preliminaryrepor00unit - neofascismo nos EUA 1954.pdf

7/27/2019 preliminaryrepor00unit - neofascismo nos EUA 1954.pdf

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BOSTONPUBLICUBl^RY


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PRELIMINARY REPORT ON

NEO-FASCISTAND

HATE GROUPS

DECEMBER 17, 1954

Prepared and released by thefommittee on Un-American Activities, U. S. House of Representatives

V^ashington, D. C.


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COMMITTEE ON UN-AMERICAN ACTIVITIESUnited States House of Representatives

HAROLD H. VELDE, Illinois, ChairmanBERNARD W. KEARNEY, New YorkDONALD L. JACKSON, CaliforniaKIT CLARDY, MichiganGORDON H. SCHERER, OhioFRANCIS E. WALTER, PennsylvaniaMORGAN M. MOULDER, MissouriCLYDE DOYLE, CaliforniaJAMES B. FRAZIER, Jr., Tennessee

Robert L. Kuxzm, CounselFrank S. Taven.ner, Jr., CounselThomas W. Beale, Sr., Cliief ClerkRaphael I. Nixon Director ol ResearchCourtney E. Owens, Chief Iiircstigutoru


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CONTENTSPage

Foreword 1The fascist problem in the past 2Neofascism in the United States 3National Renaissance Party 3Nature of propaganda 5Extent of NRP operations 8The hate group 10Common Sense . 10The organization of Common Sense 11Nature of propaganda 11Cooperation with other propagandists 14Circulation and finances 17Conclusion , 19Appendix 20Index 30

ILLUSTRATIONSFigure 1. Throwaway distributed by the National Renaissance Party 4Figure 2. Pages from the Handbook for the Elite Guard of the NationalRenaissance Party 6Figure 3. Typical headlines which have appeared in Com^non Sense 13Figure 4. Photograph of the headquarters of Common Sense in Union, N. J, 16Exhibit 1. Comparison of the similarities between fascism and communism,as contained in Fascism In Action 20Exhibit 2. National Renaissance Bulletin, October, 1953, pages 3, 4 21Exhibit 3. National Renaissance Bulletin, May 1953, pages 1-4 23Exhibit 4. National Renaissance Bulletin, October 1952, page 4 27Exhibit 5. Leaflet headlined "Brotherhood?" issued by NationalRenaissance Party 28Exhibit 6. Common Sense, March 15, 1953, page 1, containing message toCongress from Elizabeth Billing, Lyrl Van Hyning, and CondeMcGinley._ _ 29

III


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Public Law COl, 79th CongressThe legislation under which the House Committee on Un-American

Activities operates is Public Law GOl, 79th Congress [1946J, chapter753, 2d session, which provides:Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States

of America in Congress assembled, * * *PART 2RULES OF THE ROUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

Rule XSEC. 121. STANDING COMMITTEES

qC 3|S "t" t* t* *I* V17. Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine Members.

Rule XI POWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES* * * * ^C *

(q) (1) Committee on Un-American Activities.(A) Un-American activities.(2) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a whole or by subcommit-

tee, is authorized to make from time to time investigations of (i) the extent,character, and objects of un-x'^merican propaganda activities in the United States,(ii) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American propa-ganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin and attacksthe principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitution, and(iii) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congress in any necessaryremedial legislation.The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to theClerk of the House if the House is not in session) the results of any such investi-gation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.For the purpose of any such investigation, the Committee on Un-AmericanActivities, or any subcommittee thereof, is authorized to sit and act at suchtimes and places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting,has recessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendanceof such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, andto take such testimony, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued underthe signature of the chairman of the committee or any subcommittee, or by anymember designated by any such chairman, and may be served by any persondesignated by any such chairman or member.


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RULES ADOPTED BY THE 83D CONGRESSHouse Resolution 5, January 3, 1953

* * * * * mRule X

STANDING COMMITTEES1. There shall be elected by the House, at the commencement of each Con-

gress, the following standing committees:****** i^(q) Committee on Un-American Activities, to consist of nine members.*******

Rule XIPOWERS AND DUTIES OF COMMITTEES* * * * * ^t If

17. Committee on Un-American Activities.(a) Un-American Activities.(b) The Committee on Un-American Activities, as a whole or by subcommittee,is authorized to make from time to time, investigations of (1) the extent, char-

acter, and objects of un-American propaganda activities in the United States,(2) the diffusion within the United States of subversive and un-American prop-aganda that is instigated from foreign countries or of a domestic origin andattacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteed by our Constitu-tion, and (3) all other questions in relation thereto that would aid Congressin any necessary remedial legislation.The Committee on Un-American Activities shall report to the House (or to theClerk of the House if the House is not in session) the results of any such investi-gation, together with such recommendations as it deems advisable.For the purpose of atiy such investigation, the Committee on Un-AmericanActivities, or any subcommittee thereof, is autliorized to sit and act at such timesand places within the United States, whether or not the House is sitting, hasrecessed, or has adjourned, to hold such hearings, to require the attendanceof such witnesses and the production of such books, papers, and documents, andto take such testimony, as it deems necessary. Subpenas may be issued underthe signature of the chairman of the committee or any subcommittee, or by anymember designated by such chairman, and may be served by any person desig-nated by any such chairman or member.

