Europa: The Last Battle

Last updated

Europa: The Last Battle
Directed byTobias Bratt
Written byTobias Bratt
Produced byTobias Bratt
Edited byTobias Bratt
Release date
2017
Running time
12 hours [1]
CountrySweden
LanguageEnglish

Europa: The Last Battle is a 2017 [2] English-language Swedish ten-part [3] neo-Nazi propaganda film [10] directed, written and produced by Tobias Bratt, a Swedish far-right activist associated with the Nordic Resistance Movement, a European neo-Nazi movement. [11] [12] It promotes antisemitic conspiracy theories, including Holocaust denial, [7] and has been promoted across multiple social media platforms. [11] [8]

Contents

Narrative

The film promotes various antisemitic conspiracy theories, claiming that Karl Marx was part of a centuries-long plan by Jews to spread communism and take over the world [1] [13] and that Jews control the world's money supply [7] and are conspiring to engineer the downfall of the white race by encouraging immigration and interracial relationships. [14] It includes out-of-context quotes from Marx and Moses Hess's book Rome and Jerusalem to promote the idea that Jews are behind the evils of the world, and claims that Stalin supposedly having Jewish wives proves that Jews were controlling him. [13]

The film also engages in historical revisionism to claim that Jews started World War I and II as part of a plot to establish Israel by provoking the Nazis into acting in self-defence. [3] [15] [16] It also claims that Jews caused Germany's defeat in World War I, which is commonly referred to as the stab-in-the-back myth, and that Adolf Hitler was fighting against a global Jewish plot. [15]

Gregory Davis, a researcher at the United Kingdom-based anti-racism group Hope not Hate, said the film "denies the proven reality of the Holocaust whilst providing justifications for the violent antisemitism that fuelled it", adding, "Its mix of blatant falsehoods and slanted portrayal of real events gives it no historical legitimacy whatsoever, and it serves only to demonise the Jewish people and whitewash the crimes of the Nazi regime." [7]

Promotion

The film has been promoted by white supremacists [2] [17] [18] and antisemitic conspiracy theorists, [2] [19] the British conspiracy newspaper The Light [20] and QAnon conspiracy theorists on Telegram. [24] It has also been shared on platforms such as Instagram, [11] BitChute, [4] TikTok [7] [13] and the Telegram chat of the German disinformation outlet Disclose.tv as of January 2022. [6] YouTube and Facebook have blocked the film from being uploaded, but links to the film on other sites can be shared. [11]

As of June 2023, Twitter was running advertisements for major brands such as Disney, Microsoft and ESPN next to tweets from verified users sharing long clips from the film. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

Antisemitism is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. This sentiment is a form of racism, and a person who harbours it is called an antisemite. Primarily, antisemitic tendencies may be motivated by negative sentiment towards Jews as a people or by negative sentiment towards Jews with regard to Judaism. In the former case, usually presented as racial antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by the belief that Jews constitute a distinct race with inherent traits or characteristics that are repulsive or inferior to the preferred traits or characteristics within that person's society. In the latter case, known as religious antisemitism, a person's hostility is driven by their religion's perception of Jews and Judaism, typically encompassing doctrines of supersession that expect or demand Jews to turn away from Judaism and submit to the religion presenting itself as Judaism's successor faith—this is a common theme within the other Abrahamic religions. The development of racial and religious antisemitism has historically been encouraged by the concept of anti-Judaism, which is distinct from antisemitism itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zionist Occupation Government conspiracy theory</span> Antisemitic conspiracy theory

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Radio Islam was a Swedish neo-Nazi and Islamic local radio channel, now a website. The EU's racism monitoring organization has called it "one of the most radical right-wing antisemitic homepages on the net".

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Salvador Borrego Escalante was a Mexican journalist and historical revisionist writer.

Antisemitic tropes or antisemitic canards are "sensational reports, misrepresentations, or fabrications" that are defamatory towards Judaism as a religion or defamatory towards Jews as an ethnic or religious group. Since as early as the 2nd century, libels or allegations of Jewish guilt and cruelty emerged as a recurring motif along with antisemitic conspiracy theories.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aftermath of the Holocaust</span> Review of the topic

The Holocaust had a deep effect on society both in Europe and the rest of the world, and today its consequences are still being felt, both by children and adults whose ancestors were victims of this genocide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of antisemitism in the United States</span>

Different opinions exist among historians regarding the extent of antisemitism in American history and how American antisemitism contrasted with its European counterpart. In contrast to the horrors of European history, John Higham states that in the United States "no decisive event, no deep crisis, no powerful social movement, no great individual is associated primarily with, or significant chiefly because of anti-Semitism." Accordingly, David A. Gerber concludes that antisemitism "has been a distinctly minor feature of the nation's historical development."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antisemitism in the United States</span> Hatred towards the Jewish people within the US

Antisemitism has long existed in the United States. Most Jewish community relations agencies in the United States draw distinctions between antisemitism, which is measured in terms of attitudes and behaviors, and the security and status of American Jews, which are both measured by the occurrence of specific incidents.

