German-American Bund

Discussions on all aspects of the United States of America during the Inter-War era and Second World War. Hosted by Carl Schwamberger.
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Marcus
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German American Bund

#16

Post by Marcus » 08 Mar 2008, 13:15

A YouTube video on the German American Bund:



/Marcus

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Doktor Krollspell
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Re: German American Bund

#17

Post by Doktor Krollspell » 08 Mar 2008, 15:01

Thanks for the movie clips Marcus! Here's a link to some photographs and information on Fritz Julius Kuhn of the Amerika-Deutscher Bund...

http://www.feldgrau.net/phpBB2/viewtopi ... &start=660


Regards from Stockholm,

Krollspell


Darrell English
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Re: German American Bund

#18

Post by Darrell English » 31 Mar 2008, 14:27

I have a few things in my collection on the GAB,some are on lone at a Holocaust Education Center hear in Mass.If you go on there web site you can see theas items http://www.hatikvah-center.org

ThomasG
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Re: German American Bund

#19

Post by ThomasG » 22 Apr 2008, 14:54

Germans are by nature joiners. How much the Bund is actually an undercover wing of Naziism and how much the innocent modern equivalent of an old-fashioned Turnverein is highly debatable, even among Bund members. Major operations of the Bund are week-end outings, where members in grey uniforms with Swastika brassards are drilled in German military tactics, sing German songs, listen to speeches in favor of Adolf Hitler. Dues of $9 a year partly go to buy camping sites, of which the Bund has 27 in as many cities. They also pay the salaries of Führer Kuhn and the district leaders whom he appoints. Major Bund centres are New York, Milwaukee and Los Angeles. Separate editions of the Deutscher Weckruf are printed in New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and Los Angeles. Unfortunately for its reputation as a legitimate wing of Naziism, the Bund did not suffer in the least when the Hitler Government disavowed all interest in it for the first time, two years ago. Instead, its membership steadily rose.

Major stated aims of the Bund are: 1) to fight the Jewish boycott on German goods, and 2) to stand as the nucleus of a U. S. army to defend the country against Communism.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/artic ... -2,00.html

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Re: German American Bund

#20

Post by JamesL » 22 Apr 2008, 16:52

Near where I live is a picnic grove which was a Bund gathering place. It was called Schwabishe Alb. The property was recently sold and homes are being built there.

When I was growing up there was a 'crazy old man' who lived down the street who was a Bund member. My parents told me to keep away from him. I gather that, during the war, he had a short-wave radio and tried to contact Hitler with it. The FBI eventually showed up and took the radio away.

Just this weekend, the Nazi Party had a rally in Washington DC, complete with swastika flags, SS runes, and so on. The police assigned to protect the Nazis outnumbered the Nazi attendees. Unfortunately, some anti-Nazi bystanders got too involved heckling the Nazis and they got arrested.

AlteKampfer
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German-American Bund

#21

Post by AlteKampfer » 20 Oct 2008, 01:09

Dear Colleagues:

I just wanted to discuss a nearly-forgotten part of German-American history, involving the German American Bund, a pro-Third Reich organization that operated throughout the German-American communities in the United States of America.

The German American Bund or German American Federation (German: Amerikadeutscher Volksbund) was an American Nazi organization established in the 1930s. Its main goal was to promote a favorable view of the Nazi Germany.

NSDAP member Heinz Sponknobel merged two older organizations, Gau-USA, and the Free Society of Teutonia, which were both small groups with only a few hundred members each, into Friends of New Germany. One of its early initiatives was to counter, with propaganda, a Jewish boycott of businesses in the heavily German neighborhood of Yorkville, Manhattan. Simultaneously, an internal battle was fought for control of the Friends in 1934; Sponknobel was ultimately ousted from leadership.


At the same time, the Dickstein investigation concluded that the Friends supported a branch of German dictator Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in America.After the investigation, Hitler advised all German nationals to withdraw from the Friends of New Germany. On March 19, 1936, Hitler placed an American citizen, Fritz Julius Kuhn, at the head of the party, hoping to gain some degree of American favor. The group's name was then changed to the German American Bund. At this time, the Bund established two training camps, Camp Nordland in Andover, Sussex County, New Jersey and Camp Siegfried in Yaphank, Suffolk County, New York.

The purpose and goals of the German American Bund consisted of the following:

A. Friendship and trade between Germany and the USA.
B. The adoption of those portions of National Socialism that it was felt would aid in the economic recovery of the USA.
C. Preservation of Germanic culture in the USA through history, language, and folk art for both members and the general public.
D. Family oriented social activities and gatherings at Bund meeting halls and summer camps. The family was considered the basic Bund unit.

