This week, in Athens, I saw my first Sieg Heil With the church square cleansed of foreigners, Golden Dawn started broadening their scope. The police seemed perfectly happy to let them get on with it. It meant they could sit and drink coffee, rather than have to tackle problems themselves. Despite the hundreds of thousands of Muslim immigrants who have made their home here, Athens has no mosque. Instead, small make-shift mosques were set up in the basements of apartment blocks. Worshippers were careful not to disturb anyone and there weren't any calls to prayer. However, this wasn't good enough for Golden Dawn. One such mosque was opposite my daughter's nursery. When I took her to school one morning the fire engines were still there from the night before. It had been petrol-bombed. Over the next six months, many other mosques were also attacked. Riots broke out, the police used tear gas to quell protests - once I had to place wet towels around the doors of our apartment to stop the gas leaking in. Throughout the turmoil, Golden Dawn's message was clear: foreigners out. So why has Greece, birthplace of democracy, succumbed to such a vile message? The first thing that should be pointed out - and most obvious - is that about 80 per cent of illegal immigrants entering Europe arrive via Greece. And Golden Dawn have been most astute at exploiting the tensions that accompany such high levels of immigration. They offered to escort old ladies to the bank in case they were mugged by "foreigners"." They began distributing food parcels to pensioners, who were suffering under ever-increasing austerity. Landlords were given help in evicting migrants who could no longer afford the rent. Sometimes Golden Dawn would even decorate the vacated flats for free. No one realised how much support Golden Dawn were getting until it was too late. Polls showing them with 4 or 5 per cent of the vote were shrugged off as inaccurate. The media largely ignored them, saying they didn't want to give a platform to neo-Nazis - a foolish mistake, as they were never exposed as the fascists they are. On election night, supporters of Golden Dawn gathered to celebrate at their headquarters with flaming torches held high. A week later they are still jubilant. With all the debate and soul-searching now taking place in Greece, it's not surprising that even the children have heard of Golden Dawn. When I collected mine from the school bus yesterday, there was a lot of shouting among them. I asked my son what the fuss had been about. He told me that two boys were teasing another one, singing: "We are Golden Dawn and we'll send you back to Bangladesh!" These boys are eight; the same age as my father-in-law when he was beaten by German soldiers. This is a Greece he never imagined would exist.