Nazis in the US: Fritz Kuhn, American Fuhrer & the German American Bund (1936-1941)

[appalachiablue]

Last edited Sat Jul 20, 2019, 11:00 AM - Edit history (2)

(9 mins). The German American Bund, or German American Federation (German: Amerikadeutscher Bund; Amerikadeutscher Volksbund, AV), was a German-American pro-Nazi organization established in 1936 to succeed Friends of New Germany (FoNG), the new name being chosen to emphasize the group's American credentials after press criticism that the organization was unpatriotic. The Bund was to consist only of American citizens of German descent. Its main goal was to promote a favorable view of Nazi Germany.

Friends of New Germany: In May 1933, Nazi Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess gave German immigrant and German Nazi Party member Heinz Spanknöbel authority to form an American Nazi organization. Shortly thereafter, with help from the German consul in New York City, Spanknöbel created the Friends of New Germany by merging two older organizations in the United States, Gau-USA and the Free Society of Teutonia, which were both small groups with only a few hundred members each. The FoNG was based in New York City but had a strong presence in Chicago. Members wore a uniform, a white shirt and black trousers for men with a black hat festooned with a red symbol. Women members wore a white blouse and a black skirt.

The organization led by Spanknöbel was openly pro-Nazi, and engaged in activities such as storming the German language New Yorker Staats-Zeitung with the demand that Nazi-sympathetic articles be published, and the infiltration of other non-political German-American organizations. One of the Friends early initiatives was to counter, with propaganda, the Jewish boycott of German goods, which started in March 1933 to protest Nazi anti-Semitism. In an internal battle for control of the Friends, Spanknöbel was ousted as leader and subsequently deported in October 1933 because he had failed to register as a foreign agent.

The organization existed into the mid-1930s, although it always remained small, with a membership of between 5,000 and 10,000, consisting mostly of German citizens living in the United States and German emigrants who only recently had become citizens. In December 1935, Rudolf Hess ordered all German citizens to leave the FoNG and recalled all of its leaders to Germany.



- Flag of the German American Bund.

Bund activities: On March 19, 1936, the German American Bund was established as a follow-up organization for the Friends of New Germany in Buffalo, New York. The Bund elected a German-born American citizen Fritz Julius Kuhn as its leader (Bundesführer). Kuhn was a veteran of the Bavarian infantry during World War I and an Alter Kämpfer (old fighter) of the Nazi Party who, in 1934, was granted American citizenship. Kuhn was initially effective as a leader and was able to unite the organization and expand its membership but came to be seen simply as an incompetent swindler and liar.

The administrative structure of the Bund mimicked the regional administrative subdivision of the Nazi Party. The German American Bund divided the United States into three Gaue: Gau Ost (East), Gau West and Gau Midwest..The Bund established a number of training camps, including Camp Nordland in Sussex County, New Jersey, Camp Siegfried in Yaphank, New York, Camp Hindenburg in Grafton, Wisconsin, Deutschhorst Country Club in Sellersville, Pennsylvania, Camp Bergwald in Bloomingdale, New Jersey, and Camp Highland in New York state.

The Bund held rallies with Nazi insignia and procedures such as the Hitler salute and attacked the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jewish-American groups, Communism, "Moscow-directed" trade unions and American boycotts of German goods. The organization claimed to show its loyalty to America by displaying the flag of the United States alongside the flag of Nazi Germany at Bund meetings, and declared that George Washington was "the first Fascist" who did not believe democracy would work...Read More, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/German_American_Bund

-> *'American Nazis in the 1930s, the German American Bund,' The Atlantic, June 5, 2017.
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2017/06/american-nazis-in-the-1930sthe-german-american-bund/529185/

[TheRealNorth]

1. I always wondered

Are there old FBI records of persons associated with the German-American Bund. Wonder if Fritz (Fred) Trump was a member.

[appalachiablue]

2. Interesting, and he was involved with a Klan event 1920s.

[appalachiablue]

3. Nazi Rally, German American Bund, Fritz Kuhn, Feb. 20, 1939,

Madison Square Garden, New York City. Feb. 20, 1939, Birthday of George Washington, the Nazi's "1st American Fascist."

(2 mins). 20,000 people attended the Bund Rally on Feb. 20, 1939 in NYC.

[iamthebandfanman]

4. we left

a hole lotta low level nazis in their positions in germany because it was easier than training new people..
not to mention Operation Paperclip. thats what i find frightening.

[3Hotdogs]

5. If I recall, we took out Sadam Hussain's officials and bureaucrats when we took over Iraq.

The country then went in the shitter.

[tomhagen]

6. Trumper Tip: Cut your MAGA hats up with scissors; then you can wear them on your arm

[bucolic_frolic]

7. Best idea this month, would it awaken the public?

[concreteblue]

8. It's time. I'm in:

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