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PRELIMINARY REPORT ON NEO-FASCIST ANDHATE GROUPSFOREWORD

Communism's present threat to the very survival of the UnitedStates and the rest of the free world has placed heavy burdens onthe defenders of human freedom and dignity. The Committee onUn-American Activities is concerned to observe that this burden isbeing aggravated by certain individuals and organizations unscrupu-lously exploiting the menace of communism to promote other activitiesequally subversive and equally un-American. Such activities woulddestroy the very foundation work of the American Republic, if per-mitted to operate unnoticed or unchallenged.Committee investigations disclose that this organized activity fallsinto two patterns:

(1) The neo-fascist ^ organization which openly espouses a fascistregime for the United States; and(2) The organized hate group, which masquerades as a defender ofour republican form of government yet conducts hate campaigns

against racial and religious minorities in the infamous tradition of thefascist dictatorships.Under Public Law 601 (79th Cong.), the committee is instructed toinvestigate and report on "the extent, character, and objects ofun-American propaganda activities in the United States," and specifi-cally the diffusion of "subversive and un-American propaganda"which "attacks the principle of the form of government as guaranteedby our Constitution."Advocates of both fascism and communism are therefore of gi'aveconcern to the committee.Both totalitarian doctrines are basically incompatible with theprinciples of our Republic. Both seek to destroy our constitutionalgovernment and supplant it with a godless dictatorship in which theindividual is deprived of his rights and liberties to become an abjectslave of the state. Both derive strength by dividing their oppositioncommunism choosing to set class against class, while facism incitesracial and religious discord.^

Despite the similarities between communism and fascismsodramatically demonstrated to the world during the infamous Hitler-Stalin pact of 1939-41their propaganda to the effect that each is theforemost opponent of the other is undoubtedly a major contributor towhatever support each has been able to muster in our population.

' The committee uses the word "fascism" to describe the philosophy and movement as a whole, andnot in the narrower sense which refers to the actual operation of fascist regimes such as Nazi Germanyor Fascist Italy. The adjective "fascist" can be applied to any organization or individual espousing thefascist philosophy. However, the committee will also use the term "neo-fascist" as a convenientmethod of designating organizations and Individuals whose espousal of fascism is recent In nature1. e.,occurring after the military defeat of the Axis aggressors in World War 11." See exhibit 1, appendix, p. 20 for a more detailed comparison of the similarities between fascism andcommunism.


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2 NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPSThe Special Committee on Un-American Activities warned in 1940that the danger to American democracy lay not so much in a possiblefrontal attack by Fascists and Communists in our midst, as in

the much greater chance that each extreme totalitarian group seeking by decep-tion to advance its own cause and pad its ranks will succeed in convincing a reallysubstantial number of people that their only defense against violence from theopposite extreme is to accept the violence of the one they find least objectionable.

This committee is agreed that subversion cannot be combated bysubversion. Those who would support the extreme right today do asgreat a violence to our national institutions as do those on the extremeleft. Furthermore, the appearance of neo-fascist organizations andmethods in the postwar period serve only to impede the intelligent,united effort necessary in the current life and death struggle withcommunism.The committee does not claim to have made an exhaustive investi-gation into all demagogic groups in the United States now exploitingreligious and racial hatred. The committee's preliminary studies show,however, that such groups employ the Hitlerian technique of the"big lie" in their platforms and literature. Their vicious falsehoodsare often clothed in seeming discussions of grave issues such as theCommunist menace.The hate group appeals to the unwary by a cynical use of conceptshaving a deep emotional appeal to the majority of decent citizenslove of God, country, home; or antipathy to communism. Amidprotestations of patriotism and religious devotion, these groups propa-gate hoaxes and smears aimed at setting creed against creed andrace against race. They use the divisive tactics of the Communistswhom they allegedly deplore. Depending upon the type of audienceto be reached, this propaganda is couched in language ranging fromviolent vituperation to subtle innuendoes.The committee believes that, in its preliminary report, the Congressand the American public may best be alerted to this demagogic menaceby the selection of two specific groups. One is an avowed neo-fascistorganization, and the other is an allegedly patriotic organizationwhich can best be characterized as a hate group. They represent themajor methods of approach used today by the exploiters of racial andreligious bigotry.

THE FASCIST PROBLEM IN THE PASTThe greatest activity by un-American propagandists of the extremeright occurred in the United States in the late 1930's, under the in-

spiration and often with the direct aid of Fascist and Nazi regimesabroad.The first investigation conducted by the Special Committee onUn-American Activities after its creation in 1938 dealt with theGerman-American Bund. The special committee reported that thebund, which claimed 25,000 members in this country, including 5,000Btorm troops, operated in fact as an agent of a foreign power. Specialcommittee investigations also revealed the existence of hundreds ofother fascist organizations ranging from groups openly advocatingtotalitarianism of the Hitler, Mussolini, or Imperialist Japanese va-riety, to groups posing as patriotic Americans but invariably markedby antiraciul and pro-Nazi characteristics.


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NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS 3All of these organizations exploited racial and religious hatreds to

enlist members and gain financial support. They frequently cooper-ated with each other in exchanging speakers and literature. Effortsat closer coordination failed, however, due to rivalries between thegroups' petty "fuehrers" and jealousy over sources of income. It wasdiscovered that many of the organizations were led by "racketeers"who operated primarily for the purpose of reaping financial profit fromracial and religious "hate" propaganda. The special committee con-demned such hate propaganda as "un-American per se," and as beingparticularly vicious in a period when it was a favorite weapon of theAxis Powers.

