Stahlgewitter

Stahlgewitter is a controversial German hard rock and Rock against Communism group founded in 1995.^[2] Despite the genre's name, RAC song lyrics rarely focus on the specific topic of anti-communism. Rather, RAC lyrics typically feature nationalist themes.^[3][4][5] Stahlgewitter is listed by the group 'Netz gegen Nazis' (Network against Nazis) as one of the more popular contemporary Rock against Communism groups.^[1] This categorizes Stahlgewitter in amongst other more historical Rock Against Communism groups such as the English band Skrewdriver which played a lending role in the formation of RAC and the fellow German band Landser who are now deemed a "criminal gang organization" in Germany.^[6]

Stahlgewitter
Origin	Germany
Genres	Hard rock heavy metal Oi! Rock Against Communism
Years active	1995-present
Labels	Freie Meinung Göttingen W & B Records PC Records[1]
Members	Daniel Giese Andreas Koroschetz Frank Krämer

Lyrics

For their supposed Nazi-ties, the band has been investigated by the German police for supporting hate-speech.^[7] The band is listed as a hate-group for these reasons by the US organization the Anti-Defamation League.^[8] However, the band's lyrics never directly attack or demean any race or nationality, which then means it is not categorized as hate-speech outside of Germany.^[9] This has led to the band's music being used to create fan-made music videos which then can be uploaded to YouTube without censorship.^[9]

Stahlgewitter's lyrics, however, do promote extremism by promoting and praising National Socialism or organisations that were under the German Nazi-party, who engaged in crimes against humanity through the means of both genocide and democide.^[9] In their lyrics, they complain about "Zionist-occupied governments" as well pay homage to today's neo-Nazis as "political soldiers" by proclaiming them to be today's Sturmabteilung (SA) or "Brownshirts",^[1] a paramilitary organization of the Nazi-party that played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s.

One example is the praise in their song "Ruhm und Ehre der Waffen-SS" of the Waffen-SS who committed numerous war crimes, particularly civilian massacres (see Waffen-SS § Criminality).

Original German lyrics	English translation
Ich weiß dass ihr sie nie vergesst, Ruhm und Ehre der Waffen-SS, Ich weiß dass ihr sie nie vergesst, Ruhm und Ehre der Waffen-SS	I know that you will never forget them Honor and glory for the Waffen-SS I know that you will never forget them Honor and glory for the Waffen-SS [9]

Discography

• 1996 - "Das eiserne Gebet"
• 1998 - "Germania"
• 2001 - "Amalek"
• 2002 - "Politischer Soldat"
• 2003 - "Germania über alles"
• 2006 - "Auftrag Deutsches Reich"
• 2008 - "Politischer Soldat - Neuauflage"
• 2013 - "Das Hohelied der Herkunft"
• 2013 - "Stählerne Romantik" (MCD)

See also

• List of neo-Nazi bands