Erich Josef Gliebe (born 1963) is an American former neo-Nazi, and former boxer. In his youth, he was a professional boxer by the ring name of "The Aryan Barbarian". He joined the neo-Nazi group the National Alliance in the 1990s, and was the head of its affiliated record label Resistance Records. He also edited the label's music magazine, Resistance.
Following the death of the National Alliance's first leader, William Pierce, in 2002, Gliebe became its chairman. His leadership was generally considered poor; under his leadership, the group went from the most significant neo-Nazi group in the United States to functionally irrelevant. Membership dropped from 1,400 to 75, and it experienced several schisms. Gliebe exited the neo-Nazi movement in 2014, simultaneously giving leadership of the organization to Will Williams.
Early life and boxing career
Erich Josef Gliebe was born in 1963 in Cleveland, Ohio. His father was a German immigrant to the United States who had served in the German Wehrmacht during World War II, and was wounded fighting the Russians; his father taught him to deny the Holocaust and the tenets of Nazi beliefs. As a child, Gliebe learned the German language and folk dancing. He was raised in Ohio, living in Cleveland and Parma. He attended Normandy High School and graduated in 1981. Gliebe was undefeated in five professional fights in the light-heavyweight division over a period of three years. His bouts were at venues within West Virginia. Four fights were won by TKO and one fight was won by a split decision. He became interested in white supremacy through the white power music scene. He was employed locally, working as a tool and die maker and worked locally in the white power music scene, utilizing the name "Life Rune Records". Pierce considered him one of the best members of the group; he regularly sold Pierce's novel The Turner Diaries and booked booths at local gun shows. He staged "European-American" culture festivals in an effort to get new recruits. He was well regarded among skinheads (the primary readers of the magazine) particularly due to his past as a boxer, but he was sometimes considered out of step with the other elements of the subculture. He soon issued an apology for, according to Leonard Zeskind, "not understanding the nuances of the skinhead subculture". He became leader of the group, and continued to lead Resistance Records. Gliebe's leadership of the NA was widely considered to be poor.
Due to Gliebe's leadership decisions, the National Alliance's membership declined precipitously; the group went from the most significant neo-Nazi group in the United States to functionally irrelevant. Membership dropped from 1,400 under Pierce to 75 in 2012, and experienced several schisms. In 2004 several important members defected due to dissatisfaction with Gliebe's leadership. Gliebe was also, in the 2000s, embroiled in an extensive and public personal drama surrounding his wife, her activities, and his sexual behavior, in what professor of sociology Randy Blazak called an "X-rated soap opera". Gliebe then fired most of the rest of the leadership after they attempted to challenge his leadership, Strom and his associates proceeded to found their own organization, the National Vanguard, claiming Pierce's legacy. In 2013, Gliebe sold Resistance Records, and ended the National Alliance's existence as a membership organization.