It will not be a merry Christmas for neo-Nazis this year after a Nazi Santa who had set up a professional workshop making swastika themed Christmas tree decorations and Nazi gifts to put under the tree was busted during an eight hour raid.
The police confirmed details of the arrest after they completed conducted an eight-hour search of a House in the city of Zwickau, which is located in the eastern German state of Saxony.
They said that they had found a regular Santas workshop for creating Christmas decorations – but with Nazi branding – and they were also making items that could have been used as Christmas presents such as portraits and busts of national socialist leaders, cups, engraved glasses, and even calendars.
In fact, police said that in total they discovered over 100 Nazi-themed items with the decorations including Nazi candle arches, incense figures and Christmas tree bauble decorations, all of which were made professionally.
Police believe that the items were being distributed on a large scale among people in far right circles.
These included the red, white and black Christmas tree baubles featuring a swastika.
The suspect, who has not been named due to local privacy laws but who is said to be 39 years old, is being investigated for disseminating Nazi propaganda, a crime under Germany’s strict laws targeting national socialist symbols.
The law regards swastikas and SS runes as “symbols of anti-constitutional organisations” and as a result putting them on display unless for artistic purposes or selling them is illegal and can result in a jail term. The band even includes using Nazi gestures such as the Nazi salute or expressions like Heil Hitler or Sieg Heil.
The police said that they also found two blank vaccination cards and an allegedly falsified vaccination certificate in the man’s home, along with a knife, knuckledusters and firearm and ammunition.
Zwickau’s Police Chief, Lutz Rodig, said it was clear that the man was not simply selling these to locals – and was selling them far beyond the regional borders.
He said: “As a result of investigations by the State Security Police, a cross-border trader with right-wing Nazi propaganda was shut down.
“We believe that we have dealt a serious blow to the sales structures of the right-wing merchandise scene.”
It is unclear if the suspect has been formally charged.
