George Lincoln Rockwell

{{bronze}}[[File:George Lincoln Rockwell.jpg|upright|thumb|165px|Rockwell in 1951. That's a US Navy uniform he's wearing.]]
{{Nazism}}
[[File:George Lincoln Rockwell in 1963 (cropped).jpg|right|thumb|165px|Rockwell in 1963 at a hearing of the House Un-American Activities Committee.]] 
{{cquote|...a sparse little man who feeds off [[Delusions of grandeur|his self-delusions]] and finds himself perpetually hungry for want of greatness in his diet. And like some [[Adolf Hitler|goose-stepping predecessors]] he searches for something to explain his hunger, and to rationalize why a world passes him by without saluting. That something he looks for and finds is in a sewer. In his own twisted and distorted lexicon he calls it faith, strength, truth.|||Rod Serling<ref>From the introduction to ''He's Alive'', a 1963 episode of ''[[The Twilight Zone]]'' (S04E04)</ref><ref group=note>The episode's main character, Peter Volmer, was most likely inspired by Rockwell.</ref>}}
'''George Lincoln Rockwell''' {{Lived|1918|1967}}, known as "Commander Rockwell", "Rocky", or "Link" to his followers, was an [[United States|American]] [[Nazism|Nazi]] sympathizer and [[Holocaust denial|Holocaust denier]] who is best known for founding the American Nazi Party (originally the "[[Gish Gallop|World Union]] [[oxymoron|of Free Enterprise National Socialists]]"), later known as the "National Socialist White People's Party"<ref group=note>Seriously, it was.</ref>) in 1959. Prior to entering politics, Rockwell, a veteran of both [[World War II]] and the Korean War (US Navy pilot), had worked as a commercial illustrator, sign painter, magazine publisher, advertising copywriter, and sales agent.

Though Rockwell is often credited with heavily influencing many of today's [[neo-Nazi]]s, to the point of being responsible for coining their favorite phrase "White Power", he was largely considered a joke back in the day. For instance, when he ran as a write-in candidate for [[President of the United States|president]] in 1964, he received a measly 212 votes, whereas today's "American Freedom Party", a modern neo-[[fascist]] political party, managed to get over ten times that in 2012.<ref>[http://uselectionatlas.org/RESULTS/national.php?year=2012&minper=0&f=1&off=0&elect=0 2703 votes, in case you were curious]</ref> At its height during his leadership, his group had no more than an estimated 100 dues-paying members. 

==The emperor's got no brains==
In a monograph declassified in 2007, the [[FBI]] described him thusly:<ref>[https://archive.org/details/AmericanNaziParty FBI Monograph: American Nazi Party (1965) Part 1]</ref><ref>[https://archive.org/details/FBI-FOIA-FILES-anpm-american_nazi_party_monograph_pt02/mode/2up FBI Monograph: American Nazi Party (1965) Part 2]</ref>
{{quotebox|George Lincoln Rockwell is an egocentric and a chronic failure who created the shabby, small-time enterprise that he named the American Nazi Party in order to abate his tormenting ambitions to achieve fame. Carrying the war-tattered banner of a vanquished enemy the world would like to forget, Rockwell leads his heterogeneous 'army' against an imaginary '[[International Jewish conspiracy|Zionist conspiracy]].' Distasteful costumes, contemptible slogans, and disruptive tactics have brought national attention to Rockwell, inflating him and his group far beyond their due.}}

The same report stated that, at times, the Party's headquarters often had their utilities shut off due to non-payment of bills, and that his self-professed "Stormtroopers" often subsisted on beans, canned hash, and even [[cat food]]. According to one of his former Stormtroopers, Rockwell was a selfish leader:<ref name=clark/>

{{quotebox|[He] would usually sit around and read or sleep away most of the day while the rest of us would work or look for work...Many sympathizers would bring food over to the headquarters during the winter months, and Link would take the choicest food and hog it up and leave the scraps for everyone else.}}

