He was one of the most notorious right-wing extremists in the Federal Republic since the age of 13: Axel Reitz. For two decades, the man dubbed the "Hitler of Cologne" by the media dominated the public image of the German neo-Nazi scene as a clever organizer, outstanding networker, and gifted propaganda speaker.

It all began when he heard from his teachers in school, while discussing the NPD, that "one does not talk about Nazis." This only fueled his desire to engage in that direction. He joined the Free Comradeships: action alliances that took the fight for the "Fatherland" to the streets. Reitz left secondary school with a basic school diploma and dedicated himself entirely to his career as a neo-Nazi cadre. He enjoyed giving long demagogic hate speeches in the marketplaces of the Republic and eventually became an official of the "Combat League of German Socialists" (KDS).

But at some point, he began to question this; his enemy images crumbled, and he recognized the double standards with which he was deceiving himself. In 2013, he joined a state-sponsored exit program and began an intensive, years-long process of coming to terms with his past. Today, he puts all his energy into the fight against anti-democratic ideas, hatred, and incitement. In his book, he not only tells his own story but also analyzes why people repeatedly fall for the promises of salvation from the NPD, AFD, Identitarians, lateral thinkers, and others. A stirring account from someone who has undergone a complete ideological turnaround.