The University of Warwick initially considered the singing of a Nazi marching song by the Warwick Conservative Association (UWCA) as “freedom of expression”.
The university’s stance shifted, however, after a video of the incident, showing students singing and dancing to the German WWII song, went viral.
A Freedom of Information (FOI) request by The Boar revealed that when the footage was first reported internally on 20th June 2024, conduct officers concluded it was “unlikely to be a breach” of disciplinary regulations. “Discrete playing and singing of the song ‘Erika’ in a private setting and untargeted did not, in and of itself, breach freedom of expression”, one note read.
The group was suspended by Warwick Students’ Union (SU) whilst an investigation took place, and was eventually reinstated by the start of the 2024 academic year.
At that point, no disciplinary action appeared likely. However, The Sunday Times picked up the story, with a number of national media outlets including the BBC, Sky News, The Guardian, and The Telegraph following.
The university then changed its position.
Internal emails show how staff estimated the story had reached 55 million people, and described Erika as “widely affiliated” with the Nazi regime.
Yet, emails suggest the actual investigation sidestepped the offensive nature of the song, focusing instead on the reputational damage brought on by individuals who shared the video.
The widespread attention seemed to breach conduct regulations because “the posting of the behaviour [the singing of Erika] could amount to harassment”, and had “potentially brought the university into disrepute”.
On 1st July, the University of Warwick issued a public statement condemning the behaviour of the Warwick Tories singing the Nazi song. It labelled the video “reprehensible” and insisted that “antisemitism has no place on our campus”.
The University of Warwick’s campus
Only three students were formally investigated by the university. The student who requested Erika be played was immediately banned from campus and barred from attending their graduation ceremony. Another faced no sanctions after allegedly trying to stop the song. The third student attended a disciplinary hearing and received sanctions.
The university’s internal report recommended that UWCA exec members complete active bystander training. Emails show staff also urged against releasing the investigation outcome before Welcome Week 2024.
A University of Warwick spokesperson said: “In line with university policy, we conducted an investigation into the incident. The student who requested the song in the first instance was immediately banned from campus. That student has now graduated from the University but was not permitted back on campus for their graduation ceremony.
“No action was taken against a second student, as it was found they had taken the appropriate action at the time in trying to have the song stopped. A third student went to a Disciplinary Hearing and sanctions were issued. Following our investigation, we made recommendations to the Students’ Union about training for the Conservative Society.”
Following the investigation’s conclusion, it was the Students’ Union (SU) that pushed for tougher measures to be implemented against the Warwick Tories singing the Nazi song.
The SU mandated antisemitism training for all UWCA members, delivered by the Union of Jewish Students (UJS), and Islamophobia training for the exec committee. The society itself issued an “unreserved” apology and barred those involved from all future events and its alumni network.
But both the university and the SU rejected calls to disband the society. An All Student Vote motion to dissolve UWCA was blocked before it even reached the ballot, enraging campaigners who branded the SU “broken” and accused the Warwick SU of going against its commitment to a “safe, respectful and cohesive campus community”.
The UWCA said: “Further to the decisions made by the university and SU, the UWCA took its own internal action after this abhorrent incident in 2024. This included barring all of those involved from future events and our alumni network. This will continue to be the case, and we are clear that such behaviour must never be tolerated or go unchallenged.
“All current members and exec members of the UWCA were not involved in this incident, and our exec team is entirely different from what it was during, and in the immediate months, afterwards.
“To be clear, the UWCA strongly condemns all forms of antisemitism and other types of racism, including what was seen in this incident – the strongest possible action must always be taken against those who allow and perpetrate such behaviour. We look forward to what promises to be an action-packed year for the UWCA, with an array of speakers, campaigning sessions, debates and cross-society events.”
Warwick Students’ Union did not respond to requests for comment.
