This is the beginning of a nine part report on the infiltration of neo-Nazi groups in Germany by operatives from the Simon Wiesenthal Center. They were sent by Rick Eaton of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.

                          THE OPERATION

Between October 1992 and April 1993, the Simon Wiesenthal Center conducted a covert operation to determine the strength, financial base, and ultimate leadership of Germany's neo-Nazi movement. Center officials also wanted to find out the links between Germany's radical right and similar organizations in the United States, and to determine the degree of commitment on the part of German police towards the enforcement of laws passed by the German parliament over the years to thwart the resurgence of Nazism in the Bundesrepublik.

The operation was conducted over four separate trips. Yaron Svoray, an Israeli freelance journalist (without the Israeli accent) whose parents fled Europe during the early days of the Nazi tyranny, flew to Germany on behalf of the Simon Wiesenthal Center under his own name and passport. Immediately upon leaving the airport, however, he assumed the persona of Ron Furey, an Australian journalist seeking to interview leading members of Germany's neo-Nazi movement for the (non-existent) rightist publication, The Right Way. Furey/Svoray had been provided with a list of leading German radicals who were to be interviewed if possible, but was told that if he came across others, they were not to be dismissed out-of-hand as unimportant. (See entries for Wolfgang Juchem and Roy Godenau)

Because Ron Furey was essentially unacquainted with the neo-Nazi movement, both here and abroad, he was given a crash course by the research department before he left. Phone contact was maintained throughout the operation. Ron Furey's behavior over the phone was evaluated by the Center's staff. Since his safety was of primary concern, any hint over the phone that his cover might be wearing thin would have triggered a decision to pull him out.

Meanwhile, the Center's research staff and graphic designer backed Ron's cover by creating various forms, stationery, etc., for The Right Way, should his background be checked by anyone suspicious of his story. (See entry for Weber)

After speaking with a German journalist, Ron Furey learned the address of Heinz Reisz (see entry) in Langen. Reisz had been given some press recently about his role in the radical right. Ron Furey simply rang Reisz's doorbell and introduced himself as an Australian journalist seeking an interview. During the interview, Furey dropped hints that he was more than a reporter - he was a supporter of the right with powerful connections in the United States. He wanted to do more than report about the radical right, he wanted to polish up its image so that it could gain respectability.

To do this, he would need to interview the leadership of the far right and eventually meet "respectable" supporters of the movement, not simply the classical street thug stereotype. A quick friendship developed between Ron Furey and Heinz Reisz. Slowly, as his trust in Furey grew, Reisz began introducing him to other members of the far right. As it turns out, Reisz plays no real leadership role. He does, however, seem to know everyone in the far right and acts as an ambassador of good will among the factionalized movement. That turned out to be the key that would unlock the doors of the neo-Nazi leadership to the Center's research staff.

When Ron Furey returned and was debriefed, he was made aware of the importance of strengthening his relationship with Reisz. Before returning to Germany, he was provided with Holocaust denial literature, tapes, and Nazi paraphernalia to give to Reisz as an expression of his friendship and good will. Reisz took the bait. He and Ron Furey were soon driving across Germany to meet one neo-Nazi activist after another. The interviews were taped - some openly, some secretly. They were overnighted back to the Center for transcription and analysis.

End of Part I