Today Arnold Schwarzenegger released a powerful and personal video message in which he reflects upon the chaos and violence of the past week. This appears to be difficult for him, as he is forced to confront the demons of his past and memories of his childhood in Austria.
However, it is ultimately a hopeful message of unity and strength. And the whole time he's holding Conan's Atlantean sword, which itself an important and possibly contentious signifier because of Robert E. Howard and John Milius, and then at the very end he finally refers to it in a way that, at least for those of us of a certain generation, is inspiring and empowering.
What does this have to do with Krampus and Krampusnacht DC?
Like the former Governor of California, Krampus also has its origins in Austria, although Krampusnacht is also celebrated in parts of Germany, Hungary, Slovenia, and the Czech Republic as well as increasingly in America.
What does Krampus have to do with fascism? Krampusnacht is not Kristallnacht, after all. In fact, in the aftermath of the 1932 election in Austria, the Krampus tradition was prohibited by the Dollfuss regime under the clerical fascist Fatherland's Front (Vaterländische Front) and the Christian Social Party (Christlichsoziale Partei, CS). Soon after Hitler's invasion of Austria in 1938, the Nazis banned both the Fatherland's Front and CS. However, after HItler was defeated and WWII ended, many of those former Fatherland's Front and CS Party members were able to make their way back into politics and the prevailing narrative became that Austria was a victim of the Nazis rather than a collaborator. And once again Krampus was the target of Austrian fascists.
From the Time Magazine article "AUSTRIA: Throw Out Krampus":
In a leaflet called Krampus Is an Evil Man, Dr. Ernst Kotbauer [the head of Vienna's kindergarten system] urged that his children be freed of the frightful cross-examiner. A Vienna daily rushed to Dr. Kotbauer's support. "There is too much fear in the world already," it said, "unemployment, high taxes, not to mention the atom bomb. Let's begin by throwing out Krampus."
It wasn't until the end of the 20th Century that Krampus would re-emerge, experiencing a popular revival that continues to this day. This coincided with Austria finally beginning to accept responsibility for its role in WWII and the Holocaust and officially abandoning the "Victim Theory" in the mid 2000s.
Today, Krampus is everywhere in pop culture around the world, especially on the internet. His popularity might have diminished a little since the late 2000s -early 2010s but his presence can still felt. And as the Krampus tradition travels to more cities and cultures, it changes and incorporates local traditions and attitudes. Krampusnacht DC is an explicitly inclusive, non-denominational, and diverse celebration of the Krampus tradition as well as a charity event. Our organizers are teachers, artists, activists, and social workers who live in the DC Metro region so it's no mistake that it reflects our identity and values.
With other American Krampus celebrations, your mileage may vary and often Krampus is seen with explicitly Teutonic or even Odinistic imagery. This isn't to say that Krampus has become co-opted by American fascists like other symbols such as the Hawaiian Shirt or Mac Tonight, but the fact is that Krampus at its core is a threatening, scary figure designed to teach morality through fear. While Austrian fascists might not have liked the primitive and grotesque manner in which Krampus went about it, terrorizing others into compliance is an integral core value of fascism writ large.
On January 6, 2021, a mob of neo-nazis, proud boys, and other assorted extremists stormed the Capital Building while Congress was in session. The assault left 5 dead and counting, hundreds injured, and shook the world to its core. All of this in the midst of the deadliest week of the Covid-19 pandemic so far.
Now is not the time for cloying, meaningless statements of healing and prayer and support. Now is the time for reflection on everything that lead to this as well as our history and culture. Most importantly, it is time to make very clear that bigotry and treason has no place here.
Krampusnacht DC is a safe space for all races, genders, sexualities, and creeds. There is no place for Nazis, Proud Boys, “Boogooloos”, Aryans, Odinists, or any form of bigotry or fascism.
Additionally there is zero tolerance for any kind of racist conspiracy theories, “fake news,” or alternative facts. We believe in free speech but not hate speech.
Our diversity is our strength and it is stronger than your hate. We are Krampusnacht DC. We are DC. We are America.
