Michael Kühnen | |
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 Kühnen, interviewed on television | |
| Born | (1955-06-21)21 June 1955 |
| Died | 25 April 1991(1991-04-25) (aged 35) |
| Occupation | neo-Nazi leader |
Michael Kühnen (21 June 1955 – 25 April 1991) was a leader in theGerman neo-Nazi movement. He was one of the first post-World War II Germans to openly embraceNazism and call for the formation of aFourth Reich.[1] He enacted a policy of setting up several differently named groups in an effort to confuse German authorities, who were attempting to shut down neo-Nazi groups. Kühnen'shomosexuality was made public in 1986. He died ofHIV-related complications in 1991.
Kühnen was raised as a staunchRoman Catholic, and initially came to politics in his early teens as aMaoist.[2] When he took a job at theshipyards ofHamburg, Kühnen moved to thefar right, joining a localNational Democratic Party of Germany (NPD) youth group. He did not remain long in the NPD, soon denouncing party members as "a bourgeois crowd of swines", and leaving the party to join the neo-Nazi movement.[3]
Following his departure from the NPD, Kühnen had a brief spell in theGerman Army but he wasdishonourably discharged in 1977 for attempting to spread Nazipropaganda in his barracks.[3] During that time, he studied at theHelmut Schmidt University, originally known as the University of the German Federal Armed Forces Hamburg, located inHamburg, Germany.[4]
After this expulsion, he took his first steps in organising a new movement, setting up theAction Front of National Socialists. Initially, the organisation consisted only of Kühnen, but he soon made contact with like-minded individuals acrossWest Germany, resulting in a nationwide network of cells. The group soon became notorious for its violent activities, which includedbank robberies and arms raids, often working in tandem with other similar groups, such as theWiking-Jugend.[5]
Known as the leader of the group, Kühnen was arrested in 1979 and sentenced to three and a half years in prison for inciting violence and racial hatred. Released in 1982, he set about trying to reorganise the Action Front of National Socialists, merging them withThomas Brehl's National Activists. The attempts were hindered by theMinistry of the Interior, who outlawed the group in November 1983.
With the ANS/NA banned, Kühnen turned his attention to the fledglingFree German Workers' Party (FAP) and encouraged his supporters to infiltrate and take over the group. Kühnen's bid was successful, largely due to the fairly insignificant nature of the FAP before Kühnen, but nonetheless, he found that support for his cause had waned during his prior incarceration. Some believe this was due to a move away from orthodox Nazism toStrasserism in the German underground, leaving Kühnen's position somewhat compromised.[6]
Kühnen then began to look toErnst Röhm for inspiration, and he broke away from full support forAdolf Hitler, condemning Hitler's purges against theSA and calling for a return to pre-1934 Nazism.[7] Alongside the infiltration, he formed his own successor group, theGesinnungsgemeinschaft der Neuen Front in 1984.
With rumours spreading that he was to be arrested, Kühnen fled toParis in early 1984 and sought refuge with the neo-Nazi groupFédération d'action nationale et européenne (FANE), with whom he had previously established contacts. Whilst working with FANE, he visitedSpain and met withLéon Degrelle, establishing relations with the formerWaffen-SS man who had become a central player in the Spanish Circle of Friends of Europe (CEDADE).[8] Kühnen was arrested in Paris andextradited to Germany to face trial on a number of charges related to neo-Nazism. He was sentenced to a further four years in prison.
In 1986, while in prison, Kühnencame out asgay.[9] In response to critics within the neo-Nazi movement, he argued that his lack of a family meant he had more time to devote to militancy, and he pointed out that Ernst Röhm was also a gay Nazi.[10] However, Kühnen lost much support in the strongly-homophobic neo-Nazi scene. The FAP split, with Kühnen's former allyFriedhelm Busse leading the larger anti-gay wing, which held effective control of the party by 1989.[10]
Kühnen was released from prison in March 1988, and almost immediately, he set up a new group, Nationale Sammlung. When this group was banned the following year, he enacted a policy of setting up group after group, in an effort to confuse authorities.[11] Of these movements,German Alternative was the most well-known. During this period, it was revealed that Kühnen had contractedHIV.[10]
Again implementing his direct action approach, Kühnen led a group ofwhite power skinheads toFrankfurt an der Oder on 8 April 1991, to protest against the opening of the Polish border. Despite a police presence, Kühnen led the group in throwing stones and other projectiles at cars crossing the border.[12]
Kühnen died on 25 April 1991, ofAIDS-related diseases.[13] He was cremated at the Kasseler Westfriedhof (Kassel West Cemetery).[14]
The Polish border incident was Kühnen's last public action. Within Germany, his death had a twofold effect on neo-Nazism; it meant the loss of its most dynamic leader, and it meant that the divisions he had caused would be largely left behind.[15] He was effectively succeeded byChristian Worch, his closest ally, whom Kühnen had nominated to take over his leadership.
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