The Sonnenkrieg Division (SKD) (German for “Sun War”) was a violent neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and accelerationist terrorist organization that served as the UK branch of the US-based Atomwaffen Division (AWD). The group was officially proscribed as a terrorist organization in the UK in February 2020, making membership or support illegal and effectively ending its active operations as a formal group.
Key Details
- Ideology: SKD adhered to an extreme ideology inspired by a mix of historical National Socialism and the esoteric/Satanic “Order of Nine Angles” (O9A) movement. They promoted mass violence and lone-actor attacks to spark an apocalyptic “race war” and collapse modern society.
- Methods: The group operated primarily online, disseminating propaganda that encouraged racial violence, homophobia, and murder.
- Affiliations: SKD emerged in March 2018 as a splinter group from the proscribed UK organization System Resistance Network (SRN), which was an alias of National Action. It maintained links with the broader international Atomwaffen Division network via online channels.
- Proscription and Decline: Due to the severe threat it posed, the UK government proscribed SKD in February 2020, making it the second far-right terrorist organization to be banned in the UK. Australia also designated it a terrorist organization in March 2021.
- Legal Outcomes: Several members of the organization have been arrested and sentenced to prison in the UK for serious terrorism offenses, including encouraging terrorism, preparing for attacks, and distributing terrorist material. Its nominal leader was Andrew Dymock.