==Rockwell v. Justice==
{{cquote|Now [[Eisenhower]], he's a [[Russian]] spy,<br>[[Roosevelt]], [[Lincoln]], and that [[Thomas Jefferson|Jefferson]] guy.<br>To my knowledge there's just one man<br>That's [[No True Scotsman|really a true American]]: George Lincoln Rockwell.<br>I know for a fact he hates [[Communism|Commies]] cus he picketed the movie ''Exodus''.|||Bob Dylan, ''Talkin' [[John Birch Society|John Birch]] [[Paranoia|Paranoid]] Blues''<ref>http://bobdylan.com/songs/talkin-john-birch-paranoid-blues/</ref>}}
Rockwell was more influential when it came to his attempts to counter the [[Civil Rights|Civil Rights Movement]], organizing several counter-demonstrations, partly under [[conspiracy theory|the delusion]] that [[Martin Luther King]] was part of a [[International Jewish Conspiracy|Jewish conspiracy]] to undermine America.<ref>''White Power'', Rockwell. (Chapter 4)</ref> He also lent support to the [[Ku Klux Klan]] during this era, but that may have ultimately hurt the Klan's image more than it helped it, since even the [[Dixiecrats]] didn't care for Nazis.<ref group=note>At least not at that time… (See also: [[Alt-right]], [[Trumpism]].)</ref>

[[Horseshoe theory|Unsurprisingly]], Rockwell expressed admiration for both Elijah Mohammed (the founder of the [[Nation of Islam]]) and [[Malcolm X]], declaring Mohammed to be the "Black Man's [[Hitler]]". Though Mohammed invited Rockwell to speak at a Nation of Islam rally, Malcolm X didn't receive him so kindly, threatening him with "maximum physical retaliation from those of us who are not hand-cuffed by the disarming philosophy of nonviolence" if Rockwell harmed MLK or any other member of the black community.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20170326074552/http://www.malcolm-x.org/docs/tel_rock.htm</ref> 

===MEIN FÜHRER... I CAN TALK!!===
Rockwell's skills in [[advertising]] were used to help promote his Nazi cause, with professionally designed hate literature, often the work of Rockwell himself, that promoted the party's philosophy, which includes some of the earliest accounts of [[Holocaust denial]]. Party propaganda material included books and pamphlets by Rockwell, recordings of his speeches,<ref>http://www.musicpriceguide.com/13078/RARE-VG-GEORGE-LINCOLN-ROCKWELL-SPEECH-IN-THE-ARMORY-08-20-63-VINYL-LP-.html</ref> a racist comic book,<ref>[https://archive.ph/ExWyz "Here Comes Whiteman", an ANP comic book written and drawn by Rockwell's future assassin]</ref> and a pair of 45 RPM singles on the "Hatenanny" label, one by Odis Cochran and the Three Bigots, the other credited as "G.L. Rockwell and the Coon Hunters",<ref>[https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/g__l__rockwell_and_the_coon_hunters/we_dont_want_no_niggers_for_neighbors___who_needs_a_nigger_/ While it lists Rockwell as the vocalist, it is reportedly not him singing.]</ref><ref>http://www.discogs.com/G-L-Rockwell-And-Coon-Hunters-The-We-Dont-Want-No-Niggers-For-Neighbors/release/5363753</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20160403182509/http://historicalrecordings.net/audio/5/We+Don't+Want+No+Niggers+For+Neighbors+-+Hatenanny+%232 If you can stand it, one of the songs can be heard here.]</ref> sold through mail order and at party functions.<ref>[https://worldtruthvideos.org/v/4NavIz Here is a video of Odis Cochran performing at one of Rockwell's rallies as he ran for Governor of Virginia. Warning: The lyrics are VERY racist!]</ref>

He also drove around in a VW van decorated with white supremacist slogans and dubbed it the "Hate Bus". Years later, the [[hippie]]s, whom Rockwell openly despised, [[Irony|would adopt the VW van as their own totem]] as the "Love Bus".<ref group=note>You can see photos of Rockwell's van here: http://www.messynessychic.com/2014/03/25/hate-bus-came-town/</ref> According to the FBI monograph on Rockwell, the van was repossessed after a loan default.

