Online Nazi Music Traders Nailed
Officials said Tuesday that German police had searched the apartments of computer aficionados in a nationwide crackdown on the illegal practice of swapping Nazi songs on the Internet.
The prosecutor's office in Bonn has opened 120 cases against computer buffs who are accused of trading songs by Nazi skinhead bands online.
Agency officials say that computers and disks were seized from 103 people in a coordinated endeavor. If convicted, defendants could face up to three years in jail.
"The crime agency measures are seen as successful and that even the Internet music exchange is not a lawless realm," police officials said in a statement after the raids.
Germany has long been sensitive about its Nazi past. It is against the law to display Nazi symbols or to trade in Nazi memorabilia, including songs. But the Internet explosion has made it harder than ever for authorities to halt the flow of such material.
There are thousands of Web sites devoted to the Nazi movement, spewing venom and hate. A quick online search reveals many sites offering compact MP3 files of songs such as the "Horst Wessel Song" – the official anthem of the Nazi party – and modern-day variants like the "Swastika Flies Again."
While it is not illegal to listen to Nazi songs, it is against the law to offer others the chance to download them via the Internet.
And German officials are facing an ever-growing battle in combating online hate.
"None of us wants the Internet to turn into a stomping group of anti-social and anti-community rabble-rousers and preachers of hate," said Justice Minister Herta Daeubler-Gmelin. "But in the past year such Web sites have become numerous despite all efforts."
One of the problems confronting officials is the fact that many of the offensive sites are not physically based in Germany.
"Internet sites with far-right, neo-Nazi, anti-Semitic and violence-glorifying contents are a growing threat," said the Interior Ministry. "These offerings are nearly always put on the net from abroad, so Germany has no legal grounds (for action)."
Germany is not the only country trying to stop the spread of hate online. It is illegal in France to exhibit or sell objects with racist overtones.
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