Listen: One segment
1. Taking its title from an endorsement of Romanian ultra-rightist Corneliu Vadim Tudor, this program updates the rise of fascist elements in European nations. One of Tudor’s supporters likened the anti-Semitic and xenophobic Tudor to Vlad (the Impaler) Tepes, the Romanian prince who inspired the Dracula legend. (“Greater Romania Rhetoric Finds a Ready Audience” by Phelim Mc Aleer in Bucharest; Financial Times; 11/24/2000; p. 2.)
2. Tudor’s political agenda appears to be an updated version of that promulgated by the Iron Guard, the Romanian fascist movement allied with Hitler in World War II. (Idem.)
3. Next, the program highlights attempts by backers of Italian media magnate Silvio Berlusconi to censor Italian school textbooks in such a way as to present a more favorable portrayal of Mussolini and his fascist regime in Italy. (“Berlusconi Tries to Keep his Wilder Allies in Check” by James Blitz; Financial Times; 11/17/2000; p. 6.)
4. The broadcast also sets forth the cover-up of the extent of Nazi violence in Germany since reunification. In addition to highlighting young East-Germans’ adoption of fascist and anti-semitic views not shared by their parents, the program documents an enormous official cover-up of Nazi crimes by German political and judicial authorities. (“Germany Comment” by Graeme Atkinson; The Searchlight; 11/2000 [#305]; p. 25.)
5. German MP Ulla Jelpke documented the “disappearance” of more than 4,000 Nazi crimes by the German government. (Idem.)
6. The program also enumerates 110 murders committed by German fascists since German reunification. (“Germany Report: A Decade of Death” by Graeme Atkinson; The Searchlight; 11/2000 [#305]; pp. 22–24.)
7. Concluding with discussion of Austrian fascist Jorg Haider, the broadcast documents Haider’s use of police officers to access police computers in order to extract political intelligence about political opponents. (“Austrian Far-Right Party Enmeshed in Scandal” by Peter Finn; San Francisco Chronicle; 11/22/2000; p. C4.) It remains to be seen if this scandal will bring down the coalition government of which Haider is part.
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