James H. Madole

Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Use American English Template:Infobox officeholder James Hartung Madole (July 7, 1927 – May 6, 1979) was an American neo-Nazi activist and leader of the National Renaissance Party. He is regarded as a pivotal figure in the development of esoteric neo-Nazism.

Biography

James Hartung Madole was born July 7, 1927 in New York City. His parents divorced when he was two and he was raised by his mother, who was deeply antisemitic.Template:Sfn In his youth he developed an interest in science and built a laboratory at home; he was fascinated by science fiction, which shaped the way he viewed his beliefs. Through science fiction he discovered fascism, particularly fascist science fiction writer Charles B. Hudson. After meeting Hudson he was supported by several America First groups, and came into contact with Kurt Mertig of the Citizens Protective League.Template:Sfn In 1945, Madole founded the Animist Party, which was right-wing and largely made up of fans of sci-fi.Template:Sfn

Madole was known for his eccentric personality.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn In 1949, Mertig founded the National Renaissance Party in Yorkville.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The name was inspired by Adolf Hitler's "Last Political Testament" before his suicide, which hoped for a "radiant renaissance" for Nazism.Template:Sfn Mertig was by then elderly and found in Madole, then 22, a successor.Template:Sfn The NRP went on marches in Nazi uniform with his stormtroopers. The NRP gained much publicity as a result, frequently making the headlines but only garnered a small following.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn The group wore Nazi storm-trooper uniforms and drew hecklers, leading to fistfights.Template:Sfn In 1964, Madole and seven other neo-Nazis were convicted of trying to incite a riot at a civil rights demonstration. Each of them, including Madole, were sentenced to one to two years in prison.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

From 1974 on, Madole wrote a series of articles in the NRP's bulletin, "The New Atlantis: A blueprint for an Aryan Garden of Eden in North America", which scholar Nicholas Goodrick-Clarke described as "his major occult-political treatise".Template:Sfn Madole died on May 6, 1979, and the party followed.Template:Sfn

Views

Madole interpreted Nazism through an occult and Theosophic lens, with influence from Hinduism. Among his contacts were occultists, satanists, esotericists and witches, including Anton LaVey. He and LaVey formed an alliance between the NRP and the Church of Satan.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn Many of his ideas were fantastical and heavily influenced by science fiction.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn He rejected Christianity, seeing it as Jewish.Template:Sfn

Madole also wrote that the Aryans originated in the Garden of Eden located in North America.Template:Sfn He also believed that America was the "new Atlantis" and "the cradle of a new God like race".Template:Sfn He argued for the reorganization of American race among Hindu lines, but simultaneously made the NRP ally with the Greenshirts, who were pro-Islam.Template:Sfn

Madole was one of the few to accept Francis P. Yockey's argument that Soviet Bolshevism had preserved traditional values more than western liberalism, and that communism was not supported by Judaism. This issue brought him into conflict with his former ally and now rival George Lincoln Rockwell, who used the label "communist" to discredit Madole and his followers.Template:Sfn His writings continue to influence some neo-Nazis,Template:Sfn and John Michael Greer noted him as a pivotal figure in the development of esoteric neo-Nazism.Template:Sfn

References

Works cited

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Further reading

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