After taking over in 1936, Kuhn started to attract attention to the Bund through short propaganda films that outlined the Bund's views. Later that year, Fritz Kuhn and some fifty Bund members boarded a boat to Germany, hoping to receive personal and official recognition from German Chancellor (Reichskanzler) Adolf Hitler during the Berlin Olympics. However, according to historian Charles Higham, Kuhn was one of the last people Hitler wanted to meet. Hitler wanted the American Bund to remain non-aggressive and relatively obscure. However, Kuhn did briefly meet with Hitler during a reception before the opening ceremonies. Kuhn later falsely reported to other Bund members that he met with Adolf Hitler and that Hitler had recognized him as the "American Führer."

Arguably, the zenith of the Bund's history occurred on George Washington's Birthday, February 19, 1939 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Some 20,000 people attended and heard Kuhn criticize President Franklin D. Roosevelt by repeatedly referring to him as “Frank D. Rosenfeld”, calling his New Deal the "Jew Deal", and stating his belief of Bolshevik-Jewish American leadership. Most shocking to American sensibilities was the outbreak of violence between protesters and Bund storm troopers.

Membership nationwide was about 20,000 to 22,000 with 4 to 5 times that many auxiliary members known as "Patrons". The Bund security force the O.D. (Ordnungsdienst - "Order Service") consisted of about 3,000 men at the height of the Bund's strength, with perhaps half that many again passing through its ranks at different times from its inception in 1924 until Bund leadership voted to cease all activities with the advent of WWII.

The Bund included apart from the O.D., a wives organization, a youth group for boys (Jugenschaft) and for girls the (Madenschaft) further divided by age. The Bund also owned various companies through which it published material and maintained economic solvency. These included AV publishing, AV Development, The German American Business League, a veterans group, (Frontkampferschaft), the consumers co op, and sympathizers auxiliary. The national membership approached 120,000 (including the auxiliary members), in some 100 units and 22 to 24 youth camps.

About 100 local units were located in 47 different states. The Bund ran approximately 22 to 24 youth summer camps across the country for family and youth activities. Camp Nordland in Andover, New Jersey was the largest with 204 acres of land.

The Bund was one of several German-American heritage groups; however, it was one of the few to express National Socialist ideals. As a result, many considered the group anti-American. In the last week of December 1942, led by journalist Dorothy Thompson, fifty leading German-Americans including Babe Ruth signed a "Christmas Declaration by men and women of German ancestry" condemning Nazism, which appeared in ten major American daily newspapers. In 1939, a New York tax investigation determined Kuhn had embezzled money from the Bund. The Bund operated on the theory that the leader's powers were absolute, and therefore did not seek prosecution. However, in an attempt to cripple the Bund, the New York district attorney prosecuted Kuhn. New Bund leaders would replace Kuhn, most notably with Gerhard Kunze, but these were only brief stints. Martin Dies and the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) were very active in denying any Nazi-sympathetic organization the ability to freely operate during World War II.

With the start of World War II, most of the Bund's members were placed in internment camps, and some were deported at the end of the war. Fritz Julius Kuhn was both interned and then deported to Germany. The Bund itself failed to become a major force in American politics and eventually died out. However, its influence is still felt in a number of American neo-Nazi groups.

An interesting historical website on the Bund includes pictures of uniformed O.D. members, Bund rallies, the Bund flag, and Bund memorabilia.

http://www.germanamericanbund.org/

I have attached two jpgs showing the Bund O.D. marching to a rally in Madison Square Garden and the the rally itself.

Here is the link to an interesting historical video about the German American Bund found on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw4_xmUgo3w

I had a grand-uncle who was a Bundist who was also an O.D. Mann, a veteran of WWI who served in the Imperial German Army and had emigrated to the United States of America in 1920. Arrested by the FBI in 1942, imprisoned, and deported to Germany in 1946. A good family man, good Lutheran, and loving father, son, and uncle. He died in impoverished in Germany in 1956.

Respectfully submitted,

Der Alte Kampfer
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Bund Rally.jpg (28.38 KiB) Viewed 3131 times

AlteKampfer
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Re: German-American Bund

#22

Post by AlteKampfer » 20 Oct 2008, 01:15

Dear Colleagues:

I just wanted to discuss a nearly-forgotten part of German-American history, involving the German American Bund, a pro-Third Reich organization that operated throughout the German-American communities in the United States of America.

The German American Bund or German American Federation (German: Amerikadeutscher Volksbund) was an American Nazi organization established in the 1930s. Its main goal was to promote a favorable view of the Nazi Germany.

NSDAP member Heinz Sponknobel merged two older organizations, Gau-USA, and the Free Society of Teutonia, which were both small groups with only a few hundred members each, into Friends of New Germany. One of its early initiatives was to counter, with propaganda, a Jewish boycott of businesses in the heavily German neighborhood of Yorkville, Manhattan. Simultaneously, an internal battle was fought for control of the Friends in 1934; Sponknobel was ultimately ousted from leadership.


