The National Renaissance Party (NRP) was an American

neo-fascist Neo-fascism is a post-World War II far-right ideology that includes significant elements of fascism. Neo-fascism usually includes ultranationalism, racial supremacy, populism, authoritarianism, nativism, xenophobia, and anti-immigration ...

group founded in 1949 by

James Madole James Harting Madole (July 7, 1927 – May 6, 1979) was a prominent fascist and leader of the National Renaissance Party in the United States. He is now recognized as a pivotal figure in the development of post-war occult-fascism. Biography I ...

. It was frequently in the headlines during the 1960s and 1970s for its involvement in violent protests and riots in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. After Madole's death in 1979 the party faded and had completely disappeared by 1981.

Background and party doctrine

The NRP was founded in January 1949 by

through the merger of several earlier American fascist organizations. Its headquarters were in the Yorkville area of New York City. The NRP was named for a phrase from the

Last will and testament of Adolf Hitler A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and ...

, which stated that "I die with a happy heart aware hat therewill spring up...the seed of a radiant renaissance of the National Socialist movement." By 1954, government investigators, although unable to determine the exact size of the party, estimated its membership to be between 200 and 700, although historian John George thought that NRP membership never exceeded 50 at any given time. The group also had an "elite Security Echelon," headed in the 1960s by covertly Jewish

United Klans of America The United Klans of America Inc. (UKA), based in Alabama, is a Ku Klux Klan organization active in the United States. Led by Robert Shelton, the UKA peaked in membership in the late 1960s and 1970s,Abby Ferber. '' White Man Falling: Race, Gender ...

leader and

Odinist Heathenry, also termed Heathenism, contemporary Germanic Paganism, or Germanic Neopaganism, is a modern Pagan religion. Scholars of religious studies classify it as a new religious movement. Developed in Europe during the early 20th cent ...

Dan Burros, who killed himself on the same day in 1965 that his ethnicity was revealed by ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. By 1963 Madole was running the party out of his apartment at 10 West 90th Street. The NRP used a blue lightning bolt within a white circle on a field of red as its symbol. The "Elite Guard" (stormtroopers) wore gray and black uniforms with armbands featuring a lightning bolt within a circle. The NRP's doctrines included standard elements of fascism, including white supremacy, anti-semitism, and opposition to democracy. The party also endorsed standard racist ideas such as "the voluntary repatriation of the black man back to Africa" and the sterilization of black welfare recipients. It maintained ties with other neo-Nazi organizations, such as George Lincoln Rockwell's

American Nazi Party The American Nazi Party (ANP) is an American far-right and neo-Nazi political party founded by George Lincoln Rockwell and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization was originally named the World Union of Free Enterprise Nation ...

, which occasionally supplied the NRP with fascist literature for distribution. Madole was also influenced by the theosophical ideas of Helena Blavatsky, which he used as a theoretical underpinning for his opposition to racial mixing. The NRP also maintained good relations with a number of far-out mystical groups, such as the

Church of Satan The Church of Satan is a religious organization dedicated to the religion of LaVeyan Satanism as codified in '' The Satanic Bible''. The Church of Satan was established at the Black House in San Francisco, California, on Walpurgisnacht, A ...

, whose founder, Anton LaVey, was a personal friend of Madole's.

''The National Renaissance''

The NRP published a journal, ''The National Renaissance'', which, unlike its political activities in New York City, was widely influential in far-right circles. In the early 1950s,

H. Keith Thompson Harold Keith Thompson (September 17, 1922 – March 3, 2002) was a New York City-based corporate executive, a Nazi agent, and a figure within American far-right and fascist circles. Biography Thompson was born in New Jersey in 1922. Nazi activi ...

and Frederick Weiss subsidized a larger-than-usual print run of an issue of the magazine containing an essay by Francis Parker Yockey entitled ''What is Behind the Hanging of the Eleven Jews in Prague?'' on the Prague show trials of Rudolf Slánský and ten other Jewish members of the

Communist Party of Czechoslovakia The Communist Party of Czechoslovakia ( Czech and Slovak: ''Komunistická strana Československa'', KSČ) was a communist and Marxist–Leninist political party in Czechoslovakia that existed between 1921 and 1992. It was a member of the Comint ...

, which Yockey had attended.

Eustace Mullins Eustace Clarence Mullins Jr. (March 9, 1923 – February 2, 2010) was an American white supremacist, antisemitic conspiracy theorist, propagandist, Holocaust denier, and writer. A disciple of the poet Ezra Pound, * * * * * * * * * * * * ...

, who

Martin A. Lee Martin A. Lee is an American author and activist who has written books and articles on far-right movements, terrorism, media issues, and drug politics. Education and career Lee has an undergraduate degree in philosophy from the University of Mich ...

called "the NRP's self-proclaimed expert on the U.S. Federal Reserve," published his notorious article ''Adolf Hitler: An Appreciation'' in the journal as well.

HUAC investigation

The NRP was investigated by the

House Un-American Activities Committee The House Committee on Un-American Activities (HCUA), popularly dubbed the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), was an investigative United States Congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives, create ...

(HUAC) for possible prosecution under the

Smith Act The Alien Registration Act, popularly known as the Smith Act, 76th United States Congress, 3d session, ch. 439, , is a United States federal statute that was enacted on June 28, 1940. It set criminal penalties for advocating the overthrow of th ...

, although no action was ever taken in this regard. The investigation began in 1954, when HUAC commissioned a staff report on the group. According to ''

'', the report found "that the National Renaissance Party appeared to have controvened the Smith Act (against advocacy of overthrow of the Government by force or violence) as much as had the

Communist party A communist party is a political party that seeks to realize the socio-economic goals of communism. The term ''communist party'' was popularized by the title of '' The Manifesto of the Communist Party'' (1848) by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel ...

itself" and that the NRP "had 'virtually borrowed wholesale' from Fascist and Nazi dictators material for its program," which included the abolition of American democracy, a "fascist" economy controlled by corporations, deportation of "unassimilable" people and oppression of Jews.

