| Shield and Sword | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Ultra Nationalist metal |
| Dates | Three days, starting from Friday |
| Locations | Ostritz, Saxony, Germany |
| Years active | 2018 - present |
| Founders | Thorsten Heise andPeter Richter |
Schild und Schwert (Shield and Sword) is aNeo-Nazi rockmusic festival held in Germany to celebrate the birthday ofAdolf Hitler.[1] The festival is organized by the ultra-nationalist political group theNational Democratic Party (NPD). The event is held inOstritz inEastern Saxony. The festival is attended by far-right extremists fromGermany and neighboring countries.
TheFederal Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bundesverfassungsschutz) mentioned that "the festival has particular importance for the sub-cultural right-wing extremist scene".[2] In 2018, the Neo-fascistmixed martial arts scene and the music scene were united for the first time at the festival by the MMA event "Kampf der Nibelungen".
In 2018 NPD activist Thorsten Heise and NPD lawyer Peter Richter organized Shield and Sword. They combined it with the Nazi MMA event, "Kampf der Nibelungen". The music line-up included white metal bands such as Die Lunikoff-Verschwörung, which was founded by the formerLandser singer Michael Regener, Kategorie C, Amok from Switzerland,Oidoxie fromDortmund,[3] and others. Nearly every band has a connection toBlood & Honour.[4][5]
In 2019 the festival had 500 to 600 attendees. 1,400 police officers from several states from Germany and from Poland were there. The city of Ostritz prohibited any alcohol at the festival.[6]
In 2020 the festival was postponed and then cancelled because of theCOVID-19 pandemic.[7]