Swiss authorities have ordered the closing of a neo-Nazi camp for boys and girls that was thriving in the Alps.
The camp, located in Seelisberg, had been operated by The Young Vikings, one of the most active neo-Nazi groups in Europe.
The Young Vikings consider themselves followers of the Hitler Youth, which was founded on July 4, 1926, years before Nazism was generally perceived as dangerous.
The leader of the Swiss affiliate had rented the camp’s location from a local farmer, allegedly saying the youth were boy scouts. They paid about $200 for the rent.
The boys in the group wear brown shirts, the girls blue uniforms. Every morning, the youth raised the Nazi flag with its swastika and sang Nazi songs. Young “Vikings” with knives stood near the entrance to prohibit any non-member from entering the compound.
Swiss police said they had expelled the group from Switzerland and registered the members to prevent their future return to Switzerland. The Swiss had learned about the camp in an article in the Zurich newspaper Wochenzeitung.
The camp incident is not Switzerland’s first. Another neo-Nazi summer camp was held near Lake Constance on the German-Swiss border earlier this summer. It was disbanded before police could act.
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.
