Wednesday conference will focus on right wing movements in Europe and the United States

The German neo-Nazi scene has received renewed attention at home and abroad since German unification in 1990. Xenophobic attacks on predominantly dark-skinned foreigners and desecrations of Jewish cemeteries make headlines especially, but not exclusively, in East German cities and towns. Skinhead and neo-Nazi movements, although deeply anti-international in their ideology, are also organizing across borders in both Eastern and Western Europe, as recent developments in Scandinavia and former communist countries has shown.

When 88-year-old James W. von Brunn gunned down security guard Stephen Tyrone Johns at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C. in June 2009, right-wing extremist groups in the U.S. also received renewed attention. Racially-motivated arson attacks on churches in Texas are the latest incidents in a string of violent episodes that have occurred since Barack Obama became the first African-American president.

From 2:30-5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, April 28, the Center for German and European Studies will host a conference of European and American scholars who have studied these movements. The event will take place in International Lounge, Usdan Student Center.

Panelists will address questions about the most recent developments in the organizations' demographics, their ideological framework, and the role of different free speech laws in shaping the groups' media and online presence and activities, both in the U.S. and in Europe.

Doors open at 1:45 pm and priority in seating will be given to Brandeis students and faculty. Due to the high level of interest, members of the campus community are asked to RSVP to cges@brandeis.edu to reserve a seat.

No signs, banners, or backpacks will be allowed inside International Lounge.