Unrelenting investigation and exposure, followed by legal prosecu-tion prior to and during World War II, defeated the effort to organizefascism in the United States. The military defeat of the Axis wipedout any remaining hopes of the fascists. Even the hate-peddlingracketeers were largely silenced in the face of an aroused publicopinion.

NEO-FASCISM IN THE UNITED STATESNational Renaissance Party

The reappearance of the avowedly fascist organization on theAmerican scene was marked by the formation in January 1949 of theNational Renaissance Party, headed by a young fanatic, James H.Madole, of Beacon, N. Y.The party's official organ, the four-page monthly National Renais-sance Bulletin, is frankly billed as "the only Fascist publication inAmerica.""What Hitler accomplished in Europe, the National RenaissanceParty shall yet accomplish in America," is Madole's fatuous boast inthe issue of his Bulletin dated May 1953.National Renaissance Party activities center on the disseminationof fascist propaganda through the Bulletin, other printed literature,and through street-corner oratory. The Bulletin has been publishedin Beacon, N. Y., where Madole's home at 224 East Main Street hasserved as national headquarters of the organization until the springof 1954. At that time, Madole took up residence at 10 West 90thStreet, New York City, and announced the new national headquartersaddress as Box 238, 208 East 86th Street, New York City. Streetmeetings have long been held at the corner of 88th Street and YorkAvenue in the Yorkville section of Manliattan. There, in seasonableweather, Madole may be seen haranguing some two dozen followerswith a mixture of praises for Hitler and Mussolini and vituperationagainst minority groups. Hecklers at times swell the audience toalmost 100 persons, and the meeting occasionally ends in a stone-throwing bout.

^A serio-comic yet repugnant feature of this neo-fascist organiza-tion is its attempt to maintain a uniformed "elite guard" in the Nazi

style._ Madole is at times accompanied by a handful of youngfanatics wearing dark caps and trousers and brassards on whicha lightning bolt replaces the swastika. The elite guard takes anoath of unconditional obedience to the NRP leaders, whom it allegedly64945'54 2


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NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS

ADOLF MiTLERQ.n RPRiL /fifl,9

International Jewish-Cjommuniam has always been a threat to AryanCivilization and that Great GerTuan Statesman ADOLF 'HITLER was theFIRST to combat this deadly enemy before the world. What Adolf Hitleigave to the German Nation cannot be denied, What National Socialismbestowed upon the German pedple stands before the world as a monunentto all of the Western World, No one can change the deep intensenationalistic feeling that Adolf Hitler taught them to feel toward thState, Nationalism is the only antidote to the poison of Jewish-World-Communism, The Western World will never forget the struggle ofthe N.S.D.A.P, in the early tv;enties,nor, v/ill they forget how foolishsome of them were to oppose Adolf Hitlers Nev; Order, Now we see thatr. , .,.. , jjfetjTRALIZE AND DEFEAT JEl'/ISH-INTERNATIONAL-Only NATIOHALISM CAN1 COIlf-lUNISM,!]

Mr, James H.Madole*National Director.

National Renaissance Party: National Headquarters;222 East Itoln Street Beacon New York,,U,S,A,Figure No. 1.


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KEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS 5serves as honor guard as well as protector.^ The guard admittedlyheld secret meetings in New York City on Thursday evenings during1953 under the joint command of Matt Koehl, Jr., and Hans Schmidt.

NATURE OF PROPAGANDAThe program and propaganda of the National Renaissance Party is

virtually borrowed wholesale from the Fascist and Nazi dictators.Its nine-point program advocates abolition of parliamentary gov-ernment in the United States in favor of government by a "trained

elite"; estabhshment of a Fascist corporate economy; encouragementof "racial" pride; preservation of the "white Aryan" race by gradualdeportation of the "Porto [sic] Ricans, Negroes, Jews and Asiatics";and the denial to Jewish people of citizenship, professional andpolitical posts, and the right of "intermarriage." *NRP propaganda contains extensive rehashes of Hitler's speeches.Typical are National Renaissance Bulletin articles, "Adolf HitlerExplains Nazi Anti-Semitism," appearing in the February 1953 issue,and "Adolf Hitler, the George Washington of Europe," which appearedin the issue of May 1953.^NRP's own leaders imitate the Hitler line. Eustace Mullins, whohas joined Madole in his street-corner propagandizing, is the con-tributor of an article entitled "Adolf Hitler: An Appreciation," inthe Bulletin of October 1952.^ John M. Lundoff, Brooklyn chairmanof the NRP, extolled the features of the Fascist corporate state in theApril 1952 Bulletin and asked the 3^outh of America to choose between"parliamentary democracy with its empty promises and discord orthe clear, brave, and youthful Fascist principles outlined here."Chief source of propaganda for the NRP, however, is Frederick CharlesF. Weiss, of Middletown, N. Y., who is portrayed as a graduate ofthe University of Heidelberg and the Sorbonne. His prolific writingsin the Bulletin and in separate leaflets are mainly racist diatribes.The NRP has also circulated literature received from Einar Aberg,of Norrviken, Sweden. For example, an anti-Semitic pamphlet byAberg entitled "The War Criminals" was distributed in this countryunder the NRP's stamp. An "overseas ofl&ce" is maintained by theNRP under the direction of Mana Truhill, of 54 Audubon Avenue,New York City.Madole's group offers its fascist program as the "antidote" tocommunism. The falsity of its anti-Communist role is immediatelyexposed by NRP's insistence that a Communist is synonymous with"Jew." The NRP not only violates our constitutional principles bymaking this minority its target; it also frequently supports the positionof the very Communists it allegedly opposes.For example, the NRP accuses the United States Government,whether under Democratic or Republican control, of seeking to pro-mote a new world war to "carry out the economic and politicalambitions of a small coterie of international Wall Street bankers." ^

