George Warner Lyndow (1900-1975) was an American fascist who despite being persecuted for his beliefs, bounced back and almost single handedly preserved and promoted fascism in America after World War II.
A native of Vermont, Lyndow was the son of a lumber company executive. When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, he joined the army and fought in France. Like many future fascists, the war had a profound effect on Lyndow who conceived of the kind of man forged in the trenches of the Great War as a creative and dynamic warrior; a man who recognized violence as a creative force and who was willing to risk all and sacrifice all for a great, transforming cause. As a result, these new men – fascist men -- were the only ones worthy of positions of power and prestige, unlike their crafty and conniving liberal parliamentary predecessors who were adept at starting wars but let others fight them.
After graduating from Amherst, Lyndow moved to New York and pursued a writing career. His first book The Dead, the Dying and the Damned had originally been written as a true account of his experiences in the war. However, his publisher suggested he turn it into a novel to better reflect Lyndow’s talent for dramatic narration. It proved to be a boon for the young writer as the novel sold well. In addition to a raft of articles, Lyndow produced several other books in the1920s.
It was in the 1920s that Lyndow became enamored of fascism. Fearing Bolshevism would consume Western civilization; Lyndow was impressed with the Italian Fascists’ success against them. Noting that Mussolini shared his views on war only drew him closer. Lyndow was so keen on fascism that he studied Italian and made two trips to Italy to see fascism for himself and to gather material for articles. In 1931 he published an article in 20th Century magazine titled, “Fascism: What it is and What it is Not” which stirred so much reader comment that Lyndow turned it into a 1933 book: The Future is Fascism.
By the early 1930s, Lyndow’s writing career began to wane and, with a wife and two children to support, he took outside jobs to make ends meet in the hard days of the Depression. Times were also hard for men of his convictions. “The fascist has no sanctuary in the political wilderness of this America,” Lyndow wrote in 1936 and wander he did. At various times he supported Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal (which he believed did not go far enough), Sen. Huey Long’s “Share the Wealth” movement, Father Charles Coughlin’s National Union for Social Justice (Lyndow introduced Coughlin at a rally in Rochester, NY and was a staff member on his presidential campaign), William Dudley Pelley’s Silvershirts and Wyman Yates’ Blueshirts. In 1937 Lyndow began publishing a bi-weekly, six-page mini-tabloid called Spearhead which offered support for fascism at home and the Mussolini and Hitler regimes abroad. At its height in 1940, Spearhead had 40,000 subscribers nationwide.
When the U.S. joined World War II, Spearhead was shut down by the federal government and Lyndow was arrested on charges of sedition. He was convicted of those charges in 1942 and sent to an internment camp at Seagoville, Texas (also located in that camp were American fascist sympathizers Wyman Yates, Theodore Andricks and John Travers as well as British BUF member Anthony Trumpington). Ironically, Lyndow’s eldest son, Paul (born in 1924), was killed fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. His father’s request to attend the funeral was denied.
After the war, Lyndow looked to start life over at almost 50. His wife had divorced him after his sedition conviction and, with no family reconciliation possible; he moved to Los Angeles in 1946 and took a job with Ostrum Printing. In 1951, Lyndow started a newsletter he called Frontline which was primarily an anti-communist publication. By placing ads for Frontline in various right-wing publications, he soon found a large group of subscribers and churned out weekly editions. He received some financial backing from wealthy Southern California businessman and anti-communist John Tunnison. With this infusion of cash, Lyndow established Spearhead Press (a tribute to his old 1930s broadsheet).
Spearhead Press started by reprinting a range of books on a variety of topics whose copy writes had run out and were considered in the public domain. By the mid-1950s the venture had proved so successful that Lyndow began publishing books by political authors, many of whom were supporters or were sympathetic to fascism. The writers for whom Lyndow provided an outlet reads like a who’s who of post-war fascism: Lawrence Dennis, Theodore Andricks, John Travers, Anthony Trumpington, Harold Lomax, Robert Thorwyn, Charles Ciroan, Orazio Zumez, Ronan O’Gara and Rex Burchill (William Jenkins). It was also about this time that he began bending Frontline more toward the fascist/Third Positionist point of view and spiced its contents with the writings of Dennis, Travers, Ciroan, Oswald Mosely, Paul LeLonde and Olis Danis.
Lyndow also used Spearhead Press to publish his own books: Confessions of an Enemy of the State (the account of his trial and imprisonment), False Glory: America in World War II and How We Got Here, How We Can Get Out (revisionist look at the 20th century/Cold War). He also published a valuable compendium of fascist/synarchist essays in Between the Monoliths: An Anti-Communist, Anti-Capitalist Reader.
Throughout the 1950s and into the mid-1970s, Lyndow was often a guest on issues-oriented radio programs. He made several guest appearances on local television shows around the country as well. In 1967, Lyndow turned Frontline and Spearhead Press over to his close associate, Robert Throwyn and retired. He died at his home in Costa Rica in 1975.
George Lyndow almost single-handedly kept the flame of fascism burning in America at a time when it was considered dead and buried. He also helped foster two new aspects of fascism – Synarchism and Third Positionism – by giving them a voice. Many brave and intelligent fascists from America and beyond would have been forever silenced were it not for his efforts.
