New Order (National Socialist)
Encyclopedia
New Order, a successor organization to the original American Nazi Party
, is now a self-styled National Socialist religious group which promotes Esoteric Nazism
as an alternative faith for "Aryans"
(white people of Indo-European descent).
, the New Order began as a radical fringe political movement founded by George Lincoln Rockwell
in Arlington, Virginia in 1958. Initially called the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists (WUFENS), Rockwell reorganized the group in 1960 and gave it the intentionally inflammatory name the American Nazi Party (ANP) under the theory that negative media publicity was better than no publicity at all. By the mid-1960s, Rockwell began to see some steady financial success from colleges and universities that paid controversial figures to speak on campus as exercises in freedom of speech. This inspired Rockwell to end "Phase One" party tactics which often employed rancorous public rallies. Rockwell's "Phase Two" plan was to bring the group closer to the mainstream by reforming it along the lines of a conventional political party and enter candidates in local elections. As a result, he changed the organization's name to the National Socialist White People's Party (NSWPP) and sought ways to tone down the group's negative public image. Before he could fully institute these measures, Rockwell was assassinated on August 25, 1967 by John Patler
, a disgruntled former follower.
The NSWPP began to experience ideological division among its followers as it entered the 1970s. Some elected to follow Frank Collin
to Chicago where he formed the National Socialist Party of America
. Others chose to support William Luther Pierce
, eventually forming the National Alliance in 1974. Further membership erosion occurred as Koehl, drawing heavily upon the teachings of Hitlerian mystic Savitri Devi, began to suggest that National Socialism was more akin to a religious movement than a political one. He espoused the belief that Adolf Hitler was the gift of an inscrutable divine providence sent to rescue the white race from decadence and gradual extinction caused by a declining birth rate and miscegenation
. Hitler's death in 1945 was viewed as a type of martyrdom; a voluntary, Christ-like self-sacrifice, that looked forward to a spiritual resurrection of National Socialism at a later date when the Aryan
race would need it the most. These esoteric beliefs led to disputes with the World Union of National Socialists
, which Rockwell had founded and whose leader, Danish neo-Nazi Povl Riis-Knudsen
, had been appointed by Koehl. Undaunted, Koehl continued to recast the party as a new religion in formation. Public rallies were gradually phased out in favor of low-key gatherings in private venues. On Labor Day
1979 Koehl disbanded the party's paramilitary "Storm Troopers" who had been modeled on the NSDAP's Sturmabteilung
. This was done in part to overcome perceptions that the group was just a political cult with a fetish for Nazi uniforms and to attract members possessing a genuine intellectual interest in National Socialism.
. The organization briefly attracted the media's attention in October 1983 when it held a private meeting at Yorktown High School
in Arlington, Virginia. A non-uniformed gathering of members was held indoors while the police kept a crowd of counter-protesters at bay outside. This event marked the last publicized appearance of Koehl and the New Order in Arlington. From that point forward the only outward sign that the group was still operational was the annual appearance of the swastika
and Betsy Ross
American Revolutionary War
flags flying from the party's nondescript headquarters building on North Franklin Road every April 20 (Hitler's birthday).
By the mid-1980s membership defections, trouble with the Internal Revenue Service
, and the high cost of living in the Washington, D.C. area, forced Koehl to relocate the group's headquarters. He ceased printing the organization's White Power newspaper, sold its Arlington, Virginia real estate holdings, and dispersed the group's various operations to scattered locations in Wisconsin
and Michigan
. A secluded 88 acres (356,123.7 m²) rural property called "Nordland" was purchased in New Berlin, Wisconsin
to serve as living quarters and to host annual meetings and ceremonial events.
Today the New Order operates quietly far from the public spotlight, eschewing the confrontational public rallies that were once a hallmark of its previous incarnations. It maintains a web page and a Milwaukee, Wisconsin
post office box providing information and template material promoting National Socialism. It has no members but rather "registered supporters" who pledge to mail in donations on a monthly basis. Financing is also obtained through sales of books and other merchandise under an affiliate business, NS Publications of Wyandotte, Michigan
. The NS Bulletin, a newsletter, is sent to supporters on a quarterly basis. The group holds occasional ceremonial gatherings at undisclosed private locations such as an annual observance of Hitler's birthday each April 20.
American Nazi Party
The American Nazi Party was an American political party founded by discharged U.S. Navy Commander George Lincoln Rockwell. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Rockwell initially called it the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists , but later renamed it the American Nazi Party in...
, is now a self-styled National Socialist religious group which promotes Esoteric Nazism
Esoteric Nazism
The term Esoteric Nazism refers to semi-religious developments of Nazism in the post-World War II period. After 1945, esoteric elements of the Third Reich were developed into new völkisch religions of white identity. Examples of post-war Nazi mystical philosophies include Esoteric Hitlerism and...
as an alternative faith for "Aryans"
Aryan race
The Aryan race is a concept historically influential in Western culture in the period of the late 19th century and early 20th century. It derives from the idea that the original speakers of the Indo-European languages and their descendants up to the present day constitute a distinctive race or...
