Frank Collin
Encyclopedia
Francis Joseph "Frank" Collin (born November 3, 1944) formerly served as the leader of the National Socialist Party of America
, whose plan to march in the predominantly Jewish suburb of Skokie
, Illinois
was the centerpiece of a major First Amendment
decision by the U.S. Supreme Court
, National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie
. Collin lost that position when his own Jewish ancestry came to light. Later he became a neo-pagan author.
, joined George Lincoln Rockwell's
National-Socialist White People's Party
in the 1960s. He broke with the NSWPP due to a disagreement with Rockwell's successor, Matt Koehl
, who had assumed the leadership role by popular vote after Rockwell's August 25, 1967 assassination by a disgruntled member, John Patsalos
, who used the name "John Patler" during his tenure in the NSWPP.
Collin's organization, the National Socialist Party of America, remained relatively obscure until 1977, when it announced plans to march through the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois in retaliation for the City of Chicago banning the NSPA from speaking publicly in Marquette Park
. It prompted a landmark legal battle. At the time, Skokie had the largest Jewish population per-capita in the United States
, and many residents were Holocaust
survivors; it was widely presumed that this is why Skokie was chosen. Ultimately, the NSPA won the right to march, but without their swastika
armbands (yet with their Nazi military uniforms). However, the Skokie march was called off when the city of Chicago, at the behest of Skokie's Jewish leaders and residents, decided to allow Collin to speak in the city.
(Note: the aforementioned statement is not verified in the documentary "Nazi America: A Secret History". In this documentary the attorney for Collin and his group states that the Justice Department intervened, that it "sat down with the client and asked him what he would need to not march in Skokie". Collin's reply was that he be granted a permit to rally in Chicago, which was subsequently granted. Collin had been banned from holding rallies in Chicago parks because of the shrill nature of these gatherings.)
, where Frank Collin was said to have been conceived. While president of the NSPA, Collin was arrested by Michigan
police while having sex with a pair of 10-year-old boys. These revelations led to his dismissal from the neo-Nazi movement. A psychiatrist
who interviewed Collin declared that he was "consumed by hatred for his father"; it was argued that Collin rejected his father by becoming a neo-Nazi and adopting and publicly espousing antisemitic
beliefs. Collin was convicted of child molestation and sent to Pontiac prison in 1979. He served three years of a seven-year sentence.
: Compelling Evidence of the Sudden Fall of the Legendary Civilization. Collin/Joseph is now a self-described neo-pagan
and edits The Ancient American magazine, which promotes the theory of diffusion of peoples in and out of the Americas in prehistoric times.
He has also appeared in or inspired several fictional portrayals. Skokie
, a 1981 made-for-television film, dramatized the events. George Dzundza
portrayed Frank Collin. In the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers
, Henry Gibson
portrayed a caricature of Frank Collin as an "Illinois Nazi".
National Socialist Party of America
The National Socialist Party of America was a Chicago-based organization founded in 1970 by Frank Collin shortly after he left the National Socialist White People's Party. The NSWPP had been the American Nazi Party until shortly after the assassination of leader George Lincoln Rockwell in 1967...
, whose plan to march in the predominantly Jewish suburb of Skokie
Skokie, Illinois
Skokie is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Its name comes from a Native American word for "fire". A Chicago suburb, for many years Skokie promoted itself as "The World's Largest Village". Its population, per the 2000 census, was 63,348...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
was the centerpiece of a major First Amendment
First Amendment to the United States Constitution
The First Amendment to the United States Constitution is part of the Bill of Rights. The amendment prohibits the making of any law respecting an establishment of religion, impeding the free exercise of religion, abridging the freedom of speech, infringing on the freedom of the press, interfering...
decision by the U.S. Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
, National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie
National Socialist Party of America v. Village of Skokie, 432 U.S. 43 , was a United States Supreme Court case dealing with freedom of assembly.-Facts of the case:...
. Collin lost that position when his own Jewish ancestry came to light. Later he became a neo-pagan author.
