With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

British Nationalist dresses as Nazi, sports swastika, says he's not a Nazi

A British National Party candidate standing in Thursday's local elections dresses in Nazi uniforms and has driven a military vehicle with a swastika on the bonnet.

Karl Newman, 47, hit the national headlines at the weekend after posting pictures that could be seen to glorify Nazism on his website.

As a military re-enactor, he says he dresses up in the spirit of Dad's Army and always asks event organisers if they would prefer him not to.

"Everything's done politically correctly. We don't offend, we don't do Nazi salutes, we do the Dad's Army sort of thing," he said.

The images are on a website dedicated to his hobby of restoring Kubelwagens -- vehicles which transported German troops during the Second World War.

[5-4-07 update: The BNP's best result [in Redditch Council elections] ame in Greenlands where Karl Newman, featured in last week's Advertiser, came in second place behind Labour newcomer Wanda King, beating both the Conservative and Liberal Democrat candidates.]

Read entire article at Redditch (Worcestershire) Advertiser