A native of Vermont, Lyndow was the son of a lumber company executive. When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, he joined the army and fought in France. Like many future fascists, the war had a profound effect on Lyndow who conceived of the kind of man forged in the trenches of the Great War as a creative and dynamic warrior; a man who recognized violence as a creative force and who was willing to risk all and sacrifice all for a great, transforming cause. As a result, these new men – fascist men -- were the only ones worthy of positions of power and prestige, unlike their crafty and conniving liberal parliamentary predecessors who were adept at starting wars but let others fight them.
After graduating from Amherst, Lyndow moved to New York and pursued a writing career. His first book The Dead, the Dying and the Damned had originally been written as a true account of his experiences in the war. However, his publisher suggested he turn it into a novel to better reflect Lyndow’s talent for dramatic narration. It proved to be a boon for the young writer as the novel sold well. In addition to a raft of articles, Lyndow produced several other books in the1920s.
It was in the 1920s that Lyndow became enamored of fascism. Fearing Bolshevism would consume Western civilization; Lyndow was impressed with the Italian Fascists’ success against them. Noting that Mussolini shared his views on war only drew him closer. Lyndow was so keen on fascism that he studied Italian and made two trips to Italy to see fascism for himself and to gather material for articles. In 1931 he published an article in 20th Century magazine titled, “Fascism: What it is and What it is Not” which stirred so much reader comment that Lyndow turned it into a 1933 book: The Future is Fascism.
By the early 1930s, Lyndow’s writing career began to wane and, with a wife and two children to support, he took outside jobs to make ends meet in the hard days of the Depression. Times were also hard for men of his convictions. “The fascist has no sanctuary in the political wilderness of this America,” Lyndow wrote in 1936 and wander he did. At various times he supported Franklin Roosevelt and the New Deal (which he believed did not go far enough), Sen. Huey Long’s “Share the Wealth” movement, Father Charles Coughlin’s National Union for Social Justice (Lyndow introduced Coughlin at a rally in Rochester, NY and was a staff member on his presidential campaign), William Dudley Pelley’s Silvershirts and Wyman Yates’ Blueshirts. In 1937 Lyndow began publishing a bi-weekly, six-page mini-tabloid called Spearhead which offered support for fascism at home and the Mussolini and Hitler regimes abroad. At its height in 1940, Spearhead had 40,000 subscribers nationwide.
When the U.S. joined World War II, Spearhead was shut down by the federal government and Lyndow was arrested on charges of sedition. He was convicted of those charges in 1942 and sent to an internment camp at Seagoville, Texas (also located in that camp were American fascist sympathizers Wyman Yates, Theodore Andricks and John Travers as well as British BUF member Anthony Trumpington). Ironically, Lyndow’s eldest son, Paul (born in 1924), was killed fighting the Japanese in the Pacific. His father’s request to attend the funeral was denied.
After the war, Lyndow looked to start life over at almost 50. His wife had divorced him after his sedition conviction and, with no family reconciliation possible; he moved to Los Angeles in 1946 and took a job with Ostrum Printing. In 1951, Lyndow started a newsletter he called Frontline which was primarily an anti-communist publication. By placing ads for Frontline in various right-wing publications, he soon found a large group of subscribers and churned out weekly editions. He received some financial backing from wealthy Southern California businessman and anti-communist John Tunnison. With this infusion of cash, Lyndow established Spearhead Press (a tribute to his old 1930s broadsheet).
Spearhead Press started by reprinting a range of books on a variety of topics whose copy writes had run out and were considered in the public domain. By the mid-1950s the venture had proved so successful that Lyndow began publishing books by political authors, many of whom were supporters or were sympathetic to fascism. The writers for whom Lyndow provided an outlet reads like a who’s who of post-war fascism: Lawrence Dennis, Theodore Andricks, John Travers, Anthony Trumpington, Harold Lomax, Robert Thorwyn, Charles Ciroan, Orazio Zumez, Ronan O’Gara and Rex Burchill (William Jenkins). It was also about this time that he began bending Frontline more toward the fascist/Third Positionist point of view and spiced its contents with the writings of Dennis, Travers, Ciroan, Oswald Mosely, Paul LeLonde and Olis Danis.
Lyndow also used Spearhead Press to publish his own books: Confessions of an Enemy of the State (the account of his trial and imprisonment), False Glory: America in World War II and How We Got Here, How We Can Get Out (revisionist look at the 20th century/Cold War). He also published a valuable compendium of fascist/synarchist essays in Between the Monoliths: An Anti-Communist, Anti-Capitalist Reader.
Throughout the 1950s and into the mid-1970s, Lyndow was often a guest on issues-oriented radio programs. He made several guest appearances on local television shows around the country as well. In 1967, Lyndow turned Frontline and Spearhead Press over to his close associate, Robert Throwyn and retired. He died at his home in Costa Rica in 1975.
George Lyndow almost single-handedly kept the flame of fascism burning in America at a time when it was considered dead and buried. He also helped foster two new aspects of fascism – Synarchism and Third Positionism – by giving them a voice. Many brave and intelligent fascists from America and beyond would have been forever silenced were it not for his efforts.
