Hans Schmidt (Waffen-SS)

Hans Schmidt
Born (1927-04-24)April 24, 1927
Völklingen, Germany
Died May 30, 2010(2010-05-30) (aged 83)
Nationality naturalized American
Ethnicity German
Occupation businessman, political activist
Known for veteran of the Waffen-SS
founder of the German-American National Political Action Committee (GANPAC)

Hans Schmidt (24 April 1927 – 30 May 2010) was a German-born naturalized American citizen, veteran of the Waffen-SS, and founder of the German-American National Political Action Committee (GANPAC). He was primarily known for his promotion of White separatism, National Socialism, antisemitism, and Holocaust denial. Schmidt was arrested in Germany on hate charges in 1995, but avoided standing trial by returning to the USA while released on bail.[1]

Early life

Schmidt was born on 24 April 1927, in Völklingen, a town in the then League of Nations mandate of the Saar Basin between Germany and France. During Nazi rule, he was a member of the Hitler Youth, and, by his own account, joined the Waffen-SS in 1943 at the age of 16,[2] and served as a corporal in the SS Leibstandarte Adolf Hitler, originally the personal bodyguard regiment of Adolf Hitler, later a Panzer division of the Waffen-SS. Schmidt and was wounded twice during campaigns in Hungary, Austria, and the Battle of the Bulge.[3] He left Germany in 1947, arrived in the United States in 1949, and became a naturalized citizen in 1955 in Chicago.[4]

Political activism

GANPAC

In 1983, Schmidt founded the German-American National Political Action Committee (GANPAC), which published the GANPAC Brief in English and the USA-Bericht ([U.S.A. Report]) in German. GANPAC was characterized as "pretending to represent the 52 million Americans of German descent" by the German magazine Der Spiegel,[5] as "openly anti-Semitic" by the New York Times,[6] and as "virulently anti-Semitic" by the Anti-Defamation League.[7] GANPAC was also accused of promoting Holocaust denial.[8]

Between 1983 and 1985, GANPAC raised about $55,000 in contributions,[9] but, unlike other political action committees, did not make any financial contributions until the late 1980s, when it began donating money to the election campaigns of conservative Republican candidates. When U.S. Senator Steve Symms gave a $1,000 contribution from GANPAC to the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith and the Idaho Holocaust Council, Schmidt complained to the Federal Election Commission.[6] GANPAC also made a contribution to Democrat Bob Edgar who was running against Jewish Republican candidate Arlen Specter.[10]

The Santa Monica offices of GANPAC were fire-bombed in 1985, causing $50,000 in damage. Schmidt claimed the Jewish Defense League carried out the attack, a claim the JDL rejected.[11]

The GANPAC Brief was published out of Washington, D.C. (1983-1989), Santa Monica, California (1990-1993), Burke, Virginia (January–March 1994), and Pensacola, Florida (April 1994-July 2004).[12]

GIEA

Schmidt also founded the German-American Information and Education Association (GIEA), which is presided over by E. Stanley Rittenhouse, a known anti-Semite,[1] who "served as chief legislative representative for the Liberty Lobby,[13] a far right organization founded by Willis Carto, whom the Anti-Defamation League calls "perhaps the most influential professional anti-Semite in the United States".[14]

Arrest

On 9 August 1995[15] Schmidt was arrested at the Frankfurt airport by German authorities after copies of his newsletter, USA-Bericht, were discovered. He was charged with "incitement to hate" (Volksverhetzung in German) as a result of a letter he had sent to a German state legislator in Schwerin.[4] Schmidt came to regard the German government as treasonous and controlled by "Oberjuden" (top Jews),[8] and claimed the U.S. embassy provided false information to Germany to persecute him.[16] The ADL applauded his arrest.[17] Due to poor health, he was released on bail in January 1996. He fled Germany and returned to the USA to avoid further persecution.[16] He wrote a book about this experience, titled Jailed in ‘Democratic’ Germany (1997).

Later life and death

Schmidt spent his later years trying to challenge Jewish influence, first by calling for a repeal of the non-existent "Kosher tax" (specifically addressing the Adolph Coors Brewing Co.),[18] and later by writing a book entitled End Times/End Games (1999) where he lamented at length the problems Jews had caused for Nazis like himself and begged them to voluntarily leave any Western nations they lived in. He was left dispirited by the complete dismissal of his demands and largely vanished from any role in neo-Nazi circles after Ernst Zundel was deported to Germany. Schmidt died in 2010; he had no known survivors.

