who were often promoted by the party, first took over the office, and soon thereafter usually the whole business. "Compliant Aryans" (Gefälligkeitsarier) were threatened with punishment according to the Regulation against Complicity with the Camouflage of Jewish Firms (22 April 1938). Because the Jews were burdened with heavy payments as "atonement" for the damage done by the SA and antisemitic mobs during Kristallnacht, the selling off of Jewish property was only a question of time. On 3 December 1938, the value of Jewish landed property was frozen at the lowest level, and valuables and jewels were permitted to be sold only through state offices. The impoverishment of the Jewish population caused by Aryanization often stood in the way of its goal – promoting emigration through persecution – because those affected lacked the means to emigrate. They became victims of the Final Solution.

Many important businesses were sold and re-sold in the course of the process, some of which (such as the Hertie department store) played an important role during the post-war Wirtschaftswunder years in West Germany. After the war, the Federal Republic of Germany paid some restitution for the material losses.

Eviction, erasure and cultural appropriation

The term Aryanization is sometimes used to refer to eviction of Jewish scientists and people engaged in the cultural sector and in a context of cultural appropriation, for example the Nazi project to provide works such as Handel's Judas Maccabaeus with a new text removed from the intended Old Testament setting. The titles of artworks depicting Jewish people, such as Klimt's famous Portrait of Adele Bloch-Bauer were changed ("The Lady in Gold") to erase their Jewish connection.

Complicity in Aryanization

The heads of the public 'Landessippenämter' (state offices of mores) and in particular the Protestant pastors and the Evangelical Lutheran Church played an important role in the preparation of Aryanization. They were responsible for Aryan evidence, family and rural farm research, migration movements as well as biographical and local cultural research. In these functions, they were significantly involved as desk clerks and responsible for the ideological propaganda of the Nazi regime in general and the implementation of Nazi racial policy in particular.

Poster of Aryanization of Jewish businesses, after the Nazi ordinance of October 1940

A cartoon presentation of the "Measures for the defense of the Italian race"

Austria

After Austria merged into the Third Reich in the Anschluss on March 12, 1938, Austrian Jews were plundered and thousands of properties seized through Aryanization. Major landmarks owned by Jews, like the Wiener Riesenrad, which had belonged to Eduard Steiner, were Aryanized and their owners murdered. Large and small businesses, from the biggest banks to the smallest family run businesses, were seized from Jews under the guise of Aryanisation. The Vugesta Nazi looting organisation played a key role in disposing of assets of plundered Jews.

France

In Vichy France, Aryanization was governed by a July 22, 1941 law of the French state, which was following the October 18, 1940 Nazi ordinance for the occupied zone. Historian Henry Rousso gives the number 10,000 for the Aryanized businesses. In 1942 the Jewish Telegraphc Agency (JTA) reported that the Nazis claimed that 35,000 French businesses had already been Aryanized. Since the 1990s, there has been considerable research on the subject, and several monographs have been published.

Large and small businesses, including art galleries, were transferred to non-Jews. Examples of companies Aryanized in France include Galeries Lafayette.

Italy

In July 1938, the Manifesto of Race, which declared the Italians to be descendants of the Aryan race. In October 1938, it was followed by the Racial Laws in the Kingdom of Italy, which stripped the Jews of Italian citizenship and governmental and professional positions. The aim of these measures was to achieve the "Aryanization" of Italian society by excluding Jews from various areas of economy, education and social life and having to emigrate.

Romania

In Romania, the Aryanization process was encouraged by tax incentives, as well as outright confiscation. Hardliners complained that some Jews were able to evade the regulations by transferring their businesses to Romanian owners (only on paper). Although Aryanization was to an extent inspired by similar policies in Germany, the Romanian authorities made the key decisions with regards to the implementation of Aryanization.

Slovakia

Main article: Aryanization in Slovakia

Aryanization also occurred in the Slovak State. About 12,300 Jewish businesses existed in 1940. By 1942, 10,000 had been liquidated, and the remainder "Aryanized" by transfer to non-Jewish owners.

In popular culture

• The 1965 Oscar-winning Czechoslovak film The Shop on Main Street (Obchod na korze) addressed Aryanization in the Slovakia.