Part V of the SWC Operation Report
PERSONALITIES
ALTHANS, B. EWALD
From contacts established by Ron Furey, it is obvious that
Ewald Althans is not the neo-Nazi leader that the press has,
over the years, made him out to be. Though intelligent and well-
spoken, Althans' extravagant lifestyle and sexual preference have
made him a pariah within the movement. When Furey asked the neo-
Nazi leadership about the possibility of meeting with Althans,
several simultaneously answered, "We don't want another Michael
Kuhnen." (Kuhnen, a one-time major leader of Germany's neo-Nazis,
died of AIDS while in prison.)
Althans, however, is apparently not totally out of favor
with the Carto organization (see separate entry). He has
attended two of the most recent conventions of the Institute for
Historical Review. While Althans has been played up in the past,
it is obvious that he has fallen from grace.
BURWITZ, GUDRUN
Gudrun Burwitz is the daughter of one-time SS Chief,
Heinrich Himmler. Roy Godenau (see separate entry) tried to
secure an appointment for Ron Furey with Gudrun Burwitz for an
interview for The Right Way. Though an icon of the neo-Nazi
movement, Burwitz is reluctant to speak to anyone either about
her father or her political views because her husband is
vehemently opposed to any such discussions. Nevertheless, Gudrun
Burwitz consented to speak with Ron for a few minutes over the
phone, where she expressed her satisfaction with his involvement
"in the movement." Gudrun Burwitz is a close friend of Florrie
Rost van Tonningen (see separate entry).
BUSSE, FRIEDHELM
Friedhelm Busse is a veteran of Germany's radical right. In
1971 Busse founded the People's Socialist League Party of Labor.
Busse has spent time in prison for inciting racial hatred. Today
he is the leader of Freiheitliche Deutsche Arbeiterpartei
(F.A.P.) which declares as its aim, the realization of national
socialism. Reisz introduced Furey to Busse, who was also taken
in by Furey's performance. Busse showed Furey his membership
list of 980 names and addresses. This is very significant
because the government has put Busse's membership at less than
200.
Busse has particular power with German skinheads. He
believes in the use of violence and has discussed various
"actions" with Ron Furey. He is an admirer of Hitler, denier of
the Holocaust, and an advocate of overthrowing the government.
Busse has relationships to the icons of the movement (the
offspring of the leadership of the Third Reich) and is a powerful
speaker...filmed with Furey by CBS camera crew.
Busse's weakness, however, is that is headstrong and totally
unadaptable. He cannot change his image as a hardened Nazi, and
it is this inflexibility which will probably prevent him from
uniting and taking over Germany's radical right. Busse's F.A.P.,
however, continues to grow with Germany's economic woes, is prone
to violence, and is a force to be reckoned with.
CARTO, WILLIS
Willis Carto is the most influential professional antisemite
in the United States. He is the founder of Liberty Lobby, the
Institute for Historical Review, the Noontide Press (which
distributes a wide range of racist and antisemitic titles), and
the Populist Party, whose 1988 Presidential candidate was David
Duke. Carto's name came up in nearly every conversation held
between Ron Furey, S.W.C. researcher, Richard Eaton, and the neo-
Nazis. Literature produced by the Carto organization is widely
read by German's radical right. In addition, several of those
interviewed know Mr. Carto personally. (see entries for Godenau
and Rost von Tonningen)
CHRISTOPHERSEN, THIES
Thies Christophersen maintains a relationship with the Carto
organization (see separate entry) which distributes his
materials. A notorious antisemite, Christophersen avoided a jail
term for antisemitic activities in Germany by making his way to
Denmark, where he now lives. Christophersen was not interviewed
on this trip, but his name was brought up by Meinolf Schoenborn
(see separate entry) who is also considering moving to Denmark
where he and Christophersen can join forces in helping to lay the
groundwork for the establishment of a 4th Reich in Germany.
"DEEP THROAT"
Heinz Reisz (see separate entry) gets advance warning of
police raids on his operation from a sympathetic official within
Hesse's state police. Reisz, himself, does not know who his
benefactor is, but the raids of which he was warned did, in fact,
take place. It is reasonable to assume that "Deep Throat" must
be fairly high up within the department to have access to this
kind of information.
DEGRELLE, LEON
Leon Degrelle achieved the rank of SS general while in the
service of Adolf Hitler as leader of the "Walloon Legion"
(Belgian SS). Condemned to death after the war by a court in his
native Belgium, Degrelle escaped to Spain where he remains active
as a Nazi apologist. Praising Hitler as "the greatest genius of
all time," Degrelle lectures positively about the SS and is the
author of equally positive articles and books about the SS which
are published and distributed in the United States by the
Institute for Historical Review (see separate entry for Willis
Carto).
Video tapes featuring Degrelle's Nazi apologetics were
viewed by Ron Furey in the video production facilities of D.
Warmt, brother-in-law of Heinz Reisz (see separate entries for
both). Although no meeting took place between Mr. Degrelle and
Simon Wiesenthal Center researchers, the name of his "go-between"
was learned - Erich Norling.
GELLER, OTTO
A native of Germany now living in Ventura, California. Otto
Geller was named by Juchem as an American connection.
GODENAU, ROY (REAL NAME: ARMSTRONG)
Roy Godenau is a former G.I. who was stationed in Germany in
the 70's. He is married to a German woman, a fact which he feels
has prevented the government from deporting him. Godenau has
been unemployed for the better part of the last 10 years. He is
a walking encyclopedia of Nazism and believes in classical Jewish
and freemason conspiracy theories. Godenau comes from Washington
state where he attended school. Godenau has very negative
feelings toward the United States and more than anything else,
wants to be a German - something the radical right is not
prepared to do.
Godenau uses his American passport to travel the world
selling antisemitic and anti-masonic literature written and
published by one Juan Maler of Argentina. Godenau claims that
Maler is Reinhold Kopps (see separate entry).
Godenau played a role in the attempted overthrow of Surinam.
During "Desert Storm," he was put under house arrest by the
German government for allegedly supplying Iraq with information
on NATO tank movements on the Turkish border. Godenau has
extensive contacts with both the Iraqi and Libyan governments and
actually tried to enlist Ron Furey to join up. He claims to have
attempted to sell atomic secrets to various governments and says
if it will hurt U.S. interests, he will forgo payment.
Godenau claims to communicate with Willis Carto (see
separate entry) and Mark Weber (see separate entry) who is in
Carto's employ. In fact, Weber called The Right Way, (actually a
cold phone line at the Center) to authenticate Ron Furey's
credentials. Since there is no The Right Way and the cold line
number was given out only to neo-Nazis in Germany, we are
convinced that Godenau was telling the truth about his
connections to the Carto organization. Godenau also knows David
Duke, Tom Metzger, and Ernst Zuendel.
Although Godenau's ideas may be considered to be those of a
crackpot, he speaks calmly with authority, eloquence, and
sincerity. Most important, he is Wolfgang Juchem's right-hand
man and exerts very strong influence on him.
End of Part V