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Willis Carto

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Willis Carto
Born
Willis Allison Carto

(1926-07-17)July 17, 1926
Fort Wayne, Indiana,U.S.
DiedOctober 26, 2015(2015-10-26)(aged 89)
Virginia,U.S.
Known forHolocaust denial
Antisemitism
Right-wing populism
Neo-Nazism
TitleHead of theLiberty Lobby(defunct), founder of theInstitute for Historical Review
Political partyPopulist
Part ofa serieson
Antisemitism
Definitions
Geography
Manifestations
Antisemitic tropes
Antisemitic publications
Antisemitism on the Internet
Prominent figures
Persecution
Opposition
Related topics
Category

Willis Allison Carto(July 17, 1926 – October 26, 2015) was anAmerican far-rightpolitical activist. He described himself as aJeffersonianand apopulist,but was primarily known for his promotion ofantisemitic conspiracy theoriesandHolocaust denial.[1][2][3][4]

Carto was known for theLiberty Lobbyand successor racial extremist organizations which he helped create.[5]Carto ran a group supportingsegregationistGeorge Wallace's1968 presidential campaignand reorganized the group into theNational Youth Alliance,which promotedFrancis Parker Yockey's ideology. Carto helped found thePopulist Party,which served as an electoral vehicle forwhite supremacistgroup andKu Klux Klanmembers, such asDavid Dukein the1988 presidential electionandChristian IdentitysupporterBo Gritzin1992.Carto ran theAmerican Free Pressnewspaper which publishes antisemitic and racist books and features columns byJoe Sobran,James Traficant,Paul Craig Roberts,and others. The organization promotes9/11 conspiracy theories.[6]Carto's many other projects included theInstitute for Historical Review,which promotesHolocaust denial.

Biography

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Early life

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Willis Carto was born inFort Wayne, Indiana.He served in the United States Army in thePhilippinesinWorld War IIand earned thePurple Heartwhen he was shot in the shoulder by an enemy sniper.[7]After leaving the military, he lived with his parents inMansfield, Ohio.He studied law for a semester at theUniversity of Cincinnati Law School.[1]He later worked forProcter & Gambleand moved west toSan Francisco, Californiawhere he worked for theHousehold Finance Company.[8]

Liberty Lobby and publications

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In 1955, Carto founded an organization calledLiberty Lobby,which remained in operation under his control until 2001, when the organization was forced intobankruptcyas a result of alawsuit.[1]Liberty Lobby publishedThe Spotlightnewspaper between 1975 and 2001.[1]

Carto[9]and severalSpotlightstaff members and writers subsequently founded a new newspaper calledAmerican Free Press.The paper includes articles from syndicated columnists who have no direct ties to Carto or his organizations.

In 1966, Carto acquired control ofThe American Mercuryvia the Legion for the Survival of Freedom organization. It was published until 1980.[citation needed]

Political activism in the 1960s and 1970s

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Carto ran a group called "Youth for George Wallace" to aid thethird partypresidential campaignofGeorge Wallacein1968.[10]When the campaign failed, he converted what remained of the Youth for George Wallace organization into theNational Youth Alliance.As National Chairman for the group, Carto recruitedWilliam Luther Pierce,who later became known for writingThe Turner Diaries.[10]Carto eventually lost control of the National Youth Alliance to Pierce who transformed it into theNational Alliance,awhite nationalistandwhite separatistpolitical organization.[citation needed]

On September 10, 1971, the conservative magazineNational Reviewpublished a detailed critique of Carto's activities up to that point. It was titled "Liberty Lobby - Willis Carto and his Fronts".[11]

Historical revisionism and Holocaust denial

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Carto founded theInstitute for Historical Reviewin 1979.[12]He was also the founder of a publishing company calledNoontide Press,which published books on whiteracialism,including Yockey'sImperiumandDavid Hoggan'sThe Myth of the Six Million,one of the first books todeny the Holocaust.[13]Noontide Press later became closely associated with the IHR, and fell out of Carto's hands at the same time as the IHR did.[1]

The IHR and Carto were sued in 1981 by public interest attorneyWilliam John Coxon behalf of Auschwitz survivorMel Mermelstein.In that case, which was to eventually last eleven years, the court took "judicial noticeof the fact thatJewswere gassed to death atAuschwitz concentration campinPolandduring the summer of 1944. "[14]The court went on to state, "It is simply a fact."[15][16][17]The law firm of Robert Von Esch, Jr., representing the defendants, settled with the plaintiff to remove themselves from the case by agreeing to pay $100,000 and an explicit apology for having filed an August 1986 libel suit by the IHR against Mermelstein. The Von Esches also formally acknowledged that Jews had been gassed at Auschwitz and that millions of Jews had perished inGerman wartime camps.[14]On September 19, 1991, the plaintiffs withdrew complaints of libel, conspiracy to inflict emotional distress and intentional infliction of emotional distress, followingLos Angeles Superior CourtJudgeStephen M. Lachs' dismissal of the malicious prosecution portion of the case.[14]