At the same time, the Dickstein investigation concluded that the Friends supported a branch of German dictator Adolf Hitler's Nazi Party in America.After the investigation, Hitler advised all German nationals to withdraw from the Friends of New Germany. On March 19, 1936, Hitler placed an American citizen, Fritz Julius Kuhn, at the head of the party, hoping to gain some degree of American favor. The group's name was then changed to the German American Bund. At this time, the Bund established two training camps, Camp Nordland in Andover, Sussex County, New Jersey and Camp Siegfried in Yaphank, Suffolk County, New York.

The purpose and goals of the German American Bund consisted of the following:

A. Friendship and trade between Germany and the USA.
B. The adoption of those portions of National Socialism that it was felt would aid in the economic recovery of the USA.
C. Preservation of Germanic culture in the USA through history, language, and folk art for both members and the general public.
D. Family oriented social activities and gatherings at Bund meeting halls and summer camps. The family was considered the basic Bund unit.

After taking over in 1936, Kuhn started to attract attention to the Bund through short propaganda films that outlined the Bund's views. Later that year, Fritz Kuhn and some fifty Bund members boarded a boat to Germany, hoping to receive personal and official recognition from German Chancellor (Reichskanzler) Adolf Hitler during the Berlin Olympics. However, according to historian Charles Higham, Kuhn was one of the last people Hitler wanted to meet. Hitler wanted the American Bund to remain non-aggressive and relatively obscure. However, Kuhn did briefly meet with Hitler during a reception before the opening ceremonies. Kuhn later falsely reported to other Bund members that he met with Adolf Hitler and that Hitler had recognized him as the "American Führer."

Arguably, the zenith of the Bund's history occurred on George Washington's Birthday, February 19, 1939 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Some 20,000 people attended and heard Kuhn criticize President Franklin D. Roosevelt by repeatedly referring to him as “Frank D. Rosenfeld”, calling his New Deal the "Jew Deal", and stating his belief of Bolshevik-Jewish American leadership. Most shocking to American sensibilities was the outbreak of violence between protesters and Bund storm troopers.

Membership nationwide was about 20,000 to 22,000 with 4 to 5 times that many auxiliary members known as "Patrons". The Bund security force the O.D. (Ordnungsdienst - "Order Service") consisted of about 3,000 men at the height of the Bund's strength, with perhaps half that many again passing through its ranks at different times from its inception in 1924 until Bund leadership voted to cease all activities with the advent of WWII.

The Bund included apart from the O.D., a wives organization, a youth group for boys (Jugenschaft) and for girls the (Madenschaft) further divided by age. The Bund also owned various companies through which it published material and maintained economic solvency. These included AV publishing, AV Development, The German American Business League, a veterans group, (Frontkampferschaft), the consumers co op, and sympathizers auxiliary. The national membership approached 120,000 (including the auxiliary members), in some 100 units and 22 to 24 youth camps.

About 100 local units were located in 47 different states. The Bund ran approximately 22 to 24 youth summer camps across the country for family and youth activities. Camp Nordland in Andover, New Jersey was the largest with 204 acres of land.

The Bund was one of several German-American heritage groups; however, it was one of the few to express National Socialist ideals. As a result, many considered the group anti-American. In the last week of December 1942, led by journalist Dorothy Thompson, fifty leading German-Americans including Babe Ruth signed a "Christmas Declaration by men and women of German ancestry" condemning Nazism, which appeared in ten major American daily newspapers. In 1939, a New York tax investigation determined Kuhn had embezzled money from the Bund. The Bund operated on the theory that the leader's powers were absolute, and therefore did not seek prosecution. However, in an attempt to cripple the Bund, the New York district attorney prosecuted Kuhn. New Bund leaders would replace Kuhn, most notably with Gerhard Kunze, but these were only brief stints. Martin Dies and the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) were very active in denying any Nazi-sympathetic organization the ability to freely operate during World War II.

With the start of World War II, most of the Bund's members were placed in internment camps, and some were deported at the end of the war. Fritz Julius Kuhn was both interned and then deported to Germany. The Bund itself failed to become a major force in American politics and eventually died out. However, its influence is still felt in a number of American neo-Nazi groups.

An interesting historical website on the Bund includes pictures of uniformed O.D. members, Bund rallies, the Bund flag, and Bund memorabilia.

http://www.germanamericanbund.org/

I have attached two jpgs showing the Bund O.D. marching to a rally in Madison Square Garden and the the rally itself.

