“In July, I went to the Golden Dawn in Piraeus to register for the events in Thermopylae. They asked for my name – I gave them a fake one – and my passport. I claimed I didn’t have it with me. They found it while searching my bag. During the lecture on Leonidas, I saw the head of the office frantically Googling in a closed office. Some members of the organization went up to him and were chatting intensely. The speaker hurriedly finished the rest of his speech. Then I saw the head pick up the phone. I grabbed my bag, hurried past the “soldiers”, quickly went down the stairs and ran into the street. I took three different taxis to get home. I haven’t been back since.”
The last paragraph that concludes the 3,745-word report by American journalist Alexander Clapp in the British magazine London Review of Books, describing the dramatic exit from the snake's nest. The moment when the Golden Dawn realized that Clapp was not the one who had been introduced to them six weeks ago, that he was not the "American neo-fascist" they thought he was when he tried to infiltrate the organization.
In his report, Klap described what he experienced in the local organizations of Kalamata, Salamis and Piraeus, the hymns to Hitler, the racist delirium, the threats and the Nazi propaganda.
“The offices of the organization are located in quiet neighborhoods of large cities in Greece. Large Greek flags next to the black and red banners of the organization. In Kalamata, in the central room of the offices, there is a map of Greater Greece, which includes Cyprus and Southern Albania,” he writes.
Nazi swastikas are everywhere. But the organization's executives describe them to the new members as "ancient Greek meanders," he writes.
During the indoctrination into fascist ideals, the cadres are all dressed in black, sandals and shorts are prohibited. About one in four are women. He has also seen children in two cases: three teenagers in Athens and a family of five in Githeio. The men are stocky, well-built and all make sure to exercise in the organization's so-called "sports.".
In Gytheio, paintings of Adolf Hitler are found throughout the office spaces.
Clapp attended several neo-Nazi catechisms in various cities around the country. “The meetings,” the American journalist reports, “last about two hours, with the sound of Germenis’ heavy metal band and recorded speeches by the leader of the A.H.A. Nikos Michaloliakos.
He also went to "untouchable Mani", the birthplace of the imprisoned Michaloliakos and a stronghold of Golden Dawn. There he reached the "leader's" house, in the village of Korogonianika, accompanied by a nephew of his who, among other things, told him that "the people of Mani are a family, like the mafia. If you leave Mani, it means you are an idiot.".
Clapp also describes the way Golden Dawn operates, which is led by Michaloliakos, who gives all the important orders.
“Covering Golden Dawn can be very dangerous for Greeks. In April 2012, a colleague of mine at Kathimerini wrote an article arguing that the party should be outlawed. Five days later, some Golden Dawn members posted a 2,500-word response on their website. “They knew every detail about my life,” she told me. “My age, my daughter’s age, where I was born, where I’ve worked, my previous articles. It ended with a direct threat, written in German, because I was born in Hamburg: ‘Watch out. We’re watching you,’” Klap also reports.
