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Neo-Fascist and Neo-Nazi Con�nued

World War II was a dividing point between prewar American Nazi and fascist movements and the modern variants. Before the war, there was at least a veneer of respectability for extremist causes. The war ended this veneer, but the specter of postwar communism allowed right-wing radical extremism to revive as supposed patrio�sm. Some of the prewar players resumed their roles, but others fell by the wayside.

The intermediary between American prewar Nazism and the postwar neo-Nazism was Harold Keith Thompson. He was born around 1922 in New Jersey. As a teenager, he joined the German American Bund and the isola�onist America First Commi�ee.' His a�rac�on to Nazism led him to become a Nazi SD/Overseas Intelligence agent during World War 11.2 During the war, Thompson entered Yale University, from where he graduated in 1946.

Throughout the postwar era, Thompson con�nued to help German ex-Nazis and encourage American neo-Nazis. By the 1950s, he had become a successful execu�ve, owning a public rela�ons firm. With his extensive poli�cal connec�ons, Thompson represented the prominent ex-Nazis O�o Skorzeny and O�o Remer in American poli�cal circles. Thompson served as the official American representa�ve of the German neo-Nazi Socialist Reich Party, and he lobbied American officials for favorable treatment of this party. He also established a good working rela�onship with Admiral Karl Doenitz, Hitler's chosen replacement as head of the postwar Nazi movement. Among his American contacts was the neo-Nazi James Madole, the founder and head of the Na�onal Renaissance Party.

White Supremacy Con�nued

Much of the efforts of American eugenicists were in restric�ng immigra�on in the 1920s, but their argument of the superiority of northern European and inferiority of others, including Jews and southern Europeans, reinforced racism in the United States. Many members of the eugenics movement were pro-Nazi before World War II. The exposes of Nazi racial, nega�ve eugenics leading to the Holocaust temporarily sidetracked the momentum of the eugenics movement. A�er World War II, eugenicists "merely bowed to post- Holocaust sensibili�es, publicly ... while maintaining its race-based prac�ces. American scholar Nancy Ordover concluded that eugenics is a scavenger ideology: "Eugenics ... is a scavenger ideology, exploi�ng and reinforcing anxie�es over race, gender, sexuality, and class and bringing them into the service of na�onalism, white supremacy, and heterosexism-not for the first �me, but under a cover of a new phraseology” (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 571-579).

White supremacy was the dominant philosophy in America from colonial �mes. It manifested itself in a variety of ways, from outright racism to subtle methods to control various minori�es. Books were wri�en to jus�fy racism. The most effec�ve way was to use the legal systems in The United States. Legislatures have had li�le difficulty in passing the laws, and local law enforcement en��es have had no problem enforcing the law. The period covered in the course textbook was the era when this consensus broke down. Individuals and organiza�ons lamented this breakdown but could do li�le to stop it. Now it is necessary to look at the more violent neo-Nazis.

An�-Semi�sm In almost all right-wing movements, there are either ves�ges of an�-Semi�sm or outright advocacy of it. This an�-Semi�sm can be displayed in various ways, from outright a�acks on Jews by individuals to ran�ngs about Jewish bankers and their influence on the American economy. In �mes of economic or social stress, an�-Semi�sm is par�cularly virulent. This phenomenon appeared most starkly during the Depression. Donald Strong pointed this out in his book on organized an�-Semi�sm in America in 1941: "An�-Semi�sm in the United States may be considered as a phase of the an�-alien sen�ment that has periodically manifested itself. The Jew is the perpetual alien. Since he is frequently iden�fied as a member of a separate group, he is invariably a vic�m of any an�-alien movements.”

The influence of Henry Ford on American an�-Semi�sm cannot be overes�mated. Although Ford later recanted many of his an�-Semi�c stances, in the 1920s, he ac�vely advanced an�-Semi�sm through his newspaper the Dearborn Independent. He also packaged the an�- Semi�c pamphlet The Protocols of the Elders of Zion into his book The Interna�onal Jew. For several years in the 1920s, Ford presented his book to those buying Ford automobiles.

There was a drama�c increase in an�-Semi�c groups during the 1930s. From a mere handful of an�-Semi�c groups in the early l930s, there appeared 121 "an�-revolu�onary, an�-Semi�c organiza�ons during the years 1933-1940.” Part of this growth was the result of an idealiza�on of the German and Italian brands of fascism. Italian fascism was more na�onalis�c than an�-Semi�c, but the Nazis incorporated an�-Semi�sm as one of the prime facts of their ideology.

Skinheads

The American skinhead movement is an offshoot of the English skinhead movement. English skinheads had formed in the 1970s in a reac�on to the hippie movement. Most of these skinheads were from the English lower classes alienated from Bri�sh society. With their shaved heads, blue jeans, Doc Martens boots, and a belligerent a�tude, they gloried in violence. Their other loves were beer and soccer teams. Soon, a wing of the skinhead movement became a�racted to white supremacy and neo-Nazism. Within years, the skinhead movement had migrated to con�nental Europe and shortly therea�er to the United States.

