Hammerskin Nation is the most violent, best organized neo-Nazi skinhead group in the U.S, according to the ADL.  Hammerskin Nation is an umbrella organization for local skinhead groups.  Although the group is primarily an American organization, there have also been Hammerskin chapters in Canada, England, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany. <P><br /><br />Hammerskin Nation is notable for the care with which it selects its members.  Aspiring Hammerskins are required to prove their allegiance to the group during a probation period that can last as long as two years.  Most Hammerskins (and skinheads in general) are disillusioned, unhappy young men who find the extreme structure and exclusivity of the organization comforting.  "They are looking for answers and a way out," an editorial in <i>Hammerskin Press</i> explained.  "Kids grow up without any form of self-identity.  They are given two chances, either go with the "norm" of multiculturalism and race mixing or be deemed an outcast, a minority." (ADL, 283) <P><br /> The organization has close ties to the racist rock scene, and was, in fact, inspired by a music video: Pink Floyd"s <i>The Wall</i>.  The main character in <i>The Wall</i>, Pink, is a mentally unstable, substance-abusing rock star who joins the fascist movement.  Hammerskin Nation, apparently oblivious to the fact that Pink Floyd did not intend the video to be an endorsement of fascism, took its name from Pink's symbol, two crossed hammers.  Racist rock has become one of Hammerskin Nation's main sources of income and recruiting.  Panzerfaust Records, a Hammerskin label, advertises itself as "Music for the Discriminating Racist." (ADL, 287)  Hammerskins also organize racist music festivals, including annual "Hammerfests." <P><br /> The first Hammerskin chapter to bludgeon its way into the national spotlight was the Confederate Hammerskins of Dallas.  In summer of 1988, five Hammerskins were arrested for chasing and attacking African Americans and Hispanics who tried to enter the Robert E. Lee Park in Dallas.  Since then, Hammerskins have been linked to numerous brutal attacks and murders in multiple states.