Life
Frank Collin, a native of ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, joined George Lincoln Rockwell's
George Lincoln Rockwell
George Lincoln Rockwell was the founder of the American Nazi Party. Rockwell was a major figure in the neo-Nazi movement in the United States, and his beliefs and writings have continued to be influential among white nationalists and neo-Nazis.-Early life:Rockwell was born in Bloomington,...
National-Socialist White People's Party
American Nazi Party
The American Nazi Party was an American political party founded by discharged U.S. Navy Commander George Lincoln Rockwell. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Rockwell initially called it the World Union of Free Enterprise National Socialists , but later renamed it the American Nazi Party in...
in the 1960s. He broke with the NSWPP due to a disagreement with Rockwell's successor, Matt Koehl
Matt Koehl
Matt Koehl is the leader of a self-defined religious organization called the New Order. As deputy commander, in August 1967 Koehl succeeded the assassinated George Lincoln Rockwell as 'Commander' of the National Socialist White People's Party...
, who had assumed the leadership role by popular vote after Rockwell's August 25, 1967 assassination by a disgruntled member, John Patsalos
John Patler
John Patler is an American neo-Nazi who assassinated American Nazi Party leader George Lincoln Rockwell on August 25, 1967....
, who used the name "John Patler" during his tenure in the NSWPP.
Collin's organization, the National Socialist Party of America, remained relatively obscure until 1977, when it announced plans to march through the Chicago suburb of Skokie, Illinois in retaliation for the City of Chicago banning the NSPA from speaking publicly in Marquette Park
Marquette Park
Marquette Park may refer to one of several places that are named in honor of Jacques Marquette, a French Jesuit missionary.*Marquette Park in Chicago, Illinois*Marquette Park in Gary, Indiana...
. It prompted a landmark legal battle. At the time, Skokie had the largest Jewish population per-capita in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, and many residents were Holocaust
The Holocaust
The Holocaust , also known as the Shoah , was the genocide of approximately six million European Jews and millions of others during World War II, a programme of systematic state-sponsored murder by Nazi...
survivors; it was widely presumed that this is why Skokie was chosen. Ultimately, the NSPA won the right to march, but without their swastika
Swastika
The swastika is an equilateral cross with its arms bent at right angles, in either right-facing form in counter clock motion or its mirrored left-facing form in clock motion. Earliest archaeological evidence of swastika-shaped ornaments dates back to the Indus Valley Civilization of Ancient...
armbands (yet with their Nazi military uniforms). However, the Skokie march was called off when the city of Chicago, at the behest of Skokie's Jewish leaders and residents, decided to allow Collin to speak in the city.
(Note: the aforementioned statement is not verified in the documentary "Nazi America: A Secret History". In this documentary the attorney for Collin and his group states that the Justice Department intervened, that it "sat down with the client and asked him what he would need to not march in Skokie". Collin's reply was that he be granted a permit to rally in Chicago, which was subsequently granted. Collin had been banned from holding rallies in Chicago parks because of the shrill nature of these gatherings.)
Downfall
Collin's downfall began with the revelation that his father, Max Simon Collin, was a Jew whose original surname had been "Cohen". Max Cohen/Collin claimed to have been a prisoner at Dachau concentration campNazi concentration camps
Nazi Germany maintained concentration camps throughout the territories it controlled. The first Nazi concentration camps set up in Germany were greatly expanded after the Reichstag fire of 1933, and were intended to hold political prisoners and opponents of the regime...
, where Frank Collin was said to have been conceived. While president of the NSPA, Collin was arrested by Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
police while having sex with a pair of 10-year-old boys. These revelations led to his dismissal from the neo-Nazi movement. A psychiatrist
Psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
who interviewed Collin declared that he was "consumed by hatred for his father"; it was argued that Collin rejected his father by becoming a neo-Nazi and adopting and publicly espousing antisemitic
Anti-Semitism
Antisemitism is suspicion of, hatred toward, or discrimination against Jews for reasons connected to their Jewish heritage. According to a 2005 U.S...
beliefs. Collin was convicted of child molestation and sent to Pontiac prison in 1979. He served three years of a seven-year sentence.
