The Beast Reawakens

Every American--at the very least--must read this book.The danger is real, folks, and this "beast" must be stopped; and the only way to stop it is to be aware of it. This book is painful to read, (1)because it confirms our worst fears: our government and its demented spooks allowed Nazi criminals into this country and allowed them to roam about Europe and Latin America, too, and (2) because of the atrocities the neo-fascists commit in the name of nationalism in Europe,and generally in the name of religion and race in this country, although the motives are all bound up together everywhere. Read this book in small doses ,otherwise, most of you will be sick and nauseated to know what is going on behind our backs and under our noses. Politicans pander to these nut cases for votes and support which legitimizes their crazed beliefs and makes them respectable. A really important book; the research is thorough, and the writing is powerful. Bravo to Mr. Lee for having the courage to write it.

[Review originally published in New Zealand publication 'The Nexus' No. 11 Feb 98]Written in a journalistic style and blatantly Germanophobic, the author concedes nothing to his ideological adversaries nor even to the German people per se, whom he sees as not having sufficiently borne the 'guilt' of Nazism. Nevertheless, "The Beast..." is worth obtaining since the author, although accepting uncritically the whole baggage of anti-fascist propaganda, has also interviewed many stalwarts including Gen. Remer and H. Keith Thompson, Remer's and Francis Parker Yockey's ("Imperium") principle US contact.Lee weaves a vast global fascist conspiracy, tracing its pedigree directly to the Third Reich and hatched by Remer, Col. Rudel and Otto Skorzeny, and continued by Yockey, Thompson, and reaching to such unlikely places as pro-Zionist televangelists and militiamen. Despite the extravagances and tenuous connections, there are good histories on the Third Wa! y, Russian 'National Bolsheviks,' et al.

Lee, a writer for Rolling Stone and other publications, has painstakingly traced the entire history of neofascism, with particular attention to the activities of Otto Skorzeny and General Otto Ernst Remer, leading figures in the German right-wing resurgence. Neofascism is certainly a force which bears watching, particularly in European countries with historic susceptibility, but Lee undermines his credibility with jarringly inappropriate language (Waffen SS veterans described as wearing "military drag") and the inclusion of conservative Americans in his gallery of rogues. And can anyone really believe that the eminent Nazi-hater Eisenhower had a photo of Skorzeny in his White House office? (The "score" rating is an ineradicable feature of the page. This reviewer does not "score" books.)

Too many of us, in Europe and America, believe that Fascism was pernanently defeated in WW II. This is a dangerous complacency that is addressed by Martin Lee whose documentation of the pan- European ultra right proves that Nazism is far from dead.

We tend to have short memories in America, and an "it can't happen here" attitude, especially about the most horrific atrocity of the century: the rise to power of the Nazis and the wake of murder and destruction that followed. But Martin Lee's excellent book "The Beast Reawakens" should chill to the bone anyone who thinks that the Nazis died out with the Third Reich's defeat in World War II. Far from dead, most of the most powerful Nazis not only survived the war, but thrived, some under the protection and patronage of the American and Soviet governments, who believed they needed the secrets and contacts that these killers possessed. Over the years, these Nazi veterans laid low, acting opportunistically to build successful business and espionage operations, but never relinquishing their ideologies. They sowed the seeds of fascism and National Socialism in Europe, the United States, the Middle East, South America and the Soviet Union, and influenced the next two generations of neo-fascists everywhere. Lee's book uses original interviews and extensive research into official documents to trace the direct lineage between the original Nazis and their counterparts today. It is sobering and absolutely maddening to see how various governments, particularly those of Germany and Russia, have looked the other way while the post-Cold War neo-Nazis have embarked on violent attacks on "undesirables" and on a new wave of recruiting. I found myself wakened from my complacent beliefs by reading "The Beast Reawakened" and urge anyone interested in freedom to read this book and pass it on to their friends. Martin Lee is also co-author of two terrific books, "Acid Dreams" and "Unreliable Sources."