TRUMP RENEWS THE DREAM AT MSG
Nazis in Madison Square Garden
The Third Reich on Eighth Avenue
by Alex Q. Arbuckle
May 17, 1934
A mass meeting of members of the Friends of New Germany.
Image: Bettmann/Getty Images
Shortly after Adolf Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor of Germany in January 1933, the Nazis consolidated control over the country. Looking to cultivate power beyond the borders of Germany, Deputy Führer Rudolf Hess charged German-American immigrant Heinz Spanknobel with forming a strong Nazi organization in the United States.
Combining two small extant groups, Spanknobel formed Friends of New Germany in July 1933. Counting both German nationals and Americans of German descent among its membership, the Friends loudly advocated for the Nazi cause, storming the offices of New York’s largest German-language paper, countering Jewish boycotts of German businesses and holding swastika-strewn rallies in black-and-white uniforms.
Spanknobel was deported in October 1933 for failing to register as a foreign agent, and two years later Hess called for the leaders of Friends to return to Germany and for all German citizens to leave the organization.
May 17, 1934
Image: Bettmann/Getty Images
May 17, 1934
Image: Hank Olen/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
May 18, 1934
Image: Larry Froeber/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
May 18, 1934
Image: Anthony Potter Collection/Getty Images
Oct. 6, 1935
"German Day" celebrations commemorate the arrival of the first German settlers on U.S. territory.
Image: Heinrich Hoffmann/ullstein bild via Getty Images
Oct. 5, 1936
Boys in uniform salute during a pro-Nazi rally.
Image: Anthony Potter Collection/Getty Images
After the dissolution of the Friends, a successive group, officially unconnected to the German government, was formed — the German American Bund. The Bund continued the campaigns of anti-Semitism, anti-Communism and violent rhetoric, but wrapped them in patriotic, pro-American symbolism, holding up portraits of George Washington as “the first Fascist.”
The Bund reached the height of its prominence on February 20, 1939, when some 20,000 members held a “Pro-America Rally” in Madison Square Garden.
Inside, jackbooted Nazi supporters filled the aisles while speakers ranted against President “Frank D. Rosenfeld” and his “Jew Deal.”
Outside, some 80,000 anti-Nazi demonstrators furiously protested the event, clashing with police and attempting to gain entry to the arena and shut it down.
The Bund was finally dissolved at the end of 1941 with the United States’ declaration of war against Nazi Germany.
Feb. 20, 1939
Twenty-thousand attend a meeting of the German American Bund, which included banners such as "Stop Jewish Domination of Christian Americans."
Image: FPG/Archive Photos/Getty Images
Feb. 20, 1939
The principal speakers arrive to open the German American Bund "Americanization" rally.
Image: Bettmann/Getty Images
Feb. 20, 1939
Fritz Kuhn, leader of the German American Bund, addresses the Nazi rally as protesters clash with police outside.
Image: Bettmann/Getty Images
Feb. 20, 1939
Supporters salute the banner of the German American Bund.
Image: Bettmann/Getty Images
Feb. 20, 1939
Image: Larry Froeber/NY Daily News Archive via Getty Images
Feb. 20, 1939
A Nazi color guard stands before a massive portrait of George Washington.
Bettmann/Getty Images
Curation:
Wolfgang Wild
Text:
Alex Q. Arbuckle
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