3 See fig. 2, pp. 6 and 7 or partial reproduct'on of the Handbook for the Elite Guard of the NationalRenaissance Party.* See exhibit 2, appendix, p. 21 for complete program of the NRP as outlined in its Bulletin of October,1953 See exhibit 3, appendix, p. 23 for reproduction of article In the May 1953 issue of the National Renais-sance Bulletin.6 See exhibit 4, appendix, p. 27 for reproduction of article in the October 1952 issue of the NationalRenaissance Bulletin,' National Renaissance Bulletin, January 1953, p. 2.


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6 NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS

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JOf THE

MATJ0MAL?MAJSLAMC.eFigure No. 2, Paut 1.


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NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS

fO AIX n^m^S AKD ^Ct&nUL !.2L?21S CF TH2 .2,n2 OUiiiE;Ths ursiforaei 21it Oujird of the Nfttional Kenelssans Farty w^sfounded as a saml-rtUltajfy farmatlcm fftr tK j>urpoa cf pretest IngIniioor and cutioox irei>'Inge cf the Party, ' pi'ovldttig an honor

juard ftjr forty iessdara an* ptioljatlr^ in msiforaea psralss andm&Bs ds.TJonst rat loos.Ycur .!?ictlo Is ; " Ij6l%j' , Srvl(5e Cteii'j ".

YcuT eneffiiea consist cf i.ntern!,tionl Je-wry on the loit anfiInternatlcwil nuance on the Rigiit, Bott ct these lntrnstiotsalforces eeok to exploit tn* natloa as & wfccle for their ovm selTlakf^s ssaober of the. Sllte Oward.tSe 9-polftt jrgraa oftha National Bsoatseaws J'axty awst serve os yor politloai BlblaYour indivldualiaai aust bo replaoec b;- yo^zr 6uty t.nd djTotiesv tothe ti&tlcaat oDismalty, tho >iryan Rcoe, corssletlng of tho j sir via,N'ordic, Cltlo, latin, r,ni5 A.s\lo/scj^r. ptioples yt rcaaia thiosilnant oultur orsstlRd fores in Aawlea if ".icstscrn CirliiEtlcm ito ismrvtvo, * Aryans l ;r6u4-cotR, cf yowr Jt'.CS 3(54

Ji'.TIOJ:. Jitrsasa indiviawaitsm snd iatarmtlon&lisis ^n&Mo JSK'S endothora inlato4 by solfish afti- 8flftl-rctJl iSeaa to aominatc t&elatcllcotiwl aa4 polUloal Jif of tho aatlcai. #ut as cxtrcaioind-lTjaufciiaE fisust fca autiorfiinsttiji to th. woXJ^sro ot tho tution&leoasunity so suBt tfei iafrorosfts of UBC a4 :}if.aiJSS{ faoftuboriinatcd te thv aocds of t&o :tSlO 6 a UBlt.Our &iCS aisd Ott* ii7tOS JWBt bo of 5r&(KCunt }Bpoartaof> to allacKbcrs of tho i%tloBl hcntisftaacc ivsty*Yo ms coiisldcr your cnl I atascctt ia tfto glite ttttarft sa atilarto en oailstasoat ia a jrtimto arsy, whe-ne awora puopoc is tlsocstebliBfeacat of 8.a iffiKrioan i*&glo tasoS on the jtrlaolplos of

'^JJotioasl filroetor ot tlteKfetlonal Bsaalsaftcc lurty

PIOvT JS^.^SH CO*iiKlSti'%.#*. ^MSixd^ PCR iJCTtia;jvS****;.y3Riai, rffigp

.-JFigure No. 2, Part 2.


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8 NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPSThis attack is identical with the propaganda hne of the CommunistParty, despite the different motives beliind Communist and fascist at-tempts to disaffect Americans from their Government.In a leaflet entitled, "Asiatic Barbarism Versus Western Civiliza-tion," Madole proclaimed thatOnly the superbly efficient totalitarian economic systems of Fascists, NationalSocialist, and Communist regimes are adaptible [sic] to the strain of TOTALWAR as practiced in the 20th century * * * The spirit of democracy is aglorification of weakness and cowardly conduct. It glorifies the coward insteadof the fighter, it raises feeble weaklings to leadership rather than a trained,iron-hard, and youthful elite * * *At the time of the Prague trials in 1952 and other anti-Semitic

purges behind the Iron Curtain, the NRP defended the action of theSoviet leadership and implied that the example should be followed inEurope and America.Such an appeal to violence exposes the most vicious and dangerousaspect of the National Renaissance Party. In its printed literature,NRP has attempted to disguise such appeals, although the implica-tions are clear in headlines such as the following:

In Russia They Execute Them the Prague and Beria Way! In U. S. A. TheyPromote Them the Dexter White Way!*In his speeches, however, Madole has discarded caution on a numberof occasions and boldly advocated "6 inches of steel" for America'sJewish minority.NRP activities and propaganda are clearly subversive and un-American. The commiittee is further of the opinion that this neo-

fascist organization, by its advocacy of force and violence, contravenesthe Smith Act. The committee urges the Department of Justice toconsider taking immediate steps to convene a Federal grand jury forthe purpose of prosecuting the leaders of the National RenaissanceParty under the act.