(white people of Indo-European descent).
Foundation and Rockwell leadership
Led by Matt KoehlMatt Koehl
Matt Koehl is the leader of a self-defined religious organization called the New Order. As deputy commander, in August 1967 Koehl succeeded the assassinated George Lincoln Rockwell as 'Commander' of the National Socialist White People's Party...
, the New Order began as a radical fringe political movement founded by George Lincoln Rockwell
George Lincoln Rockwell
George Lincoln Rockwell was the founder of the American Nazi Party. Rockwell was a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs and writings have continued to be influential among white nationalists and neo-Nazis.-Early life:Rockwell was born in Bloomington,...
in Arlington, Virginia in 1958. Initially called the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists (WUFENS), Rockwell reorganized the group in 1960 and gave it the intentionally inflammatory name the American Nazi Party (ANP) under the theory that negative media publicity was better than no publicity at all. By the mid-1960s, Rockwell began to see some steady financial success from colleges and universities that paid controversial figures to speak on campus as exercises in freedom of speech. This inspired Rockwell to end "Phase One" party tactics which often employed rancorous public rallies. Rockwell's "Phase Two" plan was to bring the group closer to the mainstream by reforming it along the lines of a conventional political party and enter candidates in local elections. As a result, he changed the organization's name to the National Socialist White People's Party (NSWPP) and sought ways to tone down the group's negative public image. Before he could fully institute these measures, Rockwell was assassinated on August 25, 1967 by John Patler
John Patler
John Patler is an American neo-Nazi who assassinated American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell on August 25, 1967....
, a disgruntled former follower.
Koehl succession and ideological division
As the NSWPP's ranking officer and therefore Rockwell's designated successor by default, Matt Koehl assumed the leadership role after a 16-member party council agreed with uncharacteristic unanimity that he should retain command. Koehl continued Rockwell's restructuring by dropping the group's negative verbal and written attacks against racial minorities and began emphasizing the positive aspects of National Socialism and the glories of a future all-white society. In 1968 Koehl moved the party to a new headquarters at 2507 North Franklin Road, clearly visible from Arlington's main thoroughfare, Wilson Boulevard. Koehl also established a printing press, a "George Lincoln Rockwell Memorial Book Store", and member living quarters on property nearby.The NSWPP began to experience ideological division among its followers as it entered the 1970s. Some elected to follow Frank Collin
Frank Collin
Francis Joseph "Frank" Collin formerly served as the leader of the National Socialist Party of America, whose plan to march in the predominantly Jewish suburb of Skokie, Illinois was the centerpiece of a major First Amendment decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, National Socialist Party of America...
to Chicago where he formed the National Socialist Party of America
National Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the assassination of leader George Lincoln Rockwell in 1967...
. Others chose to support William Luther Pierce
William Luther Pierce
William Luther Pierce III was the leader of the white separatist National Alliance organization, and one of the most important ideologists of the white nationalist movement. Pierce originally worked as an assistant professor of physics at Oregon State University, before he became involved in...
, eventually forming the National Alliance in 1974. Further membership erosion occurred as Koehl, drawing heavily upon the teachings of Hitlerian mystic Savitri Devi, began to suggest that National Socialism was more akin to a religious movement than a political one. He espoused the belief that Adolf Hitler was the gift of an inscrutable divine providence sent to rescue the white race from decadence and gradual extinction caused by a declining birth rate and miscegenation
Miscegenation
Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....
. Hitler's death in 1945 was viewed as a type of martyrdom; a voluntary, Christ-like self-sacrifice, that looked forward to a spiritual resurrection of National Socialism at a later date when the Aryan
Aryan
Aryan is an English language loanword derived from Sanskrit ārya and denoting variously*In scholarly usage:**Indo-Iranian languages *in dated usage:**the Indo-European languages more generally and their speakers...
race would need it the most. These esoteric beliefs led to disputes with the World Union of National Socialists
World Union of National Socialists
The World Union of National Socialists is an organisation founded in 1962 as an umbrella group for neo-Nazi organisations across the globe.-Formation:...
, which Rockwell had founded and whose leader, Danish neo-Nazi Povl Riis-Knudsen
Povl Riis-Knudsen
Povl Heinrich Riis-Knudsen is a prominent Danish Neo-Nazi.Riis-Knudsen is best known as the author of the articles National Socialism: A Left Wing Movement and National Socialism: The Biological World View .-Life and ideas:...
, had been appointed by Koehl. Undaunted, Koehl continued to recast the party as a new religion in formation. Public rallies were gradually phased out in favor of low-key gatherings in private venues. On Labor Day
Labor Day
Labor Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the first Monday in September that celebrates the economic and social contributions of workers.-History:...
1979 Koehl disbanded the party's paramilitary "Storm Troopers" who had been modeled on the NSDAP's Sturmabteilung
Sturmabteilung
The Sturmabteilung functioned as a paramilitary organization of the National Socialist German Workers' Party . It played a key role in Adolf Hitler's rise to power in the 1920s and 1930s...
