Ragnar Lodbrok was a legendary Viking king, famous for leading warriors on raids across Northern Europe. It turns out that he and I are related, I recently discovered on Ancestry.com. This relation might be as mythical as Odin and Thor, but it still prompted me to read voraciously about Viking history, mythology and culture.
Enthralled as I was in this enchanting world, I was horrified to find that neo-Nazis had taken a liking to Vikings, too.
Images of Thor’s hammer appeared on the banners and propaganda of white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., at a “Unite the Right” rally in 2017. Answering that rally, nearby stores like McLeather LLC, Fredericksburg, Va., fly Odin’s Ravens alongside Confederate flags.
But it’s not just happening in the United States. In 2015, members of a Finnish anti-immigrant, white supremacist group gave themselves the name, “Soldiers of Odin.” With black shirts bearing the face of Odin, they are marginalizing Muslim immigrants through activism and vigilantism.
Nearly 11 million Americans have Viking ancestry, according to the 2010 U.S. Census. When so many share this common heritage, it is a tragedy for Viking symbols to be soiled by their association with the American Nazi Party.
“It’s an easy way for them to identify friends,” said Brian Champagne, a professor at Utah State University who wrote a thesis on white supremacy. “White supremacists are forced to build fantasies in order for them to justify how they can lynch someone on a Saturday night and go to church the following day.”
Viking legends present a fantasy that is all too readily available to them.
To a white supremacist, the Viking heroes were a class of elite warriors with a pure bloodline. But this perception merely demonstrates a poor understanding of history.
“We call people Vikings because they have some connection with Scandinavia,” said Judith Jesch, a professor of Viking studies at the University of Nottingham. With a wall of books stacked behind her, she explained on a video call that, with their travels, Vikings found partners among various people in the British Isles and Iceland.
“They never heard of genetic purity,” she said, “and they certainly didn’t practice it.”
So, the Vikings did not quite meet the Nazis' genetic standards. They also were not warriors for the sole sake of world domination.
“The Vikings were very interested in long-distance trading,” Jesch explained. “But you need armed men to protect your goods.”
While the Vikings certainly saw their fair share of action, they were first and foremost traders. American neo-Nazis have chosen Vikings as their mascot out of ignorance.
“The white supremacists are getting their stuff off the internet, and they really haven’t got a clue,” Jesch said. “But I don’t suppose we’re ever really going to convert them to acquiring proper knowledge.”
Vikings were as diverse as we are. Some were farmers, some were traders, some were warriors. We have no evidence to suggest that their lifestyle reflected the ideals of Nazis. On the contrary, there are many racially tolerant people who still benefit from Viking stories and legends.
That heritage ought to be treasured by those who respect history, not tarnished by those who burn history books.
Paul Beck
Paul Beck is a prelaw student at Utah State University.
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