Hitler's American Friends

I have just now read HITLER'S AMERICAN FRIENDS a second time and am impressed even more now how clearly written it is but also by the book's organization and how it explicitly describes the different layers of Nazi activity in the U.S. starting with the most lightweight - "The Bund" - and working it's way up in order and rank of evil intensity and danger to the final chapter called "The Spies", the truly most serious Nazi espionage and secret activity going on in the U.S. before the War. In between these two chapters, we find fascinating feedback on the peculiar "Silver Legion", Nazi involvement with mainstream religion, U.S. Senators, businessmen, college students, and the "America First" movement. Hart confirms an impression I have been developing for some time which is that the German-American Bunds consisted of a bunch of very dumb fat, middle aged men who the upper Nazi echelons refused to take seriously. Their leader, Fritz Kuhn, "who had once styled himself as America's Hitler had been revealed to be an embezzling adulterer with a penchant for silly nicknames". Hart says: "In the end, the Bund was a miserable failure, destroyed by the vanity of it's charismatic leader. Hitler and his government never placed much stock in Kuhn and ultimately disowned him". Or, in 1938, "embassy officials were subsequently banned from having any contact with Kuhn or the Bund". The Bund was seen as "unhelpful by the Reich's leaders" and were seen "in many ways" as Hitler's "least effective allies in the United States." Not the talk of lovebirds!I have to say that Chapter Two is more astounding in it's description of failed novelist William Dudley Pelley, the national field marshal of the "Silver Legion" based in Asheville, North Carolina. Mr. Pelley bestowed various titles on himself. I like his pompous choice of "THE CHIEF" the best, although he could have elevated himself further, had he considered it, to "THE SUPER CHIEF." I was not prepared to find someone dedicated to the Nazi movement who in current times would have fit well into the "New Age Community" (and other religious movements) with all of his visions and prophecies he said he received from God. He proposed something called a "Christian Commonwealth" in the United States based on a "curious sort of mysticism, compounded of astrology, mythology, and spiritualism." Things deteriorate considerably as he then goes on to claim the Jews were solely responsible for not only blocking the establishment of his "system" but were at the root of all else that ails the world. What fascinates me about many of these self-professed "enlightened beings" is how they transition on to truly inappropriate and incongruous conclusions which they somehow believe are divinely inspired. Then they get themselves in very serious trouble which God may or may not have warned them would happen.In the last two years, I have been reading everything I can find on Nazi activity in the U.S. before the War and I am convinced few people have any idea as to the depth of Nazi intrusion in our lives up to Pearl Harbor, right under our noses. Bradley Hart has really put something together here which is truly thorough and is not written with a stuffy academic flavor. As I have been investigating, with a team of others, the murders of Hazel and Nancy Frome in the west Texas desert in 1938, apparently by Nazi assassins, in a very complicated espionage plot as outlined in the late Clint Richmond's FETCH THE DEVIL, Mr. Hart's book has been a valuable supplement to these studies.

I've been fascinated with U.S. political history, pre-1942, which seems to have been swept under the rug since the early '50s in a way that suggests Orwell's 1984 description of the Ministry of Truth. As a fan of film noir, gangster b&w movies, WW2 and Cold War dark propaganda films, I gradually caught on that something sinister was operating in the shadows during the 1915-1941 years, especially following back my interests in rock-music-is-the-devil's-music literature interests. Looking at the 1948-55 HUAC hearings going after all things artsy not-ASCAP pop, leading back to the era when Rudy Vallee and Bing Crosby's crooning destroyed young women's virtue, a doorway to the occult, I read that FDR was a communist, that Vice President Henry Wallace was a communist (later President Eisenhower was a communist in right wing literature, too), that the Silver Shirts infiltrated the Los Angeles Police Department, and Newark witnessed political street fighting breaking up Bundist meetings. During the late '30s, Nazi meddling and espionage investigations were generally flipped to hunting for communists, er, liberals, civil rights agitators, unions....This book concentrates on the above board political movement that wrapped itself in both the Swastika and Stars and Stripes' flags, taught and propagandized American kids German, and looked forward to the overthrow of the United States. And they drank a lot of beer, had picnics, paraded around in military-like uniforms/costumes, had lots of parade flags, listened to speeches by strutting Fearless Leaders (with financial problems) . The most interesting aspects of the book were the sections on American exchange students being courted (proselytized?) in Germany in the runup to the war, the Germany gutted its college education (uh, cut off its basic research scientists, and what about engineers?), and put in place exchange controls that didn't permit business investors to access their money. The book's section on exchange students never touches on, say, students as potential U.S. intelligence during that peace interval.The book confines itself to the true believers, members and sympathizers who functioned somewhat like lodges and clubs with a grim political face, generally numbered in the tens of thousands, with likely very large but brief numbers of slightly interested casual fans. The German Nazis seemed to view the American version as sympathetic but potentially bumbling pests who could cause at best diplomatic complication towards Germany's war buildup; keeping the U.S out of the upcoming war was more important and far safer than supporting amateur insurrection and spying.The book leaves out the German-American business integration during the war financially and technologically (aluminum aircraft tech, trucks, machine tools, patents, American oil trading through foreign subsidiaries into 1944, airplane fuel refining, etc...) that was far more important and dangerous in the pre-War years than the social movement covered in the book; however, financial and industrial ties and setting up American-neutral-German materiel trading during the war is outside the scope of the text here.

This book is well researched and well written. Most people probably do not know about the broad support for Hitler's Germany in the United States. The author is careful and objective in discussing the America First movement. He refrains from exaggeration, but the truth about that movement is damning enough. This story gives us lessons that are important today.

With DJT promising to be a dictator from day 1 (ya know he won’t stop with “just one”) This book details how Hitler and his supporters in religious, media, public and governmental institutions tried and nearly succeeded in perverting democracy back in the 30s and WWII.Eerily and frighteningly similar to what is happening in the US right now! Very honest. A Must Read to anyone that thinks this hasn’t been tried here before And anyone who thinks it can’t happen here!!

Generally a well documented and interesting commentary on the subject. However the chapter on American business men is glaringly silent on IBM and its German subsidiary Dehomag.

Fascinating expose of the pre WW11 movement within the US, often referred to simply as the isolationist movement. In reality the groups detailed gave aid & comfort to our enemies either by design, for profit or out of ignorance based on propaganda from the Nazi regime.Curious parallels with todays Maga cult, right wing media & many of our current politicians in power. We should heed the warnings & call out fascism for what it is, certainly not patriotism

Bradley W. Hart has done a tremendous amount of research to put together this expose of the actual amount of ultra right wing activity that existed and that was a real threat to democracy as we know it in the years building up to WW ll . Well written and a very enjoyable read .

AWESOME

This is an excellent overview of the many US supporters of Hilter prior to the US entry into WW II. Although much of the book covers familiar ground covered by other authors, it seems to be more comprehensive than other books. The discussion of Father Coughlin was particularly useful.Particularly valuable is the section detailing what happened to each of the main figures after the war. Very little follow-up was done on these people and the author asks what would have happened if Joseph McCarthy would have identified former Nazi sympathizers in the same way he identified former communists.The structure of the book, dividing the discussion into areas like businessmen, religion, and politicians, is very effective. My main criticism is that it is sometimes difficult to keep timelines straight.

I can now understand why the USA waited for Pearl Harbour before joining WW2. Politically it could have gone the other way - US supporting the Nazis by keeping out of the war. The parallels with today are scary and riveting. So much hate, racism, and smugness by rightists and the Republican Party are so dangerous. This book is essential reading for anyone who cares about America today.