Adolf to Azov

One of the first neo-Nazi in America was a man by the name of George Lincoln Rockwell. Born during World War One he served as a pilot in World War Two. He didn’t find the Nazis, but he fought with the allies none the less. He stays in for many years after the war.

However, once he left the service, he started a writing and sales career. As time went on, he started having weird dreams about meeting Hitler, during his later 30’s. Which prompted him to organize his own version of the Nazi ideology for America. In 1958, Rockwell met Harold Noel Arrowsmith Jr, who had the same beliefs as Rockwell, and was able to be his financial backing. Arrowsmith would equip Rockwell with a house to work out of, and even equipment to print with. They would form an organization known as National Committee to Free America from Jewish Domination and then help start National States’ Rights Party, which was a fascist party out of the State of Georgia.

These political activities put a huge strain on his family and his financial situation, which caused his wife to split from him and move back to Iceland. They still talked, and made promises to reunite once his situation changed, but it never did. As Rockwell continued his political career he rose to fame, and not in the good way. The News was reporting on him as a criminal and ousted him as a Nazi. He was tired and torn, missing his wife, he tried to flee politics. This nearly drove him to suicide in 1959.

Maybe he did kill part of himself in 1959. The part that was painful, for him.
Later that year Goerge Lincoln Rockwell found the American Nazis Party in his own home. Following in the name that the media already gave him. This political activity would lead to multiple warnings from the Navy, as well as an honorary discharge from the service, in 1960.

When the media was attacking George Lincoln Rockwell, his party was named the “World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists” when the media started branding him as a Nazi. This caused him to change the name of his own organization as well to “American Nazi Party”. Since then, many other smaller groups would use that name as well, but Rockwell would have the legacy.

Rockwell saw what attention he was getting for calling himself a Nazi, this caused him to make the name change. Not only was the name change, but the culture of the party became that, of something similar to nazi Germany. The used a swastika as their logo, and wear uniforms similar to that of the Nazi Brown Shirts or SA. This made him many enemies, soon fights at rallies became normal. This made Rockwell think that there would need to be a phase two in his party. He wanted to destigmatize his party and make it more legitimate. Around 1967 Rockwell renamed the American Nazi Paty to the National Socialist White People’s Party. Rockwell even thought about replacing the Swatika banner. But it was too late, a member who got kicked out of party a few months prior was out to get Rockwell with an assassination. On August 25, 1967, George Lincoln Rockwell was shot.

After Rockwell’s death Matthias Koehl took over control of the party. However, infighting and infiltrators made the group split. Slowly over time the group would change, even getting rid of uniforms. Koehl once again changed the name of the organization again in the 80’s to the “New Order”. They still exist today, but they are nothing like they used to be.