Demonstrations and plots

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the NRP held public demonstrations in New York, which often ended in violence.

May 25, 1963

On May 25, 1963, an NRP rally on First Avenue between

85th Street 85th Street is a westbound-running street, running from East End Avenue to Riverside Drive (Manhattan), Riverside Drive in the borough (New York City), borough of Manhattan in New York City. At Fifth Avenue, the street feeds into the 86th Street ...

and 86th Street was attended by approximately 2500 hecklers who threw "eggs and oranges" at the participants while Jack Weiser, commander of the Jewish War Veterans of New York State, attempted to arrest James Madole for "inciting to riot against the Jewish people." At least one member, Louis Mostaccio, was arrested for assault on an

NYPD The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...

detective as a result of this incident. Mostaccio, who attacked the detective with a flagpole, was convicted in June 1963 of assault but acquitted of the additional charge of "violating the weapons law by being in possession of the flagpole." Mostaccio ended up serving five days for his crime.

The White Castle plot

Later that year, 8 members of the NRP were arrested in New York and charged with "planning to incite rioting" at two White Castle restaurants in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

. According to the charges, the NRP plotted riots in response to demonstrations sponsored by the

Congress of Racial Equality The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...

demanding an end to racially discriminatory hiring practices at the White Castles. Madole and Dan Burros were among those arrested, and searches of the members' homes and vehicles turned up, in addition to the usual anti-semitic literature, a "crossbow, steel-tipped arrows, a revolver, a flare gun, a derringer, and a tear-gas pen and pencil set." In addition the weapons cache included "bottles of nitric acid, machetes, and bayonets." The 8 NRP members were indicted in August 1963. District Attorney

Isidore Dollinger Isidore Dollinger (November 13, 1903 – January 30, 2000) was an American lawyer, jurist, and politician who served five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, representing New York from 1949 to 1959. Life Dollinger was born on November 13 ...

was quoted in ''The New York Times'' as saying that he considered "the prosecution of these individuals, who are closely connected with the American Renaissance Party ic— a Nazi movement — to be of the utmost importance." Six of the 8 were sentenced in July 1964, with Madole and Burros, called "hate mongers" by the presiding judge, getting two years each. Soon thereafter both Burros and Madole were released pending appeal.

Controversies over NRP use of public facilities

Yorkville, Manhattan

In the summer of 1965, the NRP applied to the

New York City Board of Education The Panel for Educational Policy of the Department of Education of the City School District of the City of New York, abbreviated as the Panel for Educational Policy and also known as the New York City Board of Education, is the governing body of ...

for permission to hold party meetings at the Robert Wagner Junior High School at 220 E. 76th Street in Yorkville. The Board initially refused, citing concerns that "the proposed meeting might tend to cause dissension or provoke disorder." Future

United States Solicitor General The solicitor general of the United States is the fourth-highest-ranking official in the United States Department of Justice. Elizabeth Prelogar has been serving in the role since October 28, 2021. The United States solicitor general represent ...

and then New York City Corporation Counsel

J. Lee Rankin James Lee Rankin (July 8, 1907 – June 26, 1996) was the 31st United States Solicitor General. Early life Rankin was born in Hartington, Nebraska, the son of Herman P. and Lois Gable Rankin. He attended public schools and earned his undergradua ...

informed Board president Lloyd K. Garrison in February 1966 that the NRP had a legal right to use the facility. One week after receiving Rankin's opinion, the Board voted to allow the NRP to meet at the school, a decision which was protested by the

Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith The Anti-Defamation League (ADL), formerly known as the Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith, is an international Jewish non-governmental organization based in the United States specializing in civil rights law. It was founded in late Sept ...

. The NRP held its first meeting at the school on March 18, 1966.

and others spoke to an audience of about 200 people, who greeted the NRP leadership with general derision. Major John Ryan, commander of the NRP security echelon, moved the audience to laughter with his claim that the NRP intended to "recruit and train clean-cut young men and women for the party." Ryan ended his speech by pronouncing the slogan "white man unite, white man fight."

Orange County, New York

In 1965 the

Orange County, New York Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 401,310. The county seat is Goshen. This county was first created in 1683 and reorganized with its present boundaries in 1798. Orang ...

Board of Supervisors decided to allow political parties to hold meetings in court houses in Goshen and Newburgh and the NRP applied to use them. The Board refused, insisting that the NRP, rather than being a political party, was a "fascist" and "subversive" organization. The NRP sued, and, in June 1967, the

New York Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. The Court of Appeals consists of seven judges: the Chief Judge and six Associate Judges who are appointed by the Governor and confirmed by ...

overruled the County's decision and a lower court, which had upheld it. The NRP finally managed to arrange a meeting at the Orange County Courthouse in Newburgh on July 29, 1967. Protests against the meeting turned into riots in black sections of the small city and over 30 protestors were arrested for vandalism and throwing rocks at police officers.

The end of the NRP

Madole died of cancer in 1979. His mother Grace recruited Andrej Lisanik, a former Czech military officer in the World War II Czech army, to lead the party. Lisanik was killed by a mugger in 1980 and, as the bulk of the NRP membership details and party records were in his car when he was attacked, they were lost. Within a year the party was defunct.

References

External links

* ttp://www.alphalink.com.au/~radnat/otherradicalism/06.html The Neo-Nazi Face of the Extreme Right chapter 6 o
''The Other Radicalism''HUAC report on Neo-Fascist groups, including the NRP
NRP FBI files obtained through the FOIA and hosted at the

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