Tory university group members forced to apologise for Nazi song at black tie event
A CONSERVATIVE university student group has been forced to apologise after its members sang and danced to a Nazi song at a black-tie event.
Members of Warwick University Conservative Association were seen dancing to Erika, a song composed in 1938 by Herms Niel, who served in the Nazi Party’s paramilitary wing, after an event to raise money for the charity Help for Heroes.
In leaked footage obtained by The Sunday Times, students are seen dancing to the music after the group’s annual “chairman’s dinner” at Wroxall Abbey, near Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.
The song, which has been associated with the far-right because it was used as a marching song for the Nazis, was requested by a student at the event, according to the newspaper. Within the footage of those dancing, someone can be heard saying “Don’t film”.
The Sunday Times also claimed that some members later allegedly chanted “Kill the Hughs”, changing the word “Jews” with the first name of the recently departed association chairman Hugh Herring. They were also said to have declared: “Heil the chairman.”
In a statement the group said it “wholeheartedly condemns the behaviour exhibited during this video and apologises for any offence caused”.
It added: “We are committed to ensuring that anyone else we find to have knowingly engaged with the song is no longer welcome at events.”
The song, Erika, has been used by white supremacists such as Thomas Sewell, the founder of the National Socialist Network.
A spokesman for Warwick University described the video as “troubling.”
They added: “Behaviour like this is reprehensible and we are disappointed to see our students involved”.
The Union of Jewish Students and Warwick Jewish Society told The Sunday Times: “The blatant and unchallenged support for Nazism at the Warwick Conservative Association ‘chairman’s dinner’ is utterly abhorrent.
“Glorification of the Nazis has no place in our society, especially on campus. It is in no way acceptable and must be widely condemned. We expect swift and decisive action from the University of Warwick and the Conservative Party. Actions must have consequences.”
Earlier this year Olaf Scholz, the German chancellor, warned of a rise in anti-semitism and the “dark methods of neo-nazis”.