
Amazon 'used neo-Nazi guards to keep immigrant workforce under control' - s_kilk
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/amazon-used-neo-nazi-guards-to-keep-immigrant-workforce-under-control-in-germany-8495843.html
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jschuur
Story is from 2013. They sacked the security company in question:
[https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/amazon-hess-neo-nazi-
fire-436480](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/amazon-hess-neo-nazi-fire-436480)

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pasabagi
This doesn't strike me as Amazon's fault. In germany, it would be very easy to
hire neo-nazis by accident, since a lot of security organizations are nazis,
and their dogwhistles are really very cryptic. If I see somebody in Germany
wearing a Londsale hoody, for example, I assume they are a nazi - because
Lonsdale can be truncated to ]nsda[ which looks like NSDAP. They have loads of
little signs and symbols like this.

Anybody who isn't german, or even isn't in the left scene (or alternately, a
nazi themselves) would find it hard to keep up with all their signs.

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gaius
Was the name HESS not blatant enough?

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pasabagi
I don't think Rudolf Hess is particularly popular amongst neo-nazis. He
defected, after all.

Before I moved to germany, I had no idea of the scale and intensity of
germany's nazi problem. In a normal country, you can hire security with the
reasonable assumption that they aren't going to be nazis. In germany, you
cannot. I expect a non-german did the hiring.

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mieseratte
> I don't think Rudolf Hess is particularly popular amongst neo-nazis. He
> defected, after all.

Apparently he actually is a neo-Nazi icon, "appearing" somewhat prominently in
the docudrama _The NSU Complex_ about the NSU murders in Germany. Brief
Googling turns up a decent answer regarding why on /r/AskHistorians[0].

tl;dr: he was a high-ranking Nazi, he was still alive in the later half of the
20th century, and it was socially and politically acceptable in West Germany
to advocate his release from Spandau.

Edit / Grain of Salt: The linked post references a neo-Nazi terrorist bombing
against US personnel stationed in Germany. Thus far I have been unable to find
references to this event. If anyone has a link to an article in English or
German, I would appreciate it greatly!

[0] -
[https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4tsq1r/why_d...](https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4tsq1r/why_did_rudolf_hess_become_such_an_icon_for/d5k0orx/)

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goldenkey
Hitler had all his pictures retroactively removed after he flew to the UK. He
was blackballed.

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mieseratte
Yes, but we're talking about neo-Nazis, not the original Nazis.

The neo-Nazis have apparently glossed over his indiscretions. It's not as if
cognitive dissonance is anything new considering racists have always made do
dealing with their out-group, labelling the ones they deal with as "the good
ones."

If you watch Daryl Davis' documentary, _Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race
& America_ you'll get to see this first hand as Davis, a black man, befriends
numerous current and former Klansmen. They, of course, are able to
compartmentalize their racism and their friendship with Davis.

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gryzzly
Maybe other, more reliable sources and not from 2013 would be useful! Anyone
knows how this story developed? Was anything proven since? Did these practices
change?

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dispat0r
Amazon fired the security contractor.

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Treegarden
is it so hard for the independent to include a link/name/source to the
documentary?

~~~
jschuur
In German, but this appears to be it:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdrkY_NpgrY](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdrkY_NpgrY)

