Arno Michaelis | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1970 or 1971 (age 54–55) Mequon, Wisconsin |
| Occupation | Non-fiction author |
| Writing career | |
| Notable works | My Life After Hate The Gift of Our Wounds |
Arno Michaelis (born 1970 or 1971) is an American author, activist and former neo-Nazi. He has written two books and in 2011 co-founded Life After Hate, an advocacy group, with the group's goal being to "build a safer society by making it possible for people to break free from lives of violent hate and extremism through evidence-based interventions.”
Michaelis grew up in an "alcoholic, emotionally cold household" in Mequon, Wisconsin, and became a bully at school. He began "drinking profusely" at age 14, and became involved with neo-Nazi ideology and music at age 16. He dropped out of high school and went on to front Centurion, a neo-Nazi metal band in Milwaukee for seven years, although he "couldn't carry a tune". Although Michaelis had doubts about the community, he found it difficult to consider leaving.
In 1994, he broke up with his partner, becoming a single parent to their 18-month-old daughter. He broke from the neo-Nazi community later that year, after realizing "if I didn't leave, prison or death would take me from my daughter". By 1996, he was completely divorced from the community. He went on to work in information technology.
Michaelis was a volunteer with Barack Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
In 2010, Michaelis self-published a memoir, My Life After Hate, which he revised in 2012. In 2018, he co-wrote the memoir The Gift of Our Wounds alongside Pardeep Kaleka.
In 2011, he co-founded Life After Hate, although by 2017 he was no longer involved with the group.
Michaelis co-founded the community group Serve2Unite with Pardeep Kaleka, whose father was killed in the Wisconsin Sikh temple shooting in 2012.
Michaelis has worked with organizations such as Parents For Peace.
Michaelis is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Raised in a non-religious family, he was a practicing Buddhist by 2017.