This text is part of the quarterly research results 1 ’23
Armed with a guitar and a wide repertoire of all kinds of covers by extreme right-wing bands, Flatlander plays on Fridays 24 and Saturday 25 two concerts in Finland in February. Flatlander is the alter ego of Harm-Jan Smit from Finsterwolde who completed his trial period as 'Prospect of the Nation’ has endured well and has been an authorized Hammerskin member for several years. Both concerts fall under the Hammerskin texture.
Friday's flyer features a photo of an empty stage with a drum kit. Behind the drum kit hangs a flag with two crossed hammers with a cogwheel on the wall. Between the flames on the second flyer, but not easily visible, also loom two crossed hammers. Both are symbols of neo-Nazi Hammerskin culture.
A group of Hammerskins has been operating in the Netherlands for several years now, with Winschoten as base. Some neo-Nazis are now in the status of ‘Prospect of the Nation’outgrown and can now be counted as a 'full member' of the Hammerskin. One of those Hammerskins is the former guitarist of the extreme right-wing Hardcore band Blindfolded, Hendrik Harm Johan Smit, alias H.J., alias Flatlander. Peter Adrian van der Wal, better known under his pseudonym Adri Pestus, is the ex-singer of Blindfolded and also a full member. He currently sings in the Black Metal band Cirith Gorgor. In addition, Ronnie Jan Peterson is a full Hammerskin member and he occasionally performs together with Flatlander. In 2019 they both play at a meeting of the extreme right-wing organization Outpost in Hengelo. Both Smit and Peterson have a past in the neo-Nazi organization Blood & Honour.
Flatlander likes to bill himself as a 'patriotic singer', but behind this mask is a neo-Nazi. In augustus 2022 Flatlander would perform on it "Frontnacht" festival in Belgium, on the eve of the Iron wake. The concert was eventually banned due to protests. “Publicly named and shamed” according to a phrase from the Flatlander live stream. “Patriotism is not a crime” according to Harm-Jan Smit's stream. The aim of the stream was to let the audience make their own judgment about some of the songs he plays.Naturally, Flatlander made sure that he could not be discredited, he didn't play the song 'German British Friendship', which is only performed in select groups. Rudolf Hess is incensed in the song. In addition, Flatlander has adapted the last verse entirely in line with his Arische Weltanschauung. “We are the same race, we have the same faith, we have the same Aryan roots..”.
In 2021 Finnish neo-Nazi band Pagan Skull releases a CD entitled 'Joutomaa'. A black sun and a swastika 'adorn' the front. Flatlander participates as a singer on the song "Waiting for the fall" , the last track on this CD. His Dutch version is called 'Waiting until it falls'. He must have played one of these tracks. You can guess which other songs Flatlander played at the two Hammerskin concerts. The public must want to hear more covers from Skrewdriver, Bound for Glory, Fortress, RAHOWA (Racial Holy War) and other far-right classics from the skinhead scene. In any case, they will be songs that fit the culture of the Hammerskins.
