George Burdi, also known as George Eric Hawthorne (born 1970), is a Canadian musician,
publisher
Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...
,
traditionalist,
mysticist
Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...
, and a
white power music
White power music is music that promotes white nationalism. It encompasses various music styles, including rock, country, experimental music and folk.Messner, Beth A., Art Jipson, Paul J. Becker and Bryan Byers. 2007. "The Hardest Hate: A Soci ...
ian who became known for his role in
white nationalist
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
organizations. He led the Canadian branch of the
World Church of the Creator
Creativity, historically known as The (World) Church of the Creator, is an atheistic ( "nontheistic") white supremacist religious movement which espouses white separatism, antitheism, antisemitism, scientific racism, homophobia, and religious a ...
, which formed an alliance with the now-defunct white nationalist organization
Heritage Front
The Heritage Front was a Canadian neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded in 1989 and disbanded around 2005.
The Heritage Front maintained a telephone message line with a different editorial each day. The voice on the hotline was Gary ...
. In addition, Burdi performed with the white power band RaHoWa.
Burdi was convicted of
assault causing bodily harm Assault causing bodily harm is a statutory offence of assault in Canada with aggravating factors. It is committed by anyone who, in committing an assault, causes bodily harm to the complainant. ''Criminal Code'', RSC 1985, c C-46s 267(b). It is the ...
in 1995, and was sentenced to one year in prison. Upon his release from prison, Burdi claimed to have renounced
racism
Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...
. By 2017, he had resumed promoting extremist views and producing white nationalist music.
Early life
Burdi was born in 1970 to a Ukrainian mother and Italian father, both of whom were immigrants.
Activism
Burdi came into contact with the white nationalist movement through the father of his then German girlfriend. He became an active White nationalist at the age of 18, and by the age of 21, was the leader of the Canadian branch of the World Church of the Creator, which at its peak had fewer than 20 members. During this period, he wrote a number of articles for the Church of the Creator newspaper, ''Racial Loyalty'', using the name "Rev. Eric Hawthorne" (including the January 1992 cover story, "Enter the Racial Holy War"). He has been credited with helping to secure the survival of
Creativity
Creativity is a phenomenon whereby something new and valuable is formed. The created item may be intangible (such as an idea, a scientific theory, a musical composition, or a joke) or a physical object (such as an invention, a printed literary w ...
after the death, in 1993, of its founder
Ben Klassen
Bernhardt "Ben" Klassen ( ( O.S. February 7, 1918) – ) was an American politician and white supremacist religious leader. He founded the Church of the Creator with the publication of his book ''Nature's Eternal Religion'' in 1973. Klassen ...
.
RaHoWa
Using the pseudonym "Reverend George Eric Hawthorne", Burdi formed the racist band RaHoWa in 1989. The band's name was derived from the phrase
Racial Holy War
Bernhardt "Ben" Klassen ( ( O.S. February 7, 1918) – ) was an American politician and white supremacist religious leader. He founded the Church of the Creator with the publication of his book ''Nature's Eternal Religion'' in 1973. Klassen ...
.
RaHoWa was one of the biggest hate-rock bands throughout the 1990s. Burdi was also the founding president of
Resistance Records
Resistance Records was a Canadian record label owned by Resistance LLC which was closely connected to the organization National Alliance. It produced and sold music by neo-Nazi and white separatist musicians, primarily through its website. Adver ...
, which was the distributor for his band, and other white nationalist bands. The company also operated a web site, and published a magazine, ''Resistance'', which covered the white nationalist music scene.
Reckzin incident
In
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
, on May 29, 1993, after a RaHoWa concert which was picketed by
Anti-Racist Action
Anti-Racist Action (ARA), also known as the Anti-Racist Action Network, is a decentralized network of militant far-left political cells in the United States and Canada. The ARA network originated in the late 1980s to engage in direct action (inc ...
protesters, Burdi and the leader of the White nationalist
Heritage Front
The Heritage Front was a Canadian neo-Nazi white supremacist organization founded in 1989 and disbanded around 2005.
The Heritage Front maintained a telephone message line with a different editorial each day. The voice on the hotline was Gary ...
,
Wolfgang Droege
Wolfgang Walter Droege (or Dröge) (25 September 1949 – 13 April 2005) was a German-born Canadian white supremacist, neo-Nazi and founding leader of the Heritage Front.
Biography
Early life
Droege was born in Forchheim, Germany. His parents ...
, led their supporters on a march to
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill (french: Colline du Parlement, colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Its Gothic revival suite of buildings, and their architectu ...
, chanting "
sieg heil
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...
", making racist remarks, and giving the
Hitler salute
The Nazi salute, also known as the Hitler salute (german: link=no, Hitlergruß, , Hitler greeting, ; also called by the Nazi Party , 'German greeting', ), or the ''Sieg Heil'' salute, is a gesture that was used as a greeting in Nazi Germany. Th ...
. At Parliament Hill, the two addressed their followers.
Burdi then led the group to the Chateau Laurier, where he led a charge across the street to confront protesters. During the charge, Alicia Reckzin was struck on the head while running from Burdi's supporters. When she fell, she was kicked several times on her right side; Reckzin later reported having seen Burdi kick her in the face.
In 1995, as a result of the violent confrontation, Burdi was convicted of
assault causing bodily harm Assault causing bodily harm is a statutory offence of assault in Canada with aggravating factors. It is committed by anyone who, in committing an assault, causes bodily harm to the complainant. ''Criminal Code'', RSC 1985, c C-46s 267(b). It is the ...
