Not many of us have been in the company of a Neo-Nazi skinhead — at least not by choice. But on Sunday, April 29, the community will have the opportunity to hear a former skinhead, now a consultant for the California-based Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Task Force Against Hate, speak about his experiences as a recruiter, organizer and propagandist for the white supremacist and Neo-Nazi movements.
His appearance is part of a two-day conference for area middle- and high-school teachers on teaching the Holocaust. Coordinated by the Holocaust Education and Resource Center, a program of the Coalition for Jewish Learning, the Milwaukee Jewish Federation’s education program, the event is entitled “Teaching the Holocaust: Awareness and Responsibility.” It will be held at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s Golda Meir Library, 2311 E. Hartford Ave.
“T.J.,” who prefers to keep his identity confidential, spent more than half of his 30 years promoting hate, bigotry and racism. From his unique perspective, he now speaks to thousands of students; teachers; at-risk teens; and military, FBI, federal and law enforcement officials and professionals throughout the country about the recruitment of young people into hate groups.
In a telephone interview last week, T.J. told The Chronicle that it was likely his need to belong that drew him into hate movements.
After his parents divorced when he was 13, he said he became involved in the punk rock movement, hanging out at shows. “I hung out with some older guys and tried to act ‘big’ in their presence,” he said. “If someone accidentally knocked into me while dancing, I’d hit ‘em pretty hard. I guess you could say my reaction was violent.
“These guys were what I’d call ‘pro-America’; they stood up for their rights. By the time I was 14, the movement began to focus on racism and by the time I was 15, it was full-fledged white-power supremacy.”
A high-school drop-out who had trouble with police, T.J. said he avoided prison by joining the U.S. Marine Corps. While there he said he “read ‘Mein Kampf’ and ‘White Power’ and associated with other guys who shared my beliefs. [W]e learned recruitment techniques which we used to lure top soldiers into our movement. We trained for a race war in America and for the economic collapse of the U.S. government…. We were prepared for any division we could bring within the country.”
After three years in the service, he was given an “other than honorable discharge” and returned to his home state of California, where he spent four years working as a recruiter for the White Power Movement who targeted “twelve-year-olds.”
Although he originally became involved with hate groups out of his need to belong, T.J. said that he came to enjoy the feelings of power, control and renown that he derived from his activities. “We were manipulating kids, school administrators and other people in the community. It was a high.”
Though T.J. said he felt no regrets for what he was doing, the reaction of one of his two young sons to a television show triggered his decision to leave his work (he had married and divorced a woman who was also involved in the movement).
“[My son] told me he didn’t want to watch any TV shows with ‘niggers’ on them. At first I was proud, but then I began to worry about how he would grow up. I’d been in jail and didn’t want that for my kids. But it took me 20 months to get out,” he said.
During his struggle to leave, his mother saw a TV program on the Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Museum of Tolerance. After much prodding, T.J met with the center’s Rabbis Abraham Cooper and Marvin Hier.
“I was afraid they would toss me out, but instead we talked for weeks about my experiences. In 1996, they asked me to speak against the movement. Since then, I’ve spoken to thousands of school kids and personally rescued 19 from the White Power Movement.
“To get kids out,” he said, “is really a great feeling. Kids at this age are very vulnerable. I fell into the wrong group. How different things would have been if a basketball coach had gotten hold of me instead. Now, when I think back on what I believed, it doesn’t seem possible that it was really me.”
The primary lesson he’s learned that he follows with his own boys is the need for parents to listen. “It is more than just being there for your kids. You have to listen to them and pick up on the subtleties.”
T.J. will speak from 3:30-5 p.m., after which a reception and dinner will be held from 5-6:30 p.m. During this time, well-known local Holocaust educator Ateret Cohn will be honored for the work she has done in Milwaukee. Cost of the dinner is $25.
At 7 p.m. Dr. Henry (Hank) Greenspan, a clinical psychologist and playwright at the University of Michigan, will present his award-winning voice play “Remnants,” which explores the human experience of living and finding meaning after the Holocaust.
During the 1970s, Greenspan interviewed survivors for his doctoral dissertation. In a telephone interview from his office in Ann Arbor, he explained that he had “visited some cousins in Israel during the 1960s who were survivors. I found their stories compelling and decided to write my thesis on how and when survivors spoke about their experiences with their children and when their children asked about them.
This was before the surge of oral history projects. As I began my interviews, my focus changed. I found my conversations became ongoing reflections. There is no testimony, no video — just in-depth conversations.”
Greenspan said he has been speaking with some of the same people for 20 years, and is still close to six or seven of the original 40-50 survivors with whom he spoke.
“Remnants,” written in 1990, is more of a recital than a play, Greenspan said. “I see it as another way of teaching — a different educational tool. I don’t feel I’m ‘playing’ a survivor per se. I’m telling someone else’s story, sort of like a singer, and my interpretation plays on the audience’s imagination.”
Greenspan is also the author of a book, “On Listening to Holocaust Survivors: Recounting and Life History.” His other plays include “That Again,” “Slideshow” and “Call Forwarding.”
“Remnants” won several awards, including the John Houseman Theatre Festival in New York City and the New Hope Performing Arts Festival in Philadelphia. It first aired on radio in Ann Arbor in 1992, after which it was distributed nationwide. It has also been performed as a stage play throughout the country and is often used in Holocaust education projects.
Event chair Eva Zaret said, “Teaching the Holocaust is the most important tool against hatred and bigotry. The Holocaust must be taught to our children and to all mankind to ensure that those who were murdered by the Nazis are remembered and that it will never happen again.”
Program co-sponsors are the UWM College of Letters and Science and the Wisconsin Society for Jewish Learning. It is funded by the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc., and the Jewish Community Foundation, the federation’s endowment development program.
For reservations or more information, call CJL, 962-8860.
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