National Alliance
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- This article refers to the United States-based organization. For other groups of the same name see National Alliance (dsambiguation)
The National Alliance is a white nationalist and a white separatist organization. Some consider it to be white supremacist in orientation. It was founded by Dr. William L. Pierce, and is based in Hillsboro, West Virginia. Although it is based in the United States, the National Alliance claims to have members in various countries throughout the world. Membership is not based upon citizenship in one particular country. Instead, membership is contingent upon the person being of purely White or of non-Jewish European ancestry. The National Alliance is often included in lists of neo-Nazi groups, in part due to its glorification of Adolf Hitler. For example, an article appearing in a 1989 issue of its magazine National Vanguard celebrated the 100th anniversary of Hitler's birth, declaring him "the greatest man of our era".
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[edit] History
The National Alliance was founded at the end of 1967. The first printed brochures came out in January 1968. Also in January 1968 is when the first members to the new organization were accepted. The founder Dr. William Pierce, a former physics professor and author of the book, The Turner Diaries (under the pseudonym Andrew MacDonald) a novel about a white revolution in America. In 1970 the group was combined into the new organization the National Youth Alliance with Willis Carto. In 1974 the National Alliance was reorganized from the earlier group (NA): the National Youth Alliance (NYA) became defunct. The NYA was originally formed out of the remains of Governor George Wallace's 1968 presidential campaign organization Youth for Wallace. The NYA group first published a newspaper called "Attack!" in 1969 with Willis Carto as the publisher and Prof. Revilo P. Oliver as the editor. The NYA broke into factions as a result of infighting. Pierce gained control of the largest remnant in 1970 and continued the organization under that name until its reorganization in 1974. In 1974 the National Alliance was again incorporated in the state of Virginia for the last time. Pierce kept control over the newspaper "Attack!" and in 1978 renamed it "National Vanguard." In 1982 this newspaper became a magazine with a mono-color cover and B&W pages. In 2002 the magazine was published for the fist time entirely in full-color glossy format.
Pierce previously had been an associate of the assassinated leader of the American Nazi Party, George Lincoln Rockwell, and had been editor of the party's magazine, National Socialist World.
Pierce died of cancer on July 23, 2002, and was succeeded as Chairman of the Board by Erich Gliebe. In April of 2005, Kevin Alfred Strom, the editor of National Vanguard magazine, issued a declaration calling for Erich Gliebe to step down.[1] A newly created advisory body called "The Executive Committee of the National Alliance" had been created by Erich Gliebe in December of 2004 as a think-tank; it had no authority within the organization. This Executive Committee was taken over by Kevin Alfred Strom and his wife Elisha Strom. Several of the chapters around the country, called Local Units supported this action. Gliebe refused the demand, claiming that the National Alliance operates under the "Leadership Principle" and that he would not yield to any coup, which was called the "Estrogen Coup." Strom was fired from his job as editor of National Vanguard and spokesman for the weekly radio program American Dissident Voices. He then formed a new group calling it the National Vanguard after the website which Elisha Strom took control of when they were fired. Later, in January 2007 Kevin Alfred Strom was arrested and charged by the Federal government for possession of child pornography. Shortly thereafter the April 2005 coup, Gliebe resigned as the national Chairman of the Alliance stating that he needed more time to spend with his family. Gliebe appointed Shaun Walker as his successor. In June 2006 Walker was indicted by a grand jury for civil rights violations in Utah during his period of controlling the National Alliance chapter (Local Unit) in Salt Lake City, Utah.[1] Walker subsequently resigned as National Chairman leaving Erich Gliebe as CEO and acting Chairman of the organization. [2]
[edit] Politics
"White survival" is the core political position of the National Alliance. The group hopes to secure a "White living space" within North America, where the physical and cultural presence of non-Whites has been removed. The National Alliance points to the changing demographic situation in America, such as the declining white birthrate and an influx of non-White immigrants as justification for its white separatist position.
Every Valentine's Day, the National Alliance seeks to improve its image by distributing a "Love Your Race" flyer. The organization describes it as a call for all races to embrace their various heritages. Watchdog organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League have argued that its Valentine's Day campaign is merely a propaganda tactic designed to obfuscate its racist messages.
[edit] Anti-Semitism
- See also: 9/11 conspiracy theories
The group states that Jews exert a negative influence at nearly every level of American society. The National Alliance also claims that Jews maintain large influence and ownership of the mainstream entertainment media in America. [3]
After the September 11, 2001 attacks, the National Alliance claimed that these attacks were caused by the U.S.'s unconditional and biased support of and policy towards Israel. The National Alliance also claims evidence that Israel's Mossad launched the 2001 anthrax attacks in order to set up the US invasion of Iraq, a longtime enemy of Israel. [4] (See 9/11 conspiracy theories#Claims related to Jews and Israel).
[edit] International activities
Robert S. Griffin, member of the National Alliance[citation needed], took part on July 3, 2004 in activities organized by the Belgium neo-Nazi group Blood & Honour Vlaanderen (flemish branch of Blood & Honour) and by Bloed-Bodem-Eer en Trouw (BBET, Blood, Soil, Honour and Fidelity). This last group rose to public attention at the start of September 2006 following the arrest of tens of its members on allegations that they were preparing bombings in Belgium in order to "destabilize" the country. Griffin wrote in his account that he was happy to see that the Flemish organizations he had seen in Belgium had to their sides a party such as the Vlaams Belang[2]
[edit] Business
Before the death of Pierce, the SPLC and the FBI called the Alliance the best-financed and best-organized white nationalist organization of its kind in the United States. Membership in 2002 was estimated at 2,500 with an income of $1 million annually. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, paid membership has declined to fewer than 800 as of 2006.[5] The infighting since the death of the founder William Pierce has weakened the organization.
In 2002, the organization had a paid staff of 17 and ran a White Power record label called Resistance Records. By 2006 the paid staff was down to only 10 people. It also has a radio show, American Dissident Voices, heard on shortwave and streaming audio on the Internet. This show started in 1992 and has been on every week since. At one point in the mid-1990s there were 22 radio stations, AM and FM, which carried the program, but most radio stations dropping the program. With the growth of the Internet the show peaked at it highest listenership in 2002 with 250,000 regular listeners in America. The original host was Kevin Alfred Strom until early 1997 when Dr. William Pierce took it over full-time. Upon the death of Dr. William Pierce in July, 2002 it again was hosted until April 16, 2005 by Kevin Alfred Strom. Shaun Walker then became the voice for American Dissident Voices until his arrest in June, 2006. Currently Erich Gliebe is the weekly DJ for this 30-minute program.
[edit] References
[edit] Books
- Robert S. Griffin, The Fame of a Dead Man's Deeds: An Up-Close Portrait of White Nationalist William Pierce, 2001 (ISBN 0-7596-0933-0)
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ "Grand Jury Returns Indictment Charging Three Men With Civil Rights Violations in Connection With Alleged Attacks", United States Department of Justice, June 9, 2006. Retrieved on November 18, 2006.
- ^ Un Belang devenu trop respectable ?, in La Libre Belgique, 8 September 2006 (French)
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Official
- History of the National Alliance
- National Alliance home page
- National Vanguard magazine
- Resistance Records
- National Alliance News
[edit] Critical
- Explosion of Hate (report on the National Alliance by the Anti-Defamation League)
- A more recent ADL report on the National Alliance
- Against the Wall (report on the National Alliance by the Southern Poverty Law Center)
[edit] Commentary
- As He Lay Dying (James Ridgeway, The Village Voice, September 4-10 September 2002)
