Following his release from nearly seven years captivity, Ramcke, through his public actions, became seen as a dedicated nationalist[Note 1] by his fellow generals and supported extreme right-wing movements such as the Naumann-Kreis in Germany.[citation needed] During an address to a meeting of the German paratrooper veterans' association in July 1951, Ramcke criticised what he claimed was Allied defamation of former German soldiers, and called for the release of "so called war criminals".[1] At a rally of SS veterans in October 1952 Ramcke gave a lengthy speech critical of the western Allies, during which he claimed that they were the real war criminals.[20]