A former Golden Dawn officer who was a party candidate in the 2012 elections and scientific advisor for the party in Parliament has voluntarily testified regarding the criminal activities of the neo-Nazi party, revealing shocking details about the party’s organization, structure and actions.
The unnamed witness joined Golden Dawn in 2005 and admits that he was a huge supporter of the “outright” national socialist ideology that the neo-Nazi party openly promoted at the time. The party’s goal, according to the witness, was to establish a one-party national socialist state, with clear references to interwar-era Germany, such as the swastika and Nazi salute.
The former member considers Nikos Michaloliakos’ official condemnation of violence to be “ridiculous… entirely hypocritical” and argues that despite the attempt to justify the use of Nazi symbols as Greek cultural heritage, “the overwhelming majority in Golden Dawn, if note everyone, is aware that they are used as direct references to National Socialist Germany”.
The former party member explains that this would be achieved by infecting state institutions such as the police and the armed forces with the national socialist ideology, using propaganda and violence to attract followers. While the witness claims to not have been present in any orders for assaults against migrants, noted that there was a sense of security and impunity when carrying out such attacks.
While the party’s leader and second-in-command, Nikos Michaloliakos and Christos Papas, have claimed to have abandoned the Nazi ideology which they publicly revered in the past, the former member argues that Golden Dawn’s political and social beliefs are exactly the same since the party’s foundation.
The cult of the leader plays a significant role in the neo-Nazi party, with the former member explaining that “it is the adoration for the institution of the leader and essentially for [the follower’s] decision to devote his entire existence under [the leader’s] command”. The former member adds that as leader Michaloliakos is aware of his party’s actions, since everyone party member with authority is completely faithful to him.
The witness revealed that after requesting to distance himself from the party’s leadership, the daughter of detained party leader Ourania Michaloliakou informed him via text message of the general secretary’s disapproval. Since then, the witness claims to have received serious threats.