. This was done in part to overcome perceptions that the group was just a political cult with a fetish for Nazi uniforms and to attract members possessing a genuine intellectual interest in National Socialism.
New name and reorganization
The New Order name was adopted on January 1, 1983, and reflects the group's Nazi mysticismNazi mysticism
Speculation about Nazism and occultism has become part of popular culture since 1959. Aside from several popular documentaries, there are numerous books on the topic, most notably The Morning of the Magicians and The Spear of Destiny ....
. The organization briefly attracted the media's attention in October 1983 when it held a private meeting at Yorktown High School
Yorktown High School
Yorktown High School is one of three public high schools located in Arlington, Virginia. There are 111 teachers and 1748 students as of 2009, 981 of whom are enrolled in AP courses. It is a fully accredited high school based on Virginia's SOL examinations, and is accredited by the Southern...
in Arlington, Virginia. A non-uniformed gathering of members was held indoors while the police kept a crowd of counter-protesters at bay outside. This event marked the last publicized appearance of Koehl and the New Order in Arlington. From that point forward the only outward sign that the group was still operational was the annual appearance of the swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
and Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross
Betsy Ross is widely credited with making the first American flag. There is, however, no credible historical evidence that the story is true.-Early life:...
American Revolutionary War
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War , the American War of Independence, or simply the Revolutionary War, began as a war between the Kingdom of Great Britain and thirteen British colonies in North America, and ended in a global war between several European great powers.The war was the result of the...
flags flying from the party's nondescript headquarters building on North Franklin Road every April 20 (Hitler's birthday).
By the mid-1980s membership defections, trouble with the Internal Revenue Service
Internal Revenue Service
The Internal Revenue Service is the revenue service of the United States federal government. The agency is a bureau of the Department of the Treasury, and is under the immediate direction of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue...
, and the high cost of living in the Washington, D.C. area, forced Koehl to relocate the group's headquarters. He ceased printing the organization's White Power newspaper, sold its Arlington, Virginia real estate holdings, and dispersed the group's various operations to scattered locations in Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. A secluded 88 acres (356,123.7 m²) rural property called "Nordland" was purchased in New Berlin, Wisconsin
New Berlin, Wisconsin
New Berlin is a city in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 38,220 at the 2000 census. New Berlin is the third largest community in Waukesha County after the cities of Waukesha and Brookfield....
to serve as living quarters and to host annual meetings and ceremonial events.
Today the New Order operates quietly far from the public spotlight, eschewing the confrontational public rallies that were once a hallmark of its previous incarnations. It maintains a web page and a Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
post office box providing information and template material promoting National Socialism. It has no members but rather "registered supporters" who pledge to mail in donations on a monthly basis. Financing is also obtained through sales of books and other merchandise under an affiliate business, NS Publications of Wyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte, Michigan
Wyandotte is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,883 at the 2010 census, a decrease of 7.6% from 2000. Wyandotte is located in southeastern Michigan, approximately south of Detroit on the Detroit River, and is part of the collection of communities known as...
. The NS Bulletin, a newsletter, is sent to supporters on a quarterly basis. The group holds occasional ceremonial gatherings at undisclosed private locations such as an annual observance of Hitler's birthday each April 20.
Beliefs
The New Order web site states that it "is a National Socialist community representing a revolutionary, new faith and a great historic movement" that wants "to build a separate, all-white society, with its own unique culture and way of life." and that "We are the Movement of Adolf Hitler. We are His heirs."Further reading
- Goodrick-Clarke, Nicholas. Hitler's Priestess: Savitri Devi, the Hindu-Aryan Myth, and Neo-Nazism. New York: New York University Press, 1998; ISBN 0-8147-3111-2
- ---- Black Sun: Aryan Cults, Esoteric Nazism and the Politics of Identity. New York: New York University Press, 2001; ISBN 0-8147-3155-4
- Schmaltz, William H. Hate: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 1988; ISBN 1-57488-171-X
- Simonelli, Frederick J. American Fuehrer: George Lincoln Rockwell and the American Nazi Party. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1999; ISBN 0-252-02285-8 and ISBN 0-252-06768-1
External links
- New Order webpage
- "Who is Hitler?" transcript of remarks by Matt Koehl
- "Populism And Socialism In American Nazism", chapter five of American Nazism In The Context Of The American Extreme Right: 1960 - 1978 by Jim Saleam
- "Pierce, Koehl and the National Socialist White People's Party Internal Split of 1970" by H. Michael Barrett
- "The Ku Klux Klan and the American Nazi Party" by Betty A. Dobratz and Stephanie Shanks-Meile
- "Frank Collin: From Neo-Nazi to Hyper-Diffusionist"
- "Neo-Nazis: Longtime Hitlerian Activists" on the Anti-Defamation LeagueAnti-Defamation LeagueThe Anti-Defamation League is an international non-governmental organization based in the United States. Describing itself as "the nation's premier civil rights/human relations agency", the ADL states that it "fights anti-Semitism and all forms of bigotry, defends democratic ideals and protects...
's website. - "William Pierce: A Political History" on Southern Poverty Law Center website
- "A Brief History of White Nationalism" on Zoominfo web site