One of the earliest American skinhead groups was the Chicago-based Roman�c Violence. It also was known as the Chicago Area Skinheads (CASH). Six skinheads founded this group in 1987. The leader of this group, which glorified violence, was Clark Martell, who said, "I am a violent person. I love the white race, and if you love something, you're the most vicious person on earth." Before becoming the head of Roman�c Violence, Martell had been a member of the American Nazi Party. He had also served 30 months in prison for an a�empt to firebomb the home of a Hispanic couple in Cicero, Illinois. Martell spent much of his �me recrui�ng members for his skinhead group. In 1989, he was in legal trouble again for home invasion, aggravated ba�ery, and robbery. His convic�on was for 22 years, but he served only 3 years. A�er release from prison, Martell disappeared from the skinhead scene, but he le� a legacy of violence and a much stronger skinhead presence in Chicago (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 1835-1844).

An�-Semi�sm Con�nued

The outbreak of World War II muted an�-Semi�sm in the United States, and news of the Holocaust made an�-Semi�sm less respectable, but its main adherents simply went underground. The an�-Semi�c extremists s�ll advanced their views, but in more inconspicuous ways. An�-Semi�sm reappeared strongly in the South during the civil rights movement. Southerners blamed Jewish radicals for encouraging blacks to challenge the segrega�onist system. Even a�er black leaders weaned their organiza�on of Jews, Southern segrega�onists s�ll blamed the Jews for the civil rights movement.

Among America's prominent an�-Semi�c leaders was William Pierce of the Na�onal Alliance. It was in his 1978 novel The Turner Diaries that popularized the term ZOG (Zionist Occupa�onal Government). This term entered the vocabulary of an�-Semites to express the idea that Jews controlled the federal government. During the farm crisis of the 1970s, resentment against bankers and foreclosures of farms led to charges against Jewish bankers.

The development of Chris�an Iden�ty also gave an�-Semites a religious reason to hate Jews. By making Jesus Christ an Aryan and rejec�ng Jews' claims to being the chosen people, Chris�an Iden�ty preachers hammered their congrega�ons with an�-Jewish claims. As Chris�an Iden�ty became a white supremacist church, it soon a�racted extremists of all kinds, from the Ku Klux Klan to neo-Nazism. The unifying theme was always that Jews were evil and a threat to American civiliza�on (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 1902-1912).

Old-fashioned an�-Semi�sm was difficult to sustain. An�-Semi�sm had become so embedded with Nazism and the Holocaust that it was no longer respectable to the American public. Individual and an�-Semi�c groups never changed their views, but they began to look for more respectable outlets. The best one proved to be Holocaust denial. Another was the an�-Semi�sm of Chris�an Iden�ty.

Skinheads and Neo-Nazis

Soon a�er a skinhead group formed, it would be engaged in violent ac�vi�es. A favorite place for violence was at punk rock concerts. Leyden claims that if he filled a room with 1,000 neo-Nazi skinheads, probably 900 of them would say that the music was the single most important thing that had influenced him to join the neo-Nazi skinhead movement. Not all skinheads were neo-Nazis; the Skinheads Against Racial Prejudice (SHARP) was also ac�ve. Fights between the neo-Nazis and SHARPs could become especially vicious.

The propensity of the neo-Nazi skinheads for violence soon a�racted a�en�on from right-wing white supremacists. Most prominent of these was Tom Metzger and his White Aryan Resistance (WAR). Metzger believed recrui�ng neo-Nazi skinheads could provide the storm troops of his movement. He sent a representa�ve, Dave Mazzella, to Portland, Oregon, to organize the skinheads there to support WAR. This ini�a�ve soon proved to be a miscalcula�on a�er three skinheads-Kyle Brewster, Ken Mieske, and Steve Strasser a�acked three Ethiopians and killed one of them, Mulugeta Seraw. The three skinheads were soon caught and convicted of murder. They are now serving long prison sentences. Metzger's flirta�on with the skinheads proved costly a�er the civil suit by the Southern Poverty Law Center bankrupted both WAR and Metzger. Since then, white supremacists have been reluctant to recruit skinheads into their ranks.

White supremacist leaders have realized that the skinheads are too unstable to control. Violence is such a part of their code of conduct. David Mazzella tes�fied about this at the Mulugeta Seraw trial: "With skinheads, it's all about respect. Skinheads will only respect someone who is violent and who will kick some ass.” Although white supremacists might be sympathe�c to this code, leaders of white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups are reluctant to embrace a philosophy that will lead them to lengthy prison sentences. In the mean�me, the neo-Nazi skinheads resort to random acts of violence, some�mes among themselves (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 1835-1844).

