Christian Worch (born 14 March 1956) is a prominent German

neo-Nazi Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...

activist and chairman of the now-defunct far-right political party

Die Rechte The Right – Party for Referendum, Sovereignty and Homeland Protection () was a far-right politics, far-right List of political parties in Germany, political party in Germany. History The party was founded in 2012 by the neo-Nazi Christian Worc ...

.Christian Worch ist das Gesicht der Partei „Die Rechte“ Das ist der Neonazi, der die Rechtsextremen in Kassel aufmarschieren lässt

Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine ''Hessische/Niedersächsische Allgemeine'' (''HNA'') is a regional newspaper published in Kassel Kassel (; in Germany, spelled Cassel until 1926) is a city on the Fulda River in North Hesse, northern Hesse, in Central Germany (geography), c ...

18. Juli 2019 In 1974, Worch started a militant group called the ''Hansabande'' in

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

, along with

Michael Kühnen Michael Kühnen (21 June 1955 – 25 April 1991) was a leader in the German neo-Nazi movement. He was one of the first post-World War II Germans to openly embrace Nazism and call for the formation of a Fourth Reich. He enacted a policy of setting ...

. The group defaced

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish

graveyards A cemetery, burial ground, gravesite, graveyard, or a green space called a memorial park or memorial garden, is a place where the remains of many dead people are buried or otherwise entombed. The word ''cemetery'' (from Greek ) implies tha ...

, assaulted

leftists Left-wing politics describes the range of Ideology#Political ideologies, political ideologies that support and seek to achieve social equality and egalitarianism, often in opposition to social hierarchy either as a whole or of certain social ...

and foreigners, "Netzwerk, Gegen Rechtsextremismus, für Toleranz und Menschenwürde"
Drahtzieher im braunen Netz: Christian Worch
and "Kulturinitiative Detmold e.V"
Redebeitrag am 20.01.2007 auf der Mahnwache in Obernkirchen anlässlich der erneuten Schändung des Jüdischen Friedhofs in der Silvesternacht
Both retrieved 12 February 2007 and

denied the Holocaust Denial, in colloquial English usage, has at least three meanings: * the assertion that any particular statement or allegation, whose truth is uncertain, is not true; * the refusal of a request; and * the assertion that a true statement is fal ...

. Worch took part in one especially well-known campaign under the motto "I am an ass to believe that Jews were gassed in Germany" (''Ich Esel glaube, dass in Deutschland Juden vergast worden sind''). The group gradually became the '' Aktionsfront Nationaler Sozialisten'' (ANS, Action Front of National Socialists) in 1977. Worch and Kühnen were also close to the now-banned ''

Wiking-Jugend The "Wiking-Jugend" (WJ, "Viking youth") was a German Neo-Nazi organization modeled on the Hitlerjugend. Wiking Youth emerged in 1952 from a merger of several German right-wing extremist youth groups. In 1994 it was banned by the Federal Minist ...

'' (Viking Youth). Kühnen was arrested in 1979 and Worch took over leadership of the ANS. In 1980 he was convicted, receiving a three-year prison sentence, despite being defended by

Jürgen Rieger Jürgen Hans Paul Rieger (11 May 1946 – 29 October 2009) was a Hamburg lawyer, avowed anti-semite, and deputy chairman of the National Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) (as of October 2009), known for his Holocaust denial. Rieger represent ...

during his trial. In 1983, the organization, now known as the ANS/NA (''Aktionsfront Nationaler Sozialisten/Nationale Aktivisten'', Action Front of National Socialists/National Activists) was banned, so Worch joined the

Free German Workers' Party The Free German Workers' Party (, FAP) was a neo-Nazi political party in Germany. It was outlawed by the Federal Ministry of the Interior in 1995. History The FAP was founded in 1979. However, it was largely insignificant until the banning of ...

(FAP) and became vice-chairman. As the '' Nationale Liste'' (National List) was founded in 1989, he became active in its executive committee. He edited its magazine, ''Index'', until September 1991 and was especially active in anti- Antifa work. In this campaign, lists of names and addresses of left-wing and

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activists and organizations were published; this led to attacks on some of the people listed. Worch was one of the main initiators of the campaign. After Kühnen died in 1991, Worch, along with Winfried Arnulf Priem and Gottfried Küssel, took over the Gesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front (GdNF); this led to him receiving a two-year

suspended sentence A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...

in 1994. He had to serve this jail time beginning in February 1996 because he continued the ANS/NA despite its having been banned, but he was released early in 1997. For a short time in the 1990s, Worch had close relations with the

National Democratic Party of Germany National Democratic Party of Germany (, NPD), officially called The Homeland () since 2023, is a Far-right politics, far-right, Neo-Nazism, neo-Nazi and Ultranationalism, ultranationalist political party in Germany. It was founded in 1964 as ...

(NPD) and was a link between neo-Nazi groups and the NPD. In an interview, he defended his collaboration with the party, saying that "the NPD is as a party, of course, only a means to propagate our worldview". However, he has since distanced himself from the party. Worch also collaborates with Gary Lauck's NSDAP/AO (1972), and is known as one of the main organizers of the Rudolf Hess Memorial March, which takes place once a year in

Wunsiedel (; Northern Bavarian: ''Wåuṉsieḏl'' or ''Wousigl'') is the seat of the Upper Franconian district of in northeast Bavaria, Germany. The town is the birthplace of poet Jean Paul. It also became known for its annual Festival and the Rudolf ...

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

, where the remains of

Rudolf Hess Rudolf Walter Richard Hess (Heß in German; 26 April 1894 – 17 August 1987) was a German politician, Nuremberg trials, convicted war criminal and a leading member of the Nazi Party in Nazi Germany, Germany. Appointed Deputy Führer ( ...

were formerly buried, and is one of the most important events for European neo-Nazis.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worch, Christian 1956 births Living people Free German Workers' Party politicians German Holocaust deniers German nationalists German criminals German politicians convicted of crimes German prisoners and detainees German propagandists German neo-Nazi propagandists Politicians from Hamburg People convicted of racial hatred offences People convicted of speech crimes Prisoners and detainees of Germany