EXTENT OF NRP OPERATIONSThe National Renaissance Party has frequently appealed for sup-

port from crackpot elements which were active in bund and otherfascist activities in the 1930's. Madole stated on one occasion thatthe NRP was formed to "carry on the work of the Christian Front." *The Christian Front had cooperated with the German-American Bundin pre-Pearl Harbor days and bund leader Fritz Kuhn had declaredthe ideas of the two organizations were 100 percent in agreement.

Daniel Kurts, self-proclaimed leader of the Christian Front inQueens, N. Y., in 1939, became an active worker in the NationalRenaissance Party.Another veteran propagandist, Kurt Mertig, became New YorkCity chairman of the NRP, and his oihce at 317 East 54th Street,New York City, served as the NRP's city headquarters. From thissame office, Mertig has operated as chairman of two of his own organi-zationsthe Citizens Protective League and the German-AmericanRepublican League of Greater New York. Mertig's letterheads statethe leagues were formed in 193G; the Attorney General cited bothleagues as fascist organizations in 1948. Mertig himself served a

Ueadliiios iirc contalnod In a loaflot, Brotherhood?, distributed In 1953 and 1954 by the NRP andreproduced Iti part as c-xliibil 5, appendix; p. 2S.' National Kenaissaneu Ihdlelin, October 1951, p. 1,


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NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS 96-month workhouse term in 1946 on unlawful assembly chargesgrowing out of his participation in a Christian Front rally in Queens,N. Y., in 1945.In the summer of 1953, the NRP announced plans to run a candi-date for Congress from the Yorkville district. Nothing further washeard of the scheme, however. The would-be candidate was H. KeithThompson, Jr., who was identified in the National RenaissanceBulletin as a former registered agent for Maj. Gen. Otto Remer'sSocialist Reich Partya neo-Nazi group in West Germany nowbanned by the German Government.The NRP had previously publicized Thompson as the nationaldirector of a newly formed American Committee for the Advancementof Western Culture. James Madole, Kurt Mertig, Frederick CharlesF. Weiss, and other "officers and members" of the NRP also wererepresented on this committee, which had the grandiose role of servingas "a high policy planning group for the coordination of racial nation-alist activities in America, Europe, Africa, and Asia." ^Last 5'ear, the NRP tried to extend its activities into other sectionsof the country.A guest speaker at one of the NRP meetings in Yorkville on June26, 1953, was one James R. White, who was billed as an "organizer"from Los Angeles. Madole claimed that White had "already organ-ized a fully uniformed group in his city and distributed thousands ofcopies of National Renaissance Bulletins." ^^ Committee inquiriesdisclose that James White's activities in Los Angeles have beenconfined to a small group and that no eft'ective efforts in organizingthe NRP in that city have materialized.A youth in his early twenties, White was the publisher of his ownnewsletter. Reason, in 1952. Committee information shows thatseveral 5'ears prior to his involvement in neo-fascist activities, Whitehad been a member of the Spartacus Club of the American Youthfor Democracya front organization of the Communist Party. Itmight be noted at this point that Mana Truhill, previously mentionedas head of the NRP overseas bureau, has admitted having attendedthe Communist-operated Jefferson School of Social Science in NewYork. This is another illustration of the common ground oftenreached by fascists on the extreme right and Communists on theextreme left.Madole announced in his June 1953 Bulletin that a local NRPheadquarters had also been set up at 2627 Hale Avenue in Louisville,Ky., under the leadership of J. W. Mitchefi, a high-school student.Subsequent inquiry by the committee revealed that the branch inLouisville never attained any significant success and that it has sincebeen dissolved.

In December 1953 the party's Bulletin stated that an NRP branchwas being formed in Pennsylvania under the direction of E. R. Barronand Frederick Polzin, and that another branch was being created inNew Jersey by Lawrence Sestito.The numerical strength of an organization such as the NRP isdifficult to measure. Such fanatics exaggerate their influence, andthe committee would do no service in overestimating the importanceof an element which will undoubtedly take pride in being publicized

' National Renaissance Bulletin, April 1953, p. 1.u National Renaissance Bullet.n, June 1953, p. 4.


