Michael Kuehnen, a 35-year-old neo-Nazi agitator who hated Jews and foreigners in equal measure, died last week at a hospital in Kassel.
Kuehnen was most recently in the news for organizing Skinheads and other neo-Nazi thugs to attack tourists from Poland visiting Germany since the visa requirements were lifted.
He headed a string of extreme right-wing organizations, all of them outlawed by the authorities. The last, the National Union, was considered the most violent.
Kuehnen spent nearly five years in prison for scores of crimes linked to his neo-Nazi activities, which included producing and distributing anti-Semitic material.
In the late 1970s, he reportedly received some weapons and logistical support from the Palestine Liberation Organization.
He also developed contacts in what was formerly East Germany, where the Communist rulers were inclined to help neo-Nazis from West Germany in order to prove that the federal republic was “fascistic.”
Kuehnen’s supporters rallied Saturday in Frankfurt, vowing to carry on their leader’s political work.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
