The Next Generation of Fascists

At a rock concert in Zagreb, Croatia, this weekend, a young generation of concert-goers displayed a disturbing nostalgia for fascism. Thousands of fans responded to rock star Marko Perkovic by giving the Nazi salute and shouting slogans from WWII.

Perkovic, who fought in the Croatian army, consistently incorporates this fascist exchange during his acts. His public affairs manager, Albino Ursic, dismissed the Nazi salute as merely “teenage rebellion.” The crowd also showed off fascist regalia: Some fans were wearing black caps from Croatia’s Nazi-affiliated Ustache government, which was responsible for sending thousands to the concentration camps.

The concert was attended by an estimated 40,000 people and was shown during prime time on state-owned television.

New York Times:

On a hot Sunday evening in June, thousands of fans in a packed stadium here in the Croatian capital gave a Nazi salute as the rock star Marko Perkovic shouted a well-known slogan from World War II.

Some of the fans were wearing the black caps of Croatia’s infamous Nazi puppet Ustashe government, which was responsible for sending tens of thousands of Serbs, Gypsies and Jews to their deaths in concentration camps.

The exchange with the audience is a routine part of Mr. Perkovic’s act, and the gesture seemed to lack any conscious political overtones. The audience — most of whom appeared to be in their teens and early 20s — just seemed to be having a good time. But Mr. Perkovic’s recent success among a new generation — many of them apparently oblivious to the history of the Holocaust — has prompted concern and condemnation from Jewish groups abroad and minority groups in Croatia.

Read more