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10 KEO-FASCIST AXD HATE GROUPSas a "menace." IMembership of the NRP has been estimated atanj^vhere from 200 to 700 persons. All indications point to a dimin-ished following in 1954.The NRP charges a nominal $1 membership fee, and its monthlyBulletin, which has a $2 yearly subscription rate, is often distributedgratis.The NRP has stated it held 22 street meetings in 1952, and regularFriday meetings during the seasonable weather in 1953, its mostactive year. The combined total of indoor and outdoor meetings ofthe iSRP in 1952-53 has been estimated at 70.A certain decline in the organization's activities was evidenced in1954. Investigation reveals that the new headquarters addressadopted by the NRP early this year is the address of a commercialfirm. It is apparent that the NRP is largely a nomadic group,meeting in hotels and private homes, at times under the cover ofanother name, and using privately operated mail boxes as mailingaddresses. Its Bulletin is bemg issued sporadically, and in mimeo-graphed rather than in its usual printed form.The committee is encouraged by the relatively restricted nature ofNational Renaissance Party influence. The committee believes,however, that such organizations have no place in the American sceneand that the full force of exposure and prosecution must be employedto eradicate them. THE HATE GROUP

"Common Sense"Growth of the hate group in recent years is exemplified by the

publishing endeavors of Conde J. IMcGinley and his son, C. J. Mc-Ginley, in Union, N. J. The McGinleys, senior and junior, operateas the Christian Educational Association, for the purpose of publisliinga semimonthly paper, Common Sense, as well as a mass of individualprinted matter.Common Sense represents itself as "the Nation's anti-Communistpaper." Subscriptions are sought from "loyal and patriotic Amer-icans" in order to "help save our Republic,"Such patriotic claims provide poor disguise, however, for some of themost vitriolic hate propaganda ever to come to the attention of thecommittee. Common Sen.se defines communism as "Judaism" anddevotes its pages almost exclusively to attacks on the Jewish and to alesser extent the Negro minorities in our Nation. Sympathy forthe former Nazi regime in Germany also is injected into this propa-ganda, which is hardly distinguishable from that of the NationalRenaissance Party except for the lattcr's open appeal for a fascistgovermnent in the United States.

Despite its patriotic claims, Common Sense has in fact employedand/or carried the writings of a number of individuals associated withthe National Renaissance Party. Through the columns of CommonSense and innumerable booklets printed and offered for sale, theMcGinleys appear to serve as a clearinghouse for hate propagandiststhroughout the country. Among these are many of the native fascistsand hate racketeers who were active in the 1930's.

In contrast to the limited appeal of the openly fascist NationalRenaissance Party, the McGinley enterprise appears to be a shrewdand going business.


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NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS 11THE ORGANIZATION OF "COMMON SENSe"

Conde J. McGinley, Sr., began editing a miniature weekly paper inNewark, N. J., in 1946, under tlie various titles of Think, The Think,and Think WeeJdy. In June 1947 the paper was issued under thename. Common Sense, and in November 1947 it was expanded to itspresent tabloid size and the headquarters transferred from Newarkto Union, N. J. It became a semimonthly publication in 1948.McGuiley remained the sole owner and publisher until early this year,when the so-called Christian Educational Association was created toserve as owner and publisher. Officers of the new association areConde J. McGinley, Sr., president; Conde J. McGinley, Jr., secretaryand treasurer; and Alex Jefimow, vice president. Jefimow is em-ployed by the McGinleys in a subordinate capacity; only the^IcGinleys are authorized to handle association funds.

Headquarters of the newspaper and its publishing association arelocated in a 14-room stone building at 530 Chestnut Street in Union,N. J. The building is owned by Miss Katherine Littig, of Newark,N. J., who has worked for Common Sense on a voluntary basis almostfrom the inception of the publication.The building also houses the press which prints Common Sense andother hate literature sold through Common Sense. This mechanicalequipment is owned by the Union Patriotic Press, which gives theChestnut Street building as its headquarters. A corporation reso-lution of the Union Patriotic Press lists its officers as president,Charles Kane, of Tampa, Fla.; secretary, John J. Reynolds; andtreasurer, Edward J. Byrne, High tstown, N. J., farmer. Byrne isknown to have been a volunteer worker in the Common Sense enter-prise. Both Byrne and Reynolds have attended rallies held byMcGinley for his followers; Kane has also been in attendance priorto his removal to Florida.McGinley was forced to rely on other presses prior to 1953 and he

admittedly encountered difficulties in assuring continuous printing ofhis propaganda. After Common Sense moved into its headquarterson Chestnut Street in the spring of 1953, an addition was built for apress later acquired by the Union Patriotic Press. McGinley an-nounced to his readers that the press had been set up "for our use"and would insure prompt service in the future. Technically, however,McGinley leases the press from the Union Patriotic Press for a $75monthly rental. NATURE OF PROPAGANDADuring 1946 and 1947, McGinley's allegedly anti-Communist pub-lication gave little indication of its subsequent level of propaganda.At the outset, its columns carried a certain amount of factual infor-mation on communism. Beginning in 1948, however. Common Sensebecame increasingly outspoken in its statements of a pro-Nazi andanti-Semitic nature. It was soon almost exclusively a vehicle for the

exploitation of ignorance, prejudice, and fear.The paper devoted considerable space in 1948 to the support of thelate Robert H. Best, American newsman who was convicted of treasonand sentenced to life imprisonment in that year as a result of hisbroadcasts for the Nazis in World War II. A eulogy of Best appearing5494554 3


