Wolfgang Droege
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Walter Droege (25 September 1948 - 13 April 2005) was a Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 white supremacist, neo-Nazi and founding leader of the Heritage Front
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 Schipper...

.

Early life

Droege was born in Forchheim
Forchheim (Oberfranken)
Forchheim is a large town in Upper Franconia in northern Bavaria, and also the seat of the administrative district of Forchheim. Forchheim is a former royal city, and is sometimes called the “Gateway to the Franconian Switzerland”, as the region is known. Its population, as of October 2008, was...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. His parents and grandparents had been enthusiastic supporters of the Nazi Party
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...

, and Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher
Julius Streicher was a prominent Nazi prior to World War II. He was the founder and publisher of Der Stürmer newspaper, which became a central element of the Nazi propaganda machine...

 was a friend of the family. Droege and his mother moved to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 in 1962. In 1967, he moved back to Germany to join the military but was rejected for health reasons. He moved back to Canada and became a Canadian citizen in the early 1970s.

1970s

Droege became interested in far-right politics and joined an extremist group, the Western Guard
Western Guard Party
The Western Guard Party was a white supremacist group based in Toronto, Canada. It evolved out of the far-right anti-Communist Edmund Burke Society that had been founded in 1967 by Don Andrews, Paul Fromm, Leigh Smith and Al Overfield.Andrews became the dominant figure in the EBS, and relaunched...

, in 1974 at the prompting of Don Andrews
Don Andrews
Donald Clarke Andrews is a Canadian white supremacist. He is also the leader of the neo-Nazi Nationalist Party of Canada and a perennial candidate for mayor of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.-Early years:...

 and later joined Andrews's Nationalist Party of Canada
Nationalist Party of Canada
The Nationalist Party of Canada is an unregistered Canadian political party that was founded in 1977 by Don Andrews , who continues as leader of the party...

. He was arrested, charged, and convicted of damage to property and mischief in 1975 after spraying "white power" slogans along the route of the African Liberation Day march in Toronto. In December 1976 he joined the Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically...

, then led by David Duke
David Duke
David Ernest Duke is a former Grand Wizard of the Knights of the Ku Klux Klan an American activist and writer, and former Republican Louisiana State Representative. He was also a former candidate in the Republican presidential primaries in 1992, and in the Democratic presidential primaries in...

, after attending the "International Patriotic Congress" in New Orleans organized by Duke. Droege was second in command to Canadian Grand Wizard James Alexander McQuirter
James Alexander McQuirter
James Alexander McQuirter was the Grand Wizard on the Canadian Knights of the Ku Klux Klan in the 1980s...

 and the pair attempted to start a KKK branch in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

 and also organized for the Klan in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 where he spread Duke's "one law for all
One law for all
One law for all is a slogan with a long history dating back to the Roman Empire and their oppression of peoples in newly conquered lands.In recent years though, this has become a shiboleth of racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan who remodeled themselves with kinder and gentler language in order...

" and "equal rights for everyone" slogans.

1980s

In 1981, Droege helped organize a failed attempt, codenamed "Operation Red Dog
Operation Red Dog
Operation Red Dog was the code name of plan by Canadian and American mercenaries, largely affiliated with white supremacist and Ku Klux Klan groups, to overthrow the government of Dominica, where they planned to restore former Prime Minister Patrick John to power...

", to invade the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...

 nation of Dominica
Dominica
Dominica , officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island nation in the Lesser Antilles region of the Caribbean Sea, south-southeast of Guadeloupe and northwest of Martinique. Its size is and the highest point in the country is Morne Diablotins, which has an elevation of . The Commonwealth...

 and overthrow its government and restore deposed Prime Minister Patrick John
Patrick John
Colonel Patrick Roland John was the Prime Minister of Dominica as well as the Premier of Dominica. During his premiership Dominica gained independence from the United Kingdom and he became the first Prime Minister of Dominica. He was a successful trade union leader and a mayor of Roseau before...

 to power. According to testimony presented at the trial of Droege and his nine co-conspirators, in exchange for restoring John to power, Droege would have been permitted to use the island as the centre of a drug
Illegal drug trade
The illegal drug trade is a global black market, dedicated to cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of those substances which are subject to drug prohibition laws. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs by drug prohibition laws.A UN report said the...