Author
After being released, Collin re-emerged into the spotlight as the author, "Frank Joseph". In 1987 he had a book published, The Destruction of AtlantisAtlantis
Atlantis is a legendary island first mentioned in Plato's dialogues Timaeus and Critias, written about 360 BC....
: Compelling Evidence of the Sudden Fall of the Legendary Civilization. Collin/Joseph is now a self-described neo-pagan
Neopaganism
Neopaganism is an umbrella term used to identify a wide variety of modern religious movements, particularly those influenced by or claiming to be derived from the various pagan beliefs of pre-modern Europe...
and edits The Ancient American magazine, which promotes the theory of diffusion of peoples in and out of the Americas in prehistoric times.
Media portrayal
Collin appeared as himself in several documentaries. The video "Chicago Nazis" documented the Skokie march. The History Channel special Nazi America: A Secret History included extensive footage of Collin.He has also appeared in or inspired several fictional portrayals. Skokie
Skokie (film)
Skokie is a 1981 television movie directed by Herbert Wise, based on the real life NSPA Controversy of Skokie, Illinois, which involved the National Socialist Party of America.The film premiered in the U.S. on November 17, 1981...
, a 1981 made-for-television film, dramatized the events. George Dzundza
George Dzundza
George Dzundza is an American television and film actor.-Personal life:Dzundza was born in Rosenheim, Germany, to a Ukrainian father and Polish mother who were forced into factory labour by the Nazis. He spent the first few years of his life in displaced persons camps with his parents and one...
portrayed Frank Collin. In the 1980 movie The Blues Brothers
The Blues Brothers (film)
The Blues Brothers is a 1980 musical comedy film directed by John Landis and starring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as "Joliet" Jake and Elwood Blues, characters developed from a musical sketch on the NBC variety series Saturday Night Live. It features musical numbers by R&B and soul singers James...
, Henry Gibson
Henry Gibson
Henry Gibson was an American actor and songwriter, best known as a cast member of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and for his recurring role as Judge Clark Brown on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
portrayed a caricature of Frank Collin as an "Illinois Nazi".
Books (as Frank Joseph)
- Atlantis in Wisconsin: New Revelations About the Lost Sunken City, 1995, ISBN 1880090120
- Edgar Cayce's Atlantis and Lemuria: The Lost Civilizations in the Light of Modern Discoveries, 2001, ISBN 0876044348
- Lost Pyramids of Rock Lake: Wisconsin's Sunken Civilization, 2002, ISBN 1931942013
- The Lost Treasure of King Juba: The Evidence of Africans in America before Columbus, 2003, ISBN 1591430062
- Synchronicity & You: Understanding the Role of Meaningful Coincidence in Your Life, 2003, ISBN 1843331020
- Last of the Red Devils: America's First Bomber Pilot, 2003, ISBN 1880090090
- The Destruction of Atlantis: Compelling Evidence of the Sudden Fall of the Legendary Civilization, 2004, ISBN 1591430194
- Survivors of Atlantis: Their Impact on World Culture, 2004, ISBN 1591430402
- The Atlantis Encyclopedia, 2005, ISBN 1564147959
- The Lost Civilization of Lemuria: The Rise and Fall of the Worlds Oldest Culture, 2006, ISBN 1591430607
- Opening the Ark of the Covenant: The Secret Power of the Ancients, The Knights Templar Connection, and the Search for the Holy Grail, 2007, ISBN 156414903X
- Atlantis and Other Lost Worlds, 2008, ISBN 1848370857
- Advanced Civilizations of Prehistoric America: The Lost Kingdoms of the Adena, Hopewell, Mississippians, and Anasazi, 2009, ISBN 1591431077
- Power of Coincidence: The Mysterious Role of Synchronicity in Shaping Our Lives, 2009, ISBN 1848372248
- Gods of the Runes: The Divine Shapers of Fate, 2010, ISBN 1591431166
- Atlantis and 2012: The Science of the Lost Civilization and the Prophecies of the Maya, 2010, ISBN 1591431121
External links
- R. D. Flavin, "Frank Collin: From neo-Nazi to Hyper-Diffusionist and Witch". Previously published in the Greenwich Village Gazette, Feb. 21, 1997, as "The Many Faces of Frank Collin".