A major police raid targeted the Swedish Nazi store Midgård in Alingsås, uncovering a vast collection of Nazi propaganda, music, and clothing. The raid led to multiple charges of incitement against ethnic groups. The store, operated by Martin Flennfors and Tobias Jonsson, has been linked to international distribution of hate material, with a significant customer base in Europe and beyond.
Police Raid on Swedish Nazi Store Midgård Uncovers Extensive Propaganda
Police Raid on Swedish Nazi Store Midgård Uncovers Extensive Propaganda
A major police raid targeted the Nazi store Midgård in Alingsås for incitement against ethnic groups.
At 7:00 AM on Tuesday, September 3, last year, police knocked on the door of Martin Flennfors at his farm outside Alingsås. In three outbuildings and several locations in his home, police found parts of Northern Europe's largest Nazi store, Midgård's extensive stock of Nazi propaganda, music, and clothing.
Simultaneously, a raid was conducted in an attic apartment in central Alingsås, where another co-owner, Tobias Jonsson, resides and has the store's office set up in part of the apartment, along with additional parts of Midgård's extensive stock.
According to Martin Flennfors, CEO of Midgård's parent company Ringhorne AB, they currently have 3,500 different CDs in the store, with quantities ranging from one to 5,000 copies of each title.
In addition, there are self-printed and other Nazi-branded clothing, propaganda, and books.
Photos from the police raid show, among other things, LP records with Adolf Hitler's portrait, stickers with the message "Race mixing kills races," and bundles of records from the white power band Brigad Wotan.
In recent months, several charges have been brought against the representatives behind Midgård for suspicions of incitement against ethnic groups.
Previous charges have mainly concerned images on album covers published on the store's website, and representatives have been convicted of the crimes several times.
Song Praising Adolf Hitler
The new charges mainly concern the content of the lyrics on CDs distributed by the store for many years.
One of the lyrics comes from the Swedish white power band Pluton Svea's song "Stöveltramp" with lines like:
"We crush Zion's occupation,
an armed struggle for our nation.
We greet victory with a salute - heil"
In another song, by the German band Der Stürmer, Adolf Hitler is praised:
"For our glorious Führer Adolf Hitler,
Sieg heil, Sieg heil"
It is the Chancellor of Justice who has formally brought charges for about ten cases of incitement against ethnic groups. The background is several reports concerning a large number of song lyrics and album covers. In the investigation, the police have made several large seizures at Midgård and reviewed song by song, line by line among the reported records.
– It has been quite a large task to determine which records constitute incitement against ethnic groups and then find records, document, and listen to them, says prosecutor Fredrik Jönsson, who has brought charges on behalf of the Chancellor of Justice.
"A Large Operation"
In interviews, the company's representatives state that the store has 3,500 titles with only CDs. The prosecutor has had no reason to question this information.
– We have looked at the records that have been reported, and Midgård has a large operation. It can certainly be true.
The three accused representatives deny the crime and claim in several cases that the potential hate crime would be statute-barred, as the records are so old. The statute of limitations is calculated from when the record was released and is five years.
The representatives also repeatedly state that they try to avoid selling material that could lead to legal consequences.
In several cases, newly released older records have also been censored with messages questioning the legislation. An example is the 90s band Vit Aggression's record "Död åt ZOG," with a rifle aimed at the viewer, which has been deemed to constitute incitement against ethnic groups.
ZOG is an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory originating from the militant American terror-oriented Nazi movement, claiming that the world is under occupation by a Zionist, here meaning Jewish, world conspiracy. In the new version, the record has been titled "Död åt CENSUR."
The company's CEO Martin Flennfors states that the large number of titles makes it impossible for him and others to listen to all the records. At the same time, they have a responsible publisher, through the long-time NMR member Martin Engelin.
Martin Flennfors also repeatedly states that it is often difficult to hear what the singers are singing on the records. Several of the bands also have German lyrics.
When asked about the content of a text from the German band Der Stürmer, named after the Nazi criminal Julius Streicher's grossly anti-Semitic propaganda newspaper executed at the Nuremberg Trials in 1946, he says he cannot hear what was sung himself.
– It's bad music, it's live, it's some form of death metal.
Police: The content of the text?
– The content of the text, no, I cannot comment on that. I don't even think I know. I can't even hear what they are singing.
International Distribution
Last year, Expressen, in an international investigation, revealed Midgård's significance for the spread of Nazi propaganda and hate crime material in Central and Eastern Europe, among other places.
With the help of a hacked customer database, comprising about 20,000 purchases from Midgård between 2017 and 2022, it was possible to map the Nazi store's extensive operations.
Among the approximately 2,500 unique Swedish customers – who made over 7,000 orders in total – were several Nazis convicted of, among other things, incitement against ethnic groups, arson, and politically motivated acts of violence. The leak also showed that Midgård has thousands of customers in 62 countries, with Germany, with over 3,400 orders, being the most common recipient country after Sweden.
In interviews, Martin Flennfors now openly talks about their extensive customer base.
– We have kind of sent to all countries where there are white people, one could say, but it is mainly Germany, the United Kingdom. It's all countries, it can be all EU countries. We have some customers in China and Japan and South America and North America. We actually send to most countries.
Denial of Incitement Against Ethnic Groups
The representatives have chosen not to comment to Expressen:
– I have nothing to say to you now and not in the future either. You don't need to waste time on it, says Martin Flennfors, who is charged with several cases of incitement against ethnic groups.
– We don't talk, I want to emphasize in a nice way, says Tobias Jonsson, who is charged with one case of incitement against ethnic groups.
Martin Engelin has now, and earlier this year, been charged with several cases of incitement against ethnic groups in his role as publisher for Midgård's site and for being listed as the publisher for one of the records the police have reviewed. He has received questions from Expressen but writes in a text message: "I refrain from commenting for the time being."