Three radicals are under $250 bond each on charges of unlawful assemblage as an aftermath of the first local physical encounter between anti-Fascists and Nazi sympathizers.
Bond was fixed by the district court and trial was held over for three weeks. No pro-Nazi was arrested. Radicals are organizing a series of protest demonstrations against the arrests.
The battle arose when several hundred radicals, after demonstrating against Fascism outside the meeting hall of the Friends of New Germany, sought to enter the place. Nazi bouncers attempted to stop them, causing a free-for-all fight. The meeting was broken up and the address of the speaker, Charles Schoenherr of Chicago, reputed to be an ex-Communist turned Nazi, was halted by a shower of rotten eggs. A riot call brought 100 policemen, who dispersed the crowd and shut the hall.
Local liberals deplore the episode. They point out that the Friends of New Germany group has been disintegrating for lack of attention. The brawl placed them in a martyr role and gave them undue publicity, they believe.
Inattention had been overtaking the local unit of the Friends, it was pointed out. The speaker, Schoenherr, had appeared twice previously. Another Chicago Nazi, John Schoenberger, addressed the group three times.
This was taken as a sign that the Friends, unable to obtain a reputable local German to speak before them, fall back on the same imported propaganda lecturers.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
