Flossi Outside Madison Square Garden
The German American Bund rally held at Madison Square Garden on February 20, 1939, drew 22,000 participants and featured a giant portrait of George Washington flanked by swastikas.
The event was met with fierce protests by anti-Nazi demonstrators, and it ultimately backfired, drawing widespread condemnation of the Bund's activities. The event marked the height of the organisation's influence but also led to its rapid downfall.
The Bund's leader, Fritz Julius Kuhn, gave a provocative speech attacking President Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jewish influence, but the rally attracted widespread public condemnation.
Kuhn was soon after arrested for embezzling funds from the organisation, convicted of larceny and forgery, and sentenced to prison.
Following his release after World War II, Kuhn was deported to Germany, where he lived quietly until he died in 1951.
The German American Bund sought to create a “Nazi America” by promoting a combination of American patriotism and Nazi ideology. Its members, primarily German-Americans, held rallies, published propaganda, and operated youth camps such as Camp Siegfried in New York and Camp Nordland in New Jersey.
The Bund's roots can be traced to earlier Nazi-supporting groups.
Friends of New Germany (FoNG) was founded in 1933 with the help of the German government. The goal was to unite various Nazi groups in the U.S. and spread Nazi propaganda. It was formed by merging two smaller groups: Gau-USA and the Free Society of Teutonia.
However, by the mid-1930s, the Nazi government in Germany distanced itself from the FoNG, fearing its activities were damaging relations with the U.S. In December 1935, German officials ordered all German nationals to leave the group, and its leadership was recalled to Germany.
After the dissolution of FoNG, the German American Bund was established in 1936 under Fritz Julius Kuhn, a naturalised U.S. citizen of German descent and a World War I veteran.
Key Individuals:
1. Fritz Julius Kuhn (Bundesführer):
Role: Kuhn was the leader of the German American Bund and its most visible figure. A charismatic speaker, Kuhn sought to rally support for Nazi ideals within the German-American community. He was heavily involved in organising rallies, including the infamous 1939 Madison Square Garden rally, which featured Nazi symbols alongside American flags.
Downfall: In late 1939, Kuhn was arrested and convicted of embezzling $14,000 from the Bund. He was sentenced to two and a half to five years in prison for larceny and forgery.
2. Gerhard Wilhelm Kunze:
Successor to Kuhn: Gerhard Kunze became the Bund’s leader after Kuhn's arrest. Kunze was a spy for German military intelligence, and his leadership saw the Bund increasingly scrutinised by U.S. authorities.
Capture: Kunze fled the U.S. to Mexico after the U.S. entered World War II but was captured and extradited to the U.S., where he was sentenced to 15 years in prison for espionage【254†source】.
3. August Klapprott:
- Bund Leader in New Jersey: Klapprott was one of the regional leaders of the Bund. After the U.S. entered the war, Klapprott was arrested and interned as a dangerous enemy alien under the authority of the Alien Enemies Act.
4. Rudolf Markmann:
- Camp Siegfried Leader: Markmann was a regional leader who oversaw Camp Siegfried, a Nazi-style youth camp on Long Island, New York. The camp was part of the Bund's efforts to indoctrinate young German Americans into Nazi ideology. Markmann was one of several Bund leaders arrested after the group was disbanded.
Many rank-and-file members were left alone after the Bund disbanded.