-refinement and trafficking operation.

The attempted coup went awry after a CFTR
CFTR (AM)
CFTR, broadcasting under the brand 680News, is an all-news radio station based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, which broadcasts live 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 680 kHz on the AM dial...

 radio reporter who had been approached about an "exclusive story" decided to contact the police. Droege was sentenced to a three-year prison
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...

 sentence for his mercenary
Mercenary
A mercenary, is a person who takes part in an armed conflict based on the promise of material compensation rather than having a direct interest in, or a legal obligation to, the conflict itself. A non-conscript professional member of a regular army is not considered to be a mercenary although he...

 activities. As it was launched from New Orleans, this event was derided as the "Bayou of Pigs" fiasco by critics such as Don Andrews.

A book about the plot, by Canadian journalist Stewart Bell, was published in August 2008.

In 1985 he was arrested in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 as an illegal alien
Alien (law)
In law, an alien is a person in a country who is not a citizen of that country.-Categorization:Types of "alien" persons are:*An alien who is legally permitted to remain in a country which is foreign to him or her. On specified terms, this kind of alien may be called a legal alien of that country...

 and charged with cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

 possession, as well as possession of an illegal knife. He served four years of a 13-year sentence.
Upon his release from jail in 1989, Droege went to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 to attend a congress of what became the International Third Position
International Third Position
International Third Position ' was a neo-fascist organization formed by the breakaway faction of the neofascist British National Front and Italian neofascists led by Roberto Fiore....

 and then returned to Canada to found the Heritage Front. The growth of the neo-Nazi group prompted the creation of Anti-Racist Action
Anti-Racist Action
The Anti-Racist Action Network is a decentralized network of anti-fascist and anti-racists in North America. ARA activists organize actions to disrupt neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, and help organize activities against fascist and racist ideologies. ARA groups also oppose sexism,...

 (ARA) in Toronto which devotes itself to combating the Front and other groups.

1990s

In 1992, Droege's connections with racist organizations led to his expulsion from the Reform Party of Canada
Reform Party of Canada
The Reform Party of Canada was a Canadian federal political party that existed from 1987 to 2000. It was originally founded as a Western Canada-based protest party, but attempted to expand eastward in the 1990s. It viewed itself as a populist party....

 — Droege and a number of others from this community were trying to enter the Reform Party when it expanded in Ontario, and to take advantage of the party's inexperience. Later, in the 1993 Federal Election, Droege and other Heritage Front members made a point of being seen outside of Reform Party events in the city of Toronto. In 1993, following an attack with ARA members in retaliation for their attack on the house of Gary Schipper, the Heritage Front's spokesman, Droege was charged and convicted of aggravated assault and possession of dangerous weapons, and he served two months of a three-month sentence. Following his release from prison, Droege drifted away from organized racial activity and worked for a time as a bailiff
Bailiff
A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed...

 with a longtime acquittance Alan Overfield. After losing his job, he returned to cigarette and drug trafficking as well as auto theft. In 1998 he pleaded guilty to possession of a stolen car.

2000s

Droege's fifty-fifth birthday party was held at Jack Astor's restaurant in Etobicoke, Ontario
Etobicoke, Ontario
Etobicoke is a dissolved municipality located within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the western section of the current city, it had an official population of 338,117 as measured by the 2001 Census and 334,491 people as of the 2006 Census. While it only contains 13% of...

, just weeks after the same restaurant was the site of a confrontation between Anti-Racist Action
Anti-Racist Action
The Anti-Racist Action Network is a decentralized network of anti-fascist and anti-racists in North America. ARA activists organize actions to disrupt neo-Nazi and white supremacist groups, and help organize activities against fascist and racist ideologies. ARA groups also oppose sexism,...

 and supporters of Ernst Zündel
Ernst Zündel
Ernst Christof Friedrich Zündel is a German Holocaust denier and pamphleteer who was jailed several times in Canada for publishing literature which "is likely to incite hatred against an identifiable group" and for being a threat to national security, in the United States for overstaying his visa,...

