Golden Dawn (Greece)

Popular Association – Golden Dawn
Λαϊκός Σύνδεσμος – Χρυσή Αυγή
AbbreviationΧΑ
General SecretaryNikolaos Michaloliakos
FounderNikolaos Michaloliakos
Founded1 January 1985 (1985-01-01) (as an organisation)
November 1993 (as a political party)
Headquarters131 Mesogeion Avenue, Athens, Greece (formerly)[1]
NewspaperΧρυσή Αυγή (Chrysi Avgi)
Youth wingYouth Front
Ideology
Political positionFar-right[17]
ReligionGreek Orthodox Church
European Parliament groupNon-Inscrits (2014–2024)
Colors
  •   Black
  •   Blue
  •   Gold
  •   Red
  •   White
SloganΑίμα, Τιμή, Χρυσή Αυγή
("Blood, Honour, Golden Dawn")
AnthemHymn of the Golden Dawn
"Ύμνος Χρυσής Αυγής"
Party flag
Website
xrisiavgi.com Edit this at Wikidata
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The Popular Association – Golden Dawn[18][19] (Greek: Λαϊκός Σύνδεσμος – Χρυσή Αυγή, romanized: Laïkós Sýndesmos – Chrysí Avgí), usually shortened to Golden Dawn (Greek: Χρυσή Αυγή, romanized: Chrysí Avgí, pronounced [xriˈsi avˈʝi]), is a far-right[23] neo-Nazi[a] ultranationalist organisation and former political party[24] in Greece. Golden Dawn rose to prominence during Greece's financial crisis of 2009, becoming the third most popular party in the Greek parliament in the January 2015 election. Its support since plunged, and it failed to enter parliament in the 2019 election. The criminal trial against the leaders, frequently described as the largest trial of Nazis since the Nuremberg trials, lasted more than five years.[25]

Nikolaos Michaloliakos began the foundations of what would become Golden Dawn in 1980, when he published the first issue of the right-wing, pro-military junta journal by the name Chrysi Avgi. In this context, Golden Dawn had its origins in the movement that worked towards a return to right-wing military dictatorship in Greece. Following an investigation into the 2013 murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas by a self-identified member,[26][27] Michaloliakos and several other Golden Dawn MPs and members were arrested and held in pre-trial detention on suspicion of forming a criminal organization.[28] The trial began on 20 April 2015.[29] Golden Dawn later lost all of its remaining seats in the Greek Parliament in the 2019 Greek legislative election.[30] A 2020 survey showed the party's popularity plummeting to 1.5%,[31] down from 2.9% in the previous year's elections, and a peak of 7.0%.[32]

Golden Dawn is commonly described as neo-Nazi[37] and neo-fascist.[43] While the group rejects these labels,[44] its members have expressed admiration for the former Greek dictators Ioannis Metaxas of the 4th of August Regime (1936–1941)[49] and Georgios Papadopoulos of the Regime of the Colonels (1967–1974).[50] Moreover Michaloliakos, the group's founder and self-declared "Führer", advocates Holocaust denial theory and is an ardent supporter of Adolf Hitler.[51] Golden Dawn also uses symbolism which is very similar to that of the Nazis, Nazi salutes, blood-and-soil slogans and have also praised figures of Nazi Germany.[52][53][54] The group is racist and xenophobic,[55][56] and the party's leader has himself openly identified it as nationalist and racist.[57] Golden Dawn has been also described as ultranationalist,[58][59][60] as they support the creation of Greater Greece[61] and have been strongly critical of the European Union.[7][8][9][10] On social issues, they are traditionalist[62] and oppose immigration,[63] and on fiscal issues they are protectionist.[64] Golden Dawn has engaged in right-wing populist rhetorics[6] with strong employment of antisemitism,[65][66] Islamophobia,[67][68] anti-Turkism,[69] and homophobia.[70][71] The party also has a militant wing consisting of numerous death squads that perpetrated hate-crimes against minorities.[72] The Hellenic Police has been criticised for its close links to Golden Dawn by government ministers, human rights activists, and whistleblower police officers.[73][74][75][71]

On 7 October 2020, the Athens Court of Appeals announced verdicts for 68 defendants, including the party's political leadership. The General Secretary Nikolaos Michaloliakos and six other prominent members and former MPs were charged with running a criminal organization.[32] Guilty verdicts on charges of murder, attempted murder, and violent attacks on immigrants and left-wing political opponents were delivered[76] and the leadership was sent to prison.[77]

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  2. ^ a b c Upchurch, H. E. (22 December 2021). Cruickshank, Paul; Hummel, Kristina (eds.). "The Iron March Forum and the Evolution of the "Skull Mask" Neo-Fascist Network" (PDF). CTC Sentinel. 14 (10). West Point, New York: Combating Terrorism Center: 27–37. Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
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  8. ^ a b France24: A look at the European Parliament's eurosceptic parties, Golden Dawn, Greece
  9. ^ a b "Greek election 2015: Golden Dawn rises on austerity-driven despair". The Guardian. "In successive opinion surveys, the virulently ... anti-EU party has emerged as Greece's third-biggest political force"
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    • Vasilopoulou; Halikiopoulou (2015), The Golden Dawn's 'Nationalist Solution', p. 32, The extremist character of the Golden Dawn, its neo-Nazi principles, racism and ultranationalism, as well as its violence, render the party a least likely case of success...
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    • Miliopoulos, Lazaros (2011), "Extremismus in Griechenland", Extremismus in den EU-Staaten (in German), VS Verlag, p. 154, doi:10.1007/978-3-531-92746-6_9, ISBN 978-3-531-17065-7, ...mit der seit 1993 als Partei anerkannten offen neonationalsozialistischen Gruppierung Goldene Mörgenröte (Chryssi Avgí, Χρυσή Αυγή) kooperierte... [...cooperated with the openly neo-National Socialist group Golden Dawn (Chryssi Avgí, Χρυσή Αυγή), which has been recognized as a party since 1993...]
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    • Kravva, Vasiliki (2003), "The Construction of Otherness in Modern Greece", The Ethics of Anthropology: Debates and dilemmas, Routledge, p. 169, For example, during the summer of 2000 members of Chryssi Avgi, the most widespread fascist organization in Greece, destroyed part of the third cemetery in Athens...
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