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12 KEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPSin Common Sense for December 15, 1952, described him as a "patriot/"Paul Revere," and "true Christian American."An arrogant letter written by Herman Goering to Winston Churchilljust before the Nazi leader poisoned himself, appeared in CommonSense for July 1, 1950. An editorial note recommended that the letterbe "read carefully by Members of Congress and all others who areshaping the destiny of America."Common Sense adopted the National Renaissance Party line whichalleges the United States Government is plotting a new world war:* * * Now that the matchless German army is destroyed, Germany laid in ruins,and Europe helpless, Eisenhower asks the German people to help him preparefor another war purporting to be a war against communism, while he protectsand coddles in Washington the same people who prevented Germany from wipingout communism. This is to be a war against the Russian peoplenot com-munism. * * * 12In this statement, ^McGinley's "anti-Communist" and "patriotic"

publication apparently is not averse to serving the Communist propa-ganda cause. Indeed, ]McGinley has even printed such statementsas the following, w^hich he identified as being from a "European"correspondent:

* * * if your paper is to continue its excellent work of opposing the policy ofthe Jew, please do not fight Russia also, for we in Euroi)e look upon it as the onlyhope to prevent Jewish world domination by means of its stupid, willing, tech-nically clever American slaves, the destroyers of Europe's cities, the hateniongersof the vile occupation and the hangmen of Xurnberg.^^

Anti-Semitism is the chief stock in trade of Common Sen.^e, whichnow distortedly deanes communism as "a false face for Judaism."Typical of headlines which appear in the publication are: "JewishLeaders Are Crazy For Power;" "Zionists Threaten Russia With War;"" 'Brotherhood'Jew Trap For Christianity;" and "Invisible Gov-ernment Rules Both Parties; Adlai and Ike Marxist Stooges."Articles in Common Sense have even attacked water fluoridation as aRed plot by "the invisible rulers" aimed at mass destruction of theAmerican people.The violent nature of this propaganda is illustrated by an articlewritten by George Thomas Adams in the issue of Common Sense forDecember 1, 1952. In the course of a discussion of anti-Semiticpogroms in Communist countries, Adams stated:

* * * If the Russian people wish to throw off their Jewish yoke, what righthave we to criticize them? * * * We should be doing the same.Conde McGinley, Sr., uses the oblique method in an article in theissue dated June 15, 1952:* * * The German Government, facing flip same sitiiation as the United Slnlrs

does today, put these Red Jews in concentration camps. * * * [Italics supi)lied].A survey of Common Sense propaganda fails to reveal any outrightadvocacy of a fascist government for the United States. The solu-tion customarily offered by Conde McGinley, Sr., to "save America"is an increase in the circulation of Common Sense. It is apparentthat this publication represents a modern example of the racketeerswho made a business out of un-American hate propaganda duringthe 19:50's.

'2 Cnmmnti SeaKe, October \!i, 1953, p. 1.M Common Sense, June 1, 1953, p. 2.


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NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS 13

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14 NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPSCOOPERATION "WITH OTHER PROPAGANDISTS

Information in the possession of the Committee reveals a significantInterchangeability of propagandists working for the allegedly patrioticCommon Sense and the avowedly fascist National Renaissance Party.A good example is provided by Eustace Mullins, who franklyeulogizes Hitler in the pages of the National Renaissance Party'sBulletin and who has been observed at an NRP street session in NewYork City last 3'ear. Articles AVTitten by Mullins have been appearingin Common Sense since at least September 1951 and, last year, hebecame a ^\Titer on the staff of Common Sense.W. Henry AlacFarland, Jr., is another individual who has beensimultaneously active in both the National Renaissance Party andCommon Sense. A resident of Philadelphia, MacFarland in 1948 hadorganized a Nationalist Action League which was promptly cited as afascist organization by the United States Attorney General. In1949, MacFarland spoke at a number of meetings of the NationalRenaissance Party in New York. He presided at a branch meetingof the NRP held in Philadelphia in October 1949. Meanwhile, hisname also appeared as "associate editor" of Common Sense in theissues which appeared during July and August of 1949.At that time, Conde McGinley, Sr., was planning to combineforces with MacFarland and his cited Nationalist Action League,and with another organization, the Loyal American Group, headedby William J. O'Brien. The scheme, as announced in Common Sense,called for McGinley's publication to serve as official organ of theNationalist Action League, with O'Brien disbanding his group toserve as national secretary of the new combination. The plan fellthrough, however, and McGinley resumed sole editorship of CommonSense. O'Brien, a printer from Montclair, N. J., was later taken onthe staff of Common Sense.The interlocking of Common Sense and the National RenaissanceParty is further demonstrated by the fact that Common Sense has

carried articles by Frederick Charles F. Weiss, chief propagandistfor the NRP, and by Kurt Mertig, New York City chairman of theNRP.Common Sense is also a channel for hate propaganda being issuedby numerous other individuals and organizations scattered throughoutthe country. The literature of these fellow hatemongers is dissemi-nated either through reprints in the columns of Common Sense or inbooklets published and sold by Common Sense.One of the most frequently reprinted "authors" is Robert H.Williams, of Santa Ana, Calif., who issues the Williams IntelligenceSummary, a monthly newsletter. Common Sense also sells his writingsin pamphlet form. Williams advertises himself as the possessor ofvast intelligence information which he gained as a member of ArmyIntelligence during World War II. The deception is evident fromthe fact that Williams' intelligence duty comprised less than a yearas an administrative officer for the intelligence section of a bomberwing. In this position, he would have received no intelligence infor-mation dealing with the Communist conspiracy. His assignment tothe military intelligence was merely in the Reserves, from whichcommission he was relieved by official action of the Army, effectiveDecember 21, 1950.