Neo-Fascist and Neo-Nazi

Beside both the Ku Klux Klan and white supremacist groups has stood America's brand of fascism and neo-Nazism. The Depression in the United States produced extremism on both sides of the poli�cal spectrum: communism and fascism. Of the two, fascism for a �me seemed to have a be�er chance to grow in America because of the apparent success of fascism in Benito Mussolini's Italy. Germany's brand of fascism was crude, and Nazism alienated almost as many as it a�racted. Communism had its appeal, but to be a communist took total commitment, and Stalin's regime always had a grim visage. In the late 1930s, American Nazi and fascist groups proliferated. There were 120 fascist organiza�ons in the 1930s, but it was impossible to unite them because of the jealousy among these "self-styled fuhrers.” Fascism had too much baggage as a foreign ideology for it to be converted into an American mass movement. Consequently, these groups always remained small, but they had a common characteris�c-hate. John Roy Carlson served as an undercover journalist inves�ga�ng these groups, and he concluded,

“Hate was the interna�onal cement that held fascism together, and America's fascist leaders built their organiza�ons on a framework of hate. Hate was their handshake and hate their par�ng word. To join a ‘one hundred per cent Chris�an-American- Patrio�c’ group you didn't have to be Chris�an. Heathens and Mohammedans were welcome. Japanese were eligible. Crooks, thugs, racketeers, step right up. There was just one requirement. Hate! Hate the Niggers, the Jews, the Polacks, the Catholics, the Communists, the Masons, the bankers, the labor unions! Democracy. Hate anything, but hate!” (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 1071-1075)

Among the groups that were ac�ve were Jack Cassidy's Chris�an Front, George E. Deatherage's American Na�onalist Confederacy, Joseph Ellsworth McWilliams's Chris�an Mobilizers, George A. Van Nosdall's Crusaders for Americanism, and Peter Stahrenberg's American Na�onal-Socialist Party. More than a hundred groups formed, and each was compe�ng for the same cons�tuency. Of the groups, four made a na�onal impact-the Khaki Shirts of America, the Silver Shirts, the German American Bund, and the America First Commi�ee.

Other White Supremacy Groups White supremacy is s�ll a potent element in American society. It appears in various guises during periods of social stress and then recedes into the background ready to spring up again. Several white supremacist organiza�ons have enjoyed periods of popularity before sliding back into obscurity. Other groups have emerged, made a splash of publicity, and then self-destructed; this has been true of several organiza�ons-the American Nazi Party, the Na�onal Socialist Party of America, the Na�onal Alliance, and the Aryan Na�ons. The success of these groups has depended heavily on the charisma�c appeal of a leader. George Lincoln Rockwell is the obvious example, but even the less charisma�c types, Richard Girnt Butler and William Pierce, could hold an organiza�on together. Where the problem has been is in the succession. None of the groups has had success in the picking a viable successor. The result is that groups have split as dissension sets in, almost destroying the organiza�on.

Like many of the other extremist groups, neo-Nazi groups have li�le chance of gaining poli�cal power in the United States. Pseudo fuhrers appear periodically, filled with ideas that they are going to follow the path of Adolf Hitler and come to power in a peaceful coup d'etat. The problem for them is that it just has not happened. Even George Lincoln Rockwell came to realize that Americans were not going to flock to an American Nazi organiza�on, no ma�er the situa�on. He began to look for alterna�ves in a white supremacy organiza�on. Some�mes, these leaders become discredited, or others challenge them for leadership, so that the group disintegrates into smaller subsec�ons. Others are so obscure that no one knows or cares about their existence. Only in �mes of na�onal crisis could one of these groups appear to an alienated segment of American society, but only in the guise of another type of organiza�on. Neo-Nazis just have too many liabili�es for them to succeed in the United States.

The real danger is the skinhead movement. Disaffected youth have flocked to various skinhead groups. Striking back at society through violence appeals to them. Recruiters from the skinhead groups are always looking out for poten�al members. Although none of the skinhead groups are large, the poten�al for growth is apparent in troubled �mes (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 1882-1895).