During the height of his popularity, Rockwell gave an interview for ''Playboy'' magazine in 1966 (notably, interviewed by Alex Haley, who would go on to write the book ''Roots''),<ref>[http://archive.org/details/1966PlayboyInterview 1966 Playboy interview of George Lincoln Rockwell]</ref> and had an extensive speaking tour at American colleges, where he was invited to speak about his extremist views,<ref group=note>After the 1966 interview with ''Playboy'', writer Rod Serling, creator of the TV series ''[[Twilight Zone|The Twilight Zone]]'', wrote a congratulatory letter praising the magazine for exposing his hatred. [https://web.archive.org/web/20101018051006/http://www.lettersofnote.com/2010/10/even-most-sophisticated-society-can.htmlHis letter can be read here.]</ref> and he earned an estimated $2,000 a week — translating to roughly $14,875 a week in 2016.<ref>http://www.dollartimes.com/inflation/inflation.php?amount=300&year=1966</ref>

==Reaping what you sow==
{{cquote|Get rekt, son.|||Rockwell's dad (paraphrase)<ref name="rektson">https://web.archive.org/web/20101029120830/http://downeast.com/magazine/2008/august/rogues-rascals-villains</ref>}}
Rockwell was assassinated in his car by a former member of his group in 1967. John Patler (Patsalos) — who had illustrated a number of ANP/NSWPP pamphlets — shot Rockwell twice with a model 1896 Mauser pistol, [[Irony|a gun used by the Nazis during WW2 as well as by Soviet commissars and chekists]],<ref group=note>The Cheka was the forerunner of the KGB founded during the [[Russian Revolution]]. The {{wpl|Mauser C96#M1921 "Bolo" Mauser|"Bolo" Mauser}} and long black leather coat were signature paraphernalia of the Chekists.</ref> in the parking lot of an Arlington, Virginia laundromat.<ref>[http://murderpedia.org/male.P/p/patler-john.htm Murderpedia: Biography of John Palter, Rockwell's assassin]</ref> Were his whites not bleached enough?

When his 78-year-old father, ex-vaudeville performer George Lovejoy "Doc" Rockwell, discovered his son had been murdered, he said, "I am not surprised at all. I've expected it for quite some time".<ref name="rektson"/> Estranged from his father for years, the particular shit-apple that was George Lincoln Rockwell had fallen from its tree more as if thrown with great force.

August 25<sup>th</sup>, the anniversary of Rockwell's assassination, has often been marked by some sort of observance or vigil by neo-Nazis in the Arlington area. In the past, a [[swastika]] was painted in the parking lot on the spot where Rockwell died.<ref name=clark>Charles S. Clark (September-October 2013). "Swastikas on Wilson". ''Arlington Magazine''. (Archived: [https://web.archive.org/web/20160406000247/http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/September-October-2013/Nazi-George-Rockwell/index.php page 1,] [https://web.archive.org/web/20150209203302/http://www.arlingtonmagazine.com/September-October-2013/Nazi-George-Rockwell/index.php?cparticle=2&siarticle=1#artanc page 2]).</ref> In 2015, a flyer promoting the neo-Nazi group the New Order was found taped to an electrical box ''across the street'' from the parking lot.<ref>http://overthrowdotcom.com/2015/08/26/happy-death-day-george-lincoln-rockwell/</ref>

===Location, location, location===
The two-story farmhouse in Arlington, Virginia, where Rockwell ran his "Stormtrooper Barracks" (and where Alex Haley interviewed Rockwell for ''Playboy'' magazine) has since been torn down, and the property is now a picnic table pavilion in Upton Hills Regional Park.<ref name=clark/> The former party headquarters on North Randall Street has also been torn down and is the site of a hotel and office complex.

After Rockwell's death, the party headquarters were moved to an office on Taylor Street (now the site of the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association), and then to an office on North Franklin Road (now the site of a locally-owned coffee house called "Sweet Science Coffee", formerly "The Java Shack").<ref>[http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/05/AR2008020502676.html Washington Post: It's Just Nazi Same Place] February 10, 2008</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20140325163932/http://www.tbd.com/blogs/tbd-neighborhoods/2011/03/java-shack-glimpses-its-past-as-nazi-headquarters-9269.html Article on the Java Shack's past at the Internet Archive]</ref><ref>[https://www.arlnow.com/2019/11/14/sweet-science-coffee-to-take-over-java-shack-space/ ARLnow: Sweet Science Coffee to Take Over Java Shack Space], November 14, 2019</ref>

