Hitler's American Friends : : the Third Reich's Supporters in the United States

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Call Number: 320.533 Ha
On Shelf At: Downtown Library

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown 2nd Floor 4-week checkout	320.533 Ha	4-week checkout	On Shelf

The Bund -- The Silver Legion and the chief -- The religious right -- The senators -- The businessmen -- The students -- America First! -- The spies.
"Americans who remember World War II reminisce about how it brought the country together. The less popular truth behind this warm nostalgia: until the attack on Pearl Harbor, America was deeply, dangerously divided. In [this book], Bradley W. Hart uncovers the homegrown groups who sought to protect and promote Hitler, leave Europeans (and especially European Jews) to fend for themselves, and elevate the Nazi regime. Some of these friends were Americans of German heritage who joined the Bund, whose leadership dreamed of installing a stateside Führer. Some were as bizarre and hair-raising as the Silver Legion, run by an eccentric who claimed that Hitler fulfilled a religious prophesy. Some were Midwestern Catholics like Father Charles Coughlin, an early right-wing radio star who broadcast anti-Semitic tirades. Some were even members of Congress who used their franking privilege--sending mail at cost to American taxpayers--to distribute German propaganda. And celebrity pilot Charles Lindbergh ended up speaking for them all at the America First Committee. We try to tell ourselves it couldn't happen here, but Americans are not immune to the lure of fascism. [This book] is a powerful look at how the forces of evil manipulate ordinary people, how we stepped back from the ledge."--Dust jacket.

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Caveats submitted by apf1950 on May 1, 2023, 7:59pm This is a frightening account of the threats to the US in the 1920s and 1930s. He might at times lump genuine isolationists with supporters of the Nazi regime. He has an interesting chapter on US business leaders. Beyond Henry Ford's well-known anti-Semitism, he describes how Gord, GM/Opel, Coca-Cola, and others did business with the Reich before and during the war and the Allies afterward. The last included repatriating profits they were not allowed to remove from Germany by the Nazis. He even explains how Coke had to create Fanta in Germany.

In addition, the writer too often makes leaps from the 1930s to the present. Those who read or write regularly will be bothered by the sloppy editing of this book. In almost every chapter, words are omitted in sentences, words are entered twice, or punctuation is quite sloppy. It doesn't undermine the author's analysis -- it's merely distracting or annoying.