Antisemitism in Greece manifests itself in religious, political and media discourse. The 2009–2018 Greek government-debt crisis has facilitated the rise of far right groups in Greece, most notably the formerly obscure Golden Dawn.

The Right Stuff is a neo-Nazi and white nationalist blog and discussion forum and the host of several podcasts, including The Daily Shoah. Founded by American neo-Nazi Mike Enoch, the website promotes Holocaust denial, and coined the use of "echoes", an antisemitic marker that uses triple parentheses around names to identify Jewish people.

BitChute is an alt-tech video hosting service launched by Ray Vahey in January 2017. It describes itself as offering freedom of speech, while the service is known for hosting far-right individuals, conspiracy theorists, and hate speech. Some creators who use BitChute have been banned from YouTube; some others crosspost content to both platforms or post more extreme content only to BitChute. Before its deprecation, BitChute claimed to use peer-to-peer WebTorrent technology for video distribution, though this was disputed.

The claim that there was a Jewish war against Nazi Germany is an antisemitic conspiracy theory promoted in Nazi propaganda which asserts that the Jews, framed within the theory as a single historical actor, started World War II and sought the destruction of Germany. Alleging that war was declared in 1939 by Chaim Weizmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, Nazis used this false notion to justify the persecution of Jews under German control on the grounds that the Holocaust was justified self-defense. Since the end of World War II, the conspiracy theory has been popular among neo-Nazis and Holocaust deniers.

The international Jewish conspiracy or the world Jewish conspiracy has been described as "the most widespread and durable conspiracy theory of the twentieth century" and "one of the most widespread and long-running conspiracy theories". Although it typically claims that a malevolent, usually global Jewish circle, referred to as International Jewry, conspires for world domination, the conspiracy theory's content is extremely variable, which helps explain its wide distribution and long duration. It was popularized in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century especially by the antisemitic forgery The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. Among the beliefs that posit an international Jewish conspiracy are Jewish Bolshevism, Cultural Marxism, Judeo-Masonic conspiracy theory, White genocide conspiracy theory and Holocaust denial. The Nazi leadership's belief in an international Jewish conspiracy that it blamed for starting World War II and controlling the Allied powers was key to their decision to launch the Final Solution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goyim Defense League</span> American antisemitic hate group

The Goyim Defense League (GDL) is an American neo-Nazi, antisemitic hate group and conspiracy theory network of individuals who are active on social media websites and operate an online video platform called GoyimTV. The GDL also performs banner drops, papering neighborhoods with flyers, and other stunts to harass Jews. The GDL emerged in 2018 and is led by the antisemitic provocateur Jon Minadeo II. The GDL is currently tracked by the Southern Poverty Law Center as a hate group.

Logically is a British multinational technology startup company that specializes in analyzing and fighting disinformation. Logically was founded in 2017 by Lyric Jain and is based in Brighouse, England, with offices in London, Mysore, Bangalore, and Virginia.

The Light is a self-published, monthly British far-right and conspiracy theory newspaper founded by Darren Nesbitt on 27 September 2020, which claims the COVID-19 pandemic was a hoax. The paper has a sister publication, named The Irish Light, which was launched in Ireland by Gemma O'Doherty and John Waters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Disclose.tv</span> German disinformation outlet

Disclose.tv is a disinformation outlet based in Germany that presents itself as a news aggregator. It is known for promoting conspiracy theories and fake news, including COVID-19 misinformation and anti-vaccine narratives.

