ABSTRACT
During the 1980s and 1990s, Gary “Gerhard” Lauck, founder of the neo-Nazi Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei/Auslands-und Aufbauorganisation (NSDAP/AO—overseas division), produced millions of pieces of Nazi propaganda in 10 languages at his Lincoln, Nebraska headquarters. He then exported these materials to 30 countries, including Germany and other nations in which such materials were banned and difficult to access. His distribution network propelled the “Farm Belt Fuhrer” to a central role in the resurgence of neo-Nazism in late 20th-century Europe until the advent of the Internet made neo-Nazi propaganda easier to acquire across borders and undermined his business. 1 Eventually, Lauck was arrested in Denmark and extradited to Germany where he was sentenced to four years in prison. After his prison term, Lauck returned to the US and set up a web-hosting company for Germans who wanted to avoid what he termed the “political repression” and “censorship” of that nation’s anti-Nazi laws.
