Hammerskins

Hammerskin Nation
AbbreviationHSN or wetnazs
Formation1988
Type
Purpose
  • Promotion of neo-Nazism, white supremacy, white nationalism, and establishment of a white ethnostate
Location
Affiliations

The Hammerskins (also known as Hammerskin Nation) are a neo-Nazi group formed in 1988 in Dallas, Texas.[3] Their primary focus is the production and promotion of white power rock music,[4][5] and many white power bands have been affiliated with the group. The Hammerskins were affiliated with the record label 9% Productions. The Hammerskins host several annual concerts, including Hammerfest, an annual event in both the United States and Europe in honor of deceased Hammerskin Joe Rowan, the lead singer of the band Nordic Thunder.[3]

The Hammerskins were one of the most prominent American white power skinhead groups.[6] The Anti-Defamation League describes them as the United States' best-organized neo-Nazi skinhead group,[3] with the Hammerskin Nation website boasting six chapters in the United States and chapters existing in Canada, various European countries, New Zealand, and Australia.[7] The organization is self-described as "leaderless". Individual members have been involved in many violent attacks and hate crimes, mostly in the US (notably the Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting), although these have not been organized by the group.[8]

It maintains an active recruitment strategy, and encourages members to enlist in military forces in order to learn combat skills for an upcoming race war. Its website is defunct. It has run Facebook groups under the name Crew 38 (now inactive)[8] and its online forums,[9] and this name is also used for supporters of the group in Australia.[10]

  1. ^ "Racist, violent, unpunished: A white hate group's campaign of menace — ProPublica". ProPublica. A.C. Thompson, Ali Winston, Darwin BondGraham. 2017-10-19. Retrieved 2017-10-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. ^ Blades, Lincoln Anthony. "White Supremacists Don't Deserve Hugs". Teen Vogue. Retrieved 2017-10-29.
  3. ^ a b c "The Hammerskin Nation". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  4. ^ Helbig, Felix (4 November 2012). "Europas Neonazis feiern sich selbst" (in German). Frankfurter Rundschau. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  5. ^ Schmidt, W.; Speit, A. (11 January 2013). "Hetzjagd auf der Bühne". Die Tageszeitung: Taz (in German). Die Tageszeitung. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  6. ^ Simi, Pete; Futrell, Robert (2010). American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. ISBN 978-1442202108.
  7. ^ Yenko, Athena (8 October 2014). "Anti-Muslim, Anti-Asian, Islamophobic extremists, Anti-Jewish -- Australia Has All The Hate Gangs". International Business Times. Retrieved 17 October 2014.
  8. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference counter was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  9. ^ Cite error: The named reference forum38 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  10. ^ Cite error: The named reference white was invoked but never defined (see the help page).