, and sentenced to 12 months imprisonment. Burdi appealed both his conviction and the sentence, but on February 14, 1997, the
Court of Appeal for Ontario
The Court of Appeal for Ontario (frequently referred to as the Ontario Court of Appeal or ONCA) is the appellate court for the province of Ontario, Canada. The seat of the court is Osgoode Hall in downtown Toronto, also the seat of the Law Societ ...
upheld the lower court's 1995 decision (
O.J. No. 554 No. C21788/C21820), and Burdi began his sentence. The court "ruled him out as the kicker," but he was found guilty of vicarious liability by having led the charge across the street. Burdi continues to deny having assaulted Reckzin.
Renunciation of racism
In 1997, much of Resistance Record's inventory and business paraphernalia were seized in an April raid by the
Oakland County, Michigan
Oakland County is a county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is part of the metropolitan Detroit area, located northwest of the city. As of the 2020 Census, its population was 1,274,395, making it the second-most populous county in Michigan, b ...
Sheriff's Department, the
Michigan Department of the Treasury, and the
Ontario Provincial Police
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) is the provincial police service of Ontario, Canada. Under its provincial mandate, the OPP patrols provincial highways and waterways, protects provincial government buildings and officials, patrols unincorpo ...
. The same day this raid was carried out in Michigan, Burdi was arrested in
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, on the south bank of the Detroit River directly across from Detroit, Michigan, United States. Geographically located within but administratively independent of Essex County, it is the souther ...
, for contravening the
Canadian Criminal Code provisions against promoting hatred.
Convicted in Windsor, Burdi was able to avoid a jail sentence with the condition that he not be involved with RaHoWa or Resistance Records. He sold the company to
Willis Carto
Willis Allison Carto (July 17, 1926 – October 26, 2015) was an American far-right political activist. He described himself as a Jeffersonian and a populist, but was primarily known for his promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories and ...
who soon sold it to
National Alliance head
William Luther Pierce
William Luther Pierce III (September 11, 1933 – July 23, 2002) was an American neo-Nazi, white supremacist, and far-right political activist. For more than 30 years, he was one of the highest-profile individuals of the white nationalist movem ...
. Burdi then renounced
white nationalism
White nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that white people are a raceHeidi Beirich and Kevin Hicks. "Chapter 7: White nationalism in America". In Perry, Barbara. ''Hate Crimes''. Greenwoo ...
.
Novacosm
In 1998 Burdi founded the multi-racial band Novacosm.
The band, with Burdi on vocals and guitar, B. Valentine on bass and Sy Sylver on guitar, began performing publicly in 2001, and released some recordings as
mp3s. Novacosm released one
compact disc
The compact disc (CD) is a Digital media, digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then rele ...
, ''Everything Forever'', in 2003.
Return to far-right activism and to music
In 2017, Burdi revealed in an interview with German neo-Nazi YouTube channel FSN.tv that he felt he had never truly abandoned white nationalism and claimed that the media took statements that he made during his hiatus from "the movement" out of context. Burdi maintained contact with up to 100 individuals active in right-wing extremist movements, mainly in Europe, throughout the period in which he had allegedly abandoned racism. Burdi further stated that the esoteric neo-Nazi
Savitri Devi
Savitri Devi Mukherji (born Maximiani Julia Portas, ; 30 September 1905 – 22 October 1982) was a French-born Greek fascist, Nazi sympathizer, and spy who served the Axis powers by committing acts of espionage against the Allied forces in I ...
, who combined
Nazism
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
with
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
, sparked his interest in Hinduism and helped him connect with his Hindu wife. Burdi also stated that he views the development of the
alt-right
The alt-right, an abbreviation of alternative right, is a far-right, white nationalist movement. A largely online phenomenon, the alt-right originated in the United States during the late 2000s before increasing in popularity during the mid-2 ...
as a positive thing and questions whether he ever would have abandoned
neo-Nazism
Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazism, Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and Supremacism#Racial, racial supremacy (ofte ...
if he had lived in Europe at the time of his disillusionment with the
skinhead
A skinhead is a member of a subculture which originated among working class youths in London, England, in the 1960s and soon spread to other parts of the United Kingdom, with a second working class skinhead movement emerging worldwide in th ...
scene.
In the same interview with the German neo-Nazis, Burdi praises a fascist musical group from France called and their music video "''
Le grand remplacement''", which promotes a conspiracy theory alleging that Jews are in favor of an "Islamic invasion" of Europe in order to bring about conditions for the coming of the "
Messiah
In Abrahamic religions, a messiah or messias (; ,
; ,
; ) is a saviour or liberator of a group of people. The concepts of ''mashiach'', messianism, and of a Messianic Age originated in Judaism, and in the Hebrew Bible, in which a ''mashiach'' ...
of Israel."
References
External links
Disinfocast with Matt Staggs – 2012 Audio Interview.
Life After Hate – U.S.-based organization
Present at the Creation Interview with Burdi by the anti-racist
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
.
Novacosm band websiteIFILM about George Burdi and Novacosmrecent interview from ''Acid Logic''.
Interview With BurdiLeaving Racism Behind Video Interview. George Burdi talks about leaving hate behind.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burdi, George
1970 births
Canadian neo-Nazis
Canadian people convicted of assault
Canadian rock singers
Creativity (religion)
Living people
21st-century Canadian male singers
Neo-Nazi music