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NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS 15Conde McGinley, Sr., has maintained a particularly cooperative

relationship with two disseminators of anti-Semitic literature fromChicago: Mrs. Elizabeth Dilling and Mrs. Lyrl Clark Van Hyning.Mrs. Dilling's writings have been circulating since the 1930's. Mrs.Van Hyning is the head of an organization known as We, TheIMothers, Mobilize For America, Inc., and is editor of the publica-tion, Women's Voice.Messages have been sent to ^Members of Congress over the joint

signatures of Mrs. Dilling, Mrs. Van Hyning, and McGinley.'^Mrs, Dilling is a constant source of violent articles for CommonSense which prints them under such headlines as " 'Brotherhood'Jew Trap for Christianity" and "World Crucifixion and the MasterRace." Mrs. Dilling has also authored appeals in Common Sensefor support of the propaganda activities of McGinley and Mrs. VanHyning. McGinley in turn has recommended Mrs. Dilling's "Bulle-tins" to his readers and has offered for sale reprints of her book, ThePlot Against Christianity. He has also appealed for financial con-tributions for Mrs. Van Hyning and occasionally carried in CommonSense statements either credited to her or to her publication. Women'sVoice.A number of individuals notorious for their efforts to create anationwide fascist orgft,nization in the United States in the 1930'sare also propagandizing again through Common Sense. McGinley hasprinted articles and letters from Gen. George Van Horn Moseley(Ret.), Col. Eugene N. Sanctuary, and Charles B. Hudson. He hasadvertised for sale a new book by Robert Edward Edmondson. TheSpecial Committee on Un-American Activities reported in 1940 thatGeneral Moseley was being seriously considered as a national leaderof an attempted union of fascist and hate groups in the United Statesuntil the plans were exposed and Moseley was called as a witnessbefore the committee. The special committee named Sanctuary,Hudson, and Edmondson as being among the individuals who tookpart in this unsuccessful attempt to create a united fascist movement.

Preliminary committee investigations have thus far failed to revealany indication that present-day fascist and hate groups are seekingnational organizational unity.The cooperative efforts of the hate groups, however, have actuallyextended to the point of national conventions. Common Sense re-ported the proceedings of one such convention held in Chicago, July4-6, 1952. Conde McGinley, Sr., and William J. O'Brien spoke asrepresentatives of Common Sense at this gathering, which was refeiTedto by McGinley as an "annual convention" of "nationalists." Mrs.Lyrl Clark Van Hyning served as moderator of the convention, whichwas chaired by one George Foster. The 200 delegates, from all sec-tions of the country, heard speeches and adopted resolutions followingthe lines of the propaganda which they issue. The most significantstatement was in a speech by O'Brien of Common Sense. He urgedthe delegates to back each other "to the limit" whenever any one ofthem is "under attack." ^^" See exhibit 6, appendix, p. 29 for a reproduction of one such message which was reprinted in CommonSense of March 15, 1953.! Common Sense, June 15, 1952, pp. 1 and 2.


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16 NEO-FASCIST AND HATE GROUPS

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INDEXIxDiviDUALS Pa^e

Aberg, Einar 5Adams, George Thomas 12Barron, E. R 9Best, Rol^ert H 11Byrne, Edvrard J 11Billing, Elizabeth 13, 15, 29Edmondson, Robert Edward 15Foster, G eorge 15Freedman, Benjamin Harrison 17, 18Hndson, Charles B 15Jefimow, Alex 11Kane, C harles 11Koehl, Mr.tt, Jr 5Ivnhn, Fritz 8Knrts, Daniel 8Littig, Katherine 11Lundoff, John M 5MacFr.rland, \V. Henrv, Jr 14INIar'ole, James H 3-5, 7-9, 21, 23INIcGinley, Conde J., Jr 10, 11, 19McGinley, Mrs. Conde J., Jr 19INIcGinlev, Conde J., Sr 10-12, 14, 15, 17-19, 29Mertig, Kurt 8, 9, 14Mitchell, J. W 9RToselev, George Van Horn 15Mullins, Eustace 5, 13, 14, 27O'Brien, William J 14, 15Folzin, Frederick 9Remer, Otto 9Reynolds, John J 11Sanctuary, Eugene N 15Schmidt, Hans 5Sestito, Lawrence 9Thompson, H. Keith, Jr 9Truhill, Mana 5, 9Van Hyning, Lyrl Clark 15, 29Weiss, Frederick Charles F 5, 9, 14White, James R 9Williams, Robert H 14

OrganizatioxsAmericans Against Communism 18American Committee for the Advancement of Western Culture 9Christian Educational Association 10, 11, 19Christian Front 8, 9Citizens Frotective League 8German-American Bund 2, 8German-American Republican League of Greater New York 8Jefferson School of Social Science 9Loyal American Group 14National Renaissance Farty 3-10, 12, 14, 19, 21-23, 26-28Nationalist Action League 14Socialist Reich Party 9Spartacus Club of the American Youth for Democracy 9Union Patriotic Press 11We, the Mothers, Mobilize for America, Inc 15,29

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32 INDEXPublication's PageCommon Sense 10-19, 29National Renaissance Bulletin 3, 5, 9, 10, 14, 23Reason 9The Think -- UThink - - HThink Weekly HWilliams Intelligence Summary 14Women's Voice 15, 29

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