Here is the link to an interesting historical video about the German American Bund found on Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw4_xmUgo3w

I had a grand-uncle who was a Bundist who was also an O.D. Mann, a veteran of WWI who served in the Imperial German Army and had emigrated to the United States of America in 1920. Arrested by the FBI in 1942, imprisoned, and deported to Germany in 1946. A good family man, good Lutheran, and loving father, son, and uncle. He died in impoverished in Germany in 1956.

Respectfully submitted,

Der Alte Kampfer
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David Thompson
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Re: German-American Bund

#23

Post by David Thompson » 20 Oct 2008, 16:58

Kuhn, Fritz -- leader, German-American Bund {convicted 1939 of embezzlement of funds from the German-American Bund (NYT 5 Feb 1948:1:2); stripped of US citizenship 1943 and deported to Germany 1945; arrested by American authorities on arrival but released Apr 1946 (NYT 5 Feb 1948:1:2); trial by Munich denazification court announced 1 Feb 1947 (NYT 2 Feb 1947:10:1); acquitted 4 Feb 1947 (NYT 5 Feb 1947:4:8); arrested 23 Jul 1947 (NYT 24 Jul 1947:5:8; NYT 27 Sept 1947:2:4; LT 24 Jul 1947:3e); escaped from Dachau internment camp c. 2 Feb 1948 (NYT 5 Feb 1948:1:2; NYT 6 Feb 1948:13:1); convicted in absentia by a Munich denazification tribunal; sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and forfeiture of all property 20 Apr 1948 (NYT 21 Apr 1948:7:6); recaptured at Munich 16 Jun 1948 (NYT 18 Jun 1948:11:2; LT 18 Jun 1948:3a); received new trial on appeal 29 Dec 1948 (NYT 30 Dec 1948:7:6; NYT 15 Feb 1949:10:6; NYT 16 Feb 1949:14:4); sentenced to 2 years imprisonment 22 Feb 1949 and released for time served (NYT 23 Feb 1949:1:2; LT 23 Feb 1949:3d).}

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Elf Friend
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German American Bund

#24

Post by Elf Friend » 19 Oct 2009, 01:14

I've done some research on this rather large pre-WWII group. I gather it was spread across the USA. I found an article summarizing a fairly remote book: Wunderlich’s Salute by Marvin D. Miller. I'm wondering if anyone has more background information on this organization. Does it exist any longer--in any form?

As best as I can tell, it was quite active and very pro-Hitler, pro-Nazism prior to WWII.

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Re: German American Bund

#25

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 25 Oct 2009, 23:15

Off the top of my head the Bund was shut down by law shortly after the US DoW on Germany around the 10 December 1941. Before then the FBI & other Federal law enforcement had been increasing survelliance & investigation of the Bund members for any illegal acts. I cant say exactly how extensive that was or if it went any where.

The real blow to the Bund was from the various news items coming from Europe concerning German actions, particularly in the war. The bombing of Rotterdam was well reported, as was the bombing of Britain. The bombing of Belgrade in 1941 is nearly forgoton in the US now, but it was widely publicized then. Other well known war time incidents of 1939 to 1941 such as the drowning of 77 children in the sinking of the Benares were widely published in the US newspapers and cinema news reels.

The point her is this. The Bund was made up of admirer's of nazi Germanys civilized facade of the 1930s. It was thought he nazis had restored order to Germanys streets and created conditions for a stable safe social order. The images of Rotterdam or Belgrade in flames caused many Bund members to rethink their assumptions about nazi Germany. As the general public feelings went against Germany or the nazis membership in the Bund evaporated. The hard core facist or nazi sympathisers migrated to other organizations after the war. ie: the John Birch Socioty attracted some.

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German-American Bund?

#26

Post by OpanaPointer » 07 Aug 2010, 15:36

Anybody got a recommendation on reading for this topic?
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Mark in Cleveland, Tn.
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Re: German-American Bund?

#27

Post by Mark in Cleveland, Tn. » 07 Aug 2010, 17:45

No, but if you ever come across genuine Bund relics, armbands/paper /etc. they are very desirable and worth quite a bit of cash.

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Re: German-American Bund?

#28

Post by OpanaPointer » 07 Aug 2010, 18:09

Mark in Cleveland, Tn. wrote:No, but if you ever come across genuine Bund relics, armbands/paper /etc. they are very desirable and worth quite a bit of cash.
I have some of their handouts and tracts, but they go to the Smithy when I croak.
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Carl Schwamberger
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Re: German-American Bund?

#29

Post by Carl Schwamberger » 08 Aug 2010, 19:33


OpanaPointer
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Re: German-American Bund?

#30

Post by OpanaPointer » 08 Aug 2010, 19:41

Carl Schwamberger wrote:Have you seen this web site yet?

http://www.oac.cdlib.org/data/13030/gv/ ... 0nf0gv.pdf

Or this?

http://www.jstor.org/pss/2147597
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