American White Supremacist Movements The Ku Klux Klan groups ul�mately failed to preserve the white power structure in the South. Despite violence and in�mida�on, segrega�on ended not with a bang but with a whimper. This defeat was not taken easily by white Southerners and their supporters elsewhere around the country. It ended a way of life. Exactly who were the Klansmen who fought against integra�on of African Americans into the American mainstream? George Thayer tried to explain the nature of the support for the Ku Klux Klan in the 1960s:

Who are these Klansmen? Unques�onably most of them come from the working classes of white society, where the technological rejects, the insecure, the unassimilated, the despairing and the frightened congregate. The average Klansman has a fi�h-grade educa�on and is usually a day laborer, a mechanic or an industrial worker who works where job security is virtually nonexistent and where compe��on with Negroes is immediate and real. He lives in an urban society, but his heart is in the country. He sees himself as a poor white and knows that he is unwelcome in the city; but he also realizes he cannot return to the simple rural life he prefers. O�en, he straddles the two socie�es, opera�ng a gas sta�on, selling cars or lightning rods, quick lunches-businesses that usually congregate along the “neon strip” border between center city and the farm. His slight educa�on does li�le to ease his plight, for it gives him enough knowledge to be aware of his predicament, but not enough to escape it. He is not a part of the white power structure, and in this respect his ac�ons reflect the same frustra�ons as the Negro, Catholic and Jew who are also excluded, for the most part from it. He feels trapped and sees no way out except by lashing out viciously at the Negro below him and the white power structure above him. (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 549-560)

A myriad of Ku Klux Klan groups are s�ll ac�ve in the early years of the 21st century. The Klan movement has become so decentralized that anyone can claim leadership of a group and recruit a few members. These Klan group members can find robes and give themselves fancy �tles. Next, the Klan groups plan a demonstra�on to gain maximum publicity to recruit other members. The latest issue that Klan groups are exploi�ng is the an�-immigra�on theme. Some claim that this issue will revitalize the Klan movement.

Skinheads Con�nued

It took less than a decade for a mul�tude of skinhead groups to spread throughout the United States. Most ci�es had one or more skinhead groups, some�mes compe�ng for recruits and turf with each other. All it took to form a skinhead group was for a band of friends to gather around a leader.

O�en several young skinheads, male and female, will join together as a household. They hang out, listen to music, and get drunk. Not all skinheads are racist, but part of the point is to shock society by their appearance and ac�ons. They may seek out people of color or gay men and lesbians to rob and assault. Symbols are important: hairstyle, ta�oos, leather and chains, Doc Marten boots, makeup. In the Northeast, white shoelaces indicate a white-power skinhead; yellow laces denote Asian bashers; pink laces, gay bashers; black shoelaces, however, mean the wearer is an�racist.

Former skinhead Thomas "T. J " Leyden described how easy it is to become a skinhead:

“We were middle-class to rich, bored white kids. We had a lot of �me on our hands, so we decided to become gang members. When a kid doesn't have something else construc�ve to do, he's going to find something, whether it's football, baseball or hanging with neo-Nazi Skinheads. I tell people all the �me, ‘Every kid wants a sense of belonging.’ And what easier group to fit in with than Skinheads? You're white, you're Nazi, you fit the criteria.” (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 1835-1844)

My Descent into America's Neo-Nazi Movement & How I Got Out

Watch this 20-minute TED talk on “My descent into America's neo-Nazi movement & how I got out” where “Chris�an Picciolini went from naive teenager to white supremacist, and soon, the leader of America’s first neo-Nazi skinhead gang. How was he radicalized, and how did he ul�mately get out? In this courageous talk, Chris�an shares a surprising and counterintui�ve solu�on to hate in all forms.”

My descent into America's neo-Nazi movement & how I gotMy descent into America's neo-Nazi movement & how I got……

White Supremacy

The Ku Klux Klan was by no means the only white supremacist movement ac�ve in the United States in the period a�er 1945. Several other groups appeared eager to play the white supremacist race card without going around in outlandish costumes and burning crosses. Some of these groups preferred to work behinds the scenes, believing that they could block the civil rights movement and racial equality more effec�vely from that vantage point. Others were just as aggressive and violent as the Ku Klux Klan, but they wanted less notoriety. A culture of white supremacy had developed in the South, but it had allies throughout the na�on. Supporters of white supremacy had control of the major ins�tu�ons in the South. Among these ins�tu�ons were the white churches. An example of jus�fica�on of white supremacy by an advocate was Blake Cra�, minister of the First Methodist Church in Clayton, Georgia, and editor of One Methodist Voice. He advanced a theology for advocates of white supremacy:

1. "God designed it.... I do not believe that God in His crea�ve processes happened to smear a li�le black by mistake on some primi�ve man from which sprang the Negro man"

2. "Mongreliza�on would mean the destruc�on of a cherished race history" with its "highest culture and purest faith."

3. "All of the revealed truth of God in the development of real religion has been discovered and received by the people of the white race."

Cra� then lectured that the blacks have "a sense of gra�tude for the white people who made it possible for them not to have been born in the jungles and brought up in paganism.” The eugenics movement became an ally of white supremacy. Star�ng out with good inten�ons to improve human life, it soon became an instrument for racists. "American eugenicists, armed with charts, photographs, and even human skulls, were there to provide the visual and mathema�cal support that rendered racism scien�fically valid and poli�cally viable" (Atkins, 2011, Kindle Loca�ons 571-579).