 For example, the group openly embraced and advocated on behalf of Dietrich, Walter Reder, and Herbert Kappler, the former SS men convicted of war-time massacres.With the publication of its first periodical, "Wiking-Ruf" ("Viking Call"), in late 1951, HIAG was beginning to draw attention to itself and generate public controversy, including speculation that it was a neo-Nazi organisation.In response, Hausser wrote an open letter to the Bundestag, West Germany's parliament, denying these accusations and describing the HIAG as an advocacy organisation for former Waffen-SS troops.