An alleged neo-Nazi student claimed he had copies of Hitler’s Mein Kampf to help him with his university dissertation.
Andrew Dymock told the Old Bailey he had the Nazi leader’s autobiographical manifesto – along with books on Satanism – for “research” on right-wing populism.
The 24-year-old is on trial accused of a string of terrorism offences relating to the alleged promotion of the extreme right-wing group System Resistance Network (SRN), which is now banned.
Dymock, who lived with his parents in Bath, Somerset, denies the allegations, claiming he was set up.
The former Aberystwyth University politics student told the court on Tuesday: “Mein Kampf was a very important text to one of the modules I was doing on the Second World War.
“I was also using it for my dissertation and I used it for some other essays to do with Hitler’s views on the geopolitical context in early 20th century Europe.
“I bought a copy sometime in 2017 and accidently bought it German. I can’t read German. So I got these copies in English.”
Dymock said another book on “Nazi Satanists” – which he described as an “abhorrent subject” – was also used for his dissertation research.
Asked why he was in possession of an SS flag, Dymock claimed he purchased it due to his interest in the Second World War and flags in general.
He said: “The SS one I got back when I was 16 or 17. I found out they were illegal and being a dumb teenager I want to buy one due to the historical interest.”
The defendant admitted going on the far-right “Iron March” forum in late 2017, but told the court he never had an account or posted on it.
Asked if the site featured in his research, Dymock said: There was a lot of material on there, historical and political.”
The defendant said he was not a national socialist and “never had been”.
Dymock has denied five charges of encouraging terrorism, two of funding terrorism, stirring up racial hatred and hatred based on sexual orientation, four counts of disseminating terrorist publications, possessing a terrorist document and possessing racially inflammatory material.
The trial at the Old Bailey continues on Wednesday.
