A Look at Volksfront: White-Power Fraternal Brotherhood

Randall Krager founded Volksfront in 1994 while he was serving time in Oregon State Penitentiary. They consider themselves to be an "international fraternal brotherhood of white men" who share "culture, values, class, and other interests" but they don't consider themselves a gang, nor do they consider themselves to be an exclusively skinhead organization.

According to their website, Volksfront "opposes violence, terrorism, and criminal activity as a means to achieve our political aims." However, Volksfront is considered to be a "virulently racist and anti-Semitic group," Volksfront is the most active neo-nazi groups on the West Coast of the United States and has formed alliances with other hate groups such as European Kindred, Hammerskin Nation, Aryan Nation, and Golden State Skinheads.

One of Volksfront's goals is to establish an autonomous whites-only living space in the Pacific Northwest. The group claims to own land in Oregon and Washington. They also oppose what they consider to be the oppression of whites and the working class by national and international governments.

Volkfront Membership:

Believe it or not, the group does have high standards for membership. For example, prospective members must either have a high school diploma or a GED. Sex offender? Substance abuser? Keep on walking. They don't want you. If you don't have a job or are actively looking for one, get to steppin'.

Oh, and you better be of European descent if you want in this exclusive club.

Though they hold prospective members to certain moral standards, members have been known to engage in criminal activity:

Don't let these guys fool you. This group appears to have two faces.

On one hand, you have Volksfront heads pleading the group's cause as being non-violent (unless it's in self-defense) and of high moral standards; a group who just want to deport non-white American citizens so they can have their all-white society and live happily ever after. Would they do this peacefully, without force? Or would Volksfront wage a war against non-European descendants (hate to break it to you guys, but we're all mutts).

It appears that Volksfront wanted to distance itself from what can only be described as renegade behavior by some of its members. In their 15th Anniversary statement which can be found on their website, "...ties to those who do not share our principles and standards are a corrupting influence we have chosen to discard from our midst."

Could this statement be a wolf in sheep's clothing?

Volksfront began its movement away from the criminal element - that is, those people or groups they consider at odds with their overall goals or mission. They set out to purge themselves of the organizations criminals and rededicated themselves to their core ideals or guiding principles. The statement went on to say that those who are involved in criminal activities (including domestic abuse and defilement of their women) would no longer be tolerated.

On the other hand, there are many Volksfront criminals in their midst who do not give a second thought to the crimes they are perpetrating against others who they see as non-white and/or immoral and these guys have gone so far as to murder in the name of their cause.

For instance, in 1998, Brian Zauber of the Volksfront Arizona unit and four other men viciously attacked three women who they believed were lesbians in Philadelphia. Zauber was convicted but he fled sentencing.

In 2004, Volksfront member Kurtis Monschke received a life sentence for his part in the murder of a Tacoma, Washington man. The circumstances surrounding the man's death are as grotesque as any shoot 'em up I can imagine and the scene is one that comes straight out of the movie American History X. Needless to say, the man died a truly horrible, despicable death at the hands of Monschke and other VF members.

According to the Anti-Defamation League, white-supremacist Chris Lord received a four and a half year sentence for attacking the Temple Beth Israel in Eugene, Oregon in 1994 by firing ten armour-piercing bullets into it.

Volksfront member Gabriel Laskey was sentenced to five years probation, six months in a work release program, and six months of home detention for attacking the same synagogue - he threw swastika-etched rocks through the stain glass windows while worshipers were inside. Laskey reportedly renounced his white supremacist beliefs, met with a rabbi, and wrote letters of apology to the temple.

In 2007, Laskey's brother, Jacob, was sentenced to 11 years and three months for the same synagogue attack and for attempting to intimidate witnesses.

Is it possible Volksfront may be headed for a unique direction from that of other Neo-Nazi movements? Is Volksfront a non-violent group?

Most skinhead groups are what I would consider true hate groups in that they are all about violence at all costs. Volksfront gives the overall appearance of wanting to stay to themselves (they do not actively seek out or recruit new member prospects, though interested parties can apply on their own) and build their own little world away from the masses. No matter how it's sugarcoated, they have but one ultimate goal: Create a pure white race that is unspoiled, untouched by any other race they have deemed dirty and not pure.

Only time will tell what Volksfront's true intentions are.

In 2009, Volksfront consisted of roughly 600 members worldwide. They have chapters in several U.S. states as well as Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, Spain, Portugal, and Australia. Official supporter chapters can be found in Italy, New Zealand, Croatia, and Switzerland.

Volksfront motto? "Volk Uber Alles", which translates to "Race Over All".

Sources:
Anti-Defamation League, Oregon White Supremacist Brothers Plead Guilty to Hate Crime
Anti-Defamation League, Volksfront -- Extremism in America
Volksfront, Volksfront International
Prison Offenders, VOLKSFRONT