After losing control of Noontide Press and the IHR in ahostile takeoverby former associates, Carto started another publication,The Barnes Review,with the focus also on Holocaust denial.[18]

Populist Party (1984–1996)

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In 1984, Carto was involved in starting a new political party called thePopulist Party.[1]It quickly fell out of his hands in a hostile takeover by disgruntled former associates. Critics asserted that this Populist Party (not to be confused with the 19th-centuryPeople's Party,commonly known as "Populists" ) was little more than an electoral vehicle for current and formerKu Klux KlanandChristian Identitymembers.OlympicathleteBob Richards(1984),David Duke(a founder of theKnights of the Ku Klux Klanand a futureLouisiana state representative,1988) and formerGreen BeretBo Gritz(1992) were the Populist Party's only three presidential candidates. It folded before it could nominate a candidate for the1996 elections.[citation needed]

Radio and other activism

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Carto's Liberty Lobby acquired the Sun Radio Network in December 1989, and attempted to usetalk radioas a vehicle for espousing his views. It was eventually a financial failure.[citation needed]Liberty Lobby andAmerican Free Pressalso sponsored theRadio Free Americatalk show. Carto also formed the Foundation to Defend the First Amendment, one of several nonprofits Carto used to spread money to like-minded individuals and groups.[19][20]Carto's Liberty Lobby also publishedThe Barnes Reviewfrom 1994.[21]

In 2004, Carto joined in signingDavid Duke'sNew Orleans Protocolon behalf ofAmerican Free Press.The New Orleans Protocol sought to "mainstream our cause" by reducing internecine warfare.[22] Carto was featured as a guest onThe Political Cesspool,which represents "a philosophy that is pro-White." He spoke at meetings conducted by "Pastor"Thomas Robb,a Ku Klux Klan leader and Christian Identity advocate, and in 2015 participated in the ground breaking ceremony for the Christian Revival Research and Development Center being built on Robb's compound inArkansas,along with Edward Fields and Canadian white supremacistPaul Fromm.[citation needed]

In 2007, Carto condemned the "genocidal maniacs like Vice PresidentCheneyand commentatorBill O'Reilly"in their support of theBush administration'sattack on Iraq,[23]and warned that "now the crooks are prodding America to attackIran".[23][third-party source needed]His media outlets supported presidential candidate and congressmanRon Paul.[citation needed]

Death

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Carto died on October 26, 2015, at the age of 89, reportedly fromcardiac arrest.[8]In February 2016, he was buried atArlington National Cemetery(which the family had the right to request because he had earned aPurple Heart).Far-rightand white nationalist PastorThomas A. Robbpresided at the funeral.[18]

Influences

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Willis Carto was a devotee of the writings ofFrancis Parker Yockey,[12]a far-rightist who heraldedAdolf Hitler'sThird Reichas the "European Imperium" against bothBolshevismand the United States, which he considered Jewish-controlled.[24]Carto adopted Yockey's bookImperium: The Philosophy of History and Politicsas his own guiding ideology,[25]and he obtained a 15-minute interview with Yockey on June 10, 1960, while the latter was held in prison for passport fraud. Yockey committed suicide six days later on June 16.[24]Scholars have asserted that Yockey would have probably been forgotten without Carto's marketing ofImperiumto the American audience.[26][24]

Later, Carto would define his ideology asJeffersonianandpopulistrather than National Socialist, particularly in Carto's 1982 book,Profiles in Populism.[27]That book presented sympathetic profiles of several United States political figures includingThomas Jefferson,Andrew Jackson,andHenry Ford,as well asCatholic priestFatherCharles Coughlin,who used radio to support of the policies of Adolf Hitler andBenito Mussolini.[27][28]