Quotations

Writings

References

  1. 1 2 Grumke, Thomas (2004). "Relations Between Right-Wing Extremists in Germany and the United States, 1945-1990". In Detlef Junker. The United States and Germany in the era of the Cold War, 1945-1990 2. Cambridge University Press. p. 496. ISBN 0-521-83731-6.
  2. ↑ "SS Panzergrenadier: A True Story of World War II publisher's blurb". amazon.com. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  3. ↑ Schmidt, Hans (1998). "German WWII Vet Reviews 'Saving Private Ryan'". The Campaign for Radical Truth in History. Michael A. Hoffman II. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  4. 1 2 Anti-Defamation League (June 1996). Schwartz, Alan M., ed. Danger Extremism: The Major Vehicles and Voices on America's Far-Right Fringe. Anti-Defamation League. pp. 135–137. ISBN 0884641694.
  5. ↑ "Rassisten-Basis USA. Rechtsextreme in Amerika unterstützen die deutsche Szene". Der Spiegel (in German). 5 December 1994. Archived from the original on 22 October 2012. GANPAC gibt vor, die "52 Millionen Amerikaner deutscher Abstammung zu repräsentieren".
  6. 1 2 "Washington Talk: Briefing; Gift Is His to Give". The New York Times. 28 October 1987. Retrieved 8 June 2015. It was “the height of hypocrisy,” [Schmidt] said, for Mr. Symms to “turn over their hard-earned monies to people that are diametrically opposed to Germanic ethical or moral values.”
  7. ↑ "Extremism in Florida. The Dark Side of the Sunshine State" (PDF). Anti-Defamation League. 2006–2007. p. 17.
  8. 1 2 Kaplan, Jeffrey; Weinberg, Leonard (1998). "The Ties that Bind: The Euro-American Radical Right's “Special Relationship”". The Emergence of a Euro-American Radical Right. Rutgers University Press. pp. 78–80. ISBN 0-8135-2564-0. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  9. ↑ Anderson, Jack (24 July 1985). "Political Group Keeps Earnings for Own Use". The Ocala Star-Banner. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  10. ↑ "Frontlines: Rudolf Hess Fan Club Seeks Help". Mother Jones. April 1987. p. 14. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  11. ↑ "JDL Denies Office Firebombing". Los Angeles Times. 5 June 1985. Retrieved 8 June 2015. Schmidt [...] said he believed the JDL was behind the firebombing because “that's their purpose.”
  12. ↑ "GANPAC Brief record". Library of Congress. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  13. ↑ Carto, Willis A. (16–23 July 2007). "Israel Violating the Genocide Convention: Israel, United States Accused of Denying Basic Human Rights to Palestinians". American Free Press. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  14. ↑ "Willis A. Carto: Fabricating History". Anti-Defamation League. 2001.
  15. ↑ "American's Trial on Racism Opens". Wilmington Morning Star (71). 5 January 1996. p. 6A. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  16. 1 2 Michael, George (2003). Confronting Right-Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA. Taylor & Francis. p. 168. ISBN 0-203-56321-2.
  17. ↑ "ACTIONS BY DENMARK AND GERMANY AGAINST AMERICAN NEO-NAZIS PRAISED BY ADL". Anti-Defamation League. 24 August 1995. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  18. ↑ "The "Kosher Tax" Hoax: Anti-Semitic Recipe for Hate". Anti-Defamation League. January 1991. Retrieved 8 June 2015.
  19. ↑ Pentlin, Susan Lee (2001). "American Germanists and the Holocaust, 1933-1945: The Legacy". In David Benseler; Craig W. Nickisch; Cora Lee Nolendorfs. Teaching German in Twentieth-Century America. University of Wisconsin Press. pp. 143–144. ISBN 0-299-16830-1.
  20. ↑ "Argumentationsmuster im Rechtsextremistischen Antisemitismus. Aktuelle Entwicklungen" (PDF) (in German). Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz. 2005. p. 12 (footnote). Die jüdische Frage im 20.Jahrhundert in Amerika, in der es heißt: “Im Laufe der letzten 200 Jahre haben europäische Beobachter festgestellt, dass die Juden nicht auf ‘Rassengleichheit’, sondern auf die Zerstörung der weißen Rasse aus sind.”
  21. ↑ "Verfassungsschutzbericht 1996" (PDF) (in German). Niedersächsisches Innenministerium. 2005. p. 40.

External links

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