===Survival of the witless===
{{cquote|Don't be stupid, be a smarty. Come and join the Nazi party.|||"Springtime for Hitler" song in ''The Producers''<ref>[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063462/quotes/ The Producers (1967): Quotes] IMDb</ref>}}
Rockwell's right-hand man, Matthais "Matt" Koehl (1935—2014),<ref>[https://www.splcenter.org/resources/hatewatch/longtime-neo-nazi-matthias-matt-koehl-dies/ Southern Poverty Law Center; Longtime Neo-Nazi Matthias “Matt” Koehl Dies]</ref> took over the organization after Rockwell's death, though infighting between wannabe leaders of the "party" would lead to several splinter groups breaking off from the original, temporarily weakening the organization of Nazis in America until onetime Rockwell associate [[William Luther Pierce]] (1933–2002) picked up the baton with his National Alliance later in the 1970s. Rockwell himself is still beloved by neo-Nazis,<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnYGT5TsEx8 See his fans on YouTube. Or don't, if you don't want to lose hope in humanity.]</ref><ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20130329012356/https://natallsac.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/george-lincoln-rockwell-national-socialist-pioneer/ "George Lincoln Rockwell: National Socialist Pioneer"] — Gushing pro-Nazi documentary made by Rockwell supporters (On Internet Archive).</ref> and his writings are still read by the prospective Stormtroopers of today.<ref group=note>His books ''White Power'' and ''This Time the World'', as well as his essays and a long-form poem entitled ''The Fable of the Ducks and the Hens'', can be read in a number of places online if you can tolerate Rockwell's seething hatred and egomania.</ref>

A splinter group, the {{wpl|National Socialist Movement (United States)|National Socialist Movement|,}} was formed in 1974 by two former members of the ANP. In 2019, the president, Jeff Schoep, was convinced to sign over leadership to African American civil rights leader James Stern.<ref name=mettler>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2019/03/01/how-black-man-outsmarted-neo-nazi-group-became-their-new-leader/ How a black man 'outsmarted' a neo-Nazi group — and became their new leader] by Katie Mettler (March 2, 2019 at 10:03 AM) ''The Washington Post''.</ref> Stern has asked the judge in a lawsuit against the NSP's involvement in the [[Unite the Right]] rally to find the organization guilty.<ref name=mettler/> Following Stern's death on 6 November 2019,<ref name=Barrouquere>[https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/13/neo-nazi-group-nsm-faces-new-upheaval-after-james-hart-sterns-death Neo-Nazi Group NSM Faces New Upheaval After James Hart Stern’s Death] by Hatewatch Staff and Brett Barrouquere (November 13, 2019) ''Southern Poverty Law Center''.</ref> Burt Colucci took control of NSM and registered the group in Florida.<ref name=Barrouquere/>

===Legacy in fiction===
In the third season of the "alternative history" TV series ''[[The Man in the High Castle]]'' (about an Axis take-over of the USA after WW2), Rockwell, portrayed by actor David Furr, is the Reichsmarshall of North America and has an airport in New York City named after him.<ref>[https://the-man-in-the-high-castle.fandom.com/wiki/George_Lincoln_Rockwell ''The Man In the High Castle'' Wiki: George Lincoln Rockwell]</ref><ref group=note>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YRRTNTUH6uM Spoiler: He does not fare well.]</ref>

==See also==
*[[Richard Spencer]] - His spiritual and ideological successor in terms of spreading neo-Nazism and their photogeniality.

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note|2}}

==References==
{{reflist|2|80%}}

{{DEFAULTSORT: Rockwell, George Lincoln}}
[[Category:Agnostics]]
[[Category:Antisemites]]
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:Conspiracy theorists]]
[[Category:Cult leaders]]
[[Category:Denialists]]
[[Category:Fascists]]
[[Category:Holocaust denialists]]
[[Category:Military]]
[[Category:Nazis]]
[[Category:Neo-Nazis]]
[[Category:Racists]]
[[Category:Right-wing activists]]
[[Category:Sexists]]
[[Category:White supremacists]]

Categories: Agnostics, Antisemites, Authors, Conspiracy theorists, Cult leaders, Denialists, Fascists, Holocaust denialists, Military, Nazis, Neo-Nazis, Racists, Right-wing activists, Sexists, White supremacists