References

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  1. ^abcdef"Willis Carto"(PDF).Anti-Defamation League.2009.RetrievedSeptember 15,2009.
  2. ^Kaplan, Jeffrey, ed. (2000).Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right.AltaMira Press. p. 42.ISBN978-0742503403.
  3. ^Levy, Richard, ed. (2005).Antisemitism: A Historical Encyclopedia of Prejudice and Persecution, Volume.ABC-CLIO. p. 107.ISBN978-1851094394.
  4. ^Michael, George (2012).Confronting Right Wing Extremism and Terrorism in the USA.Routledge. p. 15.ISBN978-0415628440.
  5. ^"Willis Carto".Southern Poverty Law Center.RetrievedJune 20,2022.
  6. ^"Paul Disowns Extremists' Views but Doesn't Disavow the Support"by Jim Rutenberg & Serge F. Kovaleski,The New York Times,December 25, 2011
  7. ^Marans, Daniel (November 2, 2015)."Famed Holocaust Denier Could Be Buried In Arlington National Cemetery".Huffington Post.RetrievedNovember 3,2015.
  8. ^abMartin, Douglas (November 1, 2015)."Willis Carto, Far-Right Figure and Holocaust Denier, Dies at 89".The New York Times.RetrievedJuly 28,2020.
  9. ^Aaronovitch, David(2010).Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History.Riverhead Books.ISBN9781101185216.RetrievedJuly 7,2015.
  10. ^abKaplan, Jeffrey (editor).Encyclopedia of White Power: A Sourcebook on the Radical Racist Right;AltaMira Press; June 14, 2000;ISBN978-0742503403;page 43.
  11. ^Simonds, C.H. (September 10, 1971). "Liberty Lobby - Willis Carto and his Fronts".National Review.
  12. ^abBeirich, Heidi (November 30, 2008)."Willis Carto: The First Major Biography".Intelligence Report.No. Winter 2008. Southern Poverty Law Center.RetrievedDecember 24,2018.
  13. ^"Willis A. Carto: Fabricating History".Anti-Defamation League.2009. Archived fromthe originalon January 30, 2012.RetrievedSeptember 15,2009.
  14. ^abc"Doubters of Holocaust Win a Round in Court: Litigation: Portions of an Auschwitz survivor's suit are dismissed. Revisionist historians claim a victory.",Los Angeles Times,September 25, 1991
  15. ^TranscriptArchivedJuly 17, 2011, at theWayback Machine,Nizkor Project
  16. ^"Mermelstein Victory",Heritage,October 23, 1981.
  17. ^"Footnote to the Holocaust" by Melinda Beck,Newsweek,October 19, 1981, p. 73.
  18. ^abJacobs, Steven Leonard (June 29, 2020).Antisemitism: Exploring the Issues.ABC-CLIO. p. 23.ISBN978-1-4408-6874-0.RetrievedApril 11,2022.
  19. ^"Judge Roy Moore Got $1,000 from OC Holocaust Denial Group's Co-Founder – OC Weekly".October 19, 2017.
  20. ^"Foundation to Defend the First Amendment | About Us".
  21. ^"Willis A. Carto: Fabricating History".Anti-Defamation League.Archived fromthe originalon November 17, 2008.RetrievedNovember 17,2008.The Spotlightannounced in August 1994 that Liberty Lobby was launching a new publication devoted to historical revisionism calledThe Barnes Review(after the 20th century revisionist historian Harry Elmer Barnes).
  22. ^"Freed from prison, David Duke mounts a comeback".Southern Poverty Law CenterIntelligence Report, Summer 2004. Archived fromthe originalon September 27, 2007.RetrievedSeptember 21,2007.
  23. ^ab:U.S. Takes More Steps Toward War With Iran"by Willis Carto;American Free Press;issue #45; November 5, 2007
  24. ^abcMichael, George (2019). "Useful Idiots or Fellow Travelers? The Relationship between the American Far Right and Russia".Terrorism and Political Violence.31(1): 64–83.doi:10.1080/09546553.2018.1555996.ISSN0954-6553.S2CID150938479.
  25. ^"Willis Carto and the IHR"ArchivedSeptember 28, 2010, at theWayback Machine,Nizkor Project
  26. ^Coogan, Kevin. (1999).Dreamer of the day: Francis Parker Yockey and the postwar fascist international.Autonomedia. pp. 562 n. 16.ISBN1-57027-039-2.OCLC38884251.
  27. ^abLyons, Matthew N. & Chip Berlet.Right-Wing Populism in America: Too Close for Comfort;The Guilford Press; 2000;ISBN978-1572305625;p. 188
  28. ^Lawrence, John Shelton& Robert Jewett.The Myth of the American Superhero;Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.; June 1, 2002;ISBN978-0802825735,p. 132

Publications

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Further reading

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  • Cox, William John. (2015)The Holocaust Case: Defeat of Denial.Little Elm, TX: eLectio Publishing.
  • Coogan, Kevin. (1999)Dreamer of the Day: Francis Parker Yockey and the Postwar Fascist International.Brooklyn, NY: Autonomedia.
  • Michael, George. (2008)Willis Carto and the American Far Right.Gainesville, FL: University Press of Florida.
  • Mintz, Frank P. (1985)The Liberty Lobby and the American Right: Race, Conspiracy, and Culture.Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
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