Frank Collin And Daniel Burros Are the most direct examples of individuals with Jewish AshkeNazi ancestry who led venomous Nazi movements Additional examples of 20 individuals whose lives, ideologies, or actions reflect a complex and often contradictory relationship with their heritage, identity, or associations with extremism.

While Frank Collin and Daniel Burros are the most direct examples of individuals with Jewish ancestry who participated in antisemitic movements, such cases are extremely rare and do not represent a broader trend.  The idea that Jewish people secretly control or infiltrate extremist movements is a dangerous antisemitic conspiracy theory with no basis in reality. 

These cases are better understood as examples of the complexities of identity, self-hatred, and the psychological dynamics of extremism, rather than evidence of a hidden pattern.  

 The case of Frank Collin, the neo-Nazi leader who was later revealed to have Jewish ancestry, is indeed a bizarre and ironic historical anomaly. However, such cases are exceedingly rare, and there are very few documented instances of individuals with Jewish heritage leading antisemitic or extremist movements. 

Below, I will provide a few examples of similar historical figures, though none are exact parallels to Collin’s situation. These examples in my humble opinion highlight the complexity of identity, self-hatred, and the psychological dynamics of extremism.

1. Frank Collin (USA)

Role: Leader of the National Socialist Party of America (NSPA).

Revelation: Collin was born Frank Joseph Cohn, and it was later discovered that his father was a Jewish Holocaust survivor. This revelation came to light after his arrest on unrelated charges in the late 1970s.

Irony: Collin led a neo-Nazi group that espoused virulent antisemitism, despite his own Jewish ancestry.

2. Daniel Burros (USA)

Role: A member of the American Nazi Party and the Ku Klux Klan.

Revelation: Burros was exposed as Jewish by a New York Times reporter in 1965. He had hidden his Jewish background for years while actively participating in antisemitic and white supremacist organizations.

Outcome: After his Jewish identity was revealed, Burros died by suicide.

3. John Amery (UK)

Role: A British fascist who collaborated with the Nazis during World War II and helped recruit for the SS.

Revelation: Amery’s father, Leo Amery, was a British politician of Jewish descent, though John Amery himself was not raised Jewish and was openly antisemitic.

Irony: Despite his father’s Jewish heritage, Amery actively supported the Nazi regime and its genocidal policies.

4. William Joyce (UK/Germany)

Role: Known as “Lord Haw-Haw,” Joyce was a British fascist who broadcast Nazi propaganda to the UK during World War II.

Revelation: Joyce’s mother was Protestant, but his father was an Irish Catholic with possible Jewish ancestry. While Joyce himself was not Jewish, his association with fascism and his father’s background have been subjects of speculation.

5. Otto Weininger (Austria)

Role: A philosopher and antisemitic writer in early 20th-century Europe.

Revelation: Weininger was born to a Jewish family but converted to Christianity. He wrote extensively about the “inferiority” of Jews and women, despite his own Jewish heritage.

Irony: Weininger’s self-hatred and antisemitism were central to his work, and he died by suicide at a young age.

6. Walter Laqueur (Germany/USA)

Role: A historian and scholar who wrote about fascism and extremism.

Revelation: While not an extremist himself, Laqueur documented cases of Jewish self-hatred and individuals with Jewish backgrounds who collaborated with antisemitic regimes. His work highlights the psychological complexities of such cases.

7. Herschel Grynszpan (Germany/France)

Role: A Jewish refugee whose assassination of a German diplomat in 1938 was used by the Nazis as a pretext for Kristallnacht.

Revelation: Grynszpan was not an antisemite, but his actions inadvertently fueled Nazi propaganda. Some historians have speculated about his motivations, including possible internalized struggles with identity.

8. Alfred Rosenberg (Germany)

Role: A leading Nazi ideologue and architect of the Holocaust.

Revelation: While Rosenberg was not Jewish, rumors about his possible Jewish ancestry circulated during his lifetime, likely spread by his political enemies. These rumors were false but highlight the obsession with “hidden Jewishness” in Nazi ideology.

9. Paul Rassinier (France)

Role: A Holocaust denier and far-right writer.

Revelation: Rassinier was a socialist and a Holocaust survivor who later became a Holocaust denier. While not Jewish, his case is often cited as an example of self-contradiction and extremism.

10. Roy Cohn (USA)

Role: A lawyer and political fixer who worked for Senator Joseph McCarthy during the Red Scare and later for Donald Trump.

Revelation: Cohn was Jewish but often associated with antisemitic figures and policies. His personal life and actions have been the subject of significant scrutiny and criticism.