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References

  1. 1 2 Piper, Ernie; Wildon, Jordan (October 22, 2021). "Telegram COVID-19 Conspiracy Group Rife With Antisemitism". Logically . Archived from the original on July 13, 2023. Retrieved July 13, 2023. The link to the antisemitic documentary Europa: The Last Battle, a 12-hour film that among other claims asserts that Jews created communism with a goal of 'total world domination', has been shared multiple times in the chat, sometimes multiple times per day.
  2. 1 2 3 "Europa The Last Battle". Anti-Defamation League. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Gilbert, David (May 26, 2021). "QAnon's Antisemitism Is Finally Being Displayed in Full". Vice . Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023. But last week, the underlying antisemitic content that GhostEzra had always been pushing came to the fore in a series of posts on their Telegram channel that left no doubt about just how extreme the account was. It began by promoting the neo-Nazi film "Europa – the Last Battle" a 10-part film that claims Jews created Communism, and deliberately started both world wars as part of a plot to found Israel by provoking the innocent Nazis, who were only defending themselves.
  4. 1 2 Siapera, Eugenia (July 24, 2023). "Alt Tech and the public sphere: Exploring Bitchute as a political media infrastructure". European Journal of Communication . 38 (5): 446–465. doi: 10.1177/02673231231189041 . ISSN   0267-3231. For example, the antisemitic and neo-Nazi film Europa – the Last Battle (2017), a 10-h film which is banned from YouTube, is found across several Bitchute channels.
  5. ↑ "QAnon's Antisemitism and What Comes Next". Anti-Defamation League . September 17, 2021. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023. By May 20, he was posting links to neo-Nazi propaganda film "Europa: the Last Battle" and to the Wikipedia page for "crypto-Judaism."
  6. 1 2 Thomas, W. F. (January 12, 2022). "Disclose.tv: Conspiracy Forum Turned Disinformation Factory". Logically . Archived from the original on October 26, 2022. Retrieved March 26, 2023. Some share outright neo-Nazi propaganda, encouraging others in the Telegram chat to watch Europa - The Last Battle.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Pope, Felix (March 2, 2023). "TikTok is still hosting Nazi propaganda, despite warnings". The Jewish Chronicle . Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  8. 1 2 3 DeGeurin, Mack (June 17, 2023). "Twitter Runs Ads for Disney, Microsoft, NBA Alongside Neo-Nazi Videos". Gizmodo . Archived from the original on June 28, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  9. 1 2 Tangalakis-Lippert, Katherine (June 19, 2023). "Advertisers are returning to Twitter after Linda Yaccarino calmed fears over content moderation. But now brands like Disney, Microsoft, and the NBA have ads placed next to neo-Nazi propaganda". Business Insider . Archived from the original on June 27, 2023. Retrieved June 23, 2023.
  10. ↑ [4] [3] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]
  11. 1 2 3 4 "Antisemitism in the Digital Age: Online Antisemitic Hate, Holocaust Denial, Conspiracy Ideologies and Terrorism in Europe" (PDF). Hope not Hate. October 13, 2021. p. 34. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 16, 2023. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  12. ↑ "The Nordic Resistance Movement". Anti-Defamation League . Archived from the original on January 2, 2024. Retrieved January 9, 2024. Films viewed by the NRM in such sessions include the Swedish-produced antisemitic propaganda miniseries, Europa – the Last Battle, which praises Hitler and claims that Jews started both World Wars, and Dennis Wise's revisionist film, Adolf Hitler: The Greatest Story Never Told.
  13. 1 2 3 Malliagros, Thiago Vahia (February 26, 2024). "Europa: The Last Battle – the antisemitic documentary going viral among the far right". The Skeptic . Archived from the original on March 13, 2024. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  14. ↑ Doerer, Kristen (August 9, 2021). "From Flat Earth to Holocaust Denial, the Conspiracy Theorist Podcast That Nearly Scored an MMA Legend". Right Wing Watch . Archived from the original on March 2, 2024. Retrieved March 2, 2024.
  15. 1 2 Williams, Arron (February 2, 2023). "False: The First and Second World Wars were started by Jewish nationalists trying to create Israel". Logically. Archived from the original on February 3, 2024. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  16. 1 2 Gill, Gerard (December 8, 2021). "Fascist cross-pollination of Australian conspiracist Telegram channels". First Monday . doi: 10.5210/fm.v26i12.11830 . ISSN   1396-0466. Archived from the original on April 27, 2023. Retrieved February 8, 2024. In the QAnon channel, a poster opines that "The power of the mainstream media is waning ... People are instead finding alternative media sources ... Real people, not algorithms, are sharing documentaries like Europa: The Last Battle ...". These information sources are respectively an anti-Semitic revisionist history of WWII...
  17. ↑ Pantuso, Phillip (October 4, 2022). "White supremacists leave flyers in Chatham and Ulster County". Times Union (Albany) . Archived from the original on June 24, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.
  18. ↑ Hosseini, Raheem (November 10, 2023). "Neo-Nazis are exploiting the Israel-Hamas conflict to stoke another crisis: A 'race war'". San Francisco Chronicle . Archived from the original on December 5, 2023. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  19. ↑ Smith, Peter (January 11, 2022). "A Holocaust Denier Is Travelling Across Canada Building Up The Country's Newest Far-Right Militia Movement". Canadian Anti-Hate Network . Archived from the original on September 27, 2022. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  20. ↑ Lawrence, David (June 30, 2022). "Turning Off "The Light": the conspiracist newspaper promoting the far right". Hope Not Hate . Archived from the original on March 4, 2023. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  21. ↑ Gilbert, David (October 18, 2021). "QAnon Is Becoming Even More Antisemitic". Vice. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  22. ↑ Gilbert, David (November 5, 2021). "Meet the Antisemitic QAnon Leader Who Led Followers to Dallas to Meet JFK". Vice. Archived from the original on March 27, 2023. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  23. ↑ Thomas, W. F. (February 11, 2022). "Telegram: The Social Network Where Conspiracies Meet". Logically. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
  24. ↑ [16] [3] [21] [22] [23]
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