The moment one woman stands up to more than 300 Nazis and refuses to let them pass: Activist deemed a hero in Sweden for 'iconic' defiant gesture in front of fascist march

This is the moment one brave woman stepped out in front of the leaders of a 300-strong Nazi march – and raised her fist in defiance.

The photograph was taken in Borlange, Dalarna, in central Sweden, where the militant Nazi organisation Nordiska motståndsrörelsen (Nordic Resistance Movement) was holding a rally on International Workers’ Day this weekend.

As hundreds of right-wing extremists, dressed in homemade uniforms of white shirts and dark green ties, marched down the street, 42-year-old Tess Asplund stood in their way and faced the group’s leaders with her arm in the air.

The photograph of her brave and defiant action has been shared by thousands of Scandinavians on Twitter and Facebook, and the snap is already being hailed as an iconic moment in modern Swedish history. 

Ms Asplund had been taking part in a counter demonstration, organised by Dalarna Against Racism, to protest the Nazi march in Borlange on Sunday.

Speaking to local media, Ms Asplund, from Stockholm, says she is shocked that the photograph has had such spread online in the past few days.

‘I normally stand with a raised fist at demonstrations, this is not new to me,’ Ms Asplund, who has been an activist for 26 years, told P4 Dalarna.

‘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.’ 

When asked if she had been scared to face the Nordic Resistance Movement – many of whom have convictions for violent crimes – Ms Asplund simply said: ‘I am not afraid of them.’

Photographer David Lagerlof, who captured Ms Asplund’s action, wrote on his Facebook page about the snap: ‘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.’