3 days ago
Chilling images show Scots racists meet neo-Nazis in Germany to plot 'revolution'
Sinister Caledonia Club youth branch meet like-minded Euro racists to prepare for "national revolution"
Young Scottish racists joined neo-Nazis in Germany to practice combat drills and plot 'revolution'.
The sinister Caledonia Club sent a contingent to form bonds with far right extremists from other European nations.
Extremist recruits at the boot camp - organised by neo-Nazi party The Third Way (Der Dritte Weg)- marched through the countryside in the rural Thuringia region, commando-style, with other bigots from the Netherlands, Germany and England.
More than 100 activists took part in hand-to-hand combat training and lectures in 'national revolutionary', anti-immigration theory. Recruits at the 'Der Dritte Weg Youth Weekend' were addressed by the party chairman Matthias Fischer, a veteran of the German far-right scene, who is affiliated with several extreme groups.
The Daily Record was the first in the UK to highlight the rise of 'active clubs' in the UK in 2023 but these have now cropped up in towns and cities up and down the country.
Many promote 'traditional' values and preach about history - but mix in a toxic 'white only' creed that seeks to block other cultures.
David Lawrence, of the Hope Not Hate anti-fascist group, said the rise of such groups should be taken very seriously, due to their fascination with causing violent disruption and spreading hate in difficult times.
He said: 'These fascist groups are blending of physical training with political extremism and that gives them a powerful radicalisation tool.
'Young men start to associate with these positive changes in their own bodies with extremist ideologies, and it kind of can ferment this very intense kind of in group loyalty.'
Der Dritte Weg - or The Third Way - has established itself as one of the premier neo-Nazi groups in Western Europe and they have been trying establish links to other Nazi groups overseas.
'This is highly concerning because it enables the spread of tactics and even resources across borders and enables coordination on campaigns.'
On the German boot camp in June, the Scottish fascists were awoken at 5.30am for a group breakfast.
During a 25km march they stopped at a village war memorial, where the legend of a local war hero were crudely mangled to fit their right wing mantra.
After taking part in archery and wrestling lessons they were taught on how to make graffiti - to help spread their extreme views on Scottish streets.
The Third Way write-up of the weekend states: 'It has always been important for both our party and our Youth Working Group to establish and maintain contacts and friendships across national borders. Our members are regularly invited to events and demonstrations abroad.
'The impressions gained during this weekend are priceless, both for the youth and for all the helpers and the organizing team, and new ideas have already been developed that will be implemented at future NRJ weekends.'
David Lawrence said the 'active club' trend has accelerated throughout the USA, through Europe and beyond, with some members linked to extreme groups like Patriotic Alternative and the Homeland Party, as well as banned groups like National Action.
He said: 'Caledonia Club is something of a rebranding of Active Club Scotland. They are continuing the violent, hyper masculine ideal at the heart of fascist ideology, with combat training and pseudo military paraphernalia.
'We're increasingly also seeing this kind of international networking.
'The dangers posed by these secretive, militant brotherhoods, shouldn't be underestimated. Doing all this training and developing this capacity for violence is because they expect to use it against minority groups and anti fascists.
'The active clubs are often quite careful in their public output to avoid direct calls for violence. But the material is saturated in kind of latent, violent potential.
'The whole reason for the active club model in the first place was to try to avoid arrests. That's why they have these quite decentralized branches.'
The Caledonia Club is believed to have morphed from the Active Club Scotland after the Daily Record exposed their activities.
Members meet in secret for gym sessions and wear masks when taking part in field trips to iconic locations.
They are obsessed with getting 'back to nature' and use this thinking to support a ban on immigration.
Advanced communication channels via 'nationalist hubs' also seek to accelerate the growth of racist ideals.
Recent months have seen such active clubs sprout massively across Europe after they were originally founded in the USA.
A spokesperson for the Stand Up To Racism group added: 'The formations of fringe group like these further highlights the fertile ground that both the rise of Reform UK, a racist, far right party, and Starmer's shameful capitulation to racism is creating.
'These groups sit at the margins of society but the rise of racism is making them grow in confidence that their views as shared by others, the anti-racist majority in Scotland we've seen mobilise time and time again should disavow them of that notion'.
The Caledonia Club posts photos of its field trips to the Scottish countryside, making clear that they are promoting the ideals of 'white boys'. The group uses the slogan 'Hail Alba'.
The Third Way - often abbreviated to III. Weg - is an official political party that was founded in 2013, when it was closely linked to the Free Network South (FNS) organisation, which was banned in 2014.
The youth division - the NRJ (Nationalrevolutionäres Jugendwochenende) have been seen protesting against LGBTQ type events.
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