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The Religious Right's Early Matriarch
Even though Ms. Dilling had little formal education, she commanded a large following linking up with people like Catholic Father Coughlin and Lutheran Gerald Winrod. She attended Chicago University and took courses in music before dropping out. She was married twice and died in 1967. Twice she was arrested for disorderly conduct. She was also charged with sedition in l944. 1 Elizabeth's anti-Semitic pronouncements are legendary. David Duke praises them on his web site.2 She believed that the Jewish faith in America was a direct descendant of the Pharisee's religion in the New Testament. She wrote a book to expose the secret Jewish code of honor. In her book, she claimed true Jewish religious practices encouraged pedophilia and bestiality. She also wrote that Jews believed incest was preferred to Christianity; Gentiles were beasts; Jews were told to always make money; and sodomy was allowed for Hebrews. She also believed that Jews of today are a non-racial sect. The Anti-Defamation League has up on its site a response to these allegations. She also advocated that Jews were behind Communism. Elizabeth traveled abroad and spent some time in Communist Russia. She was impacted by the persecution inflicted upon the peoples of the region. What really caught her attention was the proposal that Communism was to be taught there and eventually it would spread to America. She vowed to do whatever it took to stop this spread. If it meant embracing Hitler that was fine with her.3 Her saga reminds me of a quote by Charles Coughlin. Coughlin said he only had two options, Communism or Fascism - he chose Fascism. Ms. Dilling believed that Albert Einstein was a Communist, as well as just about anyone who did not agree with her. She died believing Henry Ford never truly recanted his anti-Semitism in his heart of hearts and was misquoted as apologizing for such. She even wrote a book claiming that Franklin Roosevelt was a "Red," which to her was the word she often used for Communists.4 Elizabeth believed that an emerging elite was going to try to make America into a Communist state. Harry Fosdick, the famous moderate pastor in New York, was among her targets which she feared were behind the plot. She worked closely with the America First Committee, a group which was seeking to keep the nation out of war in Europe. She was close friends with Charles Lindberg, as both sought to stem the tide of the nation's commitment to rescue England and Europe from Nazi Germany. In her opinion, the problem did not come from Germans - the problems all had a root in Jewish groups who were ruining the world.5 Elizabeth published the book OCTOPUS. She peddled the book as being written by a Rev. Frank Johnson. She actually wrote the manuscript which was a diagram of how Jewish leaders ran the world economy and caused wars. She admitted to using the fake author's name to throw the Jews off her trail. She spoke to students at the University of Chicago years later in her life and told the students it was a Red school. She then defended Fascism to the audience. She also believed the YMCA was a secret Communist organization. In UNDER COVER, she is linked to hard right Nazi groups in the nation. The violent fringe of the Nazi movement in the nation was also connected to her influence.6 Not only was she arrested for disorderly conduct, but she was investigated by the Dies' Committee on Un-American Activities.7 Her organizations were listed on the Nazi roll of honor in Germany along with Charles Winrod's. A sign on her office in Chicago read: "Patriotic Research Bureau for the Defense of Christianity and Americanism, Director Elizabeth Dilling." With Coughlin's influence, she organized the Mothers' Movement. It was a group of mothers seeking to keep the nation out of the war. When she led her group to the steps of the Capitol waving an American flag, she was stopped by police. She called the police who stopped her "Jewish Stooges."8 The interesting connection Ms. Dilling had with the early religious right is noteworthy. Particularly, her connection with the Premillennialism movement. Some on talk2action have noted the link between LaHay, Hagee and others to hard right anti-Semitic sentiments. Of interest is the fact that Moody Bible Institute's President was friends with Elizabeth, and she claimed he believed in the PROTOCOLS. Moody is one of the foremost schools of thought in the Premillennialist movement in the nation. Ms. Dilling used the school's radio station to broadcast programs. She also boasted that the famous Moody-connected Pastor H.A. Ironside allowed her to speak at his church. Ironside supposedly never let any other woman in the nation share his pulpit except for Elizabeth. She loved Ironside almost as much as she hated Fosdick. Ironside is well-known as a writer of Biblical commentaries around the nation. He was greatly influenced by the Plymouth Brethren, a Premillennialism group. He received an honorary degree from Bob Jones University and was invited to teach at the famous Dallas Theological Seminary. He was known as the "Archbishop of Fundamentalism."9 Other authors have established the anti-Semitic connections with the roots of this eschatology, and it is noteworthy the influence Ms. Dilling held with leaders in the movement during the forties and fifties. She was truly a matriarch for the movement, and her legacy, if not her books, continues to inspire a new host of right wing fringe types. Roy Carlson said that Elizabeth Dilling considered Hitler an angel.10
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The Religious Right's Early Matriarch | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
The Religious Right's Early Matriarch | 7 comments (7 topical, 0 hidden)
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