Additional examples of individuals whose lives, ideologies, or actions reflect a complex and often contradictory relationship with their heritage, identity, or associations with extremism. While not all are exact parallels to Frank Collin's case, they add further layers to the discussion of self-hatred, internalized prejudice, and identity politics:

11. Bobby Fischer (USA/Iceland)

Role: Chess grandmaster and world champion.
Revelation: Fischer, who was of Jewish descent, became increasingly vocal in his later years about antisemitic views, blaming Jews for various global issues.
Irony: Despite his Jewish ancestry, Fischer publicly denounced Jewish people and expressed admiration for Adolf Hitler, creating a paradox between his heritage and his rhetoric.

12. Jakob Böhme (Germany)

Role: Christian mystic and philosopher.
Revelation: Although not Jewish, Böhme criticized Judaism harshly in his writings, reflecting deep-seated antisemitic sentiments despite borrowing mystical and philosophical elements that echoed Kabbalistic ideas.
Irony: His writings show influence from Jewish mysticism, yet he used these concepts to frame a critical stance against Jews.

13. David Myatt (UK)

Role: A far-right extremist and neo-Nazi ideologue, later a proponent of Islamic extremism.
Revelation: While not of Jewish descent, Myatt’s life is an example of someone who repeatedly renounced previous ideologies, moving from neo-Nazism to radical Islam and back to a more philosophical position.
Irony: His shifting alliances and ideologies reflect the complexities of extremist psychology, though he never denied or addressed any specific heritage.

14. Theodor Herzl (Austria-Hungary)

Role: Founder of modern political Zionism.
Revelation: While Herzl himself was Jewish and devoted to Zionism, his initial writings reflected a level of discomfort and ambivalence about Jewish identity, including his controversial ideas about assimilation before advocating for a Jewish state.
Irony: Herzl’s early works illustrate internalized struggles with Jewish identity before transitioning to becoming a champion for Jewish self-determination.

15. Karl Marx (Germany/UK)

Role: Philosopher, economist, and revolutionary socialist.
Revelation: Born to a family of Jewish descent, Marx wrote critical and often derogatory statements about Jews, most notably in his essay On the Jewish Question.
Irony: Despite his Jewish ancestry, Marx’s writings perpetuated negative stereotypes, which were later weaponized by antisemitic ideologues.

16. Ernst Röhm (Germany)

Role: Leader of the Nazi Party’s Sturmabteilung (SA) and close ally of Adolf Hitler until the Night of the Long Knives.
Revelation: Röhm was not Jewish, but his homosexuality and anti-bourgeois attitudes created tensions within the Nazi Party, which publicly denounced both traits.
Irony: His position as a high-ranking Nazi contrasts with the regime’s persecution of homosexuals and anyone seen as deviating from their ideals.

17. Maurice Barrès (France)

Role: Writer, nationalist, and antisemitic polemicist.
Revelation: Barrès vehemently opposed Dreyfus in the infamous Dreyfus Affair, but later works suggest he admired certain aspects of Jewish culture, such as their perceived resilience and community spirit.
Irony: His antisemitism existed alongside grudging admiration, showcasing the contradictions in his nationalist ideology.

18. Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński (Poland)

Role: Writer, translator, and physician.
Revelation: Boy-Żeleński was a cultural critic who occasionally criticized Jewish communities despite collaborating with Jewish intellectuals and benefiting from their patronage.
Irony: His criticism of Jewish culture contrasts with his personal alliances and friendships within Jewish intellectual circles.

19. Jean-Marie Le Pen (France)

Role: Founder of the far-right National Front (now National Rally).
Revelation: Although not Jewish, Le Pen has been accused of making antisemitic remarks while maintaining relationships with Jewish financiers and supporters.
Irony: His rhetoric often clashed with his personal and political relationships, exposing contradictions in his extremist ideology.

20. Hjalmar Schacht (Germany)

Role: Economist and key figure in Nazi Germany’s economic policies.
Revelation: Schacht’s wife was of Jewish descent, yet he worked closely with the Nazi regime. While he later opposed Hitler, his early complicity remains a subject of historical scrutiny.
Irony: His personal ties to a Jewish family highlight the complexities of personal and professional alignment with an antisemitic regime.

While Frank Collin and Daniel Burros are the most direct examples of individuals with Jewish ancestry who participated in antisemitic movements, such cases are extremely rare and do not represent a broader trend. 

The idea that Jewish people secretly control or infiltrate extremist movements is a dangerous antisemitic conspiracy theory with no basis in reality. 

These cases are better understood as examples of the complexities of identity, self-hatred, and the psychological dynamics of extremism, rather than evidence of a hidden pattern.