Rising Out of Hatred: The Awakening of a Former White Nationalist

by Eli Saslow

For years Derek had taught other white nationalists the tactics of verbal debate, but now he thought his old talking points sounded callous and ill-conceived. “Is there anything still holding me to this beyond loyalty?” he remembered thinking. He needed time to sort out his thoughts, so he walked by himself through the center of Belgrade. He continued into Kalemegdan Park and toward the Belgrade Fortress, lit by streetlights and perched high above the Danube River. The thick stone towers cast shadows across the park as Derek walked along the hulking fortress walls, which told the epic history of the city. It had been built in the first century by the Celts, conquered by the Romans, and besieged by the Goths and the Huns. For more than two thousand years the fortress had been constantly occupied by one civilization after the next—by Serbians, Hungarians, Ottomans, and Yugoslavs; by Byzantine Christians who carved crosses into the walls and by Arabic Muslims who called it Dar al Jihad. A dozen civilizations had risen and then fallen on the fortress grounds, a succession of races always battling each other for supremacy, destroying the castle walls again and again so they could rebuild society on top of the same damaged rubble. What remained of the fortress was a beautiful amalgamation: Serbian ramparts on top of Roman walls, with Turkish and Austrian fortifications. Derek climbed to the top of the fortress, took some photos, and then strolled down through the park, walking b...