This lone woman single handedly stopped a 300-strong Nazi demonstration
A woman has been held up as a hero for standing up to hundreds of Nazi protesters, halting their demonstration.
One lone woman halted the Nazi march in Sweden by obstructing its path and holding up a single fist.
A photograph was taken of Tess Asplund at the march in Borlange, Dalarna, central Sweden.
The march was organised by the Nazi organisation Nordiska motståndsrörelsen (Nordic Resistance Movement) on International Workers’ Day last weekend.
The 42-year-old stood up to the march of over 300-people on her own, after taking part in a counter-demonstration.
The counter-demo was organised by Dalarna Against Racism.
Asplund, who is from Stockholm, told the media that she was shocked that the photograph had gone viral.
The activist of 26-years said: “I normally stand with a raised fist at demonstrations, this is not new to me…I just felt when they came walking that ‘you shouldn’t be here’ and then one of them stared at me and I stared back. He said nothing and I said nothing, and then the police came and removed me.”
Asked whether she was scared of the members of the Nazi organisation, many of who have convictions for violent crimes, Asplund said: “I am not afraid of them.”
The photo was shared on Facebook by its creator David Lagerlof, who wrote: “A single woman steps out into the street and stands in front of Sweden’s most violent Nazi organisation.
“The place is Borlänge, 1st May, where the Nazi’s have gotten a demonstration permit. In a single gesture, the woman then raises her fist and refuses to move. ‘What is she thinking?’ is my surprised reaction while I raise the camera to take the picture.
“In front of her, the organisations leader set moves closer in solemn silence. The woman’s gaze meets that of the man in the middle, the leader of the nazi organisation who appears to stare back at her
“There is a short ‘battle of the gazes’ before the police steps in and removes the woman.”
