The Order (Gruppe)

The Order (a.k.a. die Bruder Schweigen (or "The Order of the Silent Brotherhood") is a defunct American organization active mostly in the 1980s.

The Order described themselves as a white nationalist and revolutionary group, undertaking organized resistance to battle what they saw as an illegal and illegitimate government, which they called Zog. Their goals included the establishment a homeland for the white race. Critics (including the FBI) described The Order as an organized crime network of racist, neo-fascist, domestic terrorist, para-military cells.

The Order's manifesto was a "Declaration of War" penned by leader Robert Mathews, which suggested a strict adherence to the Geneva Convention, and which also insisted that rhetoric must culminate in some type of action.

Membership and ideology

The men and women of this organization were comprised of diverse political and religious backgrounds.

Despite their differences on some issues, The Order's members felt that Euro-Americans were in danger of losing their place in America, and saw their common ethnic and racial origins as a definitive "root point," and as the nexus of all their actions. They were bound together by a common ideology, which has been articulated thus:

"That the presence, history, and manifestations representing a 'unified European' heritage were being reduced either by design or happenchance to such an extent, that no honorable man or woman could, or would, remain silent."

Inspiration and actions

The Order was led by Robert Jay Mathews, a white nationalist. His beliefs were largely based on his early studies, his perception of the Cold War, and his perception of a changing America. Mathews was affected by many things, including poetry (Rudyard Kipling), philosophy (Friedrich Nietzsche), and authors like William Galey Simpson (Which Way, Western Man?) and Dr. William Pierce (National Alliance). His knowledge of the Constitution and the early American writers was voluminous.

The fundamental precepts of The Order were violent revolution against persons (known and unknown) who were seen as having usurped the rightful American government. These oponents were thought to be controlled by Israeli and capitalist interests, and were dubbed the "ZOG", for "Zionist Occupation Government".

Another goal of the Order was the "realignment" of what they saw as America's traditional Euro-centric commonwealth to once again represent and speak for the children of the original framers and pioneers. Members of the Order generally claimed direct descent from prominent persons in American history, adding, it is suggested, to the weight and burden of each member who felt duty-bound to re-establish a de jure "rule of law" suited to themselves and their likes.

Another Mathews manifesto, "White American Bastion", proposed a "homeland" for white Americans in the Pacific Northwestern U.S. Matthews thought that under ZOG control, he and like-minded people were denied a place to worship, congregate, marry, and hold property as they saw fit.

In order to fund these goals, Mathews led the Order through a series of violent crimes. Their first criminal effort was unspectacular: a robbery of a pornography shop, which netted less than $400. Afterwards, the Order were much more effective, making several lucrative bank robberies, as well as bombings of theaters and synagogues. The Order also ran a large counterfeiting operation, and executed a series of armored car robberies, including one in Ukiah, California that netted $3.8 million.

After beng arrested on counterfeitting charges, one member of the Order informed FBI agents as to the group's membership and methods. Based on this information, law enforcement was able to track down Mathews in December of 1984. He was living in a cabin on Whidbey Island, and he refused to surrender to authorities. He burned to death in a fire during the ensuing shoot-out, and is sometimes seen as a martyr to his cause.

Ten members of the Order were convicted under RICO statutes, implicating them all in a conspiracy. Under RICO laws, second- and third-hand testimony was admissable to finalize the convictions, but critcs have decried this as unconstitutional.

In a separate trial, three members of the Order were convicted of the June 18, 1984, killing of Alan Berg, a Jewish, leftist, Denver-area radio talk show host in Colorado. This killing--or perhaps assassination--and consequent trial form the core of Steven Dietz's 1988 play God's Country, and also loosely inspired Eric Bogosian's play Talk Radio (later adapted into a film by Oliver Stone).