.

Droege was found shot to death on April 13, 2005, fallen in the hallway of his lowrise apartment
Apartment
An apartment or flat is a self-contained housing unit that occupies only part of a building...

 in Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough, Ontario
Scarborough is a dissolved municipality within the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the eastern part of Toronto. It is bordered on the south by Lake Ontario, on the west by Victoria Park Avenue, on the north by Steeles Avenue East, and on the east by the Rouge River...

 outside of his door. The gunman, Keith Deroux, had approached him and told him to kneel. With a gun to his head, Droege did as he was told. He was shot through the back of his head and killed instantly. Investigators discovered that Droege's apartment contained the suspect who had barricaded himself inside; after negotiations with the Emergency Task Force
Emergency Task Force
The Emergency Task Force ' is the tactical unit of the Toronto Police Service . It is mandated to deal with high risk situations like hostage taking, emotionally disturbed persons, high risk arrests, warrant service and protection details. The unit was created in 1965, and inspired the television...

, Keith Deroux submitted to arrest without further incident.

Droege's remains were cremated and returned to his native Germany.

On 16 June 2006, Deroux pleaded guilty to manslaughter
Manslaughter
Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being, in a manner considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is said to have first been made by the Ancient Athenian lawmaker Dracon in the 7th century BC.The law generally differentiates...

 and was sentenced to ten years in prison without regard for time in pre-trial custody. According to an agreed statement of facts read out in court
Court
A court is a form of tribunal, often a governmental institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law...

, Deroux was an alcoholic
Alcoholism
Alcoholism is a broad term for problems with alcohol, and is generally used to mean compulsive and uncontrolled consumption of alcoholic beverages, usually to the detriment of the drinker's health, personal relationships, and social standing...

 with paranoid
Paranoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...

 delusions fuelled by cocaine
Cocaine
Cocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system, an appetite suppressant, and a topical anesthetic...

, who murdered his dealer (Droege), convinced that he was keeping his house under audio and video surveillance
Surveillance
Surveillance is the monitoring of the behavior, activities, or other changing information, usually of people. It is sometimes done in a surreptitious manner...

. Deroux furthermore believed that people were burrowing into his house through a tunnel, and that all of this was Droege's revenge for Deroux's having laughed at Droege's political views. Max French
Max French
David Maxwell French is a far-right political activist in Canada and a leading figure of the Heritage Front.A railway brakeman by training, in 1988, French was a fringe candidate running to be mayor of Scarborough, Ontario as the candidate of the white supremacist Nationalist Party of...

, a friend of Droege's, told the Toronto Star
Toronto Star
The Toronto Star is Canada's highest-circulation newspaper, based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Its print edition is distributed almost entirely within the province of Ontario...

that Droege's racist and extremist political stance and previous convictions made it difficult for him to find regular jobs.http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1150494610540

Associates

  • George Burdi
    George Burdi
    George Burdi, also known as George Eric Hawthorne , is a Canadian musician who initially became known for his role in White nationalist organizations. He led the Canadian branch of the World Church of the Creator, which formed an allegiance with the now-defunct nationalist organization Heritage Front...

  • Marc Lemire
    Marc Lemire
    Marc Lemire is a figure in the Canadian white supremacist movement. He works closely with leader Paul Fromm, and is the webmaster of the Hamilton, Ontario-based Freedom-Site which he began in 1996. He has been called a "bigot" by Jonathan Kay of the National Post...

  • Max French
    Max French
    David Maxwell French is a far-right political activist in Canada and a leading figure of the Heritage Front.A railway brakeman by training, in 1988, French was a fringe candidate running to be mayor of Scarborough, Ontario as the candidate of the white supremacist Nationalist Party of...

  • Paul Fromm
  • Al Overfield
    Al Overfield
    Alan Overfield is a Canadian white supremacist.He was a founding member of the Edmund Burke Society established by Paul Fromm, Don Andrews, and Leigh Smith. He was also part of an attempted takeover by Fromm of the Ontario wing of the national Social Credit Party of Canada...


External links

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