Deportation of Fritz Kuhn, leader of the German-American Bund, on charges of perjury in connection with his entry to the United States and his subsequent naturalization, was sought by the Non-Sectarian Anti-Nazi League today.
The League announced that it has placed in the hands of the Federal authorities a sworn statement by Reinhold Spitz, a refugee from Munich, in which Kuhn is accused of having been convicted of stealing overcoats from fellow students while enrolled at the University of Munich. Investigation of the charges is being conducted by Charles Miller, assistant district director of Immigration and Naturalization, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. District Attorney’s office.
According to Mr. Spitz, who was founder and owner of a large clothing establishment on the same Munich street where Kuhn’s father had a business, Kuhn served four months in Stadelheim Prison for his crime. Upon his release he was given a job in the Spitz firm, as a result of intervention by a mutual friend of the Spitz and Kuhn families. After four months as shipping clerk, Spitz discovered Kuhn had stolen merchandise worth more than 3,000 marks. When the theft was discovered, Kuhn’s father and the mutual friend begged Spitz not to expose Kuhn and it was decided to send him out of the country to avoid further disgrace. Kuhn was sent to Mexico in 1922, entered the United States in 1928 and became a naturalized citizen in 1934.
The Anti-